Virtual Tipping: Giving Back to Social Media Influencers: An Abstract

Abstract

Social Media Influencer (SMI) research has attracted much attention from scholars since SMI marketing has become a major strategy for brands (Martínez-López et al., 2020). Recently, social media networks (SNSs) allow SMIs to earn money through virtual tip-jars (VTPs). VTPs allow SNS users to send money to SMIs. YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitch offer VTPs (Perelli, 2021). Despite the popularity of VTPs in the industry, marketing research has not yet examined VTPs. Building on the theory of norms of reciprocity (Gouldner, 1960), our research addresses this gap by examining the factors that influence SMI-tipping. We examine several factors that would influence consumers’ intentions to virtually tip SMIs. We propose that certain factors related to the SMI (SMI’s attractiveness. Authenticity and expertise), the content the SMI generates (interactivity, informational value, and hedonic value) and the relationship between the SMI and his/her followers increase the follower’s intention to reciprocate the SMI’s efforts through engaging with the SMI’s content and sending monetary tips to that SMI. We recruited 303 participants (Mean Age = 37.5, 37% male) from MTurk to participate in an online survey. Participants were asked to respond to the questions based on their perceptions of a specific influencer they follow on Instagram. Participants were first asked to name this influencer and then answer several questions regarding that SMI. We used previously established and reliable scales for measuring our independent variables and reciprocity intentions. We measured the likelihood of monetary payback by asking participants how likely they were to (a) make a one-time payment and (b) monthly payments to an influencer. We found that two variables increase consumers’ intentions to reciprocate the SMI’s efforts by sending virtual tips: (a) self-SMI connection and (b) interactivity of the contents created by the SMI. We found that individuals who had a higher self-SMI connection and higher perceived content interactivity were more likely to make a one-time donation, more likely to set up monthly payments to the SMI, and also were more likely to reciprocate by liking, commenting, and sharing the SMI’s created content. Our study contributes to the academic literature on social media and influencer marketing by exploring the novel phenomenon of virtual tipping, investigating the important role of reciprocity in consumer engagement with SMIs, and providing guidelines for SMIs who aim to increase their equity through getting tips from their followers.