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Dissertation Report
On
The impact of influencer marketing on consumer behaviour

Submitted by
Mehnaz Siddiqui
(2019-2021)

Abstract

Influencer marketing is a sort of social media marketing that has gained popularity in recent years
...
Consumers are becoming more educated as media users and more suspicious of
commercial messages as a result of digitalization
...

We are all exposed to influencer marketing on a daily basis as a result of digitalization, whether
we are conscious of it or not
...
The purpose of this study was to look into the impact
of influencer marketing on customer buying behaviour
...
The secondary data for the research is collected through
previous research papers, journals, etc
...
The questionnaire was prepared on
google forms and circulated via social media
...
The poll was conducted online and distributed to the
target group via WhatsApp and email
...
For the purposes
of analysis, both genders were considered
...
The results show a significant impact of influencer marketing on consumer behaviour
...
The keywords

used in the search were influencer marketing, influencer, social media influencer, social media
marketing, blogging, Instagram, brand management, content marketing, and digital marketing
...
Social media browsing has become a part of many people's
daily routines these days, particularly among young people
...
Influencer
marketing is popular for a reason: when done correctly, it can generate unrivalled sales, growth,
and equity for brands, as well as unrivalled ROI for marketing budgets
...
Influencer marketing emphasizes the use of influencers to spread
a brand's message to a certain demographic (Smart Insights 2017)
...
2011)
...
Social media influencers usually interact
with their fans by providing them with timely updates (Liu et al
...
The goal of this study is
to investigate customer behaviour as a result of influencer marketing
...
Countless brands have enlisted the help of influencers in order to reach out to more
customers and influence their shopping decisions
...
Multinational enterprises, government and nongovernment (NGOs) organizations, as well as educational and political institutions, have
recognized the growing popularity and reputation of bloggers and have invited them to promote
issues or create awareness for their projects
...

Influencers use honest storytelling to engage your target audience
...
2 percent of influencers believe that their honesty and sense of humour keep their audience
interested
...
Brands find it considerably easier to win over and convert interested audiences into
paying consumers
...
It's no surprise, then, that they engage influencers to promote their products because
influencers may boost positive brand sentiment
...
73
percent
...
Influencer marketing, according to 71 percent of marketers in the study, helps them
improve brand awareness on social media
...
For every dollar spent on influencer marketing, advertisers received $11
...
According to a press release, 39 percent of marketers aim to raise influencer marketing
budgets in 2018, with the majority aiming to spend between $25,000 and $50,000, and the majority
intending to use a multi-faceted influencer strategy
...
Some of these tendencies are highlighted in the
recent Linqia report: In 2018, 52 percent of marketers expect to employ many types of influencers,
while 44 percent expect to employ social media influencers
...
It has become a popular topic for marketers in recent years as
they realise how effective influencer marketing is in comparison to traditional advertising, which
is both expensive and ineffective
...
The purpose of this thesis is
to investigate the conception of influencer and influencer marketing, as well as get a better
understanding of how influencer marketing is affecting consumer buying decisions
...


Literature review

Digital marketing: It is a type of marketing that uses internet and online-based digital technologies to advertise
products and services, such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and other digital media and
platforms
...
Digital marketing campaigns have become more common as
digital platforms have become more integrated into marketing plans and everyday life, and as
people increasingly use digital devices instead of visiting physical stores, using a combination of
search engine optimization, search engine marketing, content marketing, influencer marketing,
content automation, campaign marketing, and data-driven marketing
...
Digital marketing differs from online marketing in that it extends
to non-Internet channels
...
A competency, according to Setyo
and Mangandar (2019), is a specific skill, knowledge, or attribute required to effectively perform
a function and assist a company in achieving its strategic goals
...
Leadership,
analytical thinking, communication, decision-making, relationship building, strategic planning,
and emotional intelligence are the main categories of competence
...
In recent years, the fashion industry
has gained exponential visibility on social media, which has resulted in a growing interest in
fashion trends and events among social media users
...
As a result, the fashion industry is focusing on
developing effective digital marketing tools
...
This entails combining
cutting-edge media and technology with the most current and popular fashion trends
...
Influencer content can be
presented as testimonial advertising, with influencers acting as potential buyers or as third parties
...
Influencer marketing is the
process of identifying and activating individuals who have influence over a specific target audience
or medium in order for them to be a part of a brand's campaign to increase reach, sales, or
engagement
...
It's a type of relationship-building
that can help brands grow their audience and convert them into loyal consumers by establishing
trust and authenticity
...
It results from unpaid or pre-existing relationships with
influencers, as well as third-party content promoted by the influencer to further their own personal
social growth
...
Budgets differ greatly and are typically based on audience reach
...
An influencer can be anyone, any group, any brand, or any location
...
Some marketers use influencer marketing to establish
market credibility, while others use it to generate social conversations about their brand, and still
others use it to drive online or in-store sales of their products
...
Influencer marketing is used by some
marketers to establish credibility in a market; others use it to generate social conversations about
their brand; and still others use it to drive online or in-store sales
...
They track their success using a variety of
metrics, including earned media value, impressions, and cost per action
...
When credible influencers align with a
product, consumers will take their advice into account
...
Influencers are perceived as more approachable and
trustworthy, especially when compared to brand ambassadors
...
Because of the rise of social
media influencers, influencer marketing may become a marketing strategy trend
...
Instagram: Using Instagram influencers as a marketing channel can be a very effective and
cost-effective way to market your product or service
...
When a product or service is recommended by an influencer they trust, consumers
are far more likely to purchase it
...
YouTube: YouTubers post a plethora of videos about fashion and beauty tips, which are
watched by people all over the world
...

3
...
It begins with a brand identifying a Facebook user with
a medium-to-large (and highly engaged) follower base who is similar to the brand's target
audience
...

4
...
Fashion blogs are typically maintained by an individual or business with regular
entries of commentary, event descriptions, or other media such as graphics or video
...
” Since 2011, fashion blogging has grown in popularity
...

Fashion bloggers have a high level of legitimacy, and those with large followings wield
considerable power in the fashion world
...
Today, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and a variety of other apps are widely used to influence
how people think
...


Influencer marketing and influencers: The Internet has altered the traditional methods of conducting business and establishing consumer
relationships, as well as the manner in which companies and customers interact and transact
...
With the advent of e-commerce, online purchasing has emerged as a new
phenomenon, destined to become the future of commerce in the digital world (Bourlakis,
Papagiannidis & Fox, 2008)
...
As a result, influencer marketing is a recently popular practice that can
be defined as a type of marketing that involves activities aimed at identifying and developing
relationships with individuals who have the ability to influence potential buyers (Wong, 2014)
...
The most difficult task is creating content that can go viral

and achieve significant marketing success (Watts, Perretti & Frumin, 2007)
...
Brown and Hayes (2007) propose three patterns for leveraging influencer marketing
...

Second, marketing “through” influencers by using them to raise brand awareness among target
consumers; and third, marketing “with” influencers by converting them into brand advocates
(Brown & Hayes, 2007)
...
Influencers are people who
operate on multiple types of social media platforms, often concurrently, such as Instagram (known
as Instagrammers), YouTube (known as YouTubers), Tweeter (known as Tweeters), and various
professional and or commercial bloggers (Abidin, 2016), and who are famous “to a niche group of
people” (Marwick, 2013, p
...
Marwick (2016) defines
micro-celebrities as ordinary people who use online tools to leverage celebrity culture in order to
increase their popularity within a network
...
334), aided by strategic information
sharing, and aimed at developing a specific relationship with followers (Marwick, 2016)
...
In the same way that interpersonal
communication can create a sense of intimacy and relationship, para-social communication can do
the same (Chen, 2014; Horton & Wohl, 1956)
...
It is argued that by staying in touch with and interacting directly with their
followers and supporters, they can maintain and grow their popularity
...
Marketing
scientists have an interest in buying intent based on their affiliation with buying behaviour (Goyal,
2014)
...
As
Ajzen (1985) says, intentions show to what extent people are prepared to approach a certain
behaviour, and how many try to perform that behaviour
...
When a consumer browses products, the purchasing process commences and
can lead to the purchase of a particular item (Vineyard, 2014)
...
It is also a tendency
to make future purchases of goods or services (Goyal, 2014)
...
Purchase intention
demonstrates that consumers will use their experience, preference and external environment to
gather information, evaluate alternatives, and make their purchasing decisions (Chi, Yeh, & Tsai,
2011)
...


Impacts of influencers on consumers and brands: In an average consumer lifestyle and one of the key elements of a communication strategy, social
networks have gained value
...
That shows that the impact on the
advertising and marketing industries of the word-of-the-mouth on online plays a vital role in the
social media
...
The ultimate link between a brand
and a consumer is truly influencers
...
(Emad Abdul
whab Salem, 2018) Through their candidness and transparency to their customers, influencers are
of high social significance and reputation (Buyer, 2016) that makes the trend so popular and
successful
...

Although a brand does not have complete control over its online communication, the direct voice
of an influencer and the trust customers have in that person is instilled in the brand through the
two-way dialogue formed for the company through social media outlets
...


Why are influencers influential?
We refer to influencers as such because they wield power
...
According to the
authors, influence manifests itself in a variety of ways, ranging from direct buying advice to

fundamental shifts in understanding of the seller's reputation
...
(Brown and Hayes, 2008) Such social media influencers have gained authority in a
specific field, and their legitimacy and reputation have a strong persuasive effect on others
...
, 2012; Gensler et al
...
, 2012)
...
According to Katz and Lazarsfeld's (1955)
two-step flow theory, messages distributed through mass media are not directly transmitted to
individuals, but rather mediated by opinion leaders who translate messages and mediate
information transmission through multiple group interactions
...
Weimann (1994)
...
Nisbet
and Kotcher (2009) Influencers, as opposed to celebrities, are found to be more open, realistic,
authentic, and normal for people to relate to because they share personal aspects of their lives with
their followers
...
As a result,
influencer endorsements are more likely to be perceived as the influencer's genuine opinion rather
than paid advertisements
...
This effect can also be explained by sociological theories
...
Consumers form opinions or hypotheses
about the types of behaviours that are most likely to succeed, and these hypotheses serve as
guidelines for potential behaviour
...
Influencers
serve as role models for those who follow them
...
Bandura (1971)
...
" The liking principle proposed by Robert Cialdini (1993) can also be applied
here, as people prefer to say yes to those they like
...
That explains why followers respond to anything suggested by influencers
...
It means that we are more likely to follow something if it is
done by others
...
Basically, we believe
that whatever the majority does is the wisdom of the crowds
...


Objective of the study
1
...

2
...

3
...


Hypothesis
H1: There is no impact of influencer marketing on consumer behaviour
...

H3: Instagram is the most used social media platform to follow influencers
...

H5: YouTube is the most used social media platform to follow influencers
...


Limitations
1
...

2
...

3
...


Research Methodology
A descriptive study was conducted to gather detailed information on whether influencer marketing
influences consumer purchase behaviour
...

The primary focus is on consumer behaviour in relation to the various influencer marketing
techniques available in the market, and it focuses on the ‘what' and ‘how' of research rather than
the ‘why' of research
...
Quantitative research was used
to quantify the problem by generating numerical data or data that could be transformed into usable
statistics
...
The conclusions drawn from the primary data serve as the foundation for the inferences
made
...
The target population in this research were people using social media
platforms
...
A total of 60
people were surveyed out of which 41 responded
...


Data Interpretation and Analysis

Q1
...
Among the 41 responses,
24 respondents belong to the age group of 18 years – 22 years
...
While 4 respondents belong to the age group of 27 years – 30 years
...
Gender

Gender

Male

Female

No
...
e
...
e
...


Q3
...

This indicates the growing use of social media platforms by consumers
...
Their popularity is still
increasing
...
Do you follow any influencers on social media platforms?

31 respondents follow influencers on various social media platforms, whereas 10 respondents do
not follow any influencer
...

It can also be noted that the growing access to social media platforms is the main reason for the
growing importance of social media influencers
...
How many influencers do you follow?

25 respondents follow 0-5 influencers, 12 respondents follow 5-10 influencers, 2 respondents
follow 10-15 influencers and 2 respondents follow more than 20 influencers
...


Q6
...
This indicates that Instagram is the most used social media platform by the users to
follow influencers
...
Why do you follow influencers?

20 respondents follow influencers for learning about new brand/products/services
...
5 respondents follow influencers to get inspiration from them
...
There was also an
option of other reasons to be specified by the respondents which had two responses: - entertainment
and do not follow
...
Since this question is a multiple-choice question,
respondents could choose one or many reasons
...
To learn about new products/ services was the primary reason to follow
influencers

Q8
...
There was also an option for respondents to specify other categories apart from the
options and the responses were, event management, skin and science
...
How often do you watch influencer content?

22 respondents watch influencer content sometimes, 16 respondents watch influencer content
always while 3 respondents do not watch influencer content
...
Influencers
understand their audience and what type of content they want to consume
...


Q10
...


Q11
...
40
respondents were for Yes and 1 for No
...


Q12
...
Would people
really trust influencers and actually change certain behaviours or make any buying decisions? 28
respondents have followed a recommendation from influencer while 13 respondents have not
followed recommendation from influencer
...
Will you try a new brand / product because influencers recommend it?

24 respondents will try a brand if it is recommended by an influencer while 17 respondents will
not try a new brand on influencer’s recommendations
...


Q14
...
This indicates that consumers trust and follow
recommendations of influencers
...
How often do you buy any product because of recommendations from influencers?

17 respondents buy products on influencer recommendation, sometimes
...
6 respondents never buy products on influencer
recommendation and 4 respondents always buy product on influencer recommendation
...
Do you think the company’s trustworthiness increase if it gets promoted by the influencer
of Your choice?

33 respondents have the opinion that company’s trustworthiness increases if it gets promoted by
influencers while 8 respondents had an opposite opinion
...
There is a significant impact of influencer marketing on consumer behaviour
...
Influencer marketing has developed rapidly in the context of the digital age because various
features such as approachable content and rapid spread will raise a tide for shopping
...
Influencer marketing has become one of the marketing strategies that marketers and brands
use to promote products and services
...
Instagram is the most used social media platforms by consumers to follow influencers
...
Lifestyle, Fashion and travel are the most followed categories
...
Growing use and reach of social media platforms, consumers trust towards influencers they
follow, the rise of content-based marketing are the reasons for the growth of influencers
...

Influencers are helping brands leverage the exposure of their products and can increase brand
recognition as a result of consumers relying on these reviews to make purchasing decisions
...
Instagram are currently the most popular
social channels for influencer marketing
...
The most liked content by the consumers is video based contents
...
The majority of respondents agreed
that they learned about new trends on social media and read online reviews before purchasing a
product
...
Influencer
marketing has grown rapidly in the digital age because various characteristics such as approachable

content and rapid spread will raise the tide for shopping
...
Influencers use various
platforms to manage their accounts in order to gain followers, which provides them with not only
popularity and social influence, but also financial benefits
...
As a result, influencers should hone
their skills and professional knowledge while also leveraging their attractiveness to bring more
good products and positive life inspiration to consumers and society
...
When following influencers,
consumers must make their own decisions without being swayed by other factors
...
When following
influencers, consumers must make their own decisions without being swayed by other factors
...
Furthermore, platform development and technical support will result in improved
influencer impact channels and a better shopping experience for consumers
...


Recommendations and Suggestions
•

A study can be conducted using a large sample size which can improve the data accuracy
and reliability
...


•

A separate study on all the social media platforms used for influencer marketing can be
conducted
...


References
•

Lisichkova et al
...


•

Sofie Biaudet, Influencer Marketing as a Marketing Tool, 2017

•

Zak Stefan, Hasprova Maria, The role of influencers in the consumer decision-making
process, 2019

•

The impact of influencer marketing on consumer purchase intentions and brand attitude:
the instagrammers, 2019
...




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