TikTok’s recent de influencing trend and its effect on fast­ fashion versus slow­ fashion brand valuations

Abstract

Social media has revolutionized the marketing environment, creating a huge opportunity for social media influencers. With the recent rise of the social media platform TikTok, it has become even more accelerated and the creation of user­generated content. The algorithm allowsvaries trends to go viral. Recently, a new trend “deinfluencing” has emerged and users areappealed by this trend, reinforcing influencers’ power in impacting consumer behavior. To explore the effects of the deinfluencing versus influencing trends, an experimental study wasconducted. Overall, findings show that deinfluencing is more impactful than influencing on brand valuations, namely on sustainability image, consumer perceived ethicality, purchase intentions, and word­of­mouth engagement. This communication effect tends to be enhanced for slow­fashion brands in comparison to fast­fashion brands. The mediating role of perceived influencer authenticity on the relationship between the type of influencer message and brand valuations reveals the importance of meaningful and informative content in influencer marketing. Although de influencing presents a powerful communication tool it should be used with care. The study reinforces the power of influencers in shaping consumer behavior, emphasizes the significance of influencer credibility and represents an opportunity for brands to convey their values through transparent and authentic storytelling in collaboration with influencers.

Date of Award	27 Jun 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Vera Herédia Colaço (Supervisor)