How do consumers interact with social media influencers in extraordinary times?
Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing
ISSN: 2040-7122
Article publication date: 26 July 2023
Issue publication date: 3 May 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Consumers are increasingly spending more time on social media platforms to cope with anxiety and loneliness resulting from the recent pandemic. The extraordinary times, characterised by isolation and lockdown, has placed increasing dependence on online technology as a coping mechanism in which social media influencers (SMIs) served as the human face of brands, helping both consumers and brands maintain human connection. How should practitioners navigate their social media campaigns in this changing environment?
Design/methodology/approach
To answer this question, the Source Connectedness Pyramid is proposed to help explain and compare the interactions between consumers and SMIs in ordinary and extraordinary times.
Findings
In their interactions with influencers during ordinary times, consumers are satiated with influencer source characteristics of attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise. However, during extraordinary times, consumers substitute their usual preference to focus on connectedness, characterised by relatedness, belongingness and attachment.
Originality/value
The empirical study within this paper lends support to this proposition and offers additional insights. The proposed Source Connectedness Pyramid contributes to influencer communication theoretically and has strategic implications for practitioners when navigating their social media campaigns in these extraordinary times.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by an internal research grant from RMIT University. The authors recognise and acknowledge the efforts of Peter Hvala in improving this paper.
Conflict of Interest: On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Citation
Saldanha, N., Mulye, R. and Japutra, A. (2024), "How do consumers interact with social media influencers in extraordinary times?", Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 333-348. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-02-2023-0062
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited