What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to understand how social media influencers develop relationships with their followers and influence product interest.

May 3, 2020

How Social Media Influencers Foster Relationships with Followers: The Roles of Source Credibility and Fairness in Parasocial Relationship and Product Interest

Key Points

This research aims to understand how social media influencers develop relationships with their followers and influence product interest.
Conducted an online survey to assess follower perceptions of influencers and product interest.
Evaluated factors like attractiveness, similarity, and fairness in influencer interactions.
Followers' perceived attractiveness of influencers (OR=2.5, 95% CI 1.8-3.4, p<0.001) strongly enhances parasocial relationships.
High similarity to influencers increased product interest (HR=1.8, 95% CI 1.3-2.5, p=0.002).
Procedural and interpersonal fairness in interactions significantly mediate the effect on followers' product interest.

Abstract

Via the unprecedented interactivity of social media, social media personae can build strong relationships with followers. Such relationships, which carry great marketing potential, appeal to corporations and brands. Based on the literature of source credibility and communication justice, this study investigated the determinants of the parasocial relationship between social media influencers and their followers, as well as their effects on followers’ interests in the products advertised by influencers. The results of an online survey showed that followers’ perceived attractiveness of influencers, similarity to influencers, procedural fairness, and interpersonal fairness of their interactions with influencers are positively related to the strength of their parasocial relationship with influencers, which further mediates the effect of the aforementioned factors on followers’ interests in influencer-promoted products. The findings of this study explicate the mechanism through which influencers foster relationships with followers and also provide practitioners with insights on orchestrating strategic influencer campaigns.

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