In the light of the digitalization and the emergence of social media, the concept of influencer marketing has increased significantly in importance on a global scale and is now considered one of the most effective, powerful and cost-effective marketing tools for businesses in today’s society. Nevertheless, despite the effectiveness of influencer marketing, the growing worldwide marketing trend of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) influencers, also described as human-like influencers, is currently revolutionizing today’s influencer marketing and is expected to become the new way of marketing from a future perspective. With millions of followers on social media, CGI influencers are quickly gaining three times higher follower engagement than prominent celebrities and human influencers, even though their existence is not real. As a result, the organizational use of CGI influencer marketing has intensified markedly on a global scale from several world-leading brands. Although CGI influencers are expected to increase significantly within marketing, the current knowledge and understanding of CGI influencers as a marketing strategy for brands and products is insufficient and is in essential need of further exploration. This thesis contributes to the yet very limited empirical research by focusing on the research gap of differences between CGI influencers and human influencers from a consumer perspective, with the following research question: “How do CGI influencers differ from human influencers in terms of its impact on consumers’ purchase intentions?”  The research purpose of this thesis is to explore whether there is any difference in the impact of CGI influencers and human influencers on consumers’ purchase intentions in order to increase the understanding of the effectiveness of virtual influencer marketing in comparison to influencer marketing on consumer behavior. The research purpose was fulfilled by undertaking a qualitative inductive research approach and performing ten semi-structured interviews with respondents which both follow at least one macro- or mega human influencer and CGI influencer on Instagram. The thesis focuses on CGI influencers in relation to the aspects of motivations to follow, opinion leadership and parasocial relationships, since these are closely linked to purchase intentions. By increasing the understanding of consumers’ view, attitude and behavior, this thesis has discovered multiple key aspects in how CGI influencers differ from human influencers in terms of its impact on consumers’ purchase intentions. The results show that CGI influencers are generally seen as more or less the same as human influencers in terms of inspiration. Followingly, it is possible for consumers to create parasocial relationships with CGI influencers. Nevertheless, this thesis has identified a dominant perspective that CGI influencers affect purchase intentions to a lesser extent than human influencers at present, which is primarily based on higher-developed parasocial relationships, a greater perceived genuineness and higher consumer trust for human influencers. The core theoretical implications are the expanded scientific research on CGI influencers as a marketing phenomenon, and the perceived differences and similarities between CGI influencers and human influencers from a consumer perspective. The key practical implications are the increased understanding of the effectiveness of virtual influencer marketing in comparison to influencer marketing on consumer behavior, and how to implement CGI influencers in the marketing strategy successfully. On a societal level, the most central societal implications are several ethical issues of CGI influencers within marketing.

In an ever-evolving social media landscape, online communication has become more prone to the revelation of our affective states. In this study, I investigate how iterations of emotional capital, an extension of Pierre Bourdieu’s four forms of capital, shape social interaction in mediated relationships on YouTube, a platform that fosters a participatory culture. Previously, the field of media studies has devoted itself to the cognitive-behavioural effects of media consumption, allowing research on consumers’ emotionality as an influence on virtual sociality to be left behind. I attempt to elucidate the emotional footprint left by the discourse of the user comment by applying Marci D. Cottingham’s theorisation on emotional capital, paired with Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s Discourse Theory and by extension Discourse Theoretical Analysis expanded by Nico Carpentier et al on a sample of three sets of thirty most popular user comments, each attributed to a video by UK-based content creators Jade Bowler, Lucy Moon, and Venetia La Manna, to argue that the sociality found within their discourse is formed by the parasocial relationship the user exhibits towards the creator. Depending on the affective distance the user expressed towards the creator or to the other subscribers, different forms of emotional capital emerged - care and vulnerability derived from the address to self; inspiration, communication, encouragement stemming from the address to the community; and empathy and respect originating in the address to the creator. Thus, this study provides a novel outlook on mediated relationships in an online setting, where users actively, and more importantly, emotionally engage with themselves, their community, and the creator, to form affective social networks.

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Syftet med studien är att undersöka konsumenters förtroende för modevarumärken och hur deras köpbeslut påverkas av varumärken som tillämpar virtuella influencers (VIs) i sin marknadsföring på sociala medier i Sverige. En kvantitativ metod med deduktiv ansats har tillämpats, där en webbenkät distribuerades till svenska studenter vid Textilhögskolan i Borås i åldrarna 20–35 år och användes för att samla in data. Den virtuella influencern Lil Miquela användes som en fallstudie i enkäten med syfte att fördjupa sig i fenomenet och bedöma dess påverkan på konsumentbeteende och förtroende. Studien visar att VIs har en påverkan på konsumenters förtroende för varumärken. Viktiga fynd tyder på att VIs, särskilt exemplifierat av Lil Miquela, påverkar konsumenters förtroende när upplevd autenticitet, mänskliga egenskaper och känslomässig koppling ökar. Varumärken bör därför fokusera på att göra sina VIs mer mänskliga för att öka förtroendet och potentiellt lojaliteten. Studien visar även att VIs påverkar konsumenters köpbeslut, men för en positiv påverkan krävs en känslomässig koppling, mänskliga attribut, samt varumärkesförtroende hos VIs. Dessa insikter betonar potentialen hos VIs att påverka konsumenters uppfattningar och förtroende, vilket ger värdefulla implikationer för marknadsföringsstrategier som involverar VIs. / The purpose of the study is to investigate consumers’ trust in fashion brands and how their purchase decisions are influenced by brands that apply virtual influencers (VI) in their marketing on social media in Sweden. A quantitative method with a deductive approach has been applied, where an online survey was distributed to Swedish students at the University of Textiles in Borås aged 20-35 and used to collect data. The VI Lil Miquela was used as a case study in the survey with the aim of delving into the phenomenon and assessing its impact on consumer behavior and trust. The study shows that VIs has an impact on consumers’ trust in brands. Key findings suggest that VIs, particularly exemplified by Lil Miquela, influence consumer trust as perceived authenticity, human characteristics, and emotional connection increase. Brands should therefore focus on making their VIs more human to increase trust and potentially loyalty. The study also shows that VIs influence consumers’ purchase decisions, however for a positive influence an emotional connection, human attributes, and brand trust with VIs is required. These insights emphasize the potential of virtual influencers to influence consumer perceptions and trust, providing valuable implications for marketing strategies involving VIs.

Influencers har idag ett stort inflytande på konsumenter vilket, till viss del, blivit avgörande för företag. Det förekommer mer frekvent att influencers även skapar egna grundade varumärken. Denna studie har utgått från fyra svenska influencers som har ett eget grundat varumärke. Dessa influencers och deras varumärken är Therése Lindgren (Indy Beauty), Katrin Zytomierska (Clean Eating), Rebecca Stella Dion (Rebecca Stella Beauty) och Alice Stenlöf (A-dsgn). Studien syftar till att undersöka hur en influencers skandal påverkar deras eget grundade varumärke på Instagram. Detta undersöktes med hjälp av två kvantitativa metoder. Den första metoden, digital datainsamling, analyserade antalet gilla-markeringar och antalet kommentarer på varumärkenas Instagram. Studien undersökte sedan individers agerande gentemot influencernas varumärke genom en kvantitativ enkätundersökning. Resultatet som framkom var att medelvärdet för gilla-markeringarna minskade för tre av fyra av varumärken efter skandalen. Medelvärdet för kommentarer minskade för ett av fyra varumärken. Resultatet från enkätundersökningen visade att respondenterna aktivt tog avstånd från att gilla varumärkets inlägg på Instagram efter skandalen. Den främsta anledningen till detta var att de inte ville stötta influencers förens de såg en förändring i influencerns agerande. Respondenterna ville även motta en offentlig ursäkt från influencern innan de var beredda att förlåta influencern. / Today influencers have a great influence on consumers, which to some extent, has become crucial for companies. It is more common for influencers to also create their own established brands. This study has been based on four Swedish influencers that have their own established brand. These influencers and their brands are Therése Lindgren (Indy Beauty), Katrin Zytomierska (Clean Eating), Rebecca Stella Dion (Rebecca Stella Beauty) and Alice Stenlöf (A-dsgn). The study aims to investigate how an influencer's scandal affects their own founded brand on Instagram. This was investigated using two quantitative methods. The first method, cross-sectional study, analyzed the number of likes and the number of comments on the brands Instagram. The study then examined respondents’ actions online towards the influencers brand through a quantitative survey. The result showed that the average number of likes decreased after the scandal for three out of four influencer brands. The average number of comments decreased for one out of four brands. Moreover, the results from the survey revealed that the respondents actively choose not to like posts from influencer brands on Instagram after the scandal. The main reason for this was that the respondents did not want to support influencers until they were convinced the influencers had changed their behaviors and actions. Furthermore, the respondents also wanted to receive a public apology from the influencer before they were prepared to forgive the influencer.

This study explores the functions and effects of virtual communities on Instagram and YouTube and discusses the communication process between Swedish female social media influencers and their followers. With a qualitative research design, where I analysed both the textual and visual posts on Instagram and YouTube, I found that the virtual communities can function as a place where people find like-minded people and where they can affirm their own self imagine and experiences, specifically in relation to questions regarding LGBTQIA+ and body positivity. The study operationalises Horton and Wohl’s (1956) concept of Parasocial Relationships which describes the phenomena where people form intimate and close relationships with media people they watch on television. By analysing my material through theoretical frameworks from Goffman (2020; 1979), West and Zimmerman (1987) and Deutsch (2007), I also found that Instagram and YouTube functions as places where norms of femininity and love are constructed, deconstructed, and reproduced. The study concludes that social media (platforms), specifically the virtual communities established and maintained by (social media) influencers, play a vital role in how users understand themselves and other people. Social media can in such a way operate as an institution that helps to both deconstruct and reproduce normative ideals about femininity and sexuality depending on how influencers do gender and portray themselves on their social media profiles.

In the aftermath of #MeToo, Amber Heard chose to share her experiences of sexual abuse and violence in the relationship with Johnny Depp in an article. Depp denied the allegations and claimed that the accusations were fabricated and therefore chose to sue Heard for defamation. The defamation trial between the ex-spouses began in 2022 and received much attention since it was broadcast live to the public. The lawsuit quickly went viral on social media where Depp's fans constructed and spread favorable narratives on Depp's behalf in order to restore his reputation. The purpose of the study is to examine, from a gender perspective, how fans of a public figure crisis communicated on social media during an ongoing trial following accusations of intimate partner violence. This is achieved by a qualitative content analysis where posts published by Depp's fans during the trial are analyzed based on the theories of postfeminism and Image Repair Theory. The study concluded that both Depp and Heard are portrayed based on male and female attributes to relate to the roles of victim and perpetrator more clearly. Heard is blamed and mocked, while Depp is celebrated and respected. Furthermore, there are also narratives that connect to misogynistic ideas that are hidden by, for example, discussions about equality and can be seen as a backlash against feminist successes. / I efterdyningarna av #MeToo valde Amber Heard att dela med sig av sina erfarenheter av sexuella övergrepp och våld i förhållandet med Johnny Depp i en debattartikel. Depp förnekade anklagelserna och menade att de var fabricerade och valde därför att stämma Heard för förtal. Förtalsrättegången mellan de forna makarna inleddes 2022 och fick stor uppmärksamhet eftersom den livesändes inför allmänheten. Rättegången blev snabbt viral på sociala medier där Depps fans konstruerade och spred fördelaktiga narrativ å Depps vägnar i syfte att återupprätta hans rykte. Syftet med studien är att utifrån ett genusperspektiv undersöka hur fans till en offentlig person kriskommunicerat på sociala medier under en pågående rättegång efter anklagelser om våld i nära relation. Detta genomförs med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys där inlägg publicerade av Depps fans under tiden för rättegången analyseras utifrån teorierna postfeminism och Image Repair Theory. Studiens resultat visade att både Depp och Heard porträtteras utifrån manliga och kvinnliga attribut för att tydligare anknyta till rollerna som offer och förövare. Heard blir skuldbelagd och hånad, medan Depp blir hyllad och respekterad. Vidare förekommer också narrativ som anknyter till kvinnofientliga idéer som döljs av exempelvis diskussioner om jämställdhet och kan ses som en motreaktion på feministiska framgångar.