Social media influencers helping the world? uncovering their advantages and tipping factors in cause-related marketing

Abstract

While social media influencers have manifested their convertible marketing value in sponsorship deals, brands and non-profits have also been experimenting with them to promote social causes. Whether and how influencers’ traits that contribute to their commercial success also translate to cause-related marketing is yet understudied. This research investigates the specific traits and factors that help to explain influencers’ strengths in cause-related marketing through a qualitative approach via conducting in-depth interviews. Drawing on source credibility, parasocial relation, and congruence effect, this research identified several factors that potentially contribute to followers’ receptivity toward prosocial behaviors promoted by influencers, including source credibility, parasocial relation with followers, followers’ wishful identification, and different levels of congruence (influencer-cause fit, follower-cause fit, and consistency among causes). We further explore how followers perceive influencers’ promotion of prosocial behaviors from a marketing perspective. This research contributes to our understanding of the advantages of influencers in cause-related marketing, and advance knowledge on source credibility and congruence theory in the context of influencer marketing.

Keywords:

• cause-related marketing
• influencers
• credibility
• parasocial relation
• congruence

Acknowledgment

The author would like to thank Jasmin Binte Mohamad Nazry for her assistance.

Disclosure statement

We have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a URECA grant at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and a Thematic Tier 1 grant (RT15/21) from the Ministry of Education, Singapore.

Notes on contributors

Chen Lou

Chen Lou, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Integrated Marketing Communication, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University.

Xuan Zhou

Xuan Zhou, Ph.D. candidate, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637718.

Qinyue Xu

Qinyue Xu, M.S. student, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637718.