The role of social media followers’ agency in influencer marketing: a study based on the heuristic–systematic model of information processing

Abstract

An increasing number of social media influencers have incorporated product recommendations into the online curation of their daily lifestyles through intimate self-disclosures (ISDs). While greater attention has been paid to the marketing potential of influencers, how social media followers respond to influencers’ ISDs remains understudied. This study examines the psychosocial mechanisms underlying the effect of influencers’ ISDs on followers’ purchase intentions by integrating the relational communication perspective and the heuristic–systematic model of information processing. Data were collected through an online survey service in China, and hypotheses were tested through structural equation modelling and conditional process analysis. The statistical results indicated that the effect of influencers’ ISDs on followers’ purchase intentions is sequentially mediated by perceived altruistic motives behind influencers’ products recommendation and followers’ attitudes toward recommended products. Further, this serial mediation effect is moderated by followers’ message involvement and product knowledge. The managerial and theoretical implications of the above findings are discussed.

Keywords:

• Social media influencers
• social media followers
• influencer marketing
• relational communication
• heuristic–systematic model
• intimate self-disclosure

Acknowledgements

The authors thank three anonymous referees for their valuable comments. Thanks also go to Shubing Wu, Xuyang Liu, Wenjing Bao, and Professor Fei Wang at Xiamen University for their assistance in data collection or analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the corresponding author’s grant from the Fujian Social Sciences Fund (grant number FJ2022B131).

Notes on contributors

Longzhao Zheng

Longzhao Zheng is a PhD candidate at the School of Journalism and Communication, Xiamen University. His main research interests are consumer behavior, brand marketing, and social media influencers. He can be contacted via [email protected].

Bingrui Huang

Bingrui Huang is a postgraduate student at the School of Journalism and Communication, Xiamen University. His main research interest is new media and society. He can be contacted via [email protected].

Hongfeng Qiu

Hongfeng Qiu is a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Xiamen University. His research interests include media psychology, persuasion effect, and social marketing. He can be contacted via [email protected].

Haiqing Bai

Haiqing Bai is an associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Xiamen University. His research interests include consumer behavior and brand marketing. He can be contacted via [email protected].