Behind influencer marketing: key marketing decisions and their effects on followers’ responses

ABSTRACT

Influencer marketing actions are mostly carried out on social platforms, e.g., Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. However, despite its increasing use, studies on this subject are still scarce. In this research, we focus on four essential factors related to an influencer marketing programme, analyzed in two separate experimental studies for theoretical reasons and methodological operability: brand control over the shared message and its commercial orientation; and, the celebrity level of the influencer and his/her congruence with the product/service they comment on in the post. We are also interested in the effects of these factors on a set of key responses by the follower with regard to the elements that form part of an influencer marketing action: the influencer, the post, and the product/service.

KEYWORDS:

• Influencer marketing
• post
• brand control
• commercial orientation
• celebrity level
• celebrity congruence

Acknowledgments

We thank the two referees of this paper for their very constructive comments, and in particular to the one whose contribution helped us to differentiate between celebrity and micro-celebrity influencers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Francisco J. Martínez-López

Francisco J. Martínez-López, MSc in Marketing, and European PhD in Business Administration (2005), with Extraordinary Doctoral Prize, from the University of Granada (Spain), is Professor of Business Administration at the University of Granada (Spain) and Guest Researcher at EAE Business School (Barcelona, Spain).

Rafael Anaya-Sánchez

Rafael Anaya-Sánchez is PhD in marketing and Assistant Professors of marketing at the University of Málaga, Spain. Their research interests are in online brand communities, social networks, retailing and branding.

Marisel Fernández Giordano

Marisel Fernández Giordano is a PhD candidate in the Dept. of Business Administration at the University of Granada, Spain.

David Lopez-Lopez

David Lopez-Lopez is PhD in Digital Marketing Strategy and a joint MBA form ESADE Business School (Spain) and The Fuqua School of Business (USA). He combines his tasks as an academic assistant at ESADE with the management of his own company, which employs more than 150 consultants. In his more than 20 years of professional experience he has founded 5 companies, has invested in 3 high growth start-ups, and has participated in large-scale international projects among others for the European Space Agency.