User perception of social interaction and attractiveness on social media influencer marketing

Charishma Kaur Gill (Student)

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

The landscape of marketing has undergone a profound transformation with the surge of social media influencer marketing in recent years. This new approach leverages the sway and reach of individuals on social media platforms to endorse products or services to their followers. The rising popularity of social media influencer marketing urges a deeper understanding of the factors that influence social media influencer marketing. This study intends to examine user perceptions of social media influencer marketing, specifically from the angle of social interaction and social attractiveness. By using social media users as respondents, this study managed to get 102 respondents through snowball sampling. The majority of respondents are from Singapore aged 18-24 years old. The findings showed a positive relationship between social interaction and social media influencer marketing. Social attractiveness is also found to be positively related to social media influencer marketing. This study contributes to theories on social influence in the digital era by revealing how social media users engage with and are drawn to social media influencers. The study also benefits professionals by deepening their understanding of how to leverage social interaction to connect with customers and it helps businesses to customize partnerships with social media influencers, aligning them with particular user preferences and behaviors in shaping consumer behaviors for more effective engagement within the digital landscape.