Syftet med denna studie är att analysera hur kunders attityder och beteenden till influencers och influencer marketing påverkas av deras uppfattningar om influencers och influencer marketing. Studien fokuserar på kundernas attityder och beteenden i relation till influencers och influencer marketing i termer av värdesamskapande, förtroende, varumärkeslojalitet och kundengagemang. Vi utgår vidare från att detta påverkas av kundernas intresse för influencers och i vilken mån de är aktiva på sociala medier.Vi skapade även en analysmodell som utgår från att graden av kundernas intresse för influencers och deras aktivitetsgrad på Instagram påverkar deras uppfattningar om influencers och influencers marketing. Därefter påverkar detta i sin tur deras attityder och beteenden i relation till influencers ochinfluencer marketing i termer av värdesamskapande, förtroende, varumärkeslojalitet och kundengagemang. Utifrån detta syfte och denna analysmodell utfördes ett strategiskt urval av åtta respondenter, där vi valde att utgå från respondenter som hade ett större eller mindre intresse förinfluencers och som var mycket aktiva eller relativt aktiva på Instagram. På så vis skapades fyra olika fall där, där semistrukturerade djupintervjuer utfördes med samtliga respondenter. Det första fallet kännetecknas av respondenter som vid tidpunkten för intervjuerna hade ett mindre intresse för influencers och var mindre aktiva på Instagram. I det andra fallet hade respondenterna ett större intresse för influencers men samtidigt var de mindre aktiva på Instagram. Respondenterna i det tredje fallet karakteriseras av att de var mindre intresserade av influencers och att de var mer aktiva på Instagram.Det fjärde fallet utmärks av respondenter som både var mer intresserade av influencers och mer aktiva på Instagram. Analysresultatet visar att det finns ett positivt samband mellan respondenternas uppfattningar om influencers och influencer marketing och respondenternas attityder och beteenden i relation till influencers och influencer marketing. Analysmodellen kan därmed inte bekräftas. Detta eftersom att analysen visar att respondenternas uppfattningar om influencers och influencer marketing samt respondenternas attityder och beteenden i relation till influencers och influencer marketing, inte påverkas av respondenternas intresse för influencers och deras aktivitetsgrader på Instagram. / The purpose of this study is to analyse how customers' attitudes and behaviours towards influencers and influencer marketing are affected by their perceptions of influencers and influencer marketing. The study focuses on customers' attitudes and behaviours in relation to influencers and influencer marketing in terms of value co-creation, trust, brand loyalty and customer engagement. We assume that this is affected by customers' interest in influencers and the extent to which they are active on social media. We alsocreated an analysis model, where we assume that the degree of customers’ interest in influencers and their degree of activity on Instagram influences their perceptions of influencers and influencer marketing. After that, we assume that this affects their attitudes and behaviours in relation to influencers and influencer marketing in terms of value co-creation, trust, brand loyalty and customer engagement. Based on this purpose and analysis model, a strategic sample was made, that consisted of eight respondents, where we chose to begin from respondents who had a more or less interest in influencers and were very active or relatively active on Instagram. In this way, we created four different cases, where we conducted semistructured in-depth interviews with all respondents. The first case is characterised by respondents who at the time of the interviews, had a less interest in influencers and also were less active on Instagram. In the second case, the respondents had a more significant interest in influencers, but at the same time, theserespondents were less active on Instagram. The respondents in the third case were characterised as less interested in influencers but were instead more active on Instagram. The fourth case is characterised by respondents who were more interested in influencers and also were more active on Instagram. The analysis results show that there is a positive connection between the respondents 'perceptions about influencers and influencer marketing and the respondents' attitudes and behaviours in relation to influencers and influencer marketing. The analysis model can, therefore, not be confirmed. The reason for this is due to the analysis, that shows that the respondents' perceptions of influencers and influencer marketing, as well as the respondents' attitudes and behaviours in relation to influencers and influencer marketing, are not affected by the respondents' interest in influencers and how active they are onInstagram.

Influencers on social media is a new phenomenon that has gained popularity in recent years. Despite the increasing popularity of influencer marketing on Instagram, research has been limited. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the credibility of Instagram influencers from the perspective of followers, and see whether the dimensions of source credibility outlined by Ohanian (1990) has a positive impact on users to follow influencers on this platform. The research first presents and compares the research and theories to date regarding the use of celebrities in advertisement and influencer marketing. Then it attempts to investigate the credibility of Instagram influencers in the eyes of male and female users, and evaluates the differences in both genders on the criteria that they decide to follow influencers. This study also evaluates purchase intention of Instagram users based on the product advertisements by influencers to see whether dimensions of source credibility positively impact users’ intent to purchase. For the purpose of this study, a survey of 250 participants was conducted using Amazon MTurk. The results show that about 77 percent of the participants spend more than at least half an hour a day on Instagram and more than half of the participants indicated that their purchase intention is impacted by influencers on this platform. The key findings of this study provide further understanding of the influencers phenomenon on Instagram and give marketers valuable insight in the process of decision-making when running influencer marketing campaigns on Instagram. It provides marketers with more information on how to match up influencers and potential consumers.

Today, the consumers have become more and more immune to traditional marketing, such as the use of TV-commercials.  With social media, the rules of marketing changed, and the most effective way to reach customers today is through influencer marketing. However, influencer marketing is still considered to be a new phenomenon with few established practices. The aim of this study is to develop an understanding for what precise actions companies can take to make their use of influencer marketing more successful. This study will therefore address the following research question, “What factors are important for a more effective use of influencer marketing?”. To achieve this, the study will have an deductive research approach, and make use of qualitative, semi-structured interviews. The findings of this research show that long-term collaborations with micro-influencers, and a specific target group are key components for an effective use of influencer marketing. Other important factors are selecting influencers with a passion towards the products, congruence between the influencer and the company, and lastly higher company transparency. / Utifrån analysen av det empiriska materialet, kunde studien konstatera att det var effektivt att bygga upp långsiktiga samarbeten med mindre influencers, tydlig kongruens mellan influencern och varumärket denne marknadsförde var viktigt för att öka köpintentionen, vikten av att influencern verkligen brinner för produkten den marknadsför, och ökad professionalism och transparens i samarbetet med en influencer var viktiga faktorer för att skapa effektiva influencer marknadsföringskampanjer.

Bakgrund: Eftersom användning av sociala medier har blivit vanligt har företag förändrat sättet att kommunicera från traditionell marknadsföring till influencer marketing. Det innebär att företagen använder opinion leaders, influencers eller kändisar, som frivilligt marknadsför varumärken på sociala medier. En influencer eller en så kallad opinion leader är någon som påverkar människors köpintention och köpbeslut genom sina sponsrade inlägg. Företag ger erbjudanden till influencers som betalda samarbeten för att rekommendera företagets produkter eller varumärken på sociala medier. Men sponsrade inlägg och samarbeten med influencers betraktas inte som reklam av konsumenterna. Det uppfattas som genuina rekommendationer eftersom influencer ses som expert inom ett område. De som följer influencers mest och studien kommer fokusera på är unga kvinnor. Metod: I denna studie utfördes en kvalitativ undersökning i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Tolv intervjuer genomfördes med unga kvinnor i åldrarna 20-29 år. Studien har genom dessa intervjuer undersökt vilken attityd unga kvinnliga konsumenter har på influencers och influencer marketing. Uppsatsen har en abduktiv ansats som utgångspunkt. Resultat: Studiens resultat indikerar att unga kvinnor har en reserverad och kluven attityd gentemot influencers. Detta berodde på tidigare erfarenheter där kvinnorna känt sig lurade samt upplever avsaknad genuinitet från influencers. Respondenternas attityder till betalda samarbeten och inlägg påverkas av mängden samarbeten, vilket påverkade om influencers uppfattades trovärdigt. Längre och mer konsistent samarbeten uppskattas mer och uppfattas mer genuint av respondenterna. Influencers som är mer relaterbara eller erbjuder rolig underhållning är två viktiga aspekter för att respondenterna valde att följa majoriteten av de influencers de följer. Ytterligare var det flertal respondenter som nämnde “inspiration” och att det var en anledning till att de använde dem plattformarna de gjorde samt följde specifika influencers. / Background: As the use of social media has become common, companies have changed the way of communicating from traditional marketing to influencer marketing. This means that companies use opinion leaders, influencers or celebrities, who voluntarily promote brands on social media. An influencer or a so-called opinion leader is someone who influences people's purchase intent and purchase decision through their sponsored posts. Companies give offers to influencers as paid collaborations to recommend the company's products or brands on social media. However, sponsored posts and collaborations with influencers are not considered advertising by consumers. It is perceived as genuine recommendations because the influencer is seen as an expert in a field. Those who follow influencers the most and the study will focus on are young women. Method: In this study, a qualitative study was carried out in the form of semi-structured interviews. Twelve interviews were conducted with young women aged 20–29. Through these interviews, the study has investigated the attitude of young female consumers towards influencers and influencer marketing. The essay has an abductive approach as a starting point. Conclusion: The study results indicate that young women have a reserved and ambivalent attitude towards influencers. This was due to previous experiences where the women felt deceived and experienced a lack of authenticity from influencers. Respondents' attitudes towards paid collaborations and posts are affected by the number of collaborations, which affected whether influencers were perceived as credible. Longer and more consistent collaborations are more appreciated and perceived more genuinely by the respondents. Influencers who are more relatable or offer fun entertainment are two important aspects why respondents chose to follow most of the influencers they follow. Furthermore, several respondents mentioned “inspiration” and that it was a reason why they used the platforms they did and followed specific influencers.

The purpose of the study is to gain a greater understanding of how young women's self-image is affected by exposure to influencer marketing on Instagram. Also, the purpose is to explore how the impact of influencer marketing on self-image contradicts to the purpose of increasing the consumer's purchase intentions. The study is based on three theories; 'social comparison theory', 'social identity theory' and 'self concept theory'. Personal brands (influencers) tend to show an ideal image to increase purchasing intentions among consumers, but this image rarely coincides with how the individual sees herself (the actual self). This creates a larger gap between the individual's actual and ideal selves and is called incongruence. At this stage, the woman may feel dissatisfied with herself, and her self-image is negatively affected. In this way, the image that a personal brand produces on Instagram plays a major role in determining the size of this gap. By connecting the different theoretical frames of reference, a model has been created that contributes to the understanding of how young women's purchase intentions and self-image are affected when they are exposed to influencer marketing. Through a deductive approach, semi-structured interviews were constructed as the qualitative method. The respondents who participated in the study are active users of Instagram and are frequently exposed to influencer marketing. The results show that young women in the ages of 18-26 are a target group that influencer marketing works on as all participants consumed products as a result of an influencer showing these. The results also show that the greater the incongruence between the actual and the ideal self of a young woman, the more her self-image is negatively affected. Incongruence makes it easier to compare your actual self with the ideal self of influencers. This became clearer with younger women in the age range who also generally experience poorer self-confidence. Older women with good self-confidence showed stronger congruence between the actual and the ideal self. Thus, they are not affected to the extent that younger women tend to be. Based on the results, it turned out that 'self concept theory' was the theory that was most central to our study as it explains the inner conflict that often arises between the actual and the best self. Personal branding is also believed to be an important block between 'social comparison theory' and 'social identity theory'. The conclusion of the study is that young women's purchasing intentions are increased when exposed to influencer marketing, but that a negative impact on self-image differs. Younger women tend to be affected to a greater extent than older women.

De senaste tjugo åren har teknologins utveckling påverkat människors liv enormt och medfört en kraftig tillväxt av sociala medieplattformar. På sociala medier hittar man influencers som är individer som konstruerar lockande innehåll på olika sociala medieplattformar. Influencers, anses vara mänskliga varumärken som uttrycker sina åsikter om olika produkter och tjänster. De har större påverkan på konsumenter jämfört med vanlig traditionell reklam. En stor grupp som har visats blivit mycket påverkade av influencers på sociala medier är generation Z. Generation Z är födda mellan 1995 och 2010 och uppvuxna med omedelbar åtkomst till information och konstant digital kommunikation. Influencers ses som mer jämlika och pålitliga jämfört med kändisar, och deras expertis på de produkter de framställer ökar deras trovärdighet enligt generation Z. En stor andel av generation Z följer influencers på sociala medier, och deras köpbeslut påverkas i hög grad av influencers rekommendationer.  Tidigare studier har endast forskat om ett fåtal influencer typer ur influencer-kategorin och har även inte undersökt generation Z utifrån ett multinationellt perspektiv. Därmed syftar studien på att undersöka vilka generation Z anser är mest trovärdiga utifrån olika typer av influencers som nano, mikro, makro och mega. Syftet är även att undersöka hur influencers trovärdighet är relaterad till undvikande beteende och varumärkesundvikande hos generation Z i länderna Sverige, Kanada, England och Saudiarabien.  Studien bygger på en kvalitativ metod där ett bekvämlighetsurval har tillämpats. En surveyundersökning, i form av online-enkät och en semistrukturerad intervju har använts, där 95 respondenter svarade på enkäten och 20 informanter på intervjun. Slutsatsen som denna studie kom fram till var att generation Z ansåg att mega-influencers var de mest trovärdiga och att trovärdighet är relaterad till undvikande beteende och varumärkesundvikande hos generationen. Detta för att generationen avföljer samt undviker influencers som inte är trovärdiga. / In the last twenty years, the development of technology has greatly affected people's lives and has resulted in a sharp growth of social media platforms. On social media, you find influencers who are individuals who construct attractive content on various social media platforms. Influencers are considered as human brands that express their opinions about various products and services. They have a greater impact on consumers compared to regular traditional advertising. A large group that has been shown to be highly influenced by influencers on social media is Generation Z. Generation Z were born between 1995 and 2010, Generation Z grew up with instant access to information and constant digital communication. Influencers are seen as more equal and trustworthy compared to celebrities, and their expertise on the products they produce increases their credibility with Generation Z. A large percentage of Generation Z follow influencers on social media, and their purchasing decisions are heavily influenced by influencers' recommendations. Previous studies have only researched a few influencer types from the influencer category and have also not investigated generation Z from a multinational perspective. The aim of the study is to investigate which generation Z considers to be the most credible based on different types of influencers such as nano, micro, macro and mega. The purpose is also to investigate how influencer's credibility is related to avoidance behavior and brand avoidance among generation Z in the countries of Sweden, Canada, England and Saudi Arabia. The study is based on a qualitative method where a convenience sample has been applied. A survey research, in the form of an online survey and a semi-structured interview, has been used, where 95 respondents answered the survey and 20 informants participated in the interview. The conclusion reached by this study was that Generation Z considered mega-influencers to be the most credible and that credibility is related to avoidance behavior and brand betrayal of the generation. This is because the generation follows and avoids influencers who are not credible.

For decades authenticity has been of great interest in media and communication research. With this study, we aim to contribute to the research with a new perspective where authenticity is examined in artists who use influencer marketing on social media. With two qualitative focus group interviews, we examine how two previously separate professional roles, influencer and artist, now merge in their interests and strategies to influence their audience via social media platforms. By analyzing and interpreting young Swedish women’s experiences of artists’ advertising collaborations, we seek to understand the concept of authenticity's influence, power and meaning in the digital era. This is done using the three theories: influencer marketing, social capital and branding. The results confirm the dynamic role of the concept of authenticity in society and that whether something or someone is authentic is situational. The concept of authenticity is perceived as important in some contexts and less important in others. There is a clear tolerance for inauthentic behavior within the artist community. However, there is also a perceived limit to how much advertising through influencer marketing an artist can do before it has a negative impact on the artist’s perceived authenticity. The most significant factor is the artist's choice of brand to collaborate with. Our conclusions also show that there is an awareness of the intertwining of the two professional roles and a feeling that most artists and influencers are in a “gray area” where the boundaries between the roles are blurred. This means that new relationships and patterns of cooperation between artists and companies are created, and the dynamics of both the entertainment and advertising industry is changing.

Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, das Konzept der parasozialen Interaktionen und Beziehungen, bisher hauptsächlich für die traditionellen Medien diskutiert, auf die sozialen Medien mit Influencern als Personae anzuwenden. Die Arbeit beantwortet die Frage, ob die genannten parasozialen Phänomene mit Influencern in den sozialen Medien grundsätzlich möglich sind, ob dabei eine meinungsbeeinflussende Wirkung auf den Rezipienten entstehen kann und wie diese im Social-Media-Marketing von Unternehmen genutzt werden kann. Relevant ist diese Arbeit damit für Personen, die sich über die grundsätzliche Anwendung des Forschungsbereichs parasozialer Phänomene auf neue Medien informieren möchten, sowie für Unternehmen, die das Konzept bewusst zur Optimierung ihres Influencer- und Social-Media-Marketings nutzen möchten. Zur Beantwortung der Forschungsfragen wird die bestehende Theorie, aufbauend auf dem Grundkonzept nach Horton und Wohl, auf das neue Medienformat der sozialen Medien angewendet. Die Hypothesen, dass parasoziale Phänomene in den sozialen Medien entstehen können, dass Influencer als Personae betrachtet werden können und dass eine starke meinungsbeeinflussende Wirkung von ebenjenen ausgehen kann, werden durch eine empirische Befragung überprüft. Diese Methode liefert repräsentative Ergebnisse und kann die Hypothesen bestätigen. Sie führt außerdem zu der Erkenntnis, dass parasoziale Beziehungen sich in den sozialen Medien anders auswirken als in den traditionellen Medien. Es können bereits erste Unterschiede in der Auswirkung parasozialer Beziehungen zwischen traditionellen und sozialen Medien festgestellt werden, diese müssen in zukünftigen Arbeiten jedoch gezielter erforscht werden, um zuverlässigere Aussagen darüber treffen zu können.:1 Überblick 2 Begriffsdefinitionen 2.1 Arten von Interaktion und Abgrenzung 2.2 Parasoziale Beziehungen 3 Parasoziale Interaktion und Beziehungen nach Horton und Wohl 3.1 Parasoziale Interaktion 3.1.1 Drei Kernaspekte parasozialer Interaktion 3.1.2 Personae nach Horton und Wohl 3.1.3 Abgrenzung parasozialer Interaktion von ähnlichen Phänomenen der Kommunikationswissenschaft 3.1.4 Einflussfaktoren auf die Intensität parasozialer Interaktionen 3.2 Parasoziale Beziehungen 3.2.1 Verhältnis von parasozialen Interaktionen und Beziehungen untereinander 3.2.2 Charakteristik parasozialer Beziehungen 3.2.3 Entwicklung einer parasozialen Beziehung 3.2.4 Meinungsbildender Einfluss parasozialer Beziehungen 3.3 Weitere parasoziale Phänomene 3.3.1 Parasoziales Schlussmachen und Charakterbrüche 3.3.2 Co-viewing 3.3.3 Parasoziale Meinungsführerschaft 4 Parasoziale Interaktion und Beziehungen mit Influencern 4.1 Influencer in den sozialen Medien 4.2 Voraussetzungen für das Entstehen parasozialer Interaktion mit Influencern 4.2.1 Parasoziale Interaktion trotz Rückkanal 4.2.2 Die gefühlte Wechselseitigkeit parasozialer Interaktion mit Influencern 4.3 Influencer als Personae nach Horton und Wohl 4.4 Parasoziale Beziehungen mit Influencern 5 Forschungsmethode 6 Auswertung der empirischen Ergebnisse 7 Diskussion 7.1 Interpretation der Umfrageergebnisse 7.2 Anwendungsmöglichkeiten im Social-Media-Marketing 8 Zusammenfassung und Ausblick

An influencer’s task is to reinforce and strengthen a company’s brand, but can there be any risk that they weaken their own trust towards their followers in the process? This study aims to examine influencers as a social phenomenon from the followers point of view to investigate any elements that can challenge the concept. Influencer marketing is visualized as something positive with a successful impact on the commercial industry. The question is: do the followers ever reflect whether the collaboration between the company and the influencer is genuine? The focus of this essay is directed towards distinguishing patterns which oppose the positive and favorable phenomenon as its seen in today’s social light. The study embodies the follower’s perspective since they possess the power on social media, which entails that their perspective is an interesting perspective to examine. The purpose of the study is to examine followers, aged between 18-35, with relationships to influencers on Instagram. In doing so, identify potential criticism or other negations that can reflect on the phenomenon. The method that is used, contains qualitative semi-structured group interviews. For the study, the snowball method was applied. Sixteen respondents were divided into four separate interview groups and were faced with sixteen open questions, concerning influencers on Instagram. The result is a negative attitude towards the phenomenon known as influencers. The largest contributing factor towards this result, was the financial gains behind the influencers’ sponsored posts. What eliminates the credibility towards influencers is the financial advantages, which generates a questionable attitude concerning the influencers authentic interest in their posts. The respondents’ attitudes also stands doubtful regarding the influencer as a profession

The rapid growth of visual microblogging platforms, such as Instagram, has created new opportunities for brands to communicate with stakeholders. As these platforms evolve, brands have had to adapt in order to use the available social media platforms to gain visibility in the millennial audience. Recently brands have turned to online 'celebrities' known as a social media influencer (SMI) to distribute information and influence consumers' product perceptions. This specifically has become a common tactic in communication and marketing efforts with the fashion and beauty industry. Ample research is available on the effects of celebrity endorsements but currently there is a gap in research pertaining to the consumer's perspective towards SMIs and SMIs effects on consumers. The online experiment completed in this thesis addressed how promotion of a product by a SMI affects perceptions of consumers on Instagram by measuring social comparison and self-congruity. This is accomplished by comparing participant's product perception to promotional posts on Instagram by a SMI, brand, and unbranded retail source. A three-condition experiment (SMI, Brand, Control) compared effects of product perception, social comparison, and self-congruity. A questionnaire consisting of 48 questions pertaining to SMI, self-congruity, social comparison, and product perception was completed by 151 participants. Significant relationships were found between the source of the promotional post (SMI, Brand, Control) and product perception. There was also a correlation between self-congruity and social comparison towards the SMI as well as product perception. Results suggest that the post source influences product perception. Results also indicate consumers' perception of the SMI effects product perception. These results provide practical implications for communication practioners who utilize social media. The rapid growth of visual microblogging platforms such as Instagram, is creating new opportunities for organizations to communicate with stakeholders. Brands have used social media platforms in order to gain visibility in the college age audience. Currently there is a gap in research pertaining to SMI and their effects on consumers. This online experiment will address how promotion of a product by an SMI affects perceptions of consumers on Instagram through social comparison and self-congruity theory by comparing responses to a product promoted by an SMI to the same product promoted by the promoted by the brand and to an unbranded retail source. A questionnaire consisting 34 of questions pertaining to SMI, self-congruity, and social comparison will be asked to 180-240 participants. The participants will be randomly assigned one of nine Instagram posts to accomplish stimulus sampling across the three conditions: three from SMI, three from brands, and three from an unbranded retail source / Master of Arts / As visual social media platforms, such as Instagram, continue to rapidly grow in popularity, brands have been obligated to quickly learn how to utilize these platforms in order to reach their target audiences. Brands typically use social media platforms in order to gain visibility in the college aged audience, but new platforms require new strategies. A new popular tactic is utilizing an online “celebrity” known as a social media influencer (SMI) in order to distribute information and influence consumers’ perceptions. Using SMIs in communication and marketing campaigns has grown in popularity in industries such as beauty/fashion, home/family, health/fitness, travel/lifestyle, food/beverage, business/tech and entertainment. In beauty and fashion, the use of SMIs to reach the millennial audience has become a part of regular practice for companies such as H&M, Madewell, Gucci and others. There is ample research on the effects of celebrity endorsements but currently there is a gap in research pertaining to SMIs and their effects on consumers. This online experiment completed in this thesis addressed how promotion of a product by a SMI affects perceptions of consumers by measuring their social comparison and self-congruity. This is accomplished by comparing participant’s product perception to posts by SMI, brands, and unbranded retail sources that promoted a product on Instagram. A three-condition experiment (SMI, Brand, Control) compared effects of product perception, social comparison, and self-congruity. A questionnaire consisting of 48 questions pertaining to SMI, self-congruity, social comparison and, product perception was completed by 151 participants. Significant relationships were found between the source of the post and product perception. Correlations were found between self-congruity and social comparison towards the SMI, as well as product perception. Results suggest that where the source of the post influences product perception. Results also indicate that consumer’s perception of the SMI effects product perception. These results provide practical implications for communication and marketing professionals who are determining whether to use SMI and those who already use SMI.