TITLE:
Influencer Marketing: Statistics and Skepticism
AUTHORS:
Chelsea Peng
KEYWORDS:
Influencer Marketing, Traditional Marketing, Product Reviews, Influencer Characterization, Parasocial Relationships (PSRs)
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.11 No.2,
March
30,
2023
ABSTRACT: This paper analyzes how the influencer market has
grown exponentially in the past several years and also how difficult it is to
track the results of influencer marketing and advertising in general. Using
data related to negative consumer impressions of traditional advertising
features like pop-up ads and the untrustworthy review phenomenon and relating
it to data about Generation Z’s modern opinions on social media marketing, I
explain how influencer marketing is the better choice to appeal to a younger
audience. Pseudo-social relationships are formed between the influencer and
consumer and are reinforced by three attributes: physical attractiveness,
social attractiveness, and attitude homophily. A successful influencer has
balanced all three of these attributes to be balanced, in addition to a strong
relation between the brands. While it is clear
that the influence market is not a scam, it does require that brands have a
certain level of skepticism and know their audience in order to find the most
appropriate influencer to maximize the effect of their marketing.