The online revolution has developed digital marketing, and how businesses connect with new consumers. The commercial usage of the World Wide Web has created opportunities for businesses to market their product through new digital platforms and marketing strategies. Therefore, social media platforms such as Instagram has become a dominant communication channel for consumers. From a business perspective this has created an opportunity by marketing their product through influencer marketing. An influencer is a person who has built a social network with people following them on the social platforms. The influencer is getting paid to market products on their social media to influence their followers. 98% of people studying in Sweden are using social media frequently, this makes them a target group suited for influencer marketing. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate how influencer marketing affect students’ attitudes and subsequently purchase intention through social media. To answer this research purpose a theoretical framework has been developed based on Theory of Reasoned Action. Semi structured interviews were conducted on a one-to-one basis with 17 students at Luleå University of Technology (LTU). The interviews focused on attitudes towards influencer marketing and subjective norms, and how these would subsequently affect their purchase intention. To analyze the interviews a thematic analysis was conducted. The data was coded based on observations of repetitive answers and themes, consisting of negative or positive attitudes towards influencers, as well as the impact of the subjective norms on the participants and how it affects their purchase intention. Results showed that there was an overall negative attitude towards influencers, that the subjective norms seem to have a significant and that purchase intention is mostly affected by the direct influence from the subjective norms. Analysis of these results leads to the conclusion that influencer marketing has a negative impact on students’ attitudes. On the other hand, subjective norms seem to be more important than the influencer marketing, when it comes to the purchase intention among the students.

Social media marketing is gradually replacing traditional marketing and becoming the primary marketing strategy for businesses. Paid and earned media have emerged as two major social media marketing forms that are important in business development research. China has more social media users than any other country in the world and is housing platforms such as Weibo, WeChat or Xiaohongshu, thus with an ever-increasing demand for social interaction between a company and a customer, the search for the optimal marketing strategies in a hyper-competitive apparel market in China is in effect. With there being a lack of research in the field, the main purpose of this study is to examine how paid and earned social media channels impact apparel customer behavior in China. Firstly, the study aimed to see to what degree paid and earned media influences apparel consumption, and, secondly, it intended to see how social media marketing strategy impacts consumers' views on brand loyalty, brand awareness and purchasing behavior. In order to do this, a quantitative study has been conducted - nine hypotheses were formulated after an extensive literature review, from which a research model has been derived and a questionnaire used to gather the opinions of local Chinese social media users has been employed. Convenience with a non-probability sampling method was adopted to collect quantitative data. A total sample of 400 respondents participated in an online questionnaire, ranging from the age of 18 to 34 and having a relatively high education level. The SPSS program was applied to analyze the collected data with multiple statistical analysis methods: Cronbach alpha reliability test, factor analysis, and linear regression analysis to test internal consistency - Cronbach alpha, construct validity, and the relationship between dependent and independent variables. The study revealed that both social media marketing types have a positive effect on apparel consumer behaviors, however, paid media only mostly influences brand awareness of apparel brands, and earned media is very effective when it comes to influencing purchasing behavior and brand loyalty of apparel brands. Moreover, the utmost importance of Word-of-Mouth marketing has come to light, as the need for increased social value urges Chinese to promote products by sharing.

Engagemang och samskapande i symbios kan leda till samskapande av värde för samtliga inblandade aktörer. Studien ämnar att undersöka hur och varför företag arbetar med engagemang och samskapande på Instagram. För att undersöka detta har studien applicerats på företaget Daniel Wellington. Fallstudien bygger på semistrukturerade intervjuer samt kompletterande observationer på Instagram för att ge en bredare bild av hur företaget arbetar med engagemang och samskapande genom nätverk. Resultatet visar att samskapande och engagemang påverkar varandra. Genom aktörsengagemang inom nätverk på Instagram uppmuntras och skapas förutsättningar för samskapande av content. När dessa faktorer är i harmoni kan den så kallade “Daniel Wellington-effekten” förklaras. Effekten innebär att varumärket till viss del marknadsför sig självt. Det förklaras genom att företaget och externa aktörers samarbete leder till samskapande av content samt publicering på Instagram. Detta samskapande leder till ett ökat engagemang inom båda aktörernas nätverk.

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to create an understanding of how influencer marketing could be used to increase the purchase intention in an area of a high involvement product in a niche market. Since this study is collected together with a Swedish golf company, the golf industry was evaluated. In order to fulfill the purpose, the social media influencer value (SMIV) model was adopted in this study. Method – A quantitative experiment was conducted through the use of experimental vignette methodology (EVM) together with a qualitative validity check-in form of an interview with a key person from the industry. The main data was collected through a combination of exposure to the independent variable (through a stimulus) and a set of following questions (a questionnaire). The questionnaire was sent out to the company’s consumer through email and to analyze the collected data an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used. Findings – In the collected data, evidence indicating that golf is a high involvement activity where the participants put down a lot of time and effort in the sport was found. In the SMIV model three significant paths was found between expertise and purchase intention, similarity and purchase intention, and usefulness and purchase intention. All three independent variables had a positive impact on purchase intention which tells us that when expertise, similarity, or usefulness increases, consumers purchase intension increases as well. Theoretical and practical implications – The results in this study contributes to current literature in the area of influencer marketing by confirming some relationships but also by extending the literature. The study also contributes to important insights for marketing practitioners since the results present important variables to consider when using influencer marketing to create purchase intention. It also creates meaningful insights for the influential person itself and open up for further research in the area of the effect of influencer marketing in a high involvement product.

Gender stereotypes are frequently used in advertising. Although, we do not longer consume advertising simply by watching TV, most research on the area is made on traditional media. Today, a major part of advertising is consumed through social media and exposed through influencer marketing. Thus, it is not a large advertising agency that decides how the influencer should highlight the product. This study investigates the presence and production of gender stereotypes in influencer marketing. Further it intends to create a greater understanding of how sponsored posts differ between male and female influencers on Instagram. The material consists of 16 images posted by influencers in collaborations with the organization Visit Dubai. The research method being used is a semiotic image analysis. The theoretical framework consists of gender and stereotype studies in relation to advertising, such as man- spreading and women shrinking. The study also uses theories on self-representation. The researched showed a lack of typical stereotypes in influencer marketing. Further, the results showed that female influencers did use positioning and looks that could be linked to the theories. Self-representation could be one key factor on why influencers use stereotypes in influencer marketing. Advertising serves to create meaning for the culture and serves as a display on which cultural performances are illustrated. This means that an understanding of stereotypes in relation to the new marketing methods can be seen as an important tool for understanding our culture.

This thesis is devoted to blogs and their commercialization, a phenomenon of the on-line world for last few years. The aim of this work is to explore several Czech lifestyle blogs and to find out how much commercial content there is, also how the audience reacts to this content as well as how the bloggers themselves approach commercial content. In the beginning the development of blogs is described, both in the Czech and global environment. The characteristic features of blogs from different perspectives on the issues are also described. The development of blogs is then set in the context of events that made it possible at all. Furthermore, attention is paid also to the process of commercialization of content on the blogs and the possibilities monetizing the blogs' content. Emphasis is placed primarily on a detailed description of influencer marketing and its current situation, but it also discusses affiliate marketing and the use of public relations tools on blogs. The research part provides an insight into the issue of Czech blogs and the current blogosphere. First the chosen blogs are described and set in the context of the Czech blogosphere, then, based on a detailed content analysis, the level of commercial content on the selected blogs is described as well as how the audience reacts to it....

Problemformulering och syfte: Social medier-influencers har blivit mer användbara i företags marknadsföringsstrategier, tack vare deras höga följarantal och möjlighet att skapa stor spridning till en bred allmänhet. YouTube är en populär plattform som innehåller mycket reklamsamarbeten och marknadsföring från just influencers. YouTube har en strikt 13-årsgräns, men trots det är plattformen välbesökt av yngre barn. I Sverige ställs särskilt höga krav på marknadsföring som riktar sig till eller berör barn på grund av barnens bristande förmåga att förstå vad som är reklam och inte. Digitaliseringens framfart har dock resulterat i att barn utsätts för reklaminnehåll som de egentligen inte bör utsättas för, vilket upplevs problematiskt. Denna studie är kvalitativ, av explorativ karaktär, och syftar med grund i problemformuleringen till att bidra med kunskap om reklam som flickor och pojkar i tolvårsåldern exponeras för på YouTube. Huvudresultat: Alla de studerade influencerna anspelar mycket på trovärdighet och använder sig av strategier för att skapa och förstärka parasociala interaktioner och relationer till sina följare. Eftersom influencerna kommunicerar på liknande sätt oavsett om det är öppen eller inbäddad reklam, är det generellt svårt att skilja de olika budskapen åt. Det upplevs problematiskt eftersom barn har svårare att avgöra vad som är reklam och inte. Gällande genus och könsstereotyper stämmer innehållet överlag överens med de teorier som finns, men det finns även vissa typer av könsstereotypiska anspelningar som inte går att finna i det undersökta materialet.

En ökad användning av sociala medier och e-handel har inneburit en ny spelplan för Sveriges företagare. Digitaliseringens framväxt har inte bara skapat nya marknadsföringsstrategier, utan också förändrat konsumenters köpbeteende. Med denna utveckling som bakgrund har allt fler företag valt att inkludera så kallade influencers i sin marknadsföring, vilket resulterat i att marknadsföringsstrategin influencer marketing vuxit sig allt starkare. Inom forskningsfältet sägs företag som använder sig av influencers kunna skapa en slagkraftig marknadsföring som både är effektiv och monetärt lönsam, eftersom den riktar in sig på rätt målgrupp direkt. Samtidigt sägs konsumenter uppfatta influencers som mer trovärdiga än traditionell reklam, vilket i sin tur gör influencer marketing än mer betydelsefull. Tidigare studier har belyst influencer marketing som helhet på sociala medier och hur strategin i sin tur påverkar konsumenters köpintentioner. Få studier har däremot studerat vilken påverkan influencer marketing har på konsumenters attityder och varumärkeslojalitet samt vilka effekter det har på en specifik målgrupp eller vid en bestämd social medieplattform. Denna studie syftar därav till att fylla det forskningsgap som identifierats genom att skapa en djupare förståelse för hur användandet av influencer marketing på Instagram påverkar unga konsumenters varumärkeslojalitet. Studien har en kvalitativ forskningsansats där etiska riktlinjer kontinuerligt tagits i beaktning under studiens genomförande. Det teoretiska ramverket introducerar teorier om influencers och dess framväxt, marknadsföringsstrategin influencer marketing samt varumärkeslojalitet. Data samlades in via tio semi-strukturerade intervjuer, vilka genomförts med kvinnor och män i åldrarna 19-26 med en huvudsaklig sysselsättning som student eller arbetande. Samtliga intervjuer utgick från konsumenternas upplevelser av influencer marketing på Instagram, vilka senare analyserades med en tematisk metod för att slutligen besvara studiens problemformulering: Hur påverkas unga konsumenters varumärkeslojalitet av företags användande av influencer marketing på Instagram? Resultaten av studien indikerar att influencer marketing på Instagram påverkar unga konsumenters varumärkeslojalitet både indirekt och direkt, samt i positiv som negativ bemärkelse. Detta visualiseras med hjälp av en modell som belyser vilka faktorer som påverkar unga konsumenters lojalitetsbeteende. Den största upptäckten är att konsumenters relation till influencers ses som en central faktor både till hur marknadsföringen uppfattas, samt vilka attityder och köpbeteenden som uppstår. Detta, i kombination med matchningen mellan influencer och varumärke (alternativt produkt/tjänst), hur samarbetet är utformat samt vilken nivå av tillfredsställelse fenomenet skapar, resulterar i sin tur till olika grader av lojalitetsbeteende och varumärkeslojalitet.

This thesis investigates the role of so called sustainable influencers in the communication of sustainable skincare on TikTok. Several videos are analysed using MCDA as a method and enriching the analysis with interviews performed to the influencers whose videos have been object of examination. During a preliminary research several elements have been taken in account, such as the uniqueness of TikTok in its communication tools and features compared to other social media. Since sustainable skincare is a growing topic of conversation online, this thesis explores how sustainable influencers shape the discourse on sustainability related to skincare on TikTok. The collected sample has been selected after applying several criteria, one fundamental one being that the influencers who produced the videos didn’t have to be sponsored, collaborating or paid by any brand in those videos. Surprisingly, out of a hundred retrived videos, only eight respected the criteria imposed, showing from the start of the analysis a deep consumeristic and capitalistic ideology moving these influencers even when not sponsored by any brand. This work is believed to be useful to open the conversation about online communication and consumerism within sustainability.

Background: Given consumers’ rising awareness of the environmental damages caused by the fashion industry, brands now discuss sustainability in relation to their products often through using social media platforms. With the ambition to shift consumers’ purchasing behavior, firms strive to collaborate with influencers to endorse their sustainable products. Following the increased discussion about sustainability and sustainable fashion online, a new niche of influencers has appeared. However, it remains unexplored how the Swedish Gen Z perceives this category of influencers. Purpose: The purpose of the research is to understand how the Swedish Gen Z perceives sustainable [fashion] influencers on Instagram. More precisely, the study attempts to explore how this generation of consumers responds to these influencers with regards to their trustworthiness, expertise, attractiveness, brand fit, (un)sponsored content, and communication style.  Method: In order to fulfill the purpose of the research, a qualitative study was conducted. The research is of exploratory nature and empirical data was collected through four focus group interviews. The respondents were chosen through a purposive sampling technique, including Swedish Gen Zers who have an active Instagram account. Conclusion: The study found that the Swedish Gen Z responds favorably to sustainable influencers on Instagram. Particularly, this generation supports thrifting influencers the most as they foresee the future of sustainable fashion to be in the hands of this category.