The influence of perceived credibility and parasocial relationships on consumer trust in influencer-endorsed brand messages

Extensive research conducted notes that no researchers holistically consider these problems. This research focus on the role of influencers in digital marketing, and the framework consist of a (Hwang, 2018) model with a UGT (User and Gratification Theory), and some variables are influenced by the Persuasion Knowledge Model (Friestad, Wright, 1994). Additionally, researchers have done their research on one YouTube video for a particular brand, so there is a need to research a public domain in which the focus is on all platforms of social media so that the result can be holistic. Further, researchers have conducted their research on generation Y, so there is also a need to conduct this research holistically. The paper used the SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) technique to analyze the data we have collected. The present research is based on a broad framework; this is why the paper has used PLS (Partial Least Square) to evaluate the hypothetical model. The findings reveal that social media users' para-social relationship with the social media influencers has a positive and significant relationship with EWOM by social media users and a negative and not significant relationship with the purchase intention of the social media users. Thus, it shows that para-social relationships increase EWOM, not purchase intention. Moreover, social media users' para-social relationship also depicts a positive and significant relationship between influencers' credibility and EWOM. Moving further, results reveal that para-social relationships with (Parasocial Relationship -> Influencer Credibility -> Brand Trust) and (Influencer Credibility -> Brand Trust -> Purchase Intention) have a partial mediation relationship. Lastly, moderation analysis indicates that there is a two positive (MOD (PR with IC)_ -> Influencer Credibility), (MOD (IC with Willingness)_ -> Willingness to search) and 1 (MOD (IC with PK)_ -> Product Knowledge) moderation relationship. The findings serve as essential evidence for social media influencers that their credibility impacts the purchase intention of the social media user as well as their excellent para-social relationship with the social media users will highly impact their EWOM. This study indicates that the para-social relationship of social media users with the social media influencers enhances the consumers' purchase intention and increases the EWOM (electronic word of mouth) between the social media users.

Sosyal medya etkileyicileri ürettikleri lüks marka içerikleri ile takipçileriyle etkileşim yaratmaktadır. Aynı zamanda bilgi aktarımı, yeni fikir üretimi ve trend takibi açısından lüks marka içerikleri etkileşim sürecinde önemli bir unsur olmaktadır. Dünya genelinde sosyal medya etkileyicileri ile takipçileri arasında bir etkileşim vardır. Takipçiler önerilen bir ürünü ve markayı deneyimleme, deneyimin bir parçası olma eğilimine gitmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı bireylerin takip ettikleri sosyal medya etkileyicileri tarafından üretilen lüks marka içeriklerine yönelik düşünce ve yönelimlerini irdelemektir. Sosyal medya kullanımının yoğun olduğu gençlere yönelik yapılan araştırma kapsamında 20 Aralık 2021-6 Ocak 2022 tarihleri arasında 13 katılımcıyla derinlemesine görüşme yapılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda; sosyal medya etkileyicilerinin ürün paylaşımlarının, katılımcıların satın alma davranışlarını doğrudan etkilemediği ancak önerileri değerlendirme sürecinde etkili olduğu saptanmıştır. Ayrıca sosyal medya etkileyicisine duyulan sevgi ve güvenin yani parasosyal ilişkinin önemli bir rol oynadığı saptanmıştır. Katılımcılar, sosyal medya etkileyicilerinin marka işbirlikleri ve kendi önerileri arasındaki farkı kavrayabilmekte ve iş birliği olduğu halde belirtilmeyen içeriklerden rahatsız olmaktadırlar. Katılımcılar, etkileyicilerin lüks marka tüketimlerinin onların statüsünü yükseltmediğini belirtirken lüks marka ile etkileyici uyumsuzsa markaya olumsuz tutum geliştirildiği saptanmıştır.

While social media influencers are gleaning increasing trust and investment from brands, advertisers, and followers, insights on the role of influencers in adolescents’ relationship formation and consumption behaviors are still rare. Drawing on the literatures of influencer content value, influencer credibility, parental mediation, and parasocial relationship (PSR), this study proposed a conceptual model that expounds the appeal of influencers among adolescents. To test the model, we administered an online survey – recruited in proportion to demographic quotas (i.e., age, gender and ethnicity) – among 500 United States adolescents (aged 10- to 19-years old) via Qualtrics panel. Results revealed that, the entertainment value of influencer-generated content, influencer expertise, trustworthiness, attractiveness, and followers’ perceived similarity to their favorite influencers, are positively related to the perceived PSR between adolescent followers and their favorite influencers, which in turn, are associated with adolescents’ materialistic views and purchase intentions. We also explored the role of parental mediation of adolescents’ social media use in their PSR with influencers. Results indicate that, neither active mediation nor restrictive mediation is related to the PSR between adolescents and influencers. Active mediation is negatively associated with adolescents’ materialism, whereas restrictive mediation is positively related to adolescents’ purchase intentions toward influencer-promoted products. This study proposed and tested a comprehensive conceptual model that accounts for the role of influencers in adolescent followers’ materialism and purchase intentions. This study yields three major theoretical contributions. First, it adopts and applies the concept of PSR from the literature of media psychology to explicate influencers’ appeal among adolescents, which lays a theoretical foundation for future research on the impact of influencers. Second, it advances the current literature on social media influencers by specifying key contributing factors for the development of adolescents’ PSR with influencers. Lastly, it explores the roles of the two facets of parental mediation – active and restrictive mediation – in the appeal of influencers among adolescents, which offers directions for future research of parental mediation in the influencer context.

Parasocial relations and social media influencers' persuasive power. Exploring the moderating role of product involvement

This paper reports on two studies that assessed the roles of social media attachment (SMA) and parasocial interaction with social media influencers (SMIs) in driving consumer response to SMIs. Study 1, using a student sample, explores the sequential mediational role of PSI with social media influencers and susceptibility to SMI influence in the social media attachment-SMI compliance intentions relationship; while Study 2, using a non-student sample, looks at the same sequential mediation, while taking into account the moderating role of SMI skepticism in the link between social media attachment and PSI with SMIs. Results from both studies showed that social media attachment affects SMI compliance intentions through its effects on parasocial interaction and susceptibility to SMI influence. In both studies, PSI and susceptibility to SMI influence had direct effects on SMI compliance intentions, and social media attachment indirectly affected SMI compliance intentions through its effects on parasocial interaction with SMIs.

The power of social media influencers (SMIs) as effective endorsers for destinations and tourism products have been widely acknowledged. Despite being characterised as content generators by prior research, little has been done to examine how consumers perceive content produced by SMI, a key component of destination marketing campaigns. Moreover, parasocial relationship between SMI and the follower has been proven to enhance the persuasive impact of SMIs. Hence, this study aims to shed light on how consumers would assess the SMI and the content the SMI produced, as well as the effect of parasocial relationship on processing SMI destination marketing campaigns. Findings (N = 501) have highlighted that argument quality of SMI content has a stronger direct impact on campaign attitude, destination image and travel intention, as compared to source credibility. With the application of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) as a framework, this study illuminates consumers’ interaction with the SMI destination marketing campaign and extends prior studies in understanding the importance of SMI content and parasocial relationship as a significant tool for future destination marketing.

Purpose With growing concerns about users’ well-being on social media, research stresses the importance of threat appraisals as a crucial first step in motivating self-protective actions. This study, in view of the prevalence of parasocial relationships between followers and social media influencers, aims to unravel the complex dynamics of followers’ threat perceptions within these relationships. Specifically, it examines how factors such as perceived self-efficacy to disengage and the positive affect of social media use influence threat appraisals. Design/methodology/approach A theoretical model is proposed based on appraisal theory to examine the impact of parasocial relationships on threat perception in engagement. It is empirically tested with data from 186 Instagram users. Findings The study reveals an overall positive relationship between parasocial relationships and perceived threat. This relationship is moderated by followers’ perception of self-efficacy to disengage – followers with a high sense of self-efficacy to disengage experience a decrease in threat perception as their parasocial relationships strengthen, whereas followers with a low sense of self-efficacy to disengage report an increase in threat perception with higher levels of parasocial relationships. This interplay is pronounced when followers experience average or below-average levels of positive affect on social media but diminishes when the positive affect is high. Originality/value This work contributes insights into social media influencers, threat appraisal dynamics and digital well-being research. Bridging a critical gap in existing knowledge, the study identifies the pivotal roles of followers’ self-efficacy to disengage and positive affect in shaping their threat appraisals toward parasocial relationships with social media influencers. This not only advances theoretical frameworks but also enhances our understanding of the nuanced dynamics of user reactions to parasocial engagements. Our findings offer practical insights for researchers, practitioners and platform developers aiming to cultivate healthy and responsible social media engagement in the digital era, ultimately contributing to individual well-being.

This study aims to examine how the credibility of social media influencers; measured through their expertise, trustworthiness, social attractiveness, and physical attractiveness affects consumers’ intention to purchase in Egypt, while also considering the mediating role of consumer trust. Data were gathered using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to a random sample of 384 participants. The collected data were analyzed using JASP version 19.3. The research findings revealed that there is a statistically significant positive direct effect of the dimensions of social media influencers’ credibility on purchase intention, except for one dimension (expertise), which has an indirect effect on purchase intention. In addition, it was found that social media influencers’ credibility dimensions have a statistically significant positive direct effect on consumer trust. Moreover, it was found that consumer trust mediates the relationship between the credibility of social media influencers and purchase intention.This research provides a new perspective on how social media influencers’ credibility affects purchase intention, highlighting the role of consumer trust.

In a marketing environment where consumers trust each other far more than they trust companies’ marketing communications, social media influencers have become important mediators in consumer decision making, particularly for younger consumers. A social media influencer is an opinion leader or tastemaker in one or more areas of consumption, who has a considerable following in social media. Previous research has revealed that when consumers form a one-sided relationship that has an illusion of intimacy with the influencer – a parasocial relationship – they are more likely to be influenced by them in their purchasing decisions. The purpose of this chapter is to identify and analyze the nature and types of parasocial relationships formed between consumers and influencers on social media. This purpose is addressed through an interpretive, qualitative study (n = 29) of Generation Z consumers who can be considered as “social media natives.” The findings contribute to an in-depth understanding of how consumers form relationships with influencers and what these relationships mean to consumers in their daily lives.

Social media influencers (SMIs) are figures who have cultivated an online following by commercializing their social media content, establishing credibility, and building parasocial relationships (PSR) with their followers. SMIs can be categorized by their follower count: mega (<1m), macro (100k-1m), micro (5k-100k), and nano (>5k). The purpose of this study is to investigate (1) how PSR and influencer credibility vary across nano, micro, and macro SMIs, (2) how credibility in different levels affects the development of PSR, and (3) how PSR affects brand attitude. The findings of this study show that credibility is linked to PSR development among SMIs but is not significantly different across SMI levels. PSR is also found to be significantly higher among nano-influencers than the micro and macro levels, and positively influences brand attitude. The study extends existing research on follower count and offers new theoretical and practical insights into nano-influencer marketing.

The study aims to examine the effect of social media influencer marketing on consumer purchase behaviour with a case study of an Indian audio brand BOAT. This study intends to figure out HOW factors such as influencer credibility, authenticity, and engagement lead to the decision-making process of consumers. The research utilizes a mixed-method framework using quantitative surveys and qualitative content analysis and reveals specific trends and relationships. The results show that influencers judged to be more authentic and credible have a positive impact on consumer trust and purchase intentions. It helps to attract even more attention and increase the value of your brand and drive higher sales with engaging content. The research adds to the existing waterfall of academic literature on influencer marketing and provides a hands-on guide for brands when refining their marketing strategy on (fast-evolving) social media platforms. KEYWORDS: Social Media Influencer Marketing, Consumer Purchase Behaviour, Influencer Credibility, Influencer Authenticity, Influencer Engagement, Brand Perception, Marketing Strategies, BOAT (Indian Audio Brand), Mixed-Method Approach, Quantitative Surveys, Qualitative Content Analysis, Consumer Trust, Brand Engagement, Sales Performance, Social Media Platforms

The increasingly widespread use of social media has risen up new careers as social media influencers. Interestingly, influencers are now creating their own product lines, branded under their own names or extensions, known as influencer-branded products. This research aims to examine the influence of an influencer's credibility and attractiveness on parasocial interaction, as well as to determine the effect of parasocial interaction on the intention to purchase influencer-branded products. Additionally, this study aims to test the moderating influence of congruence between consumers and influencers, influencers and products, and products and consumers in the relationship between parasocial interaction and purchase intention. This research is conducted using quantitative method through an online survey of 227 respondents, with Mother of Pearl, an influencer-branded product by Tasya Farasya as the object of study. Data is processed using IBM SPSS and SEM AMOS. The results of the study indicate that all variables positively correlate with each other, except for influencer expertise, which negatively affects parasocial interaction, and the moderation effects of consumer-product congruency and influencer-product congruency, which do not significantly impact purchase intention. These findings have implications for influencers as business practitioners, suggesting that they should focus on creating content that highlights their attractiveness and trustworthiness while minimizing content that overly emphasizes their expertise. Furthermore, based on the results of the fit moderation, business practitioners need to enhance the influencer's self-branding, as only the fit between the consumer and the influencer significantly moderates and strengthens the effect on purchase intention

The rise of social media, particularly Instagram, has transformed consumer behavior and marketing strategies in the fashion industry. This study aims to analyze the influence of social influence, influencer credibility, and parasocial relationships on brand credibility and purchase intention of fashion products on Instagram. Using a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional survey method, data were collected from 260 active Instagram users in Greater Jakarta who follow at least one fashion influencer. Structural Equation Modeling with the Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach was employed to examine the relationships between variables. The results indicate that influencer credibility, social influence, and parasocial relationships have a significant positive effect on brand credibility, which in turn influences purchase intention. Parasocial relationships also directly enhance purchase intention. These findings highlight the crucial role of emotional connection and perceived credibility in shaping consumer behavior on social media. The study provides practical implications for fashion marketers in selecting influencers and developing engagement strategies to boost brand trust and consumer intention to purchase. Further research is suggested to explore other social platforms and additional influencing variables.

Current research on parasocial relationships has a focus on the media consumer and the media personae in television or film where the media consumer exerts time and emotional energy into the relationship while the character is unaware of their existence. The purpose of this study is to explore the Influencers and further conceptualize the term parasocial relationship to include these online mediated relationships and interactions. This study explores parasocial relationships and what is associated with them in the context of social media with respondents who consistently engage with social media Influencers. Social media Influencers address their audiences personally and share content that entices people to continue following or interacting with them. This mutual awareness between the social media Influencer and the media consumer strengthens the parasocial relationship. I hypothesize that people who consistently engage with specific social media Influencers will report positive associations between parasocial relationships, homophily, identification and wishful identification with the Influencer. The possibility and amount of interaction between the Influencer and the individual would also entice people to engage with the Influencer more frequently.

With the popularity and success of food-related social media content, food marketers have begun utilizing social media influencers to promote their food brands. In particular, mukbang—video broadcasts of individuals eating copious amounts of food—is a prominent genre of public social media food exhibition that can provide opportunities for food-related social media influencer marketing. The present study examines how parasocial interaction (i.e. nonreciprocal interpersonal relationships formed with media personalities) with a mukbang social media influencer impacts advertising effectiveness and information credibility. A total of 404 U.S. participants completed an online survey. Structural equation modeling found that participants’ parasocial interactions with mukbang social media influencers predicted perceived source trustworthiness, perceived source expertise, and credibility of the information regarding the food content posted. Furthermore, influencer source credibility and information credibility positively impacted consumer brand and video attitudes, as well as behavioral intentions to consume the foods featured in the social media content. Study results provide evidence-based implications for food-related social media influencer marketing strategies and insight into the important role of information credibility on eating behaviors of social media consumers.