Det har uppmärksammats en intensifiering av den digitala tekniken, som under senare år tilltagit mer än någonsin (Bassiouni & Hackley, 2014, s. 116). 2017 var det första året då internet utgjorde en övervägande del av alla medieinvesteringar (Larsén, 2018). I följd av internet och sociala mediers utveckling, då digitaliseringen är mer integrerad i samhället än tidigare, finns det fler möjligheter för företag att nå ut till konsumenter. Marknadsföringsverktyget influencer marketing har i takt med digitaliseringens utveckling expanderat, och omsatte 650 miljoner kronor på den svenska marknaden 2017 (Bränström, 2018). Vid användning av influencers lämnar företag över ansvaret till en extern person och företaget har således inte lika stor kontroll över den information och marknadsföring som sker. Det nya medielandskapet är därför mer oförutsägbart (Zahoor & Qureshi, 2017, s. 47). En social plattform är YouTube och är den populäraste videotjänsten för svenskar (Davidsson et al., 2018, s. 74). Influencer marketing har ökat och företag samarbetar med influencers inom YouTube där budskap om produkter sprids genom videoklipp av influencern. Fenomenet kan återkopplas till produktplacering, vilket enligt Russel och Belch (2005, s. 74) handlar om att införliva ett varumärke eller produkt i ett underhållningssammanhang och inte uttryckligen vara en annonsering. I följd marknadsföringslagen är det inte möjligt att helt undvika att nämna att det rör sig om reklam, men det är nära sammankopplat. Produktplacering har tidigare undersökts i stor utsträckning i form av TV (Van Reijmersdal et al., 2009, s. 430) men Eagle och Dahl (2015, s. 614–615) uppmanar forskare att fokusera på produktplacering inom sociala medier och i videos. Zhang och Mao (2016, s. 155) som menar att attityder mot reklamvärdet på sociala medier är ett ständigt utvecklande ämne. Studien har kvalitativt angreppssätt, för att generera en djupare förståelse för vad det är som gör att en viss produktplacering gällande betalda samarbeten på YouTube tas emot med en mer positiv attityd än andra, givet kvinnor i generation Z. Det har i samband med insamling av empiri genomförts åtta intervjuer med kvinnor i generation Z. Den analysmetod som används i studien är teoridriven tematisk analys. Analysdelen är indelad i fem olika teman; informativitet, underhållning, irritation, trovärdighet och reklamens värde vilka härstammar från Ducoffe (1996) där trovärdighet är en variabel som framkommit genom senare studier. I samband med bearbetning av insamlad empiri identifierats ett antal betydelsefulla underteman; Influencerns tydlighet, Ny information, Samarbetets anpassning till videons helhet, Influencerns engagemang, Överdrivna övertalningsförsök, Influencerns faktiska arbete, Konsumentens och influencerns egna erfarenheter, Parasocial relation,Kontinuitet samt Samarbetets produktplacering. Avslutningsvis har den aktuella studien bidragit till en djupare förståelse för kvinnor inom generation Z och deras attityder mot produktplacering inom betalda samarbeten på plattformen YouTube och vilka faktorer som påverkar kvinnornas attityder.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of what makes Swedish millennials follow and unfollow influencers on Instagram.   Metod: This study had a deductive and qualitative approach and has collected data through twelve semi-structured interviews.   Conclusion: This study concludes that millennials mainly follow influencers on Instagram to get inspiration for their own lives. One of the most common reasons why millennials are unfollowing influncers on Instagram is that influencers tend to publish too much content, which leads to information overload. Millennials also unfollow influencers due to the fact that their posts no longer appeal to them because they changed preferences or because influencers shift the focus of their content. This study also concluded that there is nothing that inhibits a millennial from unfollowing an influencer on Instagram other than the fact that it takes a little bit of effort to visit the account and press the unfollow button. / Syfte: Syftet är att öka förståelsen för vad som får svenska millennials att följa respektive avfölja influencers påInstagram. Metod: Den här studien har haft en deduktiv och kvalitativ karaktär och har samlat in data genom tolv semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Slutsats: Den här studien drar slutsatsen av att millennials främst följer influencers på Instagram för att få inspiration till sina egna liv. En av de vanligaste orsakernatill att millennials avföljer influncers på Instagram äratt influencerstenderar att publicera för mycket inlägg vilket leder till en informationsöverbelastning.Millennials avföljer också influencers för att deras inlägg inte längre tilltalar dem på grund av att de bytt preferenser eller att influencers bytt inriktning på sitt innehåll. Den här studien drar också slutsatsen att det finns egentligen inget som hämmar en millennial från att avfölja en influencer på Instagram annat än att de upplever det som tids-och energikrävande att gå in och avfölja.

KRY is a health-related app that provides a conversation with a doctor or psychologist through an app. KRY has chosen to market themselves through influencer marketing at different platforms like for instance Youtube. When influencers market KRY they encourage their followers to pay money for something that plays an important role regarding their own health. The purpose of this thesis is to answer the questions: What communicational strategies do influencers use to market KRY through sponsored video-vlogs? And how does the brand KRY get communicated through influencer marketing in sponsored video-vlogs? The thesis is considered relevant and is contributing to existing field of research because of the fact that much of the already existing research regarding influencer marketing is examining marketing of physical products. In other words, there exists lots of research regarding influencer marketing, but not much research focusing of influencer marketing of health-related services. This is the knowledge gap that this thesis aims to fill. The method the thesis is using is a multimodal analysis in combination with a rhetorical method. The material consists of the three vlogs in collaboration with KRY on Youtube which have the most views. The result shows that influencers market KRY by focusing on the intimacy between themselves and the viewers, talking about their own experience of using KRY, using emotion-related arguments and customizing the marketing after their own brand and their specific target groups of viewers. KRY as a brand did not get communicated very clearly, but could be distinguished by the fact that the influencers showed the app in their vlogs and that the brand KRY got related to positive emotions and words by all the influencers.

Influencer marketing is an effective method, rather than traditional advertising strategy, due to that the method is perceived more authentic and trustworthy. During autumn 2017 the social media platform Instagram introduced an advertising policy to distinguish personal opinions and advertising – due to this advertising is more visible than ever before on the social media platform. Further, the general advertising resistance is enhancing in Sweden, and the commercial use of influencer has increased. There’s an interesting situation in a constantly evolving marketing environment, which is relevant and valuable to investigate. The purpose of the study is to investigate attitudes and opinions regarding Instagram's new advertising policy and economically compensated posts labeled "Paid partnership with...". Based on the purpose, the following research question has been established: What opinions and attitudes exist towards Instagram advertising policy and economically compensated posts published by influencers on Instagram with the label "Paid partnership with...”? The essay is based on a qualitative and quantitative research methodology, also known as mixed methods research. The empirical data was based on three semi structured interviews with key persons whom represents companies, influencers and they all are working with Influencer marketing. In addition, an online survey was implemented with 140 respondents whom use Instagram. Based on the results of the study, several conclusions have been identified. The match between influencers and companies has proved to be one of the primary prerequisites for economically compensated collaborations to be considered credible. Companies generally has a positive attitude towards Instagram's advertising policy, considering that it helps to label economically compensated posts as advertisements. Additionally, the policy is appreciated by the Instagram users as it helps to increase transparency for economically compensated posts, as it’s very important that such posts be advertised, by both perspectives. Continuingly, the study shows that both parts generally have a positive attitude towards posts published by influencers on Instagram with the label "Paid partnership with...". In conclusion, the design of such posts has proved to be crucial for the Instagram users attitude.

Frågan om influencers makt och trovärdighet har länge varit föremål för debatt. Mycket fokus har emellertid riktats mot Influencers kommersiella inflytande, trots att deras möjligheter att påverka sträcker sig inom många fler områden. Den här uppsatsen intresserar sig främst för influencers inflytande bortom uttalade samarbeten och söker efter mer subtila uttryck för makt och påverkan. Vad är det egentligen som händer när vi, som följare, blir inspirerade av influencers? Med det ämnar uppsatsen även tillämpa ett perspektiv där makt inte nödvändigtvis är bundet till en viss person, utan kan existera i flera sammanhang samtidigt.             Studiens syfte är att undersöka vilken form av påverkande makt influencers kan sägas ha i dagens samhälle, med särskilt fokus på konstruktionen av ethos och vilken roll influencers ethos spelar som medel för övertygelse. Analysmaterialet begränsar sig till Instagram som social plattform och utgörs av Bianca Ingrossos Instagramflöde under perioden april 2018.             Analysen tar avstamp i Michel Foucaults maktteori, där begrepp som makt/kunskap, självkontroll och biomakt lyfts fram. Därtill tillkommer en teoretisering av begreppet påverkan och vad som utmärker just effektiv påverkan. Utöver det definieras ethosbegreppet utifrån en antik förståelse kombinerat med Brigitte Mrals beskrivning av primärt och sekundärt ethos.             Analysen visade att influencers makt kan förstås som en form av kontrollerande makt, del i ett större maktsystem. Genom att dela med sig av inspirerande bilder och budskap har influencers möjlighet att påverka följares attityder och beteenden, inte nödvändigtvis genom att själva uppmana till detta, utan genom att dessa tankesätt och handlingsmönster internaliseras hos följarna. På samma sätt visade analysen att bilders och bildtexters utformning kan vara uttryck för större sociala diskurser bundna till en viss kunskapssyn och biomakt, som exempelvis vad som anses viktigt och hälsosamt för kroppen. En slutsats som kunde dras av analysen var även att inspirerande bilder kan ses som uttryck för kontrollerande ideal vi alla är med och skapar, iochmed att det både ligger ett intresse hos influencers och en förväntan hos andra aktörer i samhället att de ska dela med sig av sig själva och ”inspirera”.

An over-commercialized society has made consumers prefer the opinions of influential people in online settings. Companies have a harder time reaching consumers and therefore turn to social media influencers (SMIs) for exposure. With the growth of influencer marketing, regulations and guidelines in Sweden have been put in place to ensure consumers integrity. SMIs and companies are required to disclose paid partnerships. However, many companies have the perception that truthful marketing can affect consumers brand perception negatively. Research based on consumer brand perception and disclosed paid partnerships between SMIs and companies have not previously been explored. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to explore how consumers perceive brands when SMIs disclose paid partnerships. In order to gather consumers ́ brand perception when SMIs and companies collaborate, a qualitative study using focus groups was conducted, where the participants thoughts and opinions have been studied. The findings of this thesis indicate that the communication and characteristics of SMIs influences consumers brand perception. The factors analyzed were: influence of SMIs, content, trust and truthfulness. The factors were important for how consumers perceive the SMI and brand of companies. The most important implication of this thesis is that the study can be of use for companies that seek to collaborate with SMIs when the aim is to reach target groups and enhance brand perception.

Influencer marketing is an important tool to change and reinforce consumers brand associations. Influencers post content that is trying to create intended brand associations. The consumers’ reactions then decide what the realized brand associations are. The purpose of this study is to explore through semiotic and netnographic Instagram analysis how influencer marketing affects brand associations in the sports fashion industry. This research has a qualitative methodology and has used semiotic and netnographic analysis to explore the case of Gymshark. The research consists of 100 analyzed posts from Instagram influencers related to Gymshark. It was found that influencers’ personal brands affect the realized brand associations. Also, gender has an affecting role on both, intended and realized brand associations.

Aim of the research: This research aims to create an understanding for the new ways in which global fashion influencers’ attending fashion week are contributing to the presentation of it as gatekeepers and distributors of information and fashion knowledge, and how this rolea dds new perspectives to how fashion week is presented. Method: The research has been limited to analysing the material of six global fashion influencers, with a total following of 28 million people, during the major fashion weeks of Spring/Summer 2017 and Autumn/Winter 2017. The material has been collected and analyzed using a qualitative content analysis, also called ethnographic content analysis, with focus on distinguishing common characteristics in the text. Findings: The results have shown that the fashion influencers have contributed to the presentation of fashion week in several new ways, with the greatest characteristic being sharing a broad picture of what is going on during fashion week. The influencers are also sharing insight to exclusive fashion shows and events that have traditionally not been shared with the public. More over, the fashion influencers are sharing their personal perspectives and experiences of fashion week as well as their personal taste and opinions regarding fashion trends and other things. They are also adding a new commercial and promotional focus while presenting an idealized image of fashion week to their followers. The findings are indicated that the fashion influencers have established an important role at fashion week, which in turnis affecting the presentation of it. Contributions: The findings presented in this research can be of relevance for those who wants to understand the fashion influencers’ role during fashion week, for instance fashion brands and designers who wishes to learn how to engage with the fashion influencers’ from a business and marketing perspective. Considering social media and the fashion influencers affecting the presentation of fashion week as societal changes, the findings can also be relevant for fashion researchers who wishes to understand how these changes are affecting the presentation of fashion week and the fashion industry.

The topic of the diploma thesis is testimonial and influencer marketing. The aim of this work is to find out whether influencer increases the likelihood of purchasing a healthy nutritional product for Slovak women aged 20-40 years, and also whether Peter Sagana as a testimonial enhances brand credibility. The theoretical part deals with general communication and presentation of testimonial and marketing influence, their categories and examples. The practical part of the thesis is set into the environment of healthy nutrition. It shows an example of a marketing communication for a company that uses this specific type of marketing. Futhermore, own qualitative and quantitative research is included.

Problem formulation: What factors affect the consumers perception of credibility in influencer marketing on social media? How and why do certain factors affect the credibility of influencer marketing? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to understand what factors affect the perception of credibility in influencer marketing on social media. Moreover, the aim is to understand how and why certain factors affect the credibility in influencer marketing in order to elaborate a conceptual model consisting of factors generating credible influencer marketing. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework of this paper consists of existing theories regarding social identity theory, perception, brand communication, word-of-mouth (WOM), celebrity endorsement and social influencers. Methodology: This study is conducted through both a quantitative and a qualitative study with a deductive approach. The collection of primary data consists of an online survey where 120 respondents participated followed by five qualitative interviews. In order to determine what aspects to examine, a conceptual model was created based on the previous findings within credibility in WOM and celebrity endorsement. The secondary data building the theoretical framework of this thesis are collected from peer reviewed articles published in scientific journals as well as books. Empirical findings: The empirical findings consist of the result from the qualitative and quantitative study. The result of the quantitative study presents the outcome from 24 Likert scale items presented in text, charts and tables. The empirical findings from the qualitative study presents the outcome from the interviews conducted through personal communication face to face or through Skype and are presented in text that are strengthened with citation from the interviews. Conclusion: The findings show that the credibility in influencer marketing is positively affected by the perception of the influencer being a credible source and the influencer and the brand being a good fit.