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Guo, Fuqiang (2022) Social media influencer marketing: the factors that influence the consumers’ willingness to buy electronic products. [Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)]

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Abstract

Social media influencer marketing is one of the most popular digital marketing tools for marketers. Social media influencer (SMI) is a user who shares lives, experiences, attitudes, opinions and other information through text, pictures, audio, video, etc., having strong attractiveness and influence on ordinary social media users. Therefore, social media has dramatically changed the way people receive information and news. The gap of previous research only studies on specific social media platform (Facebook, Instagram and etc.), or focus on SMIs who are in beauty, fashion and food but ignore the impact of different types of products, such as electronic products. Although there are many marketers who are prone to adopt SMI marketing, they are lack theoretical guidance and expertise about what attributes of SMI have an impact on followers’ willingness to buy electronic products.

The purpose of this study is to guide marketers how to choose the social media influencer that is suitable for their brand or matched their marketing goals, so as to improve the marketing effect. This paper is trying to identify the effects of various attributes of social media influencers on followers’ willingness to buy electronic products. An online questionnaire was used to collect primary data among Bilibili users who followed at least one technological social media influencer. The study takes Bilibili, Bilibili is currently one of the most popular social platforms for young people in China, with a large number of users and social media influencers, as a case, and the size of the sample was 148. Random sampling technique was used, and SPSS 28.0, factor analysis and regression analysis were used for data analysis. This study developed a research model based on source credibility model theory, which indicates that the source of information can affect the persuasiveness of the target in three dimensions, reliability, expertise and attractiveness, desperately. And this model was verified in the context of traditional celebrities. This study, it will be examined in the context of social media influencers in electronic products. Besides credibility (H1), expertise (H2) and attractiveness (H3), homophily (H4), para-social interaction (H5), para-social relationship (H6), information value (H7) and advertise (H8) are considered into this model.

The findings reveal that credibility, expertise, para-social interaction, para-social relationship and information value have a significant and positive relationship with followers’ purchase intention. But, surprisingly, attractiveness, homophily and advertise show insignificant relationship with followers’ purchase intention.

This paper verifies the source credibility model (SCM) in the context of SMIs, and additional factors were added to the model for testing, extending the SCM model. Besides, according to the research, brands and organizations get a better understanding of SMIs , so that they can choose SMIs that match their brand images and brand characteristics in order to get better marketing effect. And as for SMIs, they can manage their image and improve themselves in credibility, expertise, para-social interaction, para-social relationship and information value, giving rise to increasing their influence on followers’ purchase intention.

Item Type:	Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)
Keywords:	social media influencer, social media influencer marketing, purchase intention, electronic products
Depositing User:	Guo, Fuqiang
Date Deposited:	25 Apr 2023 12:43
Last Modified:	25 Apr 2023 12:43
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/67574

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