Factors affecting purchase intention in social media influencer endorsements

By Reshma Parveen & Abhinash Jena on September 13, 2024

Social media influencers are internet microcelebrities who show their personal lives and lifestyles through textual and visual narrations and endorse brands to their following for a fee. They amplify brand visibility by leveraging their established, loyal audiences and content creation skills to promote products or services.

In recent years, social media influencers have become increasingly relevant in promotional strategies, often surpassing traditional celebrities in impact. Unlike celebrities, who gain fame through film, music, or sports, social media influencers build their followings through social media platforms. According to a report by Lin (2023), 93% of marketers today use influencer promotions as part of their marketing mix. 9 out of ten marketers believe influencer promotions to be an effective form of marketing. This has proven to be so effective that 69% of marketers plan to increase their influencer marketing budget in 2024 (Aspire, 2024).

The relationship between a social influencer and its audience

The relationship between a social media influencer and its followers is a parasocial relationship (PSR). This is a unilateral, one-sided, and non-dialectical emotional relationship formed by an audience with their media character, where the influencer is unable to respond to all comments or requests from their followers and engage in actual discussions. Unlike real-life relationships, where both parties interact and are aware of each other, in a parasocial relationship, the media figure remains unaware of the fan’s existence. The parasocial relationship has been identified as an appropriate mechanism for effective brand management and promotions using social media influencers (Liu & Zheng, 2024).

Social media influencers engage with niche audiences more effectively than celebrities (van der Harst and Angelopoulos, 2024). They focus on specific interests and build personal connections within their communities. Due to their expertise and proximity to their audience’s interest, social media influencers are perceived as more credible than celebrities, which results in their opinions having a greater impact on their followers (Belanche et al., 2021). The fairness of the interaction process between influencers and followers is an important factor in building strong parasocial relationships. Followers care about being treated with respect and having the ability to share their views, which also contributes to the strength of the parasocial bond (Yuan & Lou, 2020). 

Establishing brand trust and credibility through social media influencer endorsement

Instagram social media and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) significantly influence consumer purchasing decisions by mediating buying interest (Kioek et al., 2022). According to Dunn (2024), 78% of marketers believe that influencer marketing is a successful way to increase brand awareness. This often works because influencers develop content that flows naturally with the products or brand messages, which makes it easier for people to remember and relate to. These influencers also have a natural marketing advantage as their information is more easily accessible to the target audience, more easily spread virally, and often perceived as less commercially driven, making them more trustworthy to their followers (Weiwei & Yongyue, 2021). Fertik (2020) found that 92% of consumers trust an individual over a brand, reiterating the importance of influencer partnerships in building brand awareness.

Saini and Bansal (2023) also indicated that influencers maintain a relationship with their audience through valuable and authentic content. When they suggest a good or service, their followers are more inclined to adopt that opinion.

EXAMPLE

Fitness influencers can talk about new vitamin supplements they recently used and the differences they observed after using them.

Edelman (2019) found that 63% of consumers trust what influencers say about a product over a brand’s advertising message. Influencers also frequently interact with their followers directly by answering questions and displaying a commonality that strengthens credibility. Kapitan et al. (2021) also suggest that while celebrity and influencer endorsements can both impact consumer behavior, the underlying mechanisms differ. Social media influencers are seen as more authentic, which drives increased “willingness to pay”, whereas the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements may rely more on other source characteristics, such as expertise and trustworthiness.

Role of a Social Media Influencer’s Authenticity towards a brand’s credibility

Perceived authenticity is crucial for engaging a niche audience that values authentic experiences and self-expression. Consumers are increasingly searching for authenticity in their consumption experiences, and perceptions of authenticity can positively influence consumer attitudes and behaviors towards a brand’s credibility. Specifically, an artist’s authenticity positively affects the attitude toward the artist and subsequent behavioral intentions. Additionally, consumers use authenticity to make authentic statements of self and avoid inauthentic brands to protect their desired self-image (Moulard et al., 2015). Moreover, influencers craft brilliant personal content such as videos, stories, and live sessions that appeal to their followers, leading to greater engagement (Ao et al., 2023).

EXAMPLE

Travel influencers post stories of their journey and then engage their audience with live Q&A sessions. This interactive approach not only keeps the audience engaged but also leads to a more personal and deep connection between the influencer, the brand, and the followers.

Likewise, van der Harst and Angelopoulos (2024) found that promotional campaigns with influencers had a three times higher potential for interaction than those that do not. Kapitan et al. (2021) suggests that the more a brand trusts the influencer to present the brand in their unique way while engaging with its audience, the more the audience will perceive the endorsement as authentic and worthy of consideration. Furthermore, the more an endorser is perceived as a content creator, the higher the perception of authenticity, which in turn increases the willingness to pay for the endorsed product. Thus, brands should trust influencers to present the brand to their audiences in their unique way, as this can enhance perceptions of authenticity and increase consideration for the brand (Kapitan et al., 2021).

Persuading consumer behaviour towards purchase intention

Consumer behavior is influenced by factors such as motivation, emotions, personality, and attitudes. Consumers’ expectations play a key role in shaping their interpretation. Their interpretation is directly linked to their expectations of a brand or product, which can create an expectation bias. Consumers’ expectations are formed quickly through the authenticity of social influence and are difficult to change once established (Vainikka, 2015). Consumers’ emotional attachments to other consumers, such as social media influencers, shape their behavior towards the influencer-endorsed brands. The utility and perceived value of the information and content shared by influencers, in terms of usefulness, novelty or quality, is a decisive factor in capturing the attention and persuading followers (Sánchez-Fernández & Jiménez-Castillo, 2021b).

Sánchez-Fernández and Jiménez-Castillo (2021) in their study found that the perceived influence of the influencers mediates the relationships between the antecedents and the behavioral outcomes. There is a “halo effect” in influencer endorsement, which means that the good image of an influencer carries over to the brands they promote (Meng, 2022). The followers’ positive perception of social media influencers positively affects their perception of an endorsed product. Consumers are more likely to believe something when it comes from someone they know and trust, instead of traditional advertisements (Taillon et al., 2020b). This is mostly due to the parasocial relationship between social media influencers and their audience (Liu & Zheng, 2024).

Perception of an endorser’s authenticity and talent are important factors that influence a brand’s credibility and purchase intentions. This indicates that consumers are more willing to pay for brands whose endorsers are perceived to have genuine talent and skill, rather than those who are famous primarily due to wealth or other factors (Moulard et al., 2015). Taillon et al. (2020) also showed that attractiveness and likeability positively predicted attitudes towards the influencer, word-of-mouth, and purchase intentions. While the quality of content from influencers, in terms of informative value, positively impacts purchase intention, the entertainment value of influencer posts, however, does not affect purchase intentions (Liu & Zheng, 2024).

Effectiveness of brand endorsement in social media engagement

The effectiveness of brand endorsement is well documented in the literature Petty,
Cacioppo, and Schumann 1983; Ohanian 1990; Bergkvist and Zhou 2016). Engagement is central to the social media phenomenon and involves the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral investment of consumers in brand associations. Furthermore, perceived quality through interactions leads to brand loyalty, so high levels of positive brand associations and perceived quality positively influence brand loyalty (Schivinski et al., 2019). When there is a good fit between the endorser and the brand, and the endorser is perceived to have an altruistic motive, consumers are more likely to form positive evaluations towards the brand.

Furthermore, social media influencers can be effective endorsers to enhance positive brand association when they resonate with the target consumers. However, the effectiveness of endorsements can be hindered if consumers perceive the endorser’s motive as self-serving rather than altruistic (Shan et al., 2019). Therefore, the relevance and authority of the influencer regarding the product type are key factors in driving engagement and establishing trust. Influencers who are seen as experts or advocates for a product category have more efficient engagement within their networks (Rutter et al., 2021). Therefore, brands that outsource content creation, direction, and presentation to an influencer, render the endorsement more authentic and increase receptivity among the influencer’s community (Kapitan et al., 2021).

Shaping consumer purchase intentions

The above discussion based on a systematic literature review has identified factors and moderating factors that are affecting purchase intention in social media influencer endorsements. These factors, combined with the influencer’s ability to communicate authenticity and build strong emotional connections with their audience, play a significant role in shaping consumer purchase intentions.

Shaping consumer purchase intentions with social media influencer endorsement
Shaping consumer purchase intentions with social media influencer endorsement

References

NOTES

I am an interdisciplinary educator, researcher, and technologist with over a decade of experience in applied coding, educational design, and research mentorship in fields spanning management, marketing, behavioral science, machine learning, and natural language processing. I specialize in simplifying complex topics such as sentiment analysis, adaptive assessments and data visualizatiion. My training approach emphasizes real-world application, clear interpretation of results and the integration of data mining, processing, and modeling techniques to drive informed strategies across academic and industry domains.

I am a Research Consultant at Project Guru. I hold a Bachelor’s degree from from West Bengal State University. Over 2 years, I have worked on various research projects. I have also performed data analysis using SPSS, AMOS, and NVIVO software for few projects. My core strength lies in in-depth research related to Management, Consumer behaviour, Social science, Helath science, Marketing, Buisness Studies, Arts, and Education fields.

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