Unraveling Influencer Loyalty: Examining the Impact of Source Credibility

Abstract

With the emergence of social media, social media influencers have become a substantial alternative for brand promotion. Companies are dedicating an increasing portion of their overall marketing budget towards influencer marketing initiatives. To enhance the effectiveness of influencer marketing, companies and marketers should prioritize the credibility of the message source. The main motivation for the research lies in the modest research base regarding the effect of the multi-dimensional structure of source credibility on influencer loyalty. Grounded in source credibility theory, the subject of this paper is the source credibility four-dimensional construct: expertise, attractiveness, similarity, and trustworthiness of influencers aiming to investigate the impact of influencers’ credibility on social media users’ loyalty to influencers. By employing SPSS for multiple linear regression analysis on a dataset of 80 participants, the results reveal that the most influential factor positively affecting social media users' loyalty to influencers is the trustworthiness of the influencers, followed closely by the dimension of similarity. In conclusion, these research findings not only contribute to academic knowledge but also offer valuable guidance and insights for marketing managers in the selection of suitable social media influencers for collaboration.