Beyond the filter: does influencer marketing affect consumer perception?

Aim: To understand the meaning of online influencer marketing. Numerous reasons for its growth have been identified by authors in the past. The goal of this milestone is to investigate the factors behind the growth of online influencer marketing.

Methodology: Perform a Literature review of 5-7 factors from 10-15 sources of secondary data. Use only journal articles for the review. They must not be older than 2018. Explain each factor individually.

Structure: To achieve this milestone, write an 1000 words article in the below structure. You may use diagrams/tables for illustrations but do not copy-paste them directly. You should also provide some statistics on the growth of online influencer marketing.

• Introduction- online influencer marketing over traditional marketing
• Factors affecting the growth of online influencer marketing (social media proliferation, consumers' shift towards video-based content. Identify more such factors)
• Conclusion

Aim: Online influencers can be of different categories based on their purpose, industry, and follower count. The purpose of this milestone is to explain each type and their characteristics.

Method: Conduct a comprehensive literature review focusing on identifying and classifying different types of online influencers. The review will encompass scholarly articles on the diverse categories of influencers in the digital landscape. The article will utilize a minimum of 15 sources of secondary data dated post-2018.

Structure: To achieve this milestone, write a 1500 words article in the following structure.

• Introduction: Provide an overview of the significance of online influencers in the present times.
• Types of online influencers based on follower count (macro, micro, mega, nano, celebrity)
• Types of online influencers based on purpose (entertainment, education, motivation, activism, review and recommendation, brand collaboration, community building)
• Types of online influencers based on industry (education, fashion, food, travel, education, finance, political issues, environmental, parental advice, game and sports, business, etc)
• Concluding paragraph (how the types are still evolving)

Note: Use figures, diagrams and tables wherever possible. Do not copy-paste them from any source.

Aim: This milestone aims to conduct a comprehensive literature review to identify and analyze the advantages of influencer marketing for marketers and businesses.

Method: The literature review will involve an in-depth analysis of at least 15 scholarly articles, research papers, and industry reports published after 2018. The focus will be on identifying and synthesizing key advantages of influencer marketing, considering factors such as brand awareness, trust-building, audience engagement, and overall impact on consumer behaviour. Occasionally compare them to other forms of marketing and advertising, especially traditional forms like celebrity endorsements.

Structure: To achieve this milestone prepare a 1000 words article in the following structure.

• Introduction- provide an overview of the increasing relevance of online influencers in comparison to celebrities.
• Advantages of online influencers for businesses- segment this section into various paragraphs, each focusing on a specific advantage of influencer marketing. Advantages may include but are not limited to:
  • Building brand awareness
  • Establishing trust and credibility
  • Enhancing audience engagement
  • Amplifying reach and visibility
  • Driving purchasing decisions
• Conclusion- summarize the key findings from the literature review.

Note: Use figures, diagrams and tables wherever possible. Do not copy-paste them from any source.

Aim: as the business environment is continuously evolving especially due to technological advancements, the scope and meaning of ‘consumer perception’ is changing too. The purpose of this milestone is to understand what consumer perception entails in today’s businesses.

Method: A literature review involviing a thorough examination of at least 15 relevant studies and scholarly articles published after 2018. Each of these studies must specifically delve into consumer perception and its associated traits.

Structure: To achieve this milestone, prepare a 1000 words article in the following structure.

• Introduction: explain the meaning and significance of consumer perception in the current times.
• Traits of consumer perception: segment this section into various paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect:
  • Product trust
  • Credibility
  • Purchase intention
  • Consumer engagement
  • Perceived value
  • Skepticism
• Conclusion: Summarize the key findings

Aim: In the era of digital marketing, the factors affecting consumers’ perception of a brand has changed. People’s buying behaviour has also changed. The purpose of this milestone is to review the factors affecting consumer behaviour and purchasing action towards any product today.

Method: Conduct a literature review using at least 15 relevant studies and scholarly articles published after 2021.

Structure: To achieve this milestone, write a 1000 words article in the following structure.

• Introduction: Briefly discuss the evolution of consumer perception and purchasing action studies and the shift towards influencer marketing in the digital age
• Factors influencing consumer perception: Social media presence, authenticity, relatability, trust, and additional factors (as needed)
• Factors influencing purchasing action
• Conclusion: Summarize the key findings

Note: Use figures, diagrams and tables wherever possible. Do not copy-paste them from any source.

Aim: All around us, the presence of online influencers is growing. From endorsing brands to educating people, influencers are being used for various purposes by companies. The  purpose of this milestone is to establish the impact of online influencer marketing on consumer perception and purchasing action.

Method: Conduct a systematic review of at least 30 research papers published in A-category journals after 2018. All these studies must have some kind of primary research. Out of the 30 papers, 15 must show the impact of online influencers on consumer perception (in terms of on product trust, credibility, brand image, purchase intention, purchase action, perceived value, and skepticism), and the remaining 15 must show the impact of online influencers on purchasing action.

Have a clear inclusion and exclusion criteria to ensure the selection of relevant and high-quality research. Employ the PRISMA diagram to transparently depict the studies' selection process.

Structure: To achieve this milestone, write a 1500 words article following the below structure.

• Introduction: Start the article by explaining how influencers are affecting peoples’ perceptions and purchasing actions today, especially on digital mediums like social media.
• Methodology: Introduce your chosen methodology, i.e., systematic review of literature. Explain the elements you will focus on, i.e., impact of online influencers on consumer perceptions, and impact of online influencers on purchasing action. Also briefly state the importance of choosing this method.
  • Studies selection process: Clearly articulate the criteria used for selecting studies such as keywords used, and sources or libraries used.
  • Inclusion and exclusion criteria: explain the criteria employed to include or exclude studies, like year of publication, language, format, publication credibility, etc.
  • PRISMA diagram: Present the PRISMA diagram to visually depict the systematic review process and highlight the number of studies at each stage.
• Analysis: This is the main section presenting the systematic review. It will have two tables:
  • Systematic review table 1- Impact of online influencers on consumer perception: Prepare a table containing columns for author and year, study aim, methodology, variables used, key findings, and study limitations. Here is an example. All the 15 studies must be included in this table.
  • Systematic review table 2- Impact of online influencers on purchasing action: Prepare a table containing columns for author and year, study aim, methodology, variables used, key findings, and study limitations. Here is an example. All the 15 studies must be included in this table.
• Discussion: Summarize and synthesize the findings from the selected studies.
• Conclusion: Summarize the key findings

Note 1: This milestone cannot be achieved until all the previous milestones in ‘Goal 1’ have been completed.

Note 2: This milestone involves preparing two questionnaires:

• Questionnaire 1- close-ended (multiple choice questions) for consumers
• Questionnaire 2- open-ended questions for consumers

Note 3: prior experience in making conceptual frameworks and questionnaires is mandatory.

Aim: This is the concluding milestone of Goal 1 of the study on “Beyond the filter: does influencer marketing affect consumer perception and purchasing action?”. The purpose of this milestone is to use all the previous milestones of Goal 1 to create a conceptual framework diagram which shows the relationship between:

• Online influencers and consumer perception
• Online influencers and purchasing action

Another purpose of this milestone is to prepare two questionnaires (survey & interview) based on the conceptual framework so that primary research can be carried out in the next milestone.

Method: This conceptual framework diagram must be constructed through a synthesis of key themes identified in the literature reviews. The diagram must represent three distinct boxes:

• Online influencer (independent variable) and its sub-variables
• Consumer perception (dependent variable) and its sub-variables
• Purchasing action (dependent variable) and its sub-variables

Refer to this article for an example conceptual framework diagram. You can also use your own.

Then, prepare two questionnaires:

• Questionnaire 1 (consumer survey questionnaire): This questionnaire will be based on scales. It must be based on existing scales used by other authors in the past for consumer perception and purchasing action. Remember that this questionnaire must have Likert scale so that correlation and regression test can be performed. The purpose of this questionnaire is to find out the following:
  • Demographic profile (age, gender, income level, educational qualifications, marital status, employment status)
  • Background information
    • Types of digital platforms used by them (social media/ email/ YouTube, etc.)
    • Average time spent on social media every day
    • Which social media platform most used by them
    • Whether they know what ‘influencer’ means
  • Inferential section (main section which is based on the conceptual framework)
    • Impact of influencers on their perception of a brand/ product (in terms of on product trust, credibility, brand image, purchase intention, purchase action, perceived value, and skepticism)
    • Impact of influencers on purchasing action specifically for cosmetics, food, clothing and electronics
  • Questionnaire 2- Interview questions for 10 out of the surveyed population. They must be open-ended and reveal in detail their experience with purchasing products based on influencers’ recommendations, apart from why and how their perception is influenced by them.

Structure: To achieve this milestone, prepare a 800 words article in the below structure.

• Introduction- summarise the findings from all the previous milestones in Goal 1. Do not copy-paste anything. It must be a constructive synthesis rather than repasting.
• Conceptual framework DIAGRAM for impact of online influencers on consumer perceptions and purchasing action
• Explanatory paragraph for the diagram: explain your dependent variables, independent variable
• Hypotheses: draw two hypotheses from the diagrams. They must be in null (H0) and alternate (H1) format.
• Concluding paragraph: Summarize the key findings

Note 4: Do not copy paste any diagram or image from any source. Prior experience in making hypotheses is compulsory.

Note 5: Submit the article, questionnaire 1 and questionnaire 2 in separate word documents together.

This milestone refers to how an influencer’s characteristics match the consumer’s predisposition toward adopting new technology, as defined by the Technology Readiness Index (TRI) dimensions:

• optimism,
• innovativeness,
• discomfort, and
• insecurity.

This milestone should answer the following questions:

Q: Explain moderating effects.

Q: Traits of different segments of consumers.

Q: Ideal influencer traits that align with the consumers.

Segments of consumers based on TRI:

• Consumers with high Technology Readiness (Optimism and Innovativeness)

Consumers who are enthusiastic, open to new technology, and often are early technology adopters. They value cutting-edge features and are generally less hesitant to try new products.

• Consumers with Moderate Technology Readiness

Consumers who are open to technology but require a certain level of ease of use and practical benefits to feel comfortable.

• Consumers with Low Technology Readiness (High Discomfort and Insecurity)

Consumers who are hesitant and skeptical about technology, and have concerns about complexity, security, or reliability.

Here, alignment involves matching an influencer's style, content and perceived expertise with the consumer’s level of readiness. The hypothesis here is that "Influencers who reflect or address the consumer’s specific readiness traits can connect more effectively".

Review papers that have provided empirical evidence for their suggestions. Try to cover different products and service categories such as:

1. Technology gadgets like smartwatches, phones, laptops etc.
2. Lifestyle products such as clothes, jewellery, cars etc.
3. Hospitality services such as hotels, restaurants, excursions etc.
4. Travel services such as airlines, cabs etc

Research methodology for examining the impact of online influencers on consumer perception and purchasing action

Note 1: This milestone cannot be achieved until the previous milestone ‘A conceptual framework for identifying the impact of online influencers on consumer perception and purchasing action’ is completed.

Note 2: This article will reflect on the questionnaires developed in the milestone ‘A conceptual framework for identifying the impact of online influencers on consumer perception and purchasing action’ in Goal 1. Obtain a copy of those questionnaires from the Module Creator.

Note 3: Prior experience in writing research methodologies and questionnaires is mandatory for working on this milestone.

Aim: This is the first article in Goal 2 of this study. Overall, the goal is to use primary data of consumers from India to show how online influencers are affecting their perception and purchasing action towards any product or brand. The purpose of this particular milestone is to explain the methodological process undertaken to achieve this goal.

Background: Primary data collection is going to take place in two ways; survey and interviews.

• Survey: at least 150 consumers using digital platforms like social media will be surveyed using a close-ended questionnaire to understand how online influencers are affecting their perception of a brand, and whether they perform a purchase action based on the influencers’ recommendations.
• Interview: after the survey is completed, out of the 150 surveyed consumers, 10 will be selected and interviewed to understand in depth why they are affected by the influencers in terms of brand perception and purchasing action. Their experience based on these purchases will be evaluated too.

Method: Do not explain any theory. This means that avoid the meaning and definitions of concepts like ‘primary data’, ‘probability sampling’ etc. Stick to the justification of your approach only. You need to reflect on the following approaches:

• Types of data used (qualitative & quantitative)
• Target respondent profile (explaining the characteristics of the chosen population including their demographic background and their usage of digital platforms like social media)
• Sampling process (sample size calculation, sampling type like probability sampling in case of survey and purposive sampling in case of interviews)
• Questionnaire (scales used, development process, and administration process)
• Data collection process (how the respondents were identified, where they were approached, how many rounds of data collection took place (multiple rounds of online surveys via Google Forms in case of survey, and single round of interviews with 10 consumers out of the surveyed ones in case of interviews))
• Data analysis process (SPSS for survey data analysis and NVIVO for interview data analysis)

Use references to support and justify your approaches.

Structure: to achieve this milestone, write a 1000 words article in the following structure.

• Introduction to the overall study and goal 2.
• Findings of the conceptual framework (brief description)
• Introduction to our chosen methodology (use of primary data to achieve the goal)
• Data types used
  • Quantitative
  • Qualitative
• Target population profile
• Sampling method
  • Sample size calculation
  • Sampling type
    • For survey (probability)
    • For interview (purposive)
  • Data collection process
    • For survey
    • For interviews
  • Data analysis method
    • SPSS (for survey)
    • NVIVO (for interviews)
  • Concluding paragraph: Reiterate the expected findings from the proposed hypotheses.

Note 1: This milestone cannot be achieved until all the previous milestones in Goal 1 and Goal 2 have been completed.

Note 2: This milestone involves survey dataset preparation in MS Excel based on Google Forms. Missing values, outliers, etc. need to be cleaned. Therefore prior experience in data processing is mandatory.

Note 3: This milestone involves data testing in SPSS. Therefore it is mandatory to have SPSS (trial version or latest version) software and knowledge of how to use it.

Note 4: This milestone cannot be achieved until all 150 survey responses are collected by the Module Creator. Please get in touch with your module creator for information about this.

Aim: The purpose of this milestone is to perform statistical test on survey data of 150 consumers to find out how their perceptions and purchase actions are influenced by digital influencers, especially on social media.

Method: Follow the below steps to conduct statistical analysis on primary data of 150 survey respondents.

• Firstly, obtain access to the Google Forms of 150 survey respondents from the Module Creator. Then, extract the responses in MS Excel. Then, clean and process the data for final statistical testing.
• Secondly, run frequency analysis test using SPSS on the ‘demographic profile’ and ‘background information’ sections. Create pie charts.
• Thirdly, run the correlation tests on the data (there will be two; one for consumer perception & other for purchase action).
• Then, run the linear regression test on the data (there will be two; one for consumer perception & other for purchase action).

Structure: To achieve this milestone, present the findings from statistical test in the form of a 1500 words article following the below structure.

• Introduction- Reiterate the study hypotheses (refer to the milestone ‘ A conceptual framework for identifying the impact of online influencers on consumer perception and purchasing action’ in Goal 1) and explain the sampled population and purpose of the survey.
• Background of the surveyed respondents- present their demographic profile and background information briefly. Use charts/ diagrams to present the findings. Avoid excessive words.
• Correlation analysis findings- use tables and detailed text explanations to show the correlations between:
  • digital influencers and consumer perception
  • digital influencers and purchasing action
• Regression analysis findings- use tables/ diagrams and text to show the linear regression test findings of:
  • Hypothesis 1- impact of digital influencers on consumer perception
  • Hypothesis 2- impact of digital influencers on purchasing action
• Inference of the findings- explain the linear regression findings in detail.
• Concluding paragraph- connect the findings to the original objectives of the study. Refer to the milestones in Goal 1 to comprehensively build the connection.

Note 1: This milestone cannot be achieved until all the previous milestones in Goal 1 and Goal 2 have been completed.

Note 2: This milestone involves transcribing of audio files using any free transcribing application. Therefore prior experience in transcribing audio is preferred.

Note 3: This milestone involves interview data analysis using NVIVO. Therefore it is mandatory to have NVIVO (trial version will do) software and knowledge of how to use it.

Note 4: This milestone cannot be achieved until all 10 interviews are conducted by the Module Creator. Please get in touch with your module creator for the audio files.

Aim: The purpose of this milestone is to analyse interview transcripts to explain in detail:

• how consumer perceptions are affected by digital influencers
• which purchasing actions have been taken by consumers based on the influencers’ recommendations, and
• what their experiences with the product were in comparison to their expectations.

Method: Follow the below steps to conduct CAQDAS analysis on interview data of 10 interviewees using NVIVO.

• Firstly, obtain audio files of the 10 consumers from the Module Creator. Then, use any free application to transcribe these audio files.
• Next, perform the NVIVO analysis using the following steps.
  • Data coding/ processing
  • Data analysis
  • Data visualization (word frequency graph, tree diagrams, matrix coding etc.)
  • Data synthesis/ summarisation

Structure: To achieve this milestone, present the findings from statistical test in the form of a 1500 words article following the below structure.

• Introduction- Relate the interview participants to the survey respondents. Read the milestone ‘Research methodology for examining the impact of online influencers on consumer perception and purchasing action’ for information on this.
• Introduction- State briefly the findings of the survey and the intention behind interviews by connecting them to our overall aim of the study
• Thematic analysis-
  • Summary of results from coding
  • Emergent theme 1
    • Background information about the theme
    • Dialogues from the interviewees (maximum 2 per theme)
    • Connecting it to secondary data findings (refer to milestones in ‘Goal 1’ for this)
    • Relate one respondent’s perception with another respondent’s
    • Conclude the theme
  • Emergent theme 2 and so on…
• Concluding paragraph

Note: This is the concluding milestone of the study. You must not proceed with it unless all the previous milestones in Goals 1 and 2 have been completed.

Aim: The purpose of the overall study was to find out how digital influencers are being used by companies to influence consumer perception and their purchasing actions. Thus far in the study we have completed secondary data analysis using literature review, and primary data analysis using survey and interviews. The purpose of this final milestone is to conclude the study and recommend ways for companies to create a valuable brand by positively influencing consumers perceptions and experience with their products.

Method: Go through all the previous milestones. Understand the findings of the primary and secondary data and connect them. Reflect on the surveyed and interviewed participants’ experiences to determine common mistakes which companies make while using influencers and how they can avoid making them so that their investment in influencer marketing can be optimised and a positive brand value can be created in their market.

Structure: To achieve this milestone, prepare a 1000 words article in the following structure.

• Introduction to the objectives of this study
• Discussion of findings from secondary data
• Discussion of findings from primary data in comparison to secondary data
• Consumer experiences versus expectations of products purchased based on recommendations of digital influencers
• How companies can leverage this information and the power of digital creators to portray correct information and create positive brand value
• Suggested strategies
• Concluding paragraph- shed light on how this study can be taken further by other researchers. Also explain how the findings can be put to practice by managers in companies across the world who are using digital influencers for their marketing purposes.