Att företag använder sig av influencers som ett marknadsföringsverktyg på sociala medier blir allt vanligare att se. Precis som det engelska ursprungsordet influence betyder så handlar influencer marketing om att varumärken använder personer med stora nätverk av följare för att påverka andra konsumenter till varumärkeskännedom och köpbeslut. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur varumärken använder sig utav influencers som ett marknadsföringsverktyg för att skapa trovärdighet genom samarbeten på sociala medier. Studien har undersökt vad det finns för möjligheter samt problem som denna typ av marknadsföringsverktyg kan innebära. För att undersöka frågeställningen har författarna intervjuat två medelstora influencers och två stora varumärken inom skönhet. Deras expertis och kunskap inom influencer marketing har bidragit till ett exceptionellt forskningsmaterial för denna studie. Slutsatsen visade på att varumärken som använder influencers som ett marknadsföringsverktyg gör det i syfte att stärka relationen till sina kunder, samtidigt som de vill öka sin varumärkeskännedom. Influencers som samarbetar med varumärken anser sig själva inspirera sina följare att prova nya varumärken, samtidigt som de ger en ärlig och rättvis recension. Detta sammanlänkar de tre delarna som ingår i marknadsföringsverktyget, vilket är influencer, mottagare och varumärke. / The fact that companies use influencers as a marketing tool on social media is becoming increasingly more common. Just as the English origin word influence means, influencer marketing is about brands using someone with a large number of followers and a power to affect and influence other consumers to brand awareness and purchasing decisions. The purpose of this study is to investigate how brands use influencers as a marketing tool to create credibility through collaborations on social media. The study will examine what opportunities there are as well as problems that this type of marketing tool can entail. To answer the research question, the authors have interviewed two medium-sized influencers and two major beauty brands. Their expertise and knowledge in influencer marketing have contributed to an exceptional research material for this study. The conclusion showed that brands that use influencers as a marketing tool do it, in order to strengthen the relationship with their customers, while at the same time increase their brand awareness. Influencers who work with brands consider themselves to inspire their followers to try new brands, while giving them an honest and fair review. This conclusion links the three parts included in the marketing tool, which are influencers, recipients and brands.

Syfte: Studien syftar till att skapa förståelse för om och i så fallhur mikro- och makroinfluencers påverkar relationen mellan attitydkomponenterna (tillförlitlighet, experits och attraktivitet) och köpintentionen. Metod:Denna studie baseras på en kvantitativ forskningsmetod där primärdata samlades in via en digital enkätundersökning. Enkäten innehöll frågor från tidigare forskning samt egenutformade och den distribuerades ut via sociala medier. Primärdata samlades in från 150 respondenter där 15 blev bortfall. Primärdata analyserades sedan genom korrelationsanalyser och regressionsanalyser i IBM SPSS-Statistics.  Slutsats: Studien visade att tillförlitlighet och attraktivitet påverkar köpintentionen. Tillförlitlighet har den starkaste påverkan på köpintentionen och makroinfluencers påverkar denna relation medan mikroinfluencers inte gör det. Attraktivitet har också en påverkan på köpintentionen, och mikroinfluencers påverkar relationen, medan makroinfluencers inte gör det. Studien fastställde inte om expertis påverkar köpintentionen, vilket kräver ytterligare forskning. Mikro- och makroinfluencers har en signifikant effekt på förhållandet mellan expertis och köpintention, vilket är av intresse och kräver framtida forskning. / Purpose: This study aims to understand whether and if so, how micro- and macroinfluencers affect the relationship between the attitude components (trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness) and purchase intention. Method:This study is based on a quantitative research method where primary data was collected via a digital survey. The survey contained questions from previous research as well as self- designed questions and was distributed via social media. Primary data was collected from 150 respondents and 15 were excluded. The primary data was then analyzed through correlation- and regression analyses in IBM SPSS-Statistics. Conclusion:The study found that trustworthiness and attractiveness impact purchase intention. Trustworthiness has the strongest impact, and macroinfluencers significantly affect this relationship while microinfluencers do not. Attractiveness also has a positive impact on purchase intention, with micro-influencers affecting the relationship, while macroinfluencers do not. The study did not determine if expertise impacts purchase intention, requiring further research. Micro- and macroinfluencers have a significant effect on the relationship between expertise and purchase intention, which is of interest and needs further research.

The study examines influencers usage of the social media platform Instagram and how their usage can affect the receiver of their content. The purpose of this study is therefore to observe how influencers are using the platform in order to influence their followers. This study is based on the question: how are the influencers using the social media platform Instagram in order to influence their followers? With the help of the Source Credibility Model, we have been able to value influencers credibility and usage during the netnographic method approach. The original Source Credibility Model consists of three factors: expertise, trustworthiness and attractiveness which helps to evaluate a source credibility. By doing this, we have been able to adapt and adjust this model to a new research area. Our analysis therefore reveals a fourth factor of this model - networking. This factor consists of two under categories: technical and social interaction. The study discovered that an influencer reaches attractivity with adjusting his or her visual content and by using functions on the social platform. The influencers collaborations and advertisement on the social platform shows on which level of expertise they achieve. Furthermore, the followers experience of the influencers content is evaluating the influencers credibility. To be able to evaluate these three factors, the influencer needs to interact with technical aspects such as social platforms and functions, but also to interact socially by giving personality and create engagement for the followers. The study also discovered a difference between male and female influencer usage of the platform, which gives their influence different impacts. This study therefore contributes the field of interest with a new model that can be used in order to examine influencer usage on different social platforms.

This thesis examines how female consumers’ self-esteem may impact an influencer’s ability to create a purchase through suggesting and testing a developed conceptual model. The Source credibility model, Similarity and Tie-strength were utilized as underlying theoretical frameworks. Five different independent variables were identified; Source- Attractiveness, Trustworthiness, Expertise, Similarity, and Tie-strength, which were evaluated in relation to the dependent variable; Purchase intention. Lastly, Self-esteem was introduced as a moderating variable. The goal with the conceptual model was to gain a deeper understanding of how a consumer’s self-esteem may affect their purchasing behavior, as well as which factors that may influence their purchase intention. A quantitative research method was used, and ten hypotheses were developed from the conceptual model.    To test the hypotheses and answer the research questions, a questionnaire was distributed with the use of snowball sampling. Overall, 1029 Swedish females who followed an influencer on a social media participated in the survey. It was stated in the results and the analysis that all five independent variables had a significant positive relation on the consumer’s purchase intention. However, data shows that a consumer’s self-esteem solely had a relation on two of the five independent variables; Trustworthiness & Tie-strength. Trustworthiness was found to have a negative relation to the purchase intention, while Tie-strength was found to have a positive relation. A content analysis was conducted in order to identify other factors that the participants in the survey felt had a significant impact on why they followed their favorite influencer. The result of the content analysis identified two more factors that may impact the ability of an influencer to create a purchase. These were the Entertainment value and the Core values of the influencer.

Titel: Är influencers vampyrer? En studie om influencer-baserad marknadsföring och brand recall. Nivå: Examensarbete på Grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi. Författare: Julia Jansson och Christina Najm Handledare: Jonas Kågström Datum: 2018 - maj Syfte: Syftet med studien är att analysera hur influencer-baserad marknadsföring, vad gäller brand recall, påverkas av tidsaspekten, vampire effect, source credibility och match-up hypotesen. Metod: Data har insamlats med hjälp av två enkäter med 1461 respondenter. Respondenterna fick svara på enkäter gällande två olika influencers och dess samarbete med ett företag. Materialet har sedan analyserats och bearbetats med hjälp av deskriptiv statistik, T-test, korrelationsanalyser, faktoranalyser samt klusteranalys. Resultat & slutsats: Studien visade betydelsen för företag att välja en lämplig influencer för deras marknadsföring. Dessa influencers har möjligheten att nå en stor del av konsumenterna och det är då viktigt att de kan sända ut rätt information om varumärket. I fallet om vampire effect kom studien fram till att detta hot inte nödvändigtvis behöver påverka varumärkets brand recall, utan vid val av en lämplig och rätt influencer kan istället varumärket gynnas av influencer-baserad marknadsföring. Uppsatsens bidrag: Studiens bidrag till marknadsföringens forskningsområde är en ökad kunskap om influencer-baserad marknadsföring, vad gäller brand recall och dess effekter. Studien bidrar också med olika aspekter för företag att ta hänsyn till i valet av lämplig influencer. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Forskning bör vidare undersöka hur tidsaspekten har en påverkan på brand recall, då tidigare forskning varit begränsad. Vi anser att fler studier ska göras om influencer-baserad marknadsföring och brand recall då detta fält är relativt nytt och outforskat. Nyckelord: Brand recall, the vampire effect, source credibility model, match-up hypotesen, influencers, tidsaspekt. / Title: Are influencers vampires? A study about influencer-based marketing and brand recall. Level: Student thesis, final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration. Authors: Julia Jansson and Christina Najm Supervisor: Jonas Kågström Date: 2018 – may Aim: The purpose of this study is to investigate how influencer-based marketing, in terms of brand recall, is affected by the time aspect, vampire effect, source credibility and match-up hypothesis. Method: Data were collected from two surveys, with 1461 respondents. The respondents answered surveys about two influencers and their collaboration with a company. The data has been analysed and processed with descriptive statistics, T-test, correlation as well as factor and cluster analyses. Results & Conclusion: The study showed the importance for companies to choose an appropriate influencer for marketing. These influencers have the ability to reach a large portion of consumers and it is, therefore, important that they can send accurate information about the brand. Regarding the vampire effect, the study showed that it is not necessarily a threat to brand recall, but if the appropriate influencer is chosen, the brand can benefit from influencer-based marketing. Contribution of the thesis: The contribution of this study to the marketing research area is an increased knowledge about influencer-based marketing, in terms of brand recall and its effects. The study also contributes with different aspects for companies to consider in selecting an appropriate influencer. Suggestions for future research: Future research should examine how the time aspect can affect brand recall, since prior research has been narrowed. We believe that more studies should be done especially about influenced-based marketing and brand recall since it is relatively new and unexplored. Key words: Brand recall, the vampire effect, source credibility, match-up hypothesis, influencers, time aspect

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the number of followers affects an influencer's credibility using Ohanian's credibility model (1990). The study contributes to an understanding of how the size of influencers affects the followers' intake of information from influencers. To address the purpose of this study, the following question was analyzed: How does the size of influencers affect their credibility? A qualitative study has been conducted and empirical material has been collected to fulfill the purpose and answer the question of how the number of followers affects the credibility of influencers. To get an answer to the question, nine semi-structured individual interviews were conducted where the sample was women aged 18-24. The theoretical starting point in this study is Ohanian's credibility model (1990), where the focus is on credibility which consists of five different terms; honesty, trustworthiness, sincerity, credibility, and reliability. The study shows that the majority agree that smaller influencers are perceived as more credible. The result is mainly due to the fact that smaller influencers are considered to have higher levels of all five credibility terms. For followers to interpret influencers as credible sources, it is important to do parts that are part of Ohanian's credibility model (1990). This study shows that a factor that affects influencer credibility is the number of followers. / Syftet med studien är att undersöka om antalet följare påverkar en influencers trovärdighet med hjälp av Ohanians trovärdighetsmodell (1990). Studien bidrar till förståelse för hur influencers storlek påverkar följarnas intag av information från influencers. För att besvara syftet, analyserades följande frågeställning: Hur påverkar influencers storlek deras trovärdighet? En kvalitativ studie har genomförts och empiriskt material har samlats in för att uppfylla syftet och besvara frågeställningen om hur antalet följare påverkar trovärdigheten till influencers. För att få svar på frågeställningen utfördes nio stycken semistrukturerade personliga intervjuer där urvalet var kvinnor i åldrarna 18-24 år. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten i denna studien är Ohanians trovärdighetsmodell (1990), där enbart fokuset ligger på trovärdighet som består av fem olika termer; ärlighet, pålitlighet, uppriktighet, trovärdighet och tillförlitlighet. Studien visar att majoriteten är eniga om att mindre influencers uppfattas som mer trovärdiga. Resultatet beror främst på att mindre influencers anses ha högre nivåer av alla fem begrepp som beskriver trovärdighet. För att följarna ska tolka influencers som en trovärdig källa är det viktigt att de uppfyller delarna som ingår i Ohanians trovärdighetsmodell (1990). Denna studie visar att en faktor som påverkar influencers trovärdighet är antalet följare.

The growth within internationalization has changed the world at a rapid pace, with businesses expanding into foreign markets on a daily basis. Similarly, to the growth within internationalization, social media has changed how marketing activities are conducted throughout the world. Influencer marketing has been one of those drivers of growth, changing the way that brands market themselves on a global basis. Therefore, there is a need to understand the relationship between internationalization and influencer marketing but determining the role that internationalization plays in the way that influencer marketing is used within businesses that plan on expanding to new markets. In relation to how traditional marketing tools are adapted through the use of influencer marketing during the internationalization process. For the data collection two interviews were conducted along with one questionnaire with 109 respondents. The study has followed the same structure as can be seen in the frame of reference, according to two main subjects: Internationalization and E-marketing. The findings gathered through the questionnaires showed that credibility was highly valued in relation to that the use of local influencers was preferred to increase trust and credibility between the brand, influencer and their target audience. Along with credibility being more valued by the respondents than an influencer's network size. The findings from the interviews show that the use of influencer marketing is greatly dependent on the needs and preference of the individual market. While one brand preferred a more united front, yet still adapting to the Chinese market in terms of using local influencers and social media platforms. The other brand favored using local influencers in their different markets in order to best reach their consumers. Influencer marketing was used by the two brands to build brand awareness in new markets, through different influencer networks, yet the size of the network was not important for one of the brands, instead it was the connections within the network that were important.