Abstract
In the past few years, brands have been spending exponentially on social media influencers. Because of influencers' large following and the content, they post on social media platforms, and nowadays, this has become one of the most emerging marketing strategies. The current study aims to explore the components and importance of influencers' credibility and its influence on brand attitude. The present study is based on secondary data. Data were gathered from various secondary sources like articles and books from several databases such as Scopus, Google Scholar, etc. and the internet (websites of relevant disciplines). The findings reveal the power of influencers' credibility and how it helps brands. This study has implications for academicians, marketers, and future researchers to have an idea about influencers and existing studies related to them.
TopIntroduction
Social networking is becoming very famous digital buzz. In 2021, More than 4.26 billion people worldwide were using social media and is expected to rise to approximately 6 billion by 2027 (Number of Worldwide Social Network Users 2027, n.d.). It is not surprising, that the popularity of social media personalities, or influencers, has also exploded: Social Media Influencers (SMI) are third party endorsers that attempt to shape consumer attitudes toward a brand (Freberg et al., 2011). A SMI is an expert in their field, has more than 10,000 followers, and actively shares information about products and engages with brands to help promote them. The content they share, apart from their product endorsements, in turn engenders followers’ loyalty. This direct line of communication empowers influencers to generate social conversations, drive engagement, and ultimately set trends amongst what is usually a receptive and socially savvy audience (Vrontis et al., 2021). Therefore the aim of the chapter is to explore the components of influencers source credibility and its influence on brand attitude and its importance.
An influencer is a person, a group, or an organisation who has the ability to influence the decisions of a target audience on a digital platform because of their popularity, credibility, expertise, status, or connection with their viewers. With the aid of the internet’s accessibility and speed of dissemination, certain contributors gain a large audience and establish a fan base while simultaneously providing advice to their followers, transforming into social media influencers (Bansal & Saini, 2022). The usage of social media influencers has increased considerably since 2016, as consumers shift away from TV(Television) and toward social media and other OTT (Over the top) platforms. The concept “social media influencer” has become a buzzword. Instagram, YouTube, Facebook (Meta), and Twitter are the most powerful social media platforms for influencers. Brands value social media influencer because influencers can generate trends and encourage their followers to purchase the things they endorse. As a result, brands are trying to engage with genuine and successful influencers in order to promote their products and increase sales. Social media influencer is in high demand due to increased competition (Belanche et al., 2021). However, as competition grows, recognising authentic influencers with a significant number of followers has become the biggest challenge for brands and organisations. Influencers on social media are known for their content and for recommending products and brands. They have a loyal group of fans/followers who immensely value what they have to say. Influencers on social media are regarded as genuine, and they have a sizable and loyal following on platforms such as Facebook (Meta), Instagram, and Twitter. Social media influencers, either directly or indirectly, promote new products or a company’s brand appeal on social media. Due to rising competition, social media influencers are in high demand. However, as competition increases, identifying genuine influencers with a large following has become the most difficult task for companies and organisations. An influencer promoted the product that admires and encourage the consumer to purchase the product and by providing the latest information and were able to influence consumers’ attitudes and behaviour.
Influencer’s Source Credibility
Source credibility can be defined as the development of attitude toward a source of communication that can be held at any given time or receiver (Chetty, 2019). Source credibility is one factor that determines the effectiveness of a marketing signal. Perceived source credibility has been defined as “judgements made by a perceiver…concerning the believability of a communicator. Source credibility as “…a communicator’s positive characteristics that affect the receiver’s acceptance of a message.” A highly credible source is commonly found to induce more persuasion toward advocacy than a low-credibility source. It is easier to attract customers when the source was more credible. Source credibility has also been found to influence the confidence versus doubt people have in the thoughts they generate in response to a persuasive message.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Brand Attitude: Brands can be recognised by their personality, competitive position in terms of pricing and product consumption, and other factors. They stand for the advantages that a product or service offers. It can be positive and negative.
Influencer Credibility: Source credibility can be defined as the development of attitude toward a source of communication that can be held at any given time or receiver.
Influencer Marketing: It is one of the strategy of social media marketing that does endorsements and product mentioning on their social media platform and are viewed as experts within their niche.
Social Media Influencer: SMIs are third party endorsers that attempt to shape consumer attitudes toward a brand.