Looking at earlier studies and previous research in influencer marketing and parasocial relations between influencers and their followers, many of them are studying influencers in other countries such as Singapore and not in Sweden. This is a research gap we want to fill, which is why this study is focusing on Swedish influencers. By investigating the effects of interaction between consumer and producer might give a better understanding of how marketing strategies can develop in the online environment by using the interactive features of the social media platform Instagram. For this study, the objects of analysis are three Swedish companies selling beauty products. One of the purposes of this study is to illustrate what effect an influencer has on a company’s interaction in terms of likes and comments on Instagram. Another one is to create new knowledge in this research field by studying a specific industry, such as the beauty market. In light of previous research that confirms that influencer marketing is reaching several markets and are quickly expanding, we want to examine how this new way of marketing takes place among Swedish brands. Based on the purposes of the study, two research questions have emerged:   What effect does the participation of an influencer have on a company's Instagram account in terms of interaction?  What features on Instagram can be seen as influential factors on the interaction in terms of likes and comments?   The analytical framework is based on the theory of parasocial interaction, which has the purpose to give an understanding of how the relationship between influencers and followers are established in today’s social media environments. In addition, we have used relevant previous research in perceived interconnectedness, influencer marketing, and how the interaction online from the audiences have developed. The empirical material that was examined in the study was content in forms of posts on the social media platform Instagram. The objects of analysis are three Swedish beauty product companies, CAIA Cosmetics, Indy Beauty, and Kicks. Two well-established influencers have created the first two companies; Bianca Ingrosso is the creator of CAIA Cosmetics, and Therese Lindgren is the creator of Indy Beauty. The collected data, 300 posts in total, has been analyzed through a quantitative content analysis. The results from the study show that there is an extensive difference in interactions, in terms of likes and comments on average, when the companies are posting content including the influencer, in contrast to the opposite. Even if the number of posts with influencers is considerably low on two of the Instagram accounts compared to posts without influencers, they still manage to achieve more interaction in both likes and comments. For CAIA Cosmetics, the results show that interactions on average share approximately the same amount of numbers throughout the analysis. For Indy Beauty, this was not the case. The number of comments on average when not including Therese Lindgren was distinguishable higher compared to when including her. The reason behind this result might be a product-oriented campaign Indy Beauty launched at the beginning of December 2019. The empirical material of this study included data from this specific time and caused an effect on the results in this case. The campaign only included posts of products, and one of the requirements to win the Christmas gift was to comment on the posts, which led to a higher number of comments of posts without an influencer. To summarize the analysis, the involvement of an influencer in its marketing strategy gives a certain effect in interaction. However, it can also be efficient to apply the features of Instagram and launch product-oriented campaigns on your social media platforms to gain interaction in terms of likes and comments among your followers. Finally, it is difficult to generalize the conclusion since the outtake of this study only includes three Swedish companies and their content. / I tidigare studier och forskning inom influencer marketing och parasociala relationer mellan influencers och deras följare, studeras influencers i andra länder såsom Singapore och inte i Sverige. Detta är ett forskningsområde vi vill bidra till genom att i denna studie studera svenska influencers. Genom att undersöka effekterna av interaktion mellan konsument och producent kan det ge en bättre förståelse för hur marknadsstrategier kan utvecklas i dagens sociala mediemiljöer och dessutom genom användandet av de interaktiva funktionerna på den sociala plattformen Instagram. Ett av syftena med denna studie är att illustrera vilken effekt en influencer har på interaktionen när det gäller likes och kommentarer på Instagram. En annan är att skapa ny kunskap inom detta forskningsområde genom att studera en specifik marknad, till exempel skönhetsmarknaden. Mot bakgrund av tidigare forskning som bekräftar att influencer marketing når flera marknader och snabbt expanderar, vill vi undersöka hur detta nya sätt att marknadsföra sker bland svenska märken. Baserat på syftet med studien har två forskningsfrågor framkommit:   Vilken effekt har deltagandet av en influencer på företags Instagram-konto när det gäller interaktion? Vilka funktioner på Instagram kan ses som inflytelserika faktorer för interaktionen när det gäller likes och kommentarer?   Det analytiska ramverket är baserat på teorin om parasocial interaktion, som har som syfte att ge en förståelse för hur förhållandet mellan influencer och följare är etablerat i dagens sociala mediemiljöer. Dessutom har vi använt relevant tidigare forskning i perceived interconnectedness, influencer marketing och hur interaktionen från publiken har utvecklats online. Det empiriska materialet som undersöktes i studien var innehåll i form av inlägg på den sociala medieplattformen Instagram. Analysobjekten är tre svenska skönhetsproduktföretag, CAIA Cosmetics, Indy Beauty och Kicks. Två väletablerade influencers har skapat de två första företagen; Bianca Ingrosso är skaparen av CAIA Cosmetics, och Therese Lindgren är skaparen av Indy Beauty. De insamlade uppgifterna, totalt 300 inlägg, har analyserats genom en kvantitativ innehållsanalys. Resultaten från studien visar att det finns en omfattande skillnad i interaktioner, i termer av likes och kommentarer i genomsnitt, när företagen publicerar innehåll inklusive influencers, i motsats till att inte inkludera influencers. Även om antalet inlägg med influencers är avsevärt lågt på två av Instagram-kontona jämfört med inlägg utan influencer lyckas de fortfarande uppnå mer interaktion i både likes och kommentarer. För CAIA Cosmetics visar resultaten att interaktioner i genomsnitt delar ungefär samma antal siffror under hela analysen. För Indy Beauty var detta inte fallet. Antalet kommentarer i genomsnitt när Therese Lindgren inte inkluderades var högre jämfört med när hon inkluderades. Anledningen bakom detta resultat kan vara en produkt-orienterad kampanj Indy Beauty lanserades i början av december 2019. Det empiriska materialet i denna studie inkluderade data från denna specifika tidpunkt och påverkade i detta fall resultaten. Kampanjen inkluderade bara inlägg av produkter, och ett av kraven för att vinna en julklapp var att kommentera inlägget, vilket ledde till ett högre antal kommentarer på inlägg utan influencern. Slutsatsen av studien visar genom att involvera influencers i sin marknadsföringsstrategi kan ge en viss effekt i följares interaktion. Det kan även vara effektivt att tillämpa funktionerna på Instagram och lansera produkt-orienterade kampanjer på dina sociala medieplattformar för att öka interaktionen när det gäller likes och kommentarer bland dina följare. Slutligen är det svårt att generalisera slutsatsen eftersom undersökningen från denna studie endast innehåller tre svenska företag och deras innehåll.

Submitted by Geandra Rodrigues (geandrar@gmail.com) on 2018-07-24T14:00:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 sheylamaraschreider.pdf: 2299776 bytes, checksum: 84f8ed707e0526e8398dd54738ae99b4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2018-07-25T12:17:16Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 sheylamaraschreider.pdf: 2299776 bytes, checksum: 84f8ed707e0526e8398dd54738ae99b4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-25T12:17:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 sheylamaraschreider.pdf: 2299776 bytes, checksum: 84f8ed707e0526e8398dd54738ae99b4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-04-04 / O mercado de beleza no Brasil ocupa o quarto lugar no ranking mundial de consumo mostrando a importância do setor para a economia. Muitos estudos vinculam que a satisfação do cliente é fundamental para a fidelização e lealdade dos mesmos. Especialistas acreditam que a qualidade percebida é um determinante da satisfação e pesquisas separadas incluem outras variáveis como expectativas, desejos pessoais, emoções, preço, valor, imagem organizacional e desconfirmação das expectativas como determinantes da satisfação. A concorrência acirrada e a exigência crescente dos clientes fazem com que as empresas procurem compreender as necessidades e expectativas dos clientes e assim, direcionar esforços para alcançar a qualidade no serviço e satisfação destes clientes. Identificar e relacionar esses determinantes poderia auxiliar no direcionamento de esforços dos profissionais da área de beleza. O presente trabalho objetivou identificar como os determinantes de satisfação dos clientes de salões de beleza de Juiz de Fora estão relacionados. A metodologia utilizada no trabalho foi o estudo exploratório e descritivo. A escolha deste método se deu pela necessidade de adquirir maior contato com o fenômeno pesquisado e descrevê-lo. Optou-se por usar como base a metodologia proposta por Tinoco mas para a busca dos resultados a análise de correspondência foi a ferramenta utilizada. Para as pesquisas foram utilizados dois questionários já validados. A primeira pesquisa foi elaborada a fim de identificar a relação entre as variáveis determinantes da satisfação e assim criar um mapa perceptual de correlação desses determinantes e a segunda procurou identificar e hierarquizar os atributos de qualidade percebida em serviços. Os resultados mostraram a grande relação de dependência entre qualidade percebida, desconfirmação das expectativas e satisfação. Foi possível observar, também, grande correlação entre imagem, valor e confirmação das expectativas e entre emoções e confirmação das expectativas. Outra dependência encontrada foi entre os determinantes valor e preço. As dimensões que tiveram maior importância atribuída foram funcionários e interação cliente-funcionários. Dentre os determinantes de maior destaque estão competência técnica, higienização e individualização de utensílios, entendimento das necessidades dos clientes, limpeza do ambiente, localização conveniente, horários convenientes de atendimento, possibilidade de marcar hora, compromisso com horário marcado, exatidão do serviço realizado e segurança. / The beauty market in Brazil occupies the fourth place in the world ranking of consumption showing the importance of the sector for the economy. Many studies link that customer satisfaction is fundamental to their loyalty and fidelity. Specialists believe that perceived quality is a determinant of satisfaction and separate searches include other variables such as expectations, personal desires, emotions, price, value, organizational image and disconfirmation of expectations as determinants of satisfaction. The fierce competition and the increasing demand of the clients make the companies try to understand the needs and expectations of the clients and, therefore, direct efforts to reach the quality in the service and satisfaction of these clients. Identifying and relating these determinants could help guide the efforts of beauty professionals. The present work aimed to identify how the determinants of satisfaction of the clients of salons of Juiz de Fora are related. The methodology used in the study was the exploratory and descriptive study. The choice of this method was due to the necessity of acquiring more contact with the phenomenon researched and to describe it. We chose to use as basis the methodology proposed by Tinoco but for the search of the results the correspondence analysis was the tool used. For the surveys, two validated questionnaires were used. The first research was elaborated in order to identify the relationship between the determinants of satisfaction and thus create a perceptual map of correlation of these determinants and the second sought to identify and hierarchize the attributes of perceived quality in services. The results showed the great relationship of dependence between perceived quality, disconfirmation of expectations and satisfaction. It was also possible to observe a great correlation between image, value and confirmation of expectations and between emotions and confirmation of expectations. Another dependency found was between the determinants value and price. The dimensions that were given the most importance were employees and customer-employee interaction. Among the most important determinants are technical competence, hygiene and individualization of utensils, understanding of customer needs, cleanliness of the environment, convenient location, convenient service schedules, possibility of appointment, appointment with schedule, accuracy of service performed and security.