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- The (not so) secret life of senior social media influencers: an analysis of the top five 'granfluencers', on InstagramPublication . Antunes, Ana Cristina; Miranda, Sandra; Gama, AnaThe changing media landscape and consumption along with the decreased efficacy of traditional advertising have confronted brands with the challenge to unravel different and innovative ways to effectively communicate with their targets. Influencer marketing is one of the strategies that is thriving and proved valuable for marketeers in this pursuit of new ways of reaching out to their audiences. Despite the relevance that digital influencer communication has recently gained for brands, academic research has been slow to catch up and some of the aspects related to digital influencers remain understudied. Within this context little is known about this exercise of influence by senior digital influencers and how they communicate with their followers. Traditionally associated with a more passive role of content receivers, some of the older citizens have been developing their digital knowledge and skills and are now active content creators on social networking sites and even, in some cases, building up a vast audience and a wide range of interested, involved, and engaged followers. Yet, there is scarce evidence regarding these elderly digital content creators. To help fill this gap, this exploratory study aims to study the Instagram profile of the top five older influencers and examine their personal brand subjectivities, communicative styles, and social media practices. A qualitative methodology was adopted, involving a set of dimension analyses such as the tone of communication, posting frequency, themes/subjects of interest, audiovisual and multimedia resources, as well as their interaction and engagement with followers. The results challenge the negative stereotype associated with old age and suggest that senior influencers already take part in the influencer economy. Academic and business implications of the study are examined for influencer marketing.
- Can macroinfluencers have an impact on the customers’ journey of their followers?Publication . Antunes, Ana Cristina; Murteira, CarlaConsumer marketplaces have been changing due to the evolution of digital technology, especially with the advent and growing popularity of social networking sites. The rise and massive use of social media by consumers opened a door to new forms of communication between brands and consumers. One of them is through the use of social media influencers (SMI), which now assume a pivotal role to connect brands with consumers. This has led many companies and brands to increasingly include in their marketing strategy influencer-based campaigns, although as Janssen et al. (2022) alert, much remains to be explored to gain a better understanding of the value of digital influencers as an instrument for marketing communication. One of the issues that warrant further research is what types of influencers are effective in which situations and for what purpose (Vrontis et al., 2020). Given that the empirical research is mainly focused on a broader and generic concept of social media influencers, scholars have already highlighted the need to address potential differences among the several types of SMI and examine if they have a distinct impact on the customers’ journey (e.g., Boerman, 2020; Vrontis et al., 2020). There are numerous typologies of digital influencers depending on factors such as their status, practices, or their impact and presence on specific social media platforms, but the most popular classification is related to audience size, that is, their number of followers. In this study, we depart from the last criteria (number of followers) to examine the role and impact of a specific SMI type – the macroinfluencer - on the customers’ journey of their followers. The authors collected and analyzed data from approximately 460 Instagram users in Portugal that followed one or more lifestyle macroinfluencers on this digital platform. These followers, mostly women between 18 and 45 years old, use Instagram on a daily basis. In this survey, we examined the role of the social media macroinfluencers’ perceived credibility, perceived content utility, their perceived similarity with their followers, the perceived fun and satisfaction that followers derive from following them, as well as consumer motives to follow, on the consumers’ decision process. Overall, the results show that the perceived macroinfluencers characteristics are positively related to the consumers’ intentions to search for and purchase products and services announced by these SMI. According to the findings, the examined macroinfluencers’ perceived characteristics are also positively related to the followers’ intentions to keep following the SMI in the future. The results are discussed, and the academic and business implications of the study are examined.
- Can macroinfluencers have an impact on the customers’ journey of their followers?Publication . Antunes, Ana Cristina; Murteira, CarlaConsumer marketplaces have been changing due to the evolution of digital technology, especially with the creation and popularity of social networking sites. The rise and massive use of social media by consumers opened a door to new forms of communication between brands and consumers. One of them is through the use of social media influencers (SMI), which now assume a pivotal role to connect brands with consumers. This has led many companies and brands to increasingly include in their marketing strategy influencer-based campaigns, although as Janssen et al. (2022) alert, much remains to be explored to gain a better understanding of the value of digital influencers as an instrument for marketing communication. One of the issues that warrant further research is what types of influencers are effective in which situations and for what purpose (Vrontis et al., 2020). Given that the empirical research is mainly focused on a broader and generic concept of social media influencers, scholars have already highlighted the need to address potential differences among the several types of SMI and examine if they have a distinct impact on the customers’ journey (e.g., Boerman, 2020; Vrontis et al., 2020). There are numerous typologies of digital influencers depending on factors such as their status, practices, or their impact and presence on specific social media platforms, but the most popular classification is related to audience size, that is, their number of followers. In this study, we depart from the last criteria (number of followers) to examine the role and impact of a specific SMI type – the macroinfluencer - on the customers’ journey of their followers. The authors collected and analyzed data from approximately 460 Instagram users in Portugal that followed one or more lifestyle macroinfluencers on this digital platform. These followers, mostly women between 18 and 45 years old, use Instagram on a daily basis. In this survey, we examined the role of the social media macroinfluencers’ perceived credibility, perceived content utility, their perceived similarity with their followers, the perceived fun and satisfaction that followers derive from following them, as well as consumer motives to follow, on the consumers’ decision process. Overall, the results show that the perceived macroinfluencers characteristics are positively related to the consumers’ intentions to search for and purchase products and services announced by these SMI. According to the findings, the examined macroinfluencers’ perceived characteristics are also positively related to the followers’ intentions to keep following the SMI in the future. The results are discussed and the academic and business implications of the study are examined.
- The role of social media influencers on the consumer decision-making processPublication . Coelho Antunes, Ana CristinaThe digital era has introduced many changes in the consumer marketplace. Social media and especially social networking sites redefined how consumers relate to and behave towards brands, as well as the brand-consumer relationship. Within this context and the heightened resistance to brand communication through traditional media, marketeers are turning to other strategies to connect with their customers and influence their consumer journey. One of these strategies is influencer marketing. In the last years, brands have used social media influencers as endorsers of their products and services, and as brand ambassadors. Digital influencers connect consumers and brands, strengthening their bond and allowing the brand to reach their target in a more natural way to influence the consumer buying process. In this chapter we will provide a narrative review on the role of digital influencers on the consumer decision processes.