INFLUENCERS, INSTA-WORTHY OR NOT? EXPLORING THE PERCEIVED CREDIBILITY OF INFLUENCERS AND ITS EFFECTS ON BRAND ATTITUDE AND PURCHASE INTENTION

Abstract

K. Freberg, Graham, McGaughey, & L. Freberg (2011) defines influencers as "a new type of independent third party endorser who shape audience attitudes through blogs tweets, and the use of other social media." This paper explores how these endorsers are perceived as reliable when audiences view their content on Instagram, and how this subsequently influences brand attitudes and purchase intentions. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 Singaporean college students aged 21-29. Findings found that trustworthiness and competence were important factors that influenced the credibility of influencers, coupled with providing two-sided messaging in their posts. The attractiveness of influencers were not found to strongly influence the perceived credibility of the influencer. Influencers were able to influence brand attitudes of their followers but only had limited effects on their purchase intention. The theoretical and practical implications on online marketing are discussed.