TY - CHAP

T1 - The Relevance of Demographical Similarity and Factuality in Social Influencer Marketing

T2 - An Abstract

AU - von Mettenheim, Walter

AU - Wiedmann, Klaus-Peter

PY - 2022/4/5

Y1 - 2022/4/5

N2 - This work aims to carve out differences on the success factors of social influencers in dependence of the consumers’ consumption goal (hedonic vs. utilitarian). Nowadays, influencers are employed in a wider variety of fields, notably even B2B marketing, where product choices may occur for pure utilitarian reasons. Hypotheses on the differing relevance of demographic similarity of influencer and consumer as well as factuality of the influencer’s communication style are developed. Thereby, we argue that demographic similarity is more important under hedonic consumption goal conditions, due to more heterogeneous hedonic customer needs. Factuality would be more relevant if the consumption goal is utilitarian, as utilitarian products include more tangible and rational attributes. The hypotheses are tested in two empirical studies, whose results are evaluated by means of structural equation modeling. As travel endorsement is an important but underexplored field of influencer marketing, the underlying scenario is a consumers’ selection of a hotel for (1) a holiday (hedonic consumption goal) or (2) a professional/university seminar (utilitarian consumption goal). The results are to some extent surprising (Smith et al. 2005). Contrary to extant research (e. g. on customer reviews Smith et al. 2005; Grabner-Kräuter and Waiguny 2015) and perhaps human intuition, demographic similarity between influencer and consumer appears to be more important under utilitarian than hedonic conditions. A possible rationale for this finding may be, that also in a utilitarian context, consumer preferences may differ strongly. For example, when choosing a hotel for a professional or educational seminar, consumers may rely more strongly on influencers with an occupation similar to theirs. Moreover, there is no significant difference on the importance of factuality between hedonic and utilitarian conditions. A possible explanation for this finding may be that communication that is more factual could be perceived as more serious and reliable, for both product kinds. Finally, a negative moderating effect of demographic similarity on the impact of perceived factuality was found. This may be rooted in the fact that individuals are more accustomed to emotional encounters in relationships characterized by similarity (McPherson et al. 2001). Overall, the results show that findings from other research areas cannot be transferred one-to one to influencer marketing. This area rather seems to follow its own principles.

AB - This work aims to carve out differences on the success factors of social influencers in dependence of the consumers’ consumption goal (hedonic vs. utilitarian). Nowadays, influencers are employed in a wider variety of fields, notably even B2B marketing, where product choices may occur for pure utilitarian reasons. Hypotheses on the differing relevance of demographic similarity of influencer and consumer as well as factuality of the influencer’s communication style are developed. Thereby, we argue that demographic similarity is more important under hedonic consumption goal conditions, due to more heterogeneous hedonic customer needs. Factuality would be more relevant if the consumption goal is utilitarian, as utilitarian products include more tangible and rational attributes. The hypotheses are tested in two empirical studies, whose results are evaluated by means of structural equation modeling. As travel endorsement is an important but underexplored field of influencer marketing, the underlying scenario is a consumers’ selection of a hotel for (1) a holiday (hedonic consumption goal) or (2) a professional/university seminar (utilitarian consumption goal). The results are to some extent surprising (Smith et al. 2005). Contrary to extant research (e. g. on customer reviews Smith et al. 2005; Grabner-Kräuter and Waiguny 2015) and perhaps human intuition, demographic similarity between influencer and consumer appears to be more important under utilitarian than hedonic conditions. A possible rationale for this finding may be, that also in a utilitarian context, consumer preferences may differ strongly. For example, when choosing a hotel for a professional or educational seminar, consumers may rely more strongly on influencers with an occupation similar to theirs. Moreover, there is no significant difference on the importance of factuality between hedonic and utilitarian conditions. A possible explanation for this finding may be that communication that is more factual could be perceived as more serious and reliable, for both product kinds. Finally, a negative moderating effect of demographic similarity on the impact of perceived factuality was found. This may be rooted in the fact that individuals are more accustomed to emotional encounters in relationships characterized by similarity (McPherson et al. 2001). Overall, the results show that findings from other research areas cannot be transferred one-to one to influencer marketing. This area rather seems to follow its own principles.

KW - Consumer behavior

KW - Influencer marketing

KW - Social media marketing

KW - Tourism marketing

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85127947389&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/978-3-030-89883-0_57

DO - 10.1007/978-3-030-89883-0_57

M3 - Contribution to book/anthology

AN - SCOPUS:85127947389

T3 - Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science

SP - 215

EP - 216

BT - Developments in Marketing Science

PB - Springer Nature

ER -