The Commercialization of Social Media Stars: A Literature Review and Conceptual Framework On The Strategic Use of Social Media Influencers

International Journal of Advertising
The Review of Marketing Communications
ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rina20
The commercialization of social media stars: a

literature review and conceptual framework on
the strategic use of social media influencers
Liselot Hudders , Steffi De Jans & Marijke De Veirman
To cite this article: Liselot Hudders , Steffi De Jans & Marijke De Veirman (2020): The
commercialization of social media stars: a literature review and conceptual framework on
the strategic use of social media influencers, International Journal of Advertising, DOI:
10.1080/02650487.2020.1836925
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2020.1836925
Published online: 28 Oct 2020.
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING
https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2020.1836925
The commercialization of social media stars: a literature

review and conceptual framework on the strategic
use of social media influencers
Liselot Huddersa,b, Steffi De Jansa and Marijke De Veirmana
a
Department of Communication Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; bDepartment of
Marketing, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

This review provides insight into the research on the strategic use Received 10 June 2020
of social media influencers. A search in the Scopus database Accepted 9 October 2020
yielded a total of 154 peer-reviewed academic publications focus-
sing on influencer marketing, published mostly in the last three KEYWORDS
years (2018–2020). Most of these studies were empirical and used Influencer marketing; social
media influencer; literature
survey research, an experimental design, content analysis, or inter- review; branding;
view methodology. While a few studies examined how influencers advertising effectiveness
can incite behavioural change or affect public opinion, the major-
ity of studies focussed on the use of influencers as a commercial
marketing tactic. Using Stern’s Revised Communication Model for
Advertising as a theoretical framework, the studies were classified
according to three research characteristics: source, message, and
audience. The first research stream focussed on the perspectives
of influencers and communication professionals. The second
stream was concerned with the content strategies used by influ-
encers in their sponsored posts. The third research stream
focussed on the appeal of influencers and the efficacy of their
sponsored recommendations. Several studies in the third stream
were concerned with the transparency of this covert marketing
tactic. The paper concludes with a future research agenda and
implications for marketing practice and public policy.
Introduction
In the past decade, many social media users have gained online fame, expressed by a
significant number of followers, by building attractive and appealing social media pro-
files. They established a strong online identity by first sharing their interests and opin-
ions in personal blogs and then quickly turning to social media with the emergence
of social networking sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and more recently,
TikTok. These popular social media users, also referred to as social media influencers
(simply referred to as influencers, hereafter), social media stars (Gaenssle and Budzinski
2020), or micro-celebrities (Gaenssle and Budzinski 2020), appear to have a strong
CONTACT Liselot Hudders Liselot.Hudders@Ugent.be Department of Communication Sciences, Ghent

University, Korte Meer 11, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
ß 2020 Advertising Association
2 L. HUDDERS ET AL.
impact on their followers’ decision-making. Therefore, they are repeatedly approached

by advertisers to endorse products, brands, organizations, or ideas on their social
media profiles, a marketing tactic known as influencer marketing (De Veirman,
Cauberghe, and Hudders 2017). Today, influencer marketing is a commonly used strat-
egy, resulting in forecasts that suggest the worth of the influencer market will reach
$15 billion by 2022 (Business Intelligence 2019).
Research on influencer marketing has flourished in the past four years (2016–2020).
The first studies specifically focussed on reviewing the literature were published in 2019.
Sundermann and Raabe (2019) published a review of the research on the use of influ-
encers for strategic communication conducted between 2011 and 2018 (N ¼ 39). De
Veirman, Hudders, and Nelson (2019) complemented this review by focussing on influen-
cer marketing research among samples of children under twelve. Nafi and Ahmed (2019)
provided an overview of the research on the ethical use of influencers in the tourism
domain. The research conducted on influencer marketing provides in-depth insights into
the value, use, and efficacy of influencer marketing. However, given that the research
field is quickly emerging and covers different disciplines and methodological approaches,
a comprehensive review elaborating on the findings of past research may serve as a
state-of-art study and foster further research. New insights on the research domain of
influencer marketing may be valuable 1) by focussing solely on the topic of influencer
marketing, whereas some of the previous reviews only indirectly examined this research
topic; 2) by collecting academic papers up to 2020, as there is a steep incline in the
number of studies in the past three years (since 2018); and 3) by focussing on all sam-
ples and sectors. Hence, the current literature review complements previous reviews by
providing insight into the current knowledge on the strategic use of influencers.
Accordingly, this study aims to provide an up-to-date review of the academic
research focussing on influencer marketing and consisting of the various research
streams in the domain. In particular, the aim of this systematic review is to gather
insights into the theoretical paradigms, methodologies, and findings of past research.
The current review goes beyond merely indicating the direction of previous research,
as findings are discussed thoroughly to develop directions for future research and sug-
gest managerial and public policy implications. A clear conceptualization of both social
media influencers and influencer marketing is provided based on insights from past
research, taking into account recent evolutions in the field.
A systematic literature search in the Scopus database was conducted to collect aca-
demic papers published on the topic of influencer marketing up to April 2020. This
search yielded 154 relevant papers that were further analyzed not only to obtain clear
insight into the general tendencies in the research on influencer marketing (e.g.
applied research methods, product categories, target groups) but also to grasp current
knowledge on the strategic use of influencers. We adopted a framework-based
approach to classify papers according to the Revised Communication Model for
Advertising by Stern (1994). We assimilated the research to gain in-depth insight into
the specific sources, messages, and audiences of influencer marketing. Although we
acknowledge that this review is time-bound and comprised of only the first wave of
influencer marketing studies (published up to April 2020), we believe it is important
and timely to provide a landmark in this divergent field.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING 3
Theoretical framework: the revised communication model for advertising

The Revised Communication Model for Advertising by Stern (1994) is based on the
classic linear communication model of Lasswell (1948), stating that a message can be
sent from a sender (source) to a receiver (audience) through a media channel.
Although traditional communication models take into account that noise may dilute
proper message transmission, more complex interactions between source and audi-
ence are not taken into account, and the latter is considered a passive message
receiver. The revised model considers the interactions between source and audience,
taking into account the specificities of a marketing context. We, however, suggest a
few adjustments to the model to capture the influencer marketing context.
First, and especially relevant in an influencer context, Stern (1994) distinguishes dif-
ferent sources in the advertising communication process: sponsor, author, and per-
sona. The sponsor (in our case, the company, nonprofit, or brand) bears the legal and
financial responsibility for the advertisement, while the author bears the creative
responsibility. Stern (1994) identifies a third source in advertising, the persona, which
functions as the (passive) message communicator in the ad (spokesperson). While
Stern (1994) refers to the advertising agencies taking up the creative responsibility
(author), and the celebrities or spokespersons taking up the role of the persona, the
division of labour is more complex in the case of influencer marketing. In the context
of influencer marketing, influencers do not simply function as spokespersons for the
brand (persona) but are given creative freedom to develop and distribute advertising
messages on their own social media. Hence, they are empowered to take up the role
of author and even bear legal responsibility for the advertising message. Advertising
agencies’ role may vary from intermediaries or bridging parties to strategic decision
makers, setting out creative guidelines and managing the influencer marketing cam-
paign on behalf of the brand. In the context of influencer marketing, authorship is
shared by influencers and agencies. Similar to Stern (1994), we distinguish three sour-
ces in the influencer marketing communication framework, although taking slightly
different roles: the sponsor, the intermediary (author and bridging partner), and influ-
encer (author and persona).
The second factor in the model concerns the advertising message or discourse.
Stern (1994) distinguishes three types of discourses that can be used in advertising
messages: autobiographical revelation, third-person narrative, and dramatic enactment.
While the first refers to the revelation of personal information, the latter two strategies
refer to the use of storytelling, either by simply telling the story or playacting.
Although storytelling may be crucial in influencer marketing (to make the content
interesting), an autobiographical element in commercial messages is crucial to assure
authenticity. The persona should be matched with the message to ensure a good fit.
The third factor in the advertising model is the audience (Stern 1994), which refers
to how the message receiver deconstructs the message and ascribes meaning to it.
Aside from being an active decoder of the message, the consumer can be considered
an actor who interacts with the source and actively contributes to the message’s
meaning. In an influencer marketing context, it is important to distinguish immediate
followers of an influencer from the wider reach of the message (e.g. reached by shar-
ing of the message by the brand and the influencer’s followers). This theoretical
4 L. HUDDERS ET AL.
Table 1. Research questions.

Source How can social media influencers and influencer marketing be defined?
What are the determining characteristics of social media influencers?
How do influencers perceive their influencer activities?
What is the value of influencer marketing according to sponsors (companies, brands
and nonprofit organisations) and intermediaries (advertising agencies)?
Which issues arise among these stakeholders (sponsors – intermediaries – influencers)?
Message What are the specifics of the content endorsed by influencers?
Which type of sponsored content is endorsed by social media influencers?
Which sectors are examined in influencer marketing research?
Recipient How are followers ascribing meaning to sponsored content?
How are followers valuing social media influencers?
Which underlying mechanisms explain influencer marketing efficacy?
Which factors (message and source) influence efficacy of influencer marketing?
What are the effects of sponsorship transparency?
framework is further used to conceptualize influencer marketing and to structure the

studies uncovered in our literature review.
Methodology
A systematic literature review was conducted to provide a state-of-the-art study on
the strategic use of influencers. We adopted a framework-based approach to classify
the studies into different themes (Paul and Criado 2020). The Revised Communication
Model for Advertising by Stern (1994) was used as the guiding framework to cluster
the research. The systematic review method was comprised of five steps that involve
the framing of research questions, the identification of relevant articles, quality screen-
ing, and a synthesis and interpretation of the research findings (Khan et al. 2003). This
review specifically aimed to uncover the insights identified in the research on the stra-
tegic use of influencers. In particular, following Stern’s (1994) framework, we aimed to
uncover source characteristics, message content, and in-depth insights into how audi-
ences decode the influencer content. In Table 1, an overview of the specific research
questions can be found.
The next step involved the identification of studies examining how influencers can
be used to persuade others and affect public opinions. To collect a sample of publica-
tions that cover this topic, the following steps were applied as suggested by Paul and
Criado (2020). First, a database was selected to conduct the search. Although Web of
Science is a widely used database for literature searches, we decided to use the
Scopus database as it not only covers a greater range of academic journals than Web
of Science (Paul and Criado 2020), but it also includes recently accepted publications,
an important asset as research on influencer marketing is currently flourishing. Next,
relevant keywords were identified to collect the publications. The keywords were
selected by screening the keywords used in recently published studies on influencer
marketing. Keywords were determined based on their ability to identify relevant
articles, that is studies focussing on the use of social media influencers for strategic
communication purposes. These keywords were then entered in the Scopus database
with the following command: ‘sponsored blog’ or ‘sponsored vlog’ or ‘social media
influencer’ or ‘micro-celebrity’ or ‘influencer marketing’ or ‘influencer advertising’ or
‘social network influencer’. The search was limited to empirical articles and literature
Research Clusters – Strategic Use of Social Media Influencers (N = 154)
MESSAGE (N = 21) AUDIENCE (N = 77)

SOURCES (N=56)
Defining and conceptualizing (N = Appealing Nature of Influencers (N = 15)

18)
Idenfying SMI’s (N = 17) Content of SMI posts How are influencers perceived?
What are social media influeners and How to idenfy the best SMI for strategic (N = 21) • Survey, interviews, content analyses
influencer markeng? communicaon? Insights in content posted • Focus on specific domains (e.g., beauty,
• Mainly conceptual papers and • Mainly Social Network Analysis and by influencers? vaping) and target groups (children,
reviews mostly on Twier • Mainly discourse adolescents, women)
• Characteriscs and evoluon of • Mainly determined by user analysis on Twier,
influencers characteriscs (centrality and reach) Instagram, Sina Weibo
• Defining influencer markeng and • Somemes combined with content and blogs
characteriscs (experse, engagement) • Focus on food, apparel, Efficacy of influencer posts? (N = 41)
its specifics
vaping, city markeng, Efficacy of sponsored SMI content?
luxury, travel • Mainly survey and experimental studies,
but also analysis of social media data
• Mainly in a B2C context
Sponsor and Intermediary Influencer Perspecve (N = 9) • Source characteriscs, product
Perspecve (N = 12) Insights in influencers’ ideas on sponsored characteriscs, content characteriscs
Insights in the tacc among content and ethical consideraons? • Underlying mechanisms
professionals? • Netnographic approach, interviews and • SMI as causave agent or solver of
• Surveys and interviews among content analysis corporte crises
praconers, case studies of digital • Type of influencers: freesurfers,
media campaigns teenagers, mumbloggers and high net-
• Increased value of influencers for worth SMI’s
Sponsorship Transparancy (N = 21)
PR or Adversing Purposes • Influencers are oen concerned about
Effect of an adversing disclosure?
• However, many uncertaines the ethical consequences of their
• Mainly experimental research (and survey)
regarding their use acvies.
• Disclosure increases ad recognion and
transparancy
• Impact on cognive and affecve brand
effects mixed
Figure 1. Research clusters in influencer marketing research.
reviews (excluding conference proceedings) and focussed on discovering the identified

keywords in the title, abstract, or keywords fields in Scopus.
The search resulted in a total of 187 publications that were then manually reviewed
for quality and fit based on their abstracts. This review led to the exclusion of 27 articles
that did not specifically focus on influencer marketing, three articles that were not written
in English, and three articles that did not meet the quality criteria. The 154 remaining
articles were all thoroughly read, and keywords were added to each article (see Appendix
for an overview of the studies). Based on these keywords and following the framework of
Stern (1994), the papers were then classified into three research streams depending on
their main focus (i.e. source, message, or audience; see Figure 1 for an overview). Within
these three streams, we identified subdivisions, focussing on a different facet or target
group. As such, the research focussing on the source of influencer marketing was divided
into studies focussing on the perspective of the sponsor and intermediaries versus the
perspective of the influencer. This stream also involved studies focussing on the concep-
tualization of the phenomenon. The second stream explored the message or content
strategies used in sponsored influencer content. The third stream focussed on the mean-
ing of influencer content for audiences and its impact on them. This stream also took
into account the consequences of a more transparent use of influencer marketing.
The final steps in this literature review involved the reading of the full texts of the
identified articles, which was done by the first author of this paper. The findings of
these studies were synthesized, research gaps were identified, and practical implica-
tions were specified.
General trends in research on influencer marketing

The studies in our sample were published between 2011 and 2020, with a sharp
increase in the number of studies on influencer marketing from 2018 to 2020 (see
Figure 2 for the evolution of influencer marketing studies). Most of the studies in our
6 L. HUDDERS ET AL.
Number of Studies Published over the Years

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Figure 2. Evolution in influencer marketing research.
sample focussed on the commercial use of influencers (branding and public relations),
although some studies focussed on the use of influencers to raise awareness (e.g.
health communication) and change public opinion (e.g. feminism, hijab culture, and
political propaganda). While the majority of the 154 publications used an empirical
approach, there were also five literature reviews included in the sample and twelve
conceptual papers, mainly covering the conceptualization and definition of influencers
and influencer marketing. The empirical studies adopted a range of methodologies,
both quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative studies mainly involved experimen-
tal research, survey research, and social network analysis. The qualitative studies
mainly involved ethnographic research, in-depth interviews, and discourse analysis.
The studies were conducted in Europe, the United States of America, Australia, the
Middle East, and Asia. Although the most frequently discussed sectors in the studies
were food, beauty, fashion, and travel, the review covered a wide variety of topics in
different domains (e.g. religion, political propaganda, health communication, public
relations, and marketing communication).
Various sources in influencer marketing

The first stream of research in our review concerned the different sources in influencer
marketing. As such, we distinguished between studies that took an influencer perspec-
tive and studies that captured the views of sponsors and intermediaries on influencer
marketing. Studies in this former research stream focussing on the influencers’ per-
spectives were divided into conceptual studies, studies that identified the most appro-
priate influencer, and studies that used an interview-based approach to gather
influencers’ views on their activities.
Defining social media influencers

We start this review with a proper conceptualization and definition of social media
influencers by thoroughly analyzing all studies in our review and specifically the
literature reviews and conceptual studies (N ¼ 18). Being a social media influencer is
desired by many yet remains a status obtained by few (Estables, Guerrero-Pico, and
Contreras-Espinosa 2019). The appeal of influencers lies not necessarily in their fame
but in that they receive free products from brands or are even paid to promote prod-
ucts. This has led to a proliferation of individuals who want to become an influencer.
Professionalization of the sector has occurred in recent years, not only leading to
growth in the number of influencers but also to agencies focussing on influencer mar-
keting as a communication tactic (Campbell and Farrell 2020). Accordingly, the con-
struct of influencers is constantly evolving to meet the changing context and
circumstances.
Social media influencers are often referred to as micro-celebrities (Gaenssle and
Budzinski 2020), which can be defined as ‘the state of being famous to a niche group
of people’ (Raun 2018, 104). They are perceived as celebrities who achieved their fame
through social media and are, therefore, sometimes named social media stars.
Marwick and Boyd (2011) found that Twitter users with large numbers of followers,
the ones considered micro-celebrities, refer to their audiences as ‘fans’. The main facet
that distinguishes micro-celebrities from traditional A-list celebrities is the close con-
nection with their audiences. To obtain this close connection, the micro-celebrity
needs to share aspects from his/her personal life, also called the ‘celebrification of a
private self’ (Raun 2018, 106).
Freberg et al. (2011) define influencers as ‘a new type of third-party endorser who
shape audience attitudes through blogs, tweets, and the use of other social media’
(90). Similarly, Carter (2016) defines influencers as trusted individuals with large social
media followings, thereby focussing on the characteristics of reach and impact.
Agostino, Arnaboldi, and Calissano (2019) add the element of trust in the definition by
describing an influencer as ‘an active and empowered social media user who is lis-
tened to and seen as a trusted source by other social media users’ (3). Campbell and
Farrell (2020), Campbell and Grimm (2019), and Enke and Borchers (2019) define influ-
encers specifically from a strategic communication perspective. In particular, Campbell
and Farrell (2020) define influencers as ‘someone who posts to social media in
exchange for compensation’ (2), and Enke and Borchers (2019) refer to influencers as
‘third-party actors that have established a significant number of relevant relationships
with a specific quality to and influence on organizational stakeholders through content
production, content distribution, interaction, and personal appearance on the social
web’ (267).
A thorough analysis of the definitions given to influencers in our review reveals
two central characteristics to be considered an influencer: reach and impact. To further
elaborate on how this impact can be achieved, we identify three crucial characteristics
in obtaining a successful influencer status: expertise, authenticity, and intimacy. These
characteristics may not only be crucial in determining the impact of an influencer on
the decision-making of followers but also may be of great importance in generating
higher numbers of followers. Influencers who are perceived as experts and who share
intimate and authentic information with their followers are able to attract more fol-
lowers and have a stronger impact on those followers’ decision-making. We further
explore these facets below.
8 L. HUDDERS ET AL.
Reach refers to having a substantial follower base and, subsequently, a large sec-
ondary reach through these followers. Influential social media users have a large num-
ber of direct connections or are central nodes in a graph structure, indirectly
connected with a large number of nodes through direct connections with highly influ-
ential nodes. This implies that the direct reach of influencers does not have to be
large, as illustrated by the success of nano-influencers (less than 1,000 followers) and
micro-influencers (between 1,000 and 10,000 followers), if the secondary reach is high
enough to ensure a significant impact on the decision-making of a substantial number
of people. An influencer with a fewer number of followers but with a bridging func-
tion between important communities might be highly influential (Carter 2016).
Moreover, an influencer often has access to stakeholders that are more difficult to
reach or access to niche audiences as they gather followers with shared interests
(Enke and Borchers 2019).
Impact refers to the influence one has on the decision-making of others. The con-
cept of opinion leadership is important to note here, referring to an individual being
perceived as an expert in a particular domain, with his/her opinion being important to
many (Lin, Bruning, and Swarna 2018). Influencers often have a specialized profile,
focussing on a specific niche or product category, such as fashion, food, fitness and
health, or gaming (Schouten, Janssen, and Verspaget 2020). The influencer is then
highly likely to be an opinion leader in the domain of his/her expertise but not neces-
sarily in other domains (Carter 2016). Next to obtaining expertise in a certain domain,
the creation of an authentic identity is central in the definition of influencers (Carter
2016; Marwick and Boyd 2011). A relevant and important theoretical construct is that
of self-branding or personal branding, which refers to ‘individuals developing a dis-
tinctive public image for commercial gain and/or cultural capital’ (Khamis, Ang, and
Welling 2017). The key idea is that influencers should have a unique selling point that
distinguishes them from others and makes them interesting and relevant for both
their public audience and marketers (Khamis, Ang, and Welling 2017). The narratives
they use in their social media assist them in building this personal brand. However,
important to note here is that this strategic self-promotion can also be considered
inauthentic when it becomes too obvious (Marwick and Boyd 2011).
A third facet deemed important in various studies on influencer marketing is the
creation of an intimate bond with followers (Abidin and Thompson 2012; Enke and
Borchers 2019). The opportunity to interact with followers on social media allows the
influencer to build a close bond with his/her followers and be considered a peer
rather than a distant celebrity. Influencers attach great importance to the creation of
feelings of similarity, familiarity, and likeability, basic characteristics of the source
attractiveness model (Ohanian 1991), as these attractiveness indicators create a sense
of parasocial interaction (i.e. the connection people feel with social media influencers),
which explains part of the persuasive appeal of influencer marketing (Sokolova and
Kefi 2020). Next to establishing personal interactions with their followers, influencers’
posting of personal content, such as hobbies, friends, preferences, and daily activities,
contribute to these feelings of intimacy (Enke and Borchers 2019).
Influencers are active on different social media platforms, with YouTube and
Instagram as leading platforms (Gaenssle and Budzinski 2020), and they often combine
profiles and share mutual content on these platforms (e.g. sharing a TikTok video on
Instagram). Campbell and Farrell (2020) distinguish five categories of influencers:
celebrity influencers, mega-influencers, macro-influencers, micro-influencers, and nano-
influencers. While the origin of the fame of celebrity influencers lies outside social
media, the other types of influencers found their fame on social media. The distinction
among these categories mainly lies in the number of followers, with mega-influencers
having attained one million followers or more, macro-influencers between 100,000
and one million followers, micro-influencers between 10,000 and 100,000, and nano-
influencers with follower counts smaller than 10,000. Macro-influencers appear to be
top in their specific domain and have stronger engagement rates with their followers
compared to mega-influencers. Micro-influencers are more limited in scope geograph-
ically and have fewer partnerships with brands. However, they score higher on authen-
ticity and intimacy compared to macro-influencers, increasing their persuasive impact
(Campbell and Farrell 2020). Nano-influencers are often in the early stages of their car-
eer and have the strongest engagement rates of all influencer categories due to their
smaller audience. They are more open to unpaid partnerships to build their profile,
and they often reach out to brands themselves to foster partnerships (Campbell and
Farrell 2020). Influencers can increase their visibility to certain companies and users by
strategically using hashtags, following companies’ social media accounts, or tagging
these accounts in their pictures or videos, a technique that is referred to as ‘hustling’
(Carter 2016).
Identifying powerful social media influencers

Seventeen studies in our sample were concerned with the identification of influencers
and searched for characteristics to determine influential social media users. These
studies usually focussed on one specific social medium, with Twitter being used most
often, and a specific sector, with a wide variety of sectors addressed in the studies
(e.g. tourism, beauty, health communication). Most of these studies were conducted in
the computer science field and adopted a social network analysis or Netnography
approach to identify the important nodes (influencers) in a network (Agostino,
Arnaboldi, and Calissano 2019). While the social network analysis is a quantitative
method to reveal structures and interactions between actors in social networks based
on the actors’ characteristics and their relationships with others, Netnography is a
qualitative, interpretative methodology in which knowledge is gathered in the com-
munity by combining passive monitoring of this community with active interactions
with members of the community. Only Vollenbroek et al. (2014) used a different
approach by conducting expert interviews among communication professionals using
the Delphi method to identify social media influencers for public relations (PR) pur-
poses. They identified factors related to the actor (e.g. credibility, authority); network
(e.g. active communication, number of contacts), and interactions (e.g. number of
shares and responses, message relevancy).
The studies adopting a social network analysis approach relied mainly on quantifi-
able metrics that identified the number and strength of the connections and the cen-
trality of the influencer with respect to other nodes (Agostino, Arnaboldi, and
10 L. HUDDERS ET AL.
Calissano 2019; Bokunewicz and Shulman 2017; Del Fresno Garcıa, Daly, and Sanchez-
Cabezudo 2016). A few studies relied on content characteristics of the posts by evalu-
ating hashtags and the descriptive captions (Bashari and Fazl-Ersi 2020), taking the
engagement a post evokes into account to discover influential users or combining
both user and content characteristics (Francalanci and Hussain 2017). For instance,
Arora et al. (2019) adopted machine learning to use the information on influencer pro-
files (e.g. number of posts, number of platforms on which an influencer is active) and
in the reactions to posts (e.g. sentiment analysis to examine the tone) to identify influ-
encers. Carter (2016) considered the importance of the online identity of the influencer
(e.g. interesting and relevant profile) and the characteristics of the followers (e.g. gen-
der, location, income, age).
A social media user’s score on the different determining characteristics (i.e. reach,
impact, expertise, authenticity and intimacy) played a crucial role in identifying his/her
influencer status. However, the importance of each of these characteristics in the
selection of an influencer might depend on the strategic aim. For instance, a strong
intimate bond with followers might be more important than reach when recruiting
influencers to promote sponsored content as Evers (2019) concludes in his work on
male professional freesurfers: ‘It is not simply the number of followers that matters for
sponsors but rather an intimacy of engagement that can generate value’ (14). This
suggests that reach should not be the determining factor when identifying relevant
influencers.
Conceptualizing influencer marketing: the strategic use of social media

influencers
The strategic use of influencers is also referred to as influencer marketing, influencer
advertising, or sponsored blogging/vlogging. It can be perceived as a particular form
of native advertising, which takes the look and feel of the platform on which it
emerges (Campbell and Grimm 2019), and it is also referred to as covert advertising
(i.e. disguising the persuasive nature of the content) or embedded advertising (i.e.
integrating the commercial content into editorial content). Influencer marketing arose
as a result of the declining effectiveness of traditional forms of persuasive communica-
tion and a growing consciousness that online user-generated content is more effective
in forming brand preferences and inciting behavioural change (Campbell and Farrell
2020; Carter 2016). Consumers tend to be more goal-directed online and, therefore,
more likely to be irritated by overt advertisements (Campbell and Farrell 2020).
Consumers are also spending more time online compared to print media, especially
on social media, which makes it more likely they may be exposed to the sponsored
content of influencers.
The research articles collected in our literature search mainly focussed on the stra-
tegic use of influencers for marketing communication—mainly Business-to-Consumer
(B2C) but also one Business-to-Business (B2B) study—and public relations (PR) pur-
poses. However, a few studies focussed on the use of influencers to change people’s
attitudes and behaviours in the domain of nonprofit marketing (e.g. health communi-
cation) and public opinion making (e.g. hijab culture, feminism, elections). In this
STRATEGIC USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS
SOURCES MESSAGE CHANNEL AUDIENCE
DOMAINS PLATFORMS AUDIENCE

STRATEGIC PROCESS • Large Reach
• Markeng Communicaon ROLE OF INFLUENCER • YouTube
• Planning • Engaged Audience
(B2B or B2C)
• Recognion Content Creator • Facebook
• Public Relaons Mulplicator • Instagram • Specific Audience
• Alignment
• Social Markeng and Protagonist • TikTok
• Movaon
Health Communicaon
• Coordinaon Moderator • Twier AD OUTCOMES
• Public opinion making • Twitch Message Aenon
Awareness
Sponsor Knowledge
Intermediary Atudes
Company/Brand –
Ad/PR/Influencer Agency Behavior
NonProfit – Government
BASIC PRINCIPLES
• Influencer receives material or INTERACTION SOURCE - AUDIENCE
financial compensaon • Source Aracveness (likeability,
• Sponsor and/or intermediary similarity, familiarity)
controls content • Source experse (experse and
trustworthiness)
SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER • Parasocial Interacon
CATEGORIES • Large or important reach • Aspiraon and Admiraon
• Celebrity • Impact on decision-making: • Congruity
• Mega • Experse
• Macro • Authenc Profile
• Micro • Inmate bond with
• Nano followers
Figure 3. Conceptualizing social media influencers and influencer marketing.
article, we use the term influencer marketing to refer to the strategic use of influencers
in all these domains.
Figure 3 provides a graphic visualization of the phenomenon of influencer market-
ing. This figure summarizes past research to provide a better understanding of the
determining factors in influencer marketing based on the model of Stern (1994)—
source, message, and audience—and provide insight into their interrelations and char-
acteristics. More specifically, the figure identifies the different sources in influencer
marketing (sponsor, intermediary, influencer) and visualizes their interrelations. It dis-
entangles the basic characteristics of the strategic use of influencers (e.g. remuneration
and control) and the different domains in which influencer marketing can be used
(e.g. public relations or marketing communication). The figure focuses on the charac-
teristics that determine a social media influencer (i.e. reach and impact), the different
types of influencers (ranging from nano-influencers to mega-influencers and celebrity
influencers), and the platforms used to exert their influence. The figure also offers
insight into the specifics of the message and the audience. In particular, an influencer
can take different roles ranging from creator and distributor of content to moderator
in brand discussions. Finally, the figure illuminates the characteristics of the audience
(e.g. large reach or engaged audience) and the impact influencer marketing can have
on the audience (e.g. message attention or actual behaviours). It further emphasizes
the assets of using influencers strategically (e.g. parasocial interaction or high credibil-
ity). The determining facets of influencer marketing are discussed in detail below.
Influencer marketing implies that influencers are materially or financially compen-
sated by advertisers to endorse products, services, brands, ideas, or opinions through
posts on their social media profiles (Campbell and Farrell 2020). Nevertheless, much of
the effort to build an appealing profile to attract a considerable follower base requires
free labour (Raun 2018). Significant diversity in influencer marketing formats arose in
recent years across various social media platforms with influencers endorsing the
sponsored content on their blogs, Twitter, Instagram feeds and stories, or in YouTube
or TikTok videos. A recent trend in the influencer marketing landscape is the use of
live streaming videos in which the influencer streams a live video to his/her followers
and in which the sponsored content can be promoted (Woodcock and Johnson
2019). As such, the live streaming platform Twitch is not only used to promote new
games but also other products and brands as part of sponsorship deals with
Twitch streamers.
The use of influencers to promote sponsored content is cost effective, as influencers
not only produce persuasive content but also spread it through their highly engaged
and very specific audience (Carter 2016; Enke and Borchers 2019). A wide variety of
influencer endorsements is possible, ranging from a subtle to a highly prominent
placement of the sponsored content. Lin, Bruning, and Swarna (2018) state that influ-
encers can increase consumers’ attachment to a product by linking their own status
and emotional attachment to the product, thereby increasing its hedonic value. By
giving product details, the expertise of influencers can increase the functional value of
the product. Control over the content lies mainly in the hands of the influencer, as
advertisers or agencies typically give general instructions about the type of endorse-
ment (e.g. how the sponsored content should be displayed and how often). The
power of influencer marketing rests in that the influencer produces the content as he/
she knows best what type of content his/her follower base likes the most. However,
more recently, other influencer marketing formats have arisen in which the influencer
is invited to the studio of the advertiser and portrayed in a traditional commercial or
print ad, like a celebrity. This content is then both endorsed by the advertiser on its
social media profiles and by the influencer. Influencers act as protagonists or simply as
multiplicators by distributing the messages of the persuasive content. Enke and
Borchers (2019) distinguish a fourth role in which the influencer is involved in interac-
tions about content relevant to a brand, taking up the role of moderator.
Influencer perspectives
Only nine studies conducted research among influencers to discover their view on
their role in strategic communication and to highlight ethical considerations regarding
their practice. All of these relied on interviews with influencers, and most of them
focussed on a specific type of influencer (e.g. freesurfers, travellers, high net worth
influencers, livestreamers, feminist bloggers, and mombloggers). The studies revealed
that influencers were highly concerned about the ethics of their activities.
Mombloggers (i.e. mothers who blog about parenthood) seemed to struggle with unit-
ing the commercial practice of momblogging with caregiving tasks and finding a right
balance in this (Archer 2019b). Professional mombloggers considered the products
they receive due to their influencer activities as gifts for their children; however, they
appeared to be concerned with legal and ethical issues related to the sharing of pic-
tures and stories of their children (Archer 2019a).
The study by Wellman et al. (2020) among travel influencers provided further
insight into the ethical principles that guide influencers. They found the participants’
key ethical principle and compass concerned authenticity. Leban et al. (2020) further
found that European luxury influencers with a high net worth carefully considered the
lifestyle they portrayed on social media to retain their legitimacy as endorser of luxury
brands. The study of Novoselova and Jenson (2019) pointed toward other ethical
issues that came with professional influencer activities: online harassment, verbal vio-
lence, and hate mail. Their study among feminist bloggers revealed that many of the
bloggers suffered from online harassments and took measures to secure their safety
(e.g. using a pseudonym and covering personal details). No other studies in our sam-
ple reflected on the negative consequences of being an influencer.
Sponsor and intermediary perspective

Studies in this cluster (N ¼ 12) relied mainly on interview and survey methodologies;
however, some case studies described how influencers were strategically used for pro-
motional purposes by analyzing a particular campaign. Elton and Lopez (2018)
described how ELLE magazine makes use of digital media, such as Instagram, and ela-
borated on the ways in which influencers were used to create authentic content for
the magazine, leverage reach, and lead to more user engagement. Another particularly
interesting case was the B2B influencer marketing campaign of TE Connectivity, which
showed the effectiveness of influencers in a B2B context (Melzer and Zech 2018).
The interview and survey studies were conducted among representatives of com-
munication and advertising agencies to examine their experiences with and reflections
on the use of influencers for strategic communication. Two studies focussed on the
use of influencers for PR purposes. For instance, Wolf and Archer (2018) conducted
interviews with 31 senior PR professionals based in Australia. Their study revealed the
rise of influencers as a PR tool, and the PR practitioners noted a shift from a relation-
ship building model to a paid model (in that influencers were being paid to endorse
company content). Recently, Navarro et al. (2020) distributed a survey among market-
ing practitioners in Europe (N ¼ 2710) and Latin America (N ¼ 914) to examine how
they valued influencers in PR. While professionals highly valued influencers for PR pur-
poses, especially in Latin America, the strategic use of these influencers was still rather
limited. Most of the professionals did not have specific strategies to communicate
with influencers or identify the relevant influencers for their corporation, although
qualitative factors seemed to gain importance (e.g. fit with brand values or con-
tent creativity).
The other studies in the sample reflecting on the agency perspective focussed on
the use of influencers for marketing communication purposes. For instance, Childers,
Lemon, and Hoy (2019) interviewed 19 advertising professionals with different func-
tions (e.g. account executives, strategy director, social media manager) and from a var-
iety of advertising agencies (e.g. large, international, niche) to elaborate on their
experiences with influencer marketing. All interviewees indicated that influencer mar-
keting was gaining popularity and that both large and small brands wanted to engage
influencers for their campaigns. The success of influencer marketing, according to the
interviewed professionals, was in that influencers were considered trustworthy sources
for these audiences and that they provided branded content in authentic ways.
However, despite these benefits, the advertising professionals had several
considerations regarding the use of influencers, including the high prices they had to
pay for certain influencers, the difficulties and uncertainties that arose concerning
legal requirements (e.g. related to the disclosure of influencer posts), the dilemma of
fitting influencer marketing into a traditional agency structure (e.g. responsibilities
regarding the content and creative appeal used in the campaign), the difficulties
regarding the selection of the appropriate influencers (e.g. deciding what characteris-
tics play a role), and the difficult balance between retaining control over content and
making optimal use of the creativity of the influencer, which might involve high risk
for the brand (e.g. posting inappropriate or illegal content).
Gr€ave (2019) conducted a survey among German marketers (N ¼ 76) to examine
which key performance indicators they preferred to use to measure the success of
their influencer marketing campaigns, and the researcher complemented these
insights with actual data of five influencer marketing campaigns launched in Germany.
He found that marketers relied mostly on quantitative metrics indicating the reach
and number of interactions. These metrics were also deemed important in the study
by Childers, Lemon, and Hoy (2019). An additional metric that the marketers in the
study by Gr€ave (2019) deemed to be relevant was comment valence, as this indicated
how followers felt about an influencer’s post and could allow a qualitative evaluation
of the influencer campaign.
Two studies highlighted the importance of influencers in influencing people
through reliance on insights from marketing professionals and marketing campaigns.
Seeler, Lu€ck, and Sch€anzel (2019) interviewed 15 representatives from destination
management organizations to unravel how experienced travellers shared their experi-
ences through social media, and they found that people build experiences through
secondary experiences of experienced travellers. This implies that influencers have
important social value as they can build experiences in others through the sharing of
their stories on social media. Hutchinson (2019) took an ethnographic approach and
relied on the cultural intermediation framework to understand how meaning was
exchanged in the social media environment between digital-first (obtained their celeb-
rity status in an online environment) personalities (influencers), algorithms, and plat-
forms. Interviews with representatives of digital agencies revealed that influencers
were highly concerned with feedback from their followers and adapted their content
based on the feedback. Platform requirements and algorithmic changes forced influ-
encers and digital agencies to keep pace with these changes, and agencies took a
central role in guiding influencers.
Summary
Studies in this research stream were concerned with the proper conceptualization and
definition of social media influencers and influencer marketing, and the studies high-
lighted the perspectives of the different sources in influencer marketing. Influencer
marketing (i.e. the strategic use of social media influencers to promote a company,
brand, issue, or cause in return for remuneration) has clearly become an important
tool in the strategic communication of for-profit and nonprofit organizations.
However, many concerns and uncertainties arose in the interviews with professionals
and influencers. As such, it remains unclear how influencer marketing can be optimally
deployed as a tool and how a proper balance in responsibilities can be maintained.
Influencers are often concerned with ethicalities of their influencer activities.
Content strategies in influencer marketing

Although this was the smallest research stream in our literature review, there were
several studies that analyzed the content posted by influencers (N ¼ 21). These
studies focussed on different social media (e.g. blogs, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter,
and Sina Weibo) and on a wide variety of domains, ranging from luxury (Iqani
2019), food (Coates et al. 2019b), and beauty (Jorge, Maro ^po, and Nunes 2018) to
hijab culture (Mohamad and Hassim 2019), journalism (Usher 2020), politics
(Khazraee 2019), and city marketing (van Eldik et al. 2019). Most of these studies
performed a discourse analysis to examine the narratives used by influencers, spe-
cifically how the discourses formed their influencer status (Page 2012). These stud-
ies revealed that influencers appeared to be highly concerned with the creation of
personal intimacy or the formation of an intimate bond with their followers (Abidin
and Thompson 2012; Duffy and Kang 2020; Pilgrim and Bohnet-Joschko 2019).
Different strategies could be used to establish emotional attachment with their
audience (e.g. showing endearment and giving their audience a peak behind the
scenes (Abidin and Thompson 2012).
Another important facet was the construction of a desirable image. A content
analysis of the ‘About Me’ sections of travel bloggers showed that they represented
themselves as brands highlighting a unique selling point, often being adventurous
and risk-takers, to emphasize how they were different from other bloggers (Duffy and
Kang 2020). A difficulty for the bloggers was finding the right balance in portraying a
lavish lifestyle while keeping the connection with their audience by creating some
sense of ‘commonness’ (Abidin and Thompson 2012). Another difficult balance for the
bloggers was between authenticity and commercialism. Jorge, Maro ^po, and Nunes
(2018) found that the popular Portuguese beauty vlogger SofiaBBeauty tried to bal-
ance authenticity and commercialism by using a personal narrative in which she care-
fully explained why she liked a product and offered her followers insight into her
private life.
Other studies in the review aimed to analyze which content was endorsed by influ-
encers and how it was endorsed. They may not only promote products but also set
standards (e.g. depict a beauty ideal; Abidin and Thompson 2012). Pilgrim and
Bohnet-Joschko (2019), for instance, found that the fitspiration content they analyzed
propagated a certain body ideal (i.e. muscled body) and routine (i.e. daily training and
low-fat diet). An interesting finding in the different studies was that product promo-
tions more often appeared in influencer content in recent years than in earlier years.
Pilgrim and Bohnet-Joschko (2019) showed that branded content played a prominent
role in fitspiration posts, as 71% of the posts showed at least one brand, and 90% of
these brands were mentioned by name and explicitly tagged in the post. Similarly, an
automated content analysis of the videos posted by the 100 most popular YouTube
channels in Germany between 2009 and 2017 revealed a steep increase in the use of
referral links (i.e. links to promote products on external sites) in the description boxes
of YouTube videos and a positive evolution in the number of product promotions (not
necessarily sponsored) that were orally mentioned in the videos (Schwemmer and
Ziewiecki 2018). However, these commercial relationships with brands largely
remained subtle and were often positively received by the followers (Qutteina et al.
2019; Schwemmer and Ziewiecki 2018; Jorge, Maro ^po, and Nunes 2018).
Several studies in our sample were particularly concerned with the promotion of
specific product categories. Two studies in our review focussed on the endorsement
of food products (Coates et al. 2019b; Qutteina et al. 2019), and both studies
revealed that food products were often promoted by influencers, with the food
items being more often unhealthy or non-core (i.e. foods high in fat and sugar) than
healthy. The non-core food items were more often portrayed in excessive quantities
than the core foods, and unhealthy products were more frequently branded, posi-
tively depicted, and part of a marketing campaign. Furthermore, a discourse analysis
of Instagram posts of influencers promoting vaping revealed that vaping was often
associated with an aspirational, exclusive lifestyle and with healthy living (Hejlova
et al. 2019).
Summary
We inferred from these studies that influencers often used autobiographical narratives
to endorse sponsored content on their social media profiles. They used the narratives
to create a sense of authenticity and avoid dilution of their carefully created online
identity. Further, these studies revealed that influencers could set standards (e.g.
depict a beauty ideal) and change public opinions (e.g. concerning hijab culture).
Considering the products endorsed by these influencers is important for public policy
makers, as the content analyses showed not only that unhealthy food products were
more often endorsed on influencers’ profiles than healthy products but also that other
unhealthy behaviours were endorsed by social media influencers (e.g. vaping, taking
dangerous dieting pills).
Audience research in influencer marketing

The third research stream was concerned with studies on how the audience perceived
influencer marketing. These studies examined how consumers valued influencer posts,
attached meaning to them, and were influenced by them. The greatest number of
studies in our sample (N ¼ 38) concerned the efficacy of influencer marketing and
focussed on characteristics of the influencer, the participant, and the content that
affected the persuasiveness of the sponsored message. An important facet in explain-
ing the efficacy of influencer marketing concerned its covert nature, and a number of
studies were concerned with the transparency and ethical use of the tactic (N ¼ 21). In
particular, these studies examined how advertising disclosures affected advertising rec-
ognition and how this recognition further affected both affective and cognitive brand
evaluations.
Appeal of social media influencers to audiences

Fifteen studies in our sample were concerned with how people perceived and valued
social media influencers. These studies relied mostly on qualitative research (e.g. inter-
views and focus groups) and survey methodologies, with a focus on YouTube and
Instagram. The earliest study, by Freberg et al. (2011), used a Q-sort method to dis-
cover the attributes individuals connected to social media influencers. Their study
revealed that influencers were perceived to be ‘verbal’, ‘ambitious’, ‘smart’,
‘productive’, and ‘poised’. Djafarova and Trofimenko (2019) found that ‘beauty’,
‘uniqueness’, and ‘humor’ were important characteristics of a successful influencer.
Several studies focussed on how people perceived influencers and why they followed
their content updates. For instance, a survey study by Barbe, Neuburger, and
Pennington-Gray (2020) revealed that people were highly motivated to follow travel
influencers because they found them useful, entertaining, and enjoyable to watch. The
posting of positive and high-quality content was crucial for the success of the influ-
encers (Djafarova and Trofimenko 2019). Further, these studies pointed to ‘trust’,
‘honesty’, and ‘similarity’ as crucial characteristics of influencers (Balaban and Mustatea
2019; Coates et al. 2020; Konstantopoulou et al. 2019).
A content analysis of the interactions between two popular teenage vloggers and
their followers further unravelled how intimacy and trust were built (Maro ^po, Jorge,
and Tomaz 2020). The results revealed that the vloggers were perceived as more
authentic when they shared details of their personal lives. The followers greatly valued
sincerity and spontaneity and often emphasized how much they trusted the influencer
in their comments. The research showed that although vloggers rarely interact with
their followers on a one-on-one basis, their followers requested exclusivity and tried to
build an intimate bond with the vloggers (Maro ^po, Jorge, and Tomaz 2020). In the
study by Daniel, Crawford Jackson, and Westerman (2018), it was found that several of
the followers of a vaping influencer expressed feelings of parasocial interaction in the
comments of the influencers’ videos and encouraged the vaper to post new content.
The focus group study by Balaban and Mustatea (2019) showed that attractiveness
and expertise were factors contributing to the credibility of an influencer.
However, several studies in our review focussing on the appeal of influencers
showed that these perceptions of trust may be harmed by sponsorships. The interview
study of Konstantopoulou et al. (2019) found that young Saudi women were rather
sceptical toward sponsored influencer posts of beauty influencers on Instagram as
they might be less genuine and authentic. Similarly, young Indonesian consumers
from Generation Y and Z believed that influencers paid to promote products were less
genuine (Dwidienawati et al. 2019), and about 60% of the Dutch children in the study
by Folkvord et al. (2019) were skeptical and thought it was wrong to advertise brands
in vlogs. The focus group study of Van Dam and Van Reijmersdal (2019), in contrast,
found that adolescents were well aware of the integration of sponsored content in
influencer content, and they were not skeptical of this marketing tactic. On the con-
trary, they seemed to believe that sponsored content also benefitted them as viewers,
as the influencer was then able to make better content.
Balaban and Mustatea (2019) further suggested that compatibility between the
influencer and the endorsed product might positively affect evaluations of the
sponsored content as well as a fair balance between sponsored and editorial content
to ensure the credibility of the endorsement. Coates et al. (2020) added that children
were less skeptical toward sponsored content of YouTube influencers when they felt
familiarity with the influencer, and they liked the tactic more than other formats
on YouTube.
Two studies examined the emotions influencers could evoke among their followers.
The neuromarketing study of Man ~as-Viniegra, Nu ~ez-Go
n mez, and Tur-Vin ~es (2020)
examined attention and emotional responses to images of influencers by Spanish ado-
lescents between 16 and 21 years. Their eye-tracking and galvanic skin responses
showed that the adolescents paid more attention to the face and body of the influen-
cer than to the promoted brand. The attractive parts of the body attracted the most
attention, while influencers’ imperfections (e.g. acne) generated the strongest emo-
tional response. The two-wave survey study of Chae (2018) among Korean women
between ages 20 and 39 showed that exposure to and interest in influencer content
evoked envy through social comparison processes. As such, comparing one’s life with
the life of the influencer often resulted in a negative social comparison, indicating that
the life of the influencer is perceived to be superior, which results in feelings of envy.
These effects appeared to be stronger for individuals low in self-esteem and high in
public consciousness.
Efficacy of sponsored influencer posts

About a quarter of the studies in our sample focussed on how influencers could
change people’s attitudes and behaviours. Most of these studies examined how com-
mercial products and brands could be endorsed by influencers, mostly in a B2C con-
text. However, a few studies examined how influencers could change people’s
religious and political attitudes and values, for instance, regarding hijab culture
(Tengku Mohd Azzman Shariffadeen and Manaf 2019) and Muslimism (Nisa 2018). The
survey methodology was most often used to examine the different facets of influencer
marketing that played a role in its effectiveness, followed by experimental research
designs and content and textual analyses of influencer content.
Several of the studies considering the effectiveness of influencer content compared
the effectiveness of product endorsements by influencers with those of traditional
celebrities (Schouten, Janssen, and Verspaget 2020) or with sponsored brand posts (Jin
and Muqaddam 2019). These studies consistently showed that endorsements by influ-
encers were more effective compared to celebrity endorsements; however, they dif-
fered in the underlying mechanisms explaining these effects. Schouten, Janssen, and
Verspaget (2020) showed that participants felt a similarity with and identify more with
influencers than with celebrities and that they trusted influencers more, while Jin,
Muqaddam, and Ryu (2019) ascribed the higher trust in influencers to social presence
(whether participants believed the actor was a real person).
Research further showed that consumers engaged more with sponsored influencer
posts than with brand posts and that consumers’ comments on these sponsored influ-
encer posts were more likely to be positive and less likely to be negative compared to
brand posts (Lou, Tan, and Chen 2019). Additionally, a content analysis of Amazon
reviews by Petrescu et al. (2018) showed an incentivized review campaign offering

free products to influencers in return for a product review led to a higher number of
reviews and increased product sales. Ballantine and Yeung (2015) did not find any dif-
ferences in effectiveness between sponsored and organic blog posts. The study further
revealed that for both sources, balanced reviews led to higher trust, expertise, and
more parasocial interaction than positive or negative reviews.
Two studies examined how exposure to influencers was related to children’s food
intake. First, the experimental study of Coates et al. (2019c) showed that children
exposed to influencers’ promoting unhealthy foods ate more calories and unhealthy
foods that children not exposed to such influencers. In contrast, the endorsement of
healthy food products had no effect on food intake. The longitudinal study of Smit
et al. (2019) among children between eight and twelve years, however, found no sig-
nificant impact of frequency of watching vlogs on unhealthy snack consumption in
the subsequent year.
The other studies focussing on influencer effectiveness examined the role of both
source and message characteristics. We summarize the findings of these studies below,
but first we elaborate on the underlying mechanisms explaining the effects of influen-
cer marketing. In particular, social influence theory was often used in the studies that
examined the effectiveness of influencer marketing (Torres, Augusto, and Matos 2019).
This theory refers to the influence people can exert on others’ opinions, beliefs, atti-
tudes, and behaviours (Cialdini and Goldstein 2004). Other studies refer to social learn-
ing theory and its mechanisms. The study of Ki and Kim (2019) refer to the
doppelganger effect, which suggests that followers model the behaviour of influencers
in an attempt to look like them as they perceive them as role models. In this way,
they suggest that consumers simply mimic the behaviours of influencers and follow
the product advice they give. Feelings of envy, which are evoked by the highly desir-
able lifestyles of influencers, may further explain these mimicking behaviours (Jin and
Ryu 2020).
Related to the social influence framework, Kupfer et al. (2018) refer to the power
theory to explain how influencers affect the purchasing decisions of their followers. In
particular, they state that influencers exert influence on their followers due to expert
power as they are skilled and knowledgeable in a certain domain and referent power
due to the fact that followers desire to connect with influencers (Kupfer et al. 2018).
These two types of power are crucial in many of the cited studies on influencer mar-
keting but are merely referred to as source credibility and parasocial interaction. The
role of these characteristics is further explained below.
Source characteristics: credibility, attractiveness, parasocial interaction,

and congruity
Various studies examined the explanatory power of source characteristics in explaining
the effectiveness of sponsored influencer posts. Several of these studies referred to
mechanisms identified within celebrity endorsement literature. More specifically, these
studies revealed that source credibility (trustworthiness and expertise) and source
attractiveness (likeability, familiarity, and similarity) were important predictors for ad
effectiveness. For instance, Lou and Yuan (2019) showed that source characteristics
(trustworthiness, attractiveness, and similarity) affected followers’ trust in the spon-
sored message, which in turn led to higher brand awareness and purchase intent. The
number of followers appeared to be an important characteristic influencing the like-
ability of an influencer through perceptions of popularity and (partly) opinion leader-
ship, indicating that one is considered as expert and reference agent in a particular
domain (De Veirman, Cauberghe, and Hudders 2017). This likeability further explained
the persuasiveness of the sponsored content of influencers.
In addition, parasocial interaction (PSI) appeared to be an important underlying
mechanism, especially among women (Jin and Ryu 2020). PSI could be built by fre-
quently posting updates, giving followers a peek into their personal lives, and actively
interacting with followers. This parasocial relationship made followers more accepting
of influencer endorsements and product advice. PSI could be incited by feelings of
similarity, as was shown by Shan et al. (2019), and by perceived high social attractive-
ness of the influencer and attitude homophily (i.e. sharing of similar values(Sokolova
and Kefi 2020). Furthermore, Lou and Kim (2019) showed, by conducting a survey
among adolescents 10 to 19 years old, that the high entertainment value of influencer
content and high source credibility contributed to feelings of PSI, which in turn posi-
tively affected purchase intent.
Another defining characteristic in influencer marketing effectiveness relates to con-
gruity, which mostly refers to the fit between the influencer and the brand. Similar to
celebrity endorsement literature, there should be a match between an influencer and
the product category that he/she endorses to ensure high effectiveness of the collab-
oration (Woodcock and Johnson 2019).
Message characteristics: content strategies and storytelling

Several message characteristics have been shown to impact influencer marketing
effectiveness. A content analysis of sponsored blog posts (N ¼ 94) complemented with
cookie metrics (i.e. viewing time) by Stubb (2018) showed that blog posts using a
storytelling format received longer attention duration from viewers compared to infor-
mational blog posts. Further, Ki and Kim (2019) showed that messages that are visually
attractive, prestigious, and informative and that convey the influencers’ expertise in
the domain positively affected electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) intention and pur-
chase intention through taste and opinion leadership and mimicry desire. Lee and
Eastin (2020) also found that an influencer who was perceived to be sincere was more
effective in endorsing products than an influencer perceived to be insincere.
The experimental study of Jin and Muqaddam (2019) showed that participants’ lik-
ing of a post and credibility perceptions depended on how the products were por-
trayed (either product only or the influencer with the product). Influencers who
endorsed a product through pictures generated less PSI compared to influencers who
posted a picture of themselves interacting with the product, and these feelings of PSI
further affected corporate credibility ratings. In addition, the study showed that partici-
pants liked a post more when endorsed by a brand rather than an influencer when
only the product was visible in the endorsement. When both product and influencer
were visible, no differences occurred between brand and influencer posts. Jin and Ryu
(2019) found similar results in their experiment in that brand recognition was higher
for product-centric than consumer-centric images endorsed by an influencer.
Xiao, Wang, and Chan-Olmsted (2018) compared the role of source and content
characteristics in the effectiveness of sponsored YouTube videos. They found a positive
impact from expertise, trust, homophily, interactivity, and social advocacy on informa-
tion credibility, which in turn positively affected brand attitude and viewers’ attitude
towards the quality of the video. However, the impact of most of these source charac-
teristics, except trustworthiness and social advocacy, became insignificant when
including message characteristics (argument quality) and consumer characteristics
(involvement with the issue endorsed by the influencer) in the model. Xiao, Wang,
and Chan-Olmsted (2018) argued that the latter were systematic cues attenuating the
impact of heuristic cues.
Risks imposed by using social media influencers

Although influencers can be a useful strategic communication tool, their engagement
can also involve risk to the companies. Similar to celebrities, influencers can attract
negative publicity, and this negative publicity can affect organizational reputation.
Sng, Au, and Pang (2019) took an innovative approach by using rapid issue detection
software and textual analysis to examine how the indiscretions of five Western influ-
encers evoked negative sentiments on social media and negative press coverage and
led to a reputational para-crisis for the brands they were endorsing. Their analysis also
showed that distancing from the influencer was the best strategy to protect the
organizational reputation, especially among primary stakeholders.
However, this strategy might also raise protests among followers of the influencer.
Mak and Song (2019) found that Lanco ^me’s denial of the cooperation they had with
the activist-singer Denise Ho led to a large numbers of posts on social media express-
ing negative emotions toward the company. Further, the study of Singh et al. (2020)
revealed that companies should be careful in involving influencers to repair their repu-
tation after an organizational crisis as it could increase inferences of manipulative
intent and decrease brand trust, resulting in lower corporate reputation assessments.
This negative effect could be attenuated when a value-driven motive behind the part-
nership with the influencer was disclosed to the public (i.e. when no personal profit
but a care for the public was expressed).
Toward a transparent influencer marketing practice: the use of advertising

disclosures
The success of influencer marketing can be partly explained by its covert nature
(Campbell and Grimm 2019). However, the challenges that native advertising (and
influencer marketing in particular) pose for consumers relate mostly to the covert
nature and subtlety of the tactics (e.g. lack of a clear call to action, advice coming
from a trusted source, unclear disclosures). Followers may not realize they are exposed
to sponsored content, preventing them from activating their advertising literacy (i.e.
skills and knowledge related to advertising). This implies they are often subconsciously
persuaded by the content as they have the idea that the influencer genuinely recom-
mends the product. Accordingly, several studies argue there is an urgent need to
install policy measures and adequate regulation to protect consumers against this sub-
conscious persuasion. Campbell and Grimm (2019) provide a thorough review of cur-
rent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations regarding deception in advertising
and provide further insight into how the FTC should respond to the challenges these
embedded advertising tactics pose to consumers.
An important facet of this matter is the proper disclosure of native advertising. The
FTC regulation states that a reasonable consumer should be able to uncover the per-
suasive intent of advertising. If not, such advertisements should be properly (i.e. clearly
and conspicuously) disclosed (Campbell and Grimm 2019). The way such sponsored
posts are disclosed depends on the social media platform, as each platform has its
own standard disclosures, and on the practice of the influencer and/or brand. The
main objective of an advertising disclosure is to increase the transparency of influen-
cer marketing by increasing followers’ ability to recognize a sponsored influencer post
as advertising.
A substantial number of the studies within our literature search (N ¼ 21) was con-
cerned with the impact of adding an advertising disclosure to a sponsored post. The
main dependent variables in these studies were advertising recognition, brand recall,
and product or brand attitudes and purchase intent. The main assumption of these
studies is that an ad disclosure may increase perceptions of transparency through an
increase of ad recognition, but at the same time, it may ruin brand evaluations.
Although the majority of studies on advertising disclosures focussed on an adult sam-
ple with Instagram as the social media platform, seven studies in our sample specific-
ally focussed on a child or adolescent sample, and all but one examined the impact of
ad disclosures on YouTube among these minors. Most studies used an experimental
research design to examine the impact of textual advertising disclosures (e.g. standar-
dized Instagram disclosure), such as ‘Paid partnership with Brand X’(Boerman 2020), or
by adding a hashtag (e.g. #sponsored) to the post (De Jans et al. (2020).
The studies consistently found that adding an advertising disclosure increased
advertising recognition slightly, except for the experimental studies of Grigsby (2020)
and Hoek et al. (2020). Both studies did not find any significant effect from an adver-
tising disclosure (i.e. textual disclosure shown at the start of the vlog, ‘YouTuber X has
been paid by Brand X to advertise in this video’, and a ‘sponsored’ label on a
Facebook post) on ad recognition. They explained these findings by the prominence
of the sponsored content, which made it obvious for all respondents that the post
was sponsored (i.e. high ad recognition scores). Further, the experimental study of
Evans et al. (2017) revealed that clear disclosure language (e.g. ‘Paid Ad’ versus ‘SP’
(i.e. referring to sponsored content)) made a disclosure more effective, and van
Reijmersdal et al. (2020) showed that a disclosure prior to rather than concurrent with
the start of a YouTube vlog attracted more visual attention, leading to a better under-
standing of the sponsorship. Kim and Kim (2020) provided further insight into the
effect of an ad disclosure on advertising recognition by showing the mediating impact
of calculative motive interference. They found that respondents attributed more
calculative motives to the influencer (e.g. ‘The major motive of the influencer’s posting
is self-interest’) when a post was being disclosed, and this calculative motive interfer-
ence led to higher advertising recognition.
The few studies that included brand recall as a dependent variable also showed
that an advertising disclosure consistently led to higher brand recall, often mediated
by higher advertising recognition (Boerman 2020; Boerman and van Reijmersdal 2020).
The study of Boerman and van Reijmersdal (2020) among children between eight and
twelve years, for instance, showed that a verbal disclosure added to a sponsored vlog
on YouTube (‘YouTuber X is paid by Brand X to advertise in his vlog’) led to higher ad
recognition and greater understanding of the marketing and persuasive intent of the
sponsored vlog than an undisclosed vlog but only when children recalled the disclos-
ure correctly. The remembered disclosure led to higher brand recall through increased
advertising recognition. This finding suggests that followers pay more attention to the
brand when they are exposed to an advertising disclosure and recognize the post as
advertising.
However, the different studies were inconsistent in their findings on how a disclos-
ure affected product and brand evaluations (i.e. brand attitude) and behaviours (e.g.
purchase intent, eWOM intent, and food intake). For instance, Kay, Mulcahy, and
Parkinson (2020) found that a disclosure (e.g. #sponsored) increased perceptions of
product attractiveness and that the use of a disclosure was more effective in terms of
purchase intent compared to no disclosure. An experimental study by Coates et al.
(2019a) showed that a YouTube vlog endorsing an unhealthy snack led to higher
intake of that marketed snack compared to an alternative snack, while food intake did
not differ between the two snacks when children saw a vlog promoting a non-food
item. Their study revealed further that not only advertising awareness was highest but
also unhealthy food intake was highest when the sponsored vlog was disclosed (e.g.
label added in the top-left corner of the video when the marketing content was visible
in the vlog with the text ‘This is an advert’).
Some other studies, however, found that advertising recognition was negatively
related to brand attitudes and purchase intent. For instance, van Reijmersdal and van
Dam (2020) found that advertising recognition negatively affected brand attitudes and
attitudes toward the influencer through increased attitudinal persuasion. Grigsby
(2020) further found that ad recognition led to perceptions that the ad was pushy,
which in turn negatively affected ad and brand attitudes. Several of the studies show-
ing negative effects of a disclosure on brand evaluations also showed important medi-
ating effects of participants evaluations of the influencer (e.g. in terms of credibility or
PSI). Although Boerman (2020) found no significant relationship between advertising
recognition and PSI, most other studies found negative effects of advertising disclo-
sures on influencer evaluations mostly due to enhanced scepticism. These negative
influencer evaluations were shown to lower brand attitudes and purchase intent. For
instance, De Veirman and Hudders (2020) showed that adding a sponsorship disclos-
ure (#sponsored) to an Instagram post of an influencer led to higher advertising recog-
nition compared to a nondisclosed post, which in turn increased skepticism, reduced
the credibility of the influencer, and thereby lowered brand attitudes. While a disclos-
ure negatively impacted the credibility of the influencer when the product
endorsement only highlighted positive product attributes, there was no difference

between a disclosed and undisclosed post when the endorsement highlights both
positive and negative product attributes. De Jans, Cauberghe, and Hudders (2018)
showed that a sponsored vlog was better recognized as advertising when a verbal dis-
closure was added and that adolescents were more skeptical toward that vlog. This
skepticism further led to lower trustworthiness, fewer feelings of PSI, and lower pur-
chase intent. When adolescents were first exposed to an informational vlog explaining
advertising, a disclosure actually enhanced feelings of PSI and further increased pur-
chase intent compared to a nondisclosed vlog. For adolescents who were exposed to
a regular vlog, PSI and, subsequently, purchase intent was lower after exposure to a
sponsorship disclosure compared to a nondisclosed sponsored vlog.
These inconsistent findings may be explained by different moderating variables
that attenuate or even reverse the effects of advertising recognition on advertising
effectiveness. For instance, disclosure memory appeared to be an important moderator
in that the negative effects on brand attitudes and purchase and sharing intentions
were only significant for those respondents who could correctly recall the disclosure
(e.g. (Evans et al. 2017). In addition, PSI acted as moderator, as shown in the study by
Boerman and van Reijmersdal (2020). They found that the negative effect of a remem-
bered ad disclosure on product desire through enhanced understanding of the selling
intent was strongest for children who felt weak PSI with the influencer and became
non-significant for children who felt strong PSI. Further, congruity between the influ-
encer and the brand was shown to moderate the relationship between ad recognition
and product attitude in that the relation was insignificant when congruity was high,
while it was significant and negative when congruity was low (Kim and Kim 2020).
Influencers could also provide more information about the nature of the sponsor-
ship in the disclosure to avoid negative effects. For instance, Stubb, Nystro €m, and
Colliander (2019) showed that adding a normative justification for the sponsorship to
the disclosure (i.e. explaining that it requires a lot of effort to make such video’s and
that payment is necessary to be able to continue making videos) led to more positive
attitudes and higher credibility ratings than using a simple disclosure (e.g. ‘The video
you are about to watch is sponsored by Brand X’). Hwang and Jeong (2016) showed
that a simple sponsorship disclosure added to a blog post decreased source credibility
and message acceptance to a greater extent than a disclosure emphasizing that the
influencer gave his/her honest opinion or no disclosure condition; however, this was
true only for highly skeptical consumers. The different disclosure conditions did not
differ in terms of source credibility nor message acceptance for less skeptical respond-
ents. Message sidedness (or the inclusion of both positive and negative arguments in
the message) did not interact with disclosure conditions but interacted with skepti-
cism in that brand attitudes were higher for two-sided messages, compared to one-
sided messages, when respondents were highly skeptical, while the effect was
reversed for respondents low in skepticism. van Reijmersdal and van Dam (2020) fur-
ther showed that the content of the disclosure was especially relevant for children in
early adolescence, as they could better recognize and understand sponsorship when
the disclosure specifically mentioned the persuasive intent of the sponsorship (e.g. ‘to
make you like Brand X’).
Alongside increasing the transparency of influencer marketing, educating consum-

ers about influencer marketing (e.g. teaching them about the strategies used, helping
them to develop moral reflections regarding the tactic) was another strategy to ensure
a more ethical use of influencer marketing and avoid subconscious persuasion, as illus-
trated in the survey study by Lin, Vijayalakshmi, and Laczniak (2019) on parents’
impact on the empowerment of adolescents regarding influencer marketing. However,
research on this matter was scarce.
Summary
The majority of the studies on influencer marketing took an audience research
approach and examined how audiences responded to influencer content and attached
meaning to the content. More specifically, three streams of research could be identi-
fied in the studies on audience research. The first stream of studies was concerned
with how people value social media influencers and what plays a role in this judge-
ment. The studies showed that people highly value the authenticity of influencers and
that blatant sponsorships could harm these evaluations. The second stream of studies
specifically examined the factors that influence the efficacy of sponsored influencer
endorsements and the formation of brand evaluation by these sponsored posts. These
studies showed that both source and message characteristics impacted influencer effi-
cacy. Influencers who built strong parasocial relations with their followers were more
persuasive as well as influencers who promoted sponsored content congruent with
their expertise. The studies also showed that storytelling was an effective format in
influencer marketing and that transparency could be improved by adding an advertis-
ing disclosure. However, this transparency could harm influencers when it threatened
their authenticity and honesty.
Managerial and public policy implications

Source characteristics
Going beyond reach when identifying influencers
Most studies identified influencers based on their reach (i.e. number of connections)
and centrality (i.e. bridging function) in a social network. However, the importance of
including metrics for factors other than reach and centrality alone was apparent
among researchers. Several studies suggested examining the expertise of the influen-
cer (e.g. based on caption or hashtag content), the composition of the follower base
(e.g. gender, age, interests), and engagement with the influencers’ content (Bashari
and Fazl-Ersi 2020; Carter 2016; Francalanci and Hussain 2017). A high congruity or fit
between the influencer and the brand may result in more positive advertising effects,
and expertise may be an important determining characteristic in the selection of an
appropriate influencer. An in-depth evaluation of the follower base of the influencer
may be relevant to ensure that the target group can be reached when selecting a par-
ticular influencer. Marketing communication aims may guide the selection process as
influencers with a large reach may be relevant to increase brand awareness, while
micro- or nano-influencers may be more relevant to influence attitudes or pur-

chase intentions.
Providing guidance for influencers’ ethical concerns

Interviews with different types of influencers showed they are worried about the eth-
ics of their influencer activities. For example, mombloggers were worried about the
impact of sharing pictures of their children online and using their children to attract
commercial deals (Archer 2019a). A clear legal framework for influencer marketing
activities is lacking, and a deontological code may assist influencers in this matter.
Specifically, a code that explicates the dos and don’ts regarding the promotion of
commercial content and the sharing of personal information online may be valuable.
This code can also reflect on the ethicalities of endorsing unhealthy or dangerous
products and activities. Several studies in our review showed that unhealthy and non-
core foods were more often endorsed in influencer content than healthy foods, and
non-core foods were often positively depicted. The same was true of vaping endorse-
ments, which were often associated with healthy living and an aspirational lifestyle. As
several studies suggest, influencers can set a beauty ideal (e.g. fitfluencers endorsing a
thin and muscled body), and as many underage people follow influencers on social
media, reflecting on the ethical nature of such endorsements is important, especially
given their strong persuasive effects.
Uncertainties about influencer marketing among marketing and PR professionals

The studies focussed on the sponsor and intermediary perspectives revealed that both
marketing and PR professionals see great potential in the use of influencers. However,
the interviews revealed many uncertainties regarding the use of marketing tactics (e.g.
legal issues or strategic decisions regarding the selection of the influencer and content
strategy). Therefore, education of both advertisers and intermediaries regarding the
specifics of influencer marketing is needed. In addition, further insights are needed
regarding the measurement of influencer marketing effectiveness. Most agencies indi-
cated they rely on quantitative metrics regarding the reach (e.g. number of impres-
sions a post has) and engagement with the content (e.g. number of comments or
shares). However, these metrics are often controlled by the influencer and can be eas-
ily manipulated. Consequently, the budget may be wasted on fake impressions as
influencers may have a substantial number of fake followers (e.g. click farms or bots).
Therefore, including more qualitative criteria is suggested as well as evaluating com-
ment valence to see how people talk about the content. It may be valuable to
develop a standardized, transparent approach to assess influencers.
Content strategies
Retain balance in influencer content
Influencer marketing provides substantial added value to advertisers as influencers not
only produce the content but also distribute this content to their follower base. A dif-
ficult balance, however, lies in the integration of sponsored content into the editorial
content of influencers, as an overload of commercial content may dilute the
authenticity and persuasive power of the influencer. On the one hand, it is important
to keep a balance between authenticity and commercialism, as posting branded con-
tent is one of the core activities of many influencers, although posting too much
sponsored content can harm their authenticity. On the other hand, influencers also
need to preserve a balance between being connected with their followers and show-
ing an excessive lifestyle. Being attainable and genuine is central to the connection
with their followers, which may be damaged through the excessive lifestyle they por-
tray, making the influencer look less relatable.
Combine autobiographical information with storytelling

The studies in our review suggest that the success in influencer endorsements lies in
their developing a strong relationship with their followers through building an attract-
ive and appealing profile. In this case, commercial content is fully integrated into
genuine non-sponsored content. The key to maintaining this carefully built online
identity is to increase the relevance of sponsored content. Influencers accomplish this
by telling their audiences why they like the particular product or brand and how it fits
their profile. A carefully constructed story can help in this matter. Moreover, influ-
encers can be advised to use a personal narrative, indicating they give their followers
glimpses into their lives and provide reasons for promoting these products by explain-
ing how the products fit with their personality and lifestyle. This personal narrative
greatly contributes to an authentic yet, at the same time, branded self.
Audience research
Improving transparency: difficult balance between regulation and self-regulation
Few papers in our literature review touch upon the ethical aspects of influencer mar-
keting and the current regulatory and self-regulatory framework. However, the analysis
of the FTC practice of Campbell and Grimm (2019) provides an excellent starting point
for the formulation of policy recommendations regarding influencer marketing prac-
tice. They distinguish between raising awareness of influencer marketing practice and
proper monitoring of influencer marketing. Regarding the former, a multi-stakeholder
perspective is required to ensure a more ethical influencer marketing practice. As
such, educating influencers about their responsibilities is key as many of the self-regu-
latory guidelines (e.g. the best practice guideline on influencer marketing of the
European Advertising Standards Alliance) assume that influencers have full responsibil-
ity for the content they post on their social media accounts.
Most influencers gradually evolve from regular social media users to highly influen-
tial influencers being paid to post branded content. Hence, it is difficult to determine
when one is an actual influencer with all related responsibilities and when one is a
regular social media user. In addition, many influencers are under the age of 18, or
even under 12, which makes it more difficult to determine who should take responsi-
bility for the content that is posted (e.g. the minor versus the parent).
When influencers should take responsibility for their content, influencer marketing
practice would benefit from a clear definition of a professional influencer, and only
these professional influencers should assume responsibilities. Educating these
professionals concerning advertising law and all self-regulatory practices is crucial. In

this respect, a deontological code, suggested above, can reflect on the most important
self-regulations in a given country. This may be especially relevant for underage influ-
encers and their parents so that they better understand the responsibilities that come
with their influencer status. In addition, a self-regulatory mechanism can provide
advice to influencers regarding the content they post, the deals they close with
brands, and the disclosure of their sponsored posts, which can be a valuable tool.
Additionally, best practice guides, awareness campaigns, or a platform on which influ-
encers can share experiences may be valuable. Such initiatives may be organized by
sector organizations in the domain of advertising and corporate communication and/
or public policy makers.
Another strategy is to lay all responsibility on the advertiser, as it is the advertiser
who asks the influencer to endorse the content on their social media profiles. Before
doing so, properly defining influencer marketing is important. Many countries have
laid the foundations for a clear definition of influencer marketing in recent years
(EASA 2018). These countries perceive an influencer post as advertising when 1) the
influencer receives some benefit for the endorsement of sponsored content (i.e.
materiality), and 2) the advertiser has some control over the content (e.g. approval of
the post, guidelines about the way the product should be portrayed). However, not all
countries have the same basic rules. As influencer marketing is a global marketing tac-
tic, the implementation of universal guidelines may benefit the transparency of the
tactic. Raising awareness about the ethical use of influencer marketing may also bene-
fit advertisers, as many of them use the tactic without specific knowledge of the asso-
ciated dos and don’ts. Professionalization of the influencer marketing industry has
been noticed in the past two years (2019–2020) with the emergence of advertising
agencies focussing on influencer marketing and even influencer marketing agencies.
Implementing proper disclosure guidelines is also important for improving transpar-
ency. Campbell and Grimm (2019) suggest the use of a clear, conspicuous, and visual
disclosure that is equal across platforms. This can make the disclosures more effective
as they would be more easily noticed and understood by consumers. Close cooper-
ation among advertisers, influencers, and media companies is indispensable in
this matter.
Future research agenda on influencer marketing

Our review reveals that research has mainly been conducted from an audience-per-
spective and concerns the appeal, efficacy, and transparency of influencer marketing.
In particular, the impact of source and message characteristics and the implementa-
tion of disclosures in sponsored influencer posts on consumer responses have received
substantial research attention. Much research has also focussed on the conceptualiza-
tion of influencer marketing and on the identification of characteristics to find influen-
tial social media users. The content strategies used by influencers are much less
researched. In the following paragraphs, we aim to highlight some areas in the
domain of influencer marketing that are currently under-researched but may be of
Table 2. Furture research agenda.

Future research direction Research questions
Influencer perspective How does influencer marketing affect influencers’ well-being?
How do influencers perceive their role as commercial intermediaries between
brand and consumers?
How do influencers perceive their influence on their followers’ decision-making?
Sponsor and intermediary How does the sector professionalizes and how do intermediaries see their role
perspective in the influencer market?
New influencer types How do nano-influencers affect influencer marketing outcomes (e.g. compared
and platforms to micro-influencers)?
What is the efficacy of virtual influencers?
What is the impact of influencer marketing on TikTok?
Content strategies
Message strategies Which message strategies are used by different types of influencers, and how
does this differ across platforms and domains?
Which message strategies may prevent negative disclosure effects?
How to find the optimal message frequency?
Can artificial intelligence be used to monitor and analyze sponsored
influencer posts?
Audience research
Value of influencer marketing How does authenticity impact an influencer’s persuasive power?
How is an influencer’s expertise linked to his/her authenticity?
Which factors contribute to an influencer’s expertise, intimacy and authenticity?
What is the added value of an influencer marketing campaign to an integrated
marketing communication?
What is the differential impact of a sponsored post on the influencer’s followers
versus people that do not follow the influencer?
Influencer marketing for What is the impact of influencer marketing for social marketing purposes?
social behaviour change
Advertising disclosures How should a conspicuous and clear disclosure look that can be implemented
for all sponsored influencer posts on all platforms?
How can the implementation of advertising disclosures be monitored?
importance to include in future research. In Table 2, an overview is given of the spe-

cific research questions specified to set the future research agenda.
Behind the scenes: providing a sneak peek into the influencer perspective
Few studies in our literature search focus on the influencers’ perspective on their
activities, but all focus on the ethical concerns influencers have about their influencer
marketing activities. Additional insights into influencers’ own perspectives and the
motivations and personality factors that underlie their social media activities may be
valuable. One of the studies revealed that influencers often suffer from online harass-
ment (Novoselova and Jenson 2019). Influencers not only experience praise from their
followers but also receive negative comments. Moreover, influencer activities are very
labour intensive, keeping in mind the time and the continuous effort influencers put
in their profiles and social media posts. Further examination is needed of how influ-
encers perceive their influencer activities from a psychosocial perspective and what
consequences they experience from these activities. Future research should examine
how influencers perceive their role as commercial intermediaries between brands and
consumers, how they perceive their influence on their followers’ purchase decisions,
and how this affects them as a person, including their happiness and general well-
being. The studies under review were conducted among an adult audience and speci-
fied a particular type of influencer, thus, finding general trends in influencer marketing
practice, regardless of the sector, may be valuable. As a large proportion of influencers
are minors, additional insights into young and vulnerable influencers’ own perspec-
tives and the motivations and the personality factors that underlie their social media
activities may be valuable. In particular, it may be useful to acquire in-depth insight
into the construction of child influencers appearing on social media and the role of
parents in shaping their online personae.
Sponsors’ and intermediaries’ views on influencer marketing

Only a few studies examined the perspectives of advertisers and advertising agencies
regarding the importance and role of influencer marketing in their communication
plan. These studies revealed an acknowledgment of the growing importance of the
strategy but inferred that the use of influencer marketing is a process of trial and
error; thus, more information is needed on the professional use of social media influ-
encers. It may be interesting to further examine how the influencer industry profes-
sionalizes the communication plans and how influencers can be more strategically
integrated into the communication tools. Greater insight into the role of intermedia-
ries may be useful for understanding their function as traditional advertising agency
versus as a bridge between sponsor and influencer. Moreover, insights from specific
intermediaries such as specialized influencer marketing agencies and technological
applications, that support influencers in their commercial activities, formally shape col-
laborations and track results would be valuable.
Building trust and avoiding risk with nano-influencers and virtual influencers
As influencer marketing matures, practices are changing. Rather than focussing on
influencers with a large reach, marketers are specifically looking for influencers who
directly address their target audience and build expertise in a specific niche, albeit
with a lower number of followers. This draw to so-called nano-influencers is related to
the recent decrease in trust due to influencers buying fake followers or artificially cre-
ating engagement through instapods. As micro-influencers have grown more popular
and increasingly rely on endorsement deals with brands to secure income, they also
have lost some of their perceived authenticity and relatability, which is key to their
persuasiveness, as evident in the current literature review. Hence, brands are turning
to nano-influencers who built an organic following of people they know mostly in per-
son. This trend of nano-influencers is not only promising for influencer marketing prac-
tice but also for future research, as the current literature review shows previous
research has not yet focussed on this type of influencer. Further research can investi-
gate different types of influencers, specifically nano-influencers, and their value for
business success.
In addition, the review of the literature revealed that brands are vulnerable for
reputation damage following negative influencer behaviours. A recent trend in influen-
cer marketing to avoid these threats is the use of virtual influencers, created using
artificial intelligence. Lil Miquela, for instance, is a virtual Instagram influencer with 1.9
million followers of her daily activities, including trips to the beach, the celebration of
her 19th birthday, and time hanging out with other virtual influencers. She actively
interacts with her follower base by reacting to their comments. Although followers
know she is not real, it is likely she creates meaningful parasocial relationships with
them. Lil Miquela is actively used for influencer marketing, too, resulting in collabora-
tions with brands like Calvin Klein and Supreme. In contrast with the increasing cre-
ation and use of virtual influencers by brands, research has not yet focussed on virtual
influencers as meaningful sources of inspiration to their followers. The promising trend
of virtual influencers requires more research attention.
Influencer marketing on different platforms: TikTok as a rising star

Influencer marketing has become popular on Instagram, which is still a dominant plat-
form for influencer marketing in 2020, followed by Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
However, the video sharing app TikTok is rapidly growing and was the most down-
loaded social media app by September 2019 (Influencer Marketing Hub 2019). TikTok
is a video-sharing app, popular mainly among young audiences, on which users can
share short, self-made videos they can easily edit in the app. Some TikTok contributors
have managed to build a sizeable audience of followers and can be referred to as
‘established broadcasters’ (Anderson Katie 2020). Brands with a young target audience
started to pursue them to endorse their products and make them attractive to their
followers, as is common on other platforms. However, the current literature review
shows that previous research on influencer marketing has not yet incorporated the
examination of TikTok as a platform. Moreover, keeping in mind TikTok’s young user
base and children’s vulnerability to influencer marketing, future research may provide
insights into the marketing practices that take place on this platform and children’s
susceptibility to them. Alongside TikTok, new platforms and tactics will like arise in
coming years. Therefore, continuous research on different influencer marketing for-
mats emerging on different platforms is necessary.
Content strategies
Message is key: message strategies in influencer marketing
Research on the different message strategies in influencer marketing is rather limited.
Examining the strategies used by different types of influencers and comparing their
message strategies across platforms and domains may be relevant to determine
whether these strategies change over time. Most of the content analyses in our review
adopted a manual discourse analysis approach to detect the strategies used in influen-
cer posts. However, this is not only labour intensive work, but it also may lead to dis-
tortion as only a limited amount of posts can be coded. Artificial intelligence and
machine learning may be valuable to analyze influencer marketing in the future.
Developing software that codes videos and pictures may advance the research on
message strategies. In addition, methods can be developed to collect content from
social media to be able to analyze actual influencer content. Due to the volatile nature
of influencer marketing (e.g. stories may be visible for only 24 hours and new social
media platforms used for influencer marketing purposes may quickly arise), the highly
demanding nature of the content, especially the video formats (e.g. vlogs or TikTok
videos), and the success of this practice resulting in a large number of influencers, an
automated monitoring system is required to thoroughly analyze influencer marketing.
As many issues may arise, a methodological paper that provides a guiding framework
to study the content of influencer marketing may be valuable. As suggested by Xiao,
Wang, and Chan-Olmsted (2018), message characteristics may also be important in
determining influencer marketing effectiveness. Therefore, future research should focus
on examining which message strategies are most effective. Moreover, several studies
found that the recognition of influencer marketing, whether or not aided through a
disclosure, does not necessarily result in negative effects for the influencer and/or the
brand. Underlying mechanisms related to the source (e.g. credibility) and the bond
influencers develop with followers (e.g. parasocial interaction) have already been
found to prevent negative disclosure outcomes, however it is unclear to what extent
message strategies may contribute to the same goal.
Say it again: finding the optimal message frequency

It has been well recognized that finding the right influencer(s) is key for effective influ-
encer marketing campaigns. Depending on their marketing goals and the type of
product, advertisers can decide to mass-advertise by cooperating with macro-influ-
encers who billboard their products on social media, or they can search for influencers
with smaller follower counts, though specifically address their target audience as they
are deemed experts in a specific domain of interest. In line with general advertising
endorsement strategies, it is important that an appropriate influencer is matched with
the brand values of the embedded commercial content. Accordingly, there should be
a meaningful fit or congruence between the influencer and the brand in order to
achieve positive brand outcomes, an aspect that was already investigated in previous
research. Next to optimizing reach of the message, another important aspect that may
be important to investigate, is the optimal frequency of the message. More specific,
depending on the arrangements made between the brand and/or agency and the
influencer, influencers may create and distribute different videos, stories pictures or
other types of content on different platforms to convey a brand message or raise
awareness. Moreover influencers may be hired as brand ambassador, meaning that a
brand will sign up the influencer for a longer time period, resulting in continuous pro-
motion of the brand. Furthermore, brands may cooperate with different influencers at
the same time, addressing the same target audience. As a result, followers may be
exposed to the same commercial message several times, through different types of
content, distributed on different platforms and created by different influencers.
Research on optimal message frequency may help brands, agencies and influencers
through this difficult balancing act.
Audience research
Determining the value of influencers and influencer marketing
Several studies point to the importance of authenticity in the profile of an influencer.
Influencers who are posting authentic content are assumed to be more powerful and
appealing to followers. The particular value of this perceived authority in the status of
an influencer remains unclear, as does the impact of the influencer’s persuasive power
because authenticity is not necessarily a positively valued trait (Gaenssle and Budzinski
2020). It may be important to link authenticity to expertise, as influencers often build
expertise in a particular domain by focussing their profile on one particular niche or
product category (e.g. food, fashion, luxury, or fitness). High authenticity coupled with
high expertise may explain why some influencers are more popular and successful
than others, especially when it comes to persuading others, as source credibility
appears to be a crucial factor in explaining the persuasiveness of sponsored content
(Wellman et al. 2020). Future research should delve deeper into the importance and
interrelations among authenticity, expertise, and intimacy as factors of a successful
influencer status. It may be particularly relevant to examine how the gender and age
of the influencer contributes to felt intimacy and whether these factors are important
predictors of influencer marketing effectiveness. Most studies have focussed on one
particular platform or a particular sponsored post, but it may be more relevant to
examine the effectiveness of integrated marketing communication and the effective-
ness of the added value of an influencer marketing campaign to other marketing com-
munication tools. It may be interesting to examine which combination is most
effective and how advertisers can benefit most from influencer marketing. Further, it
may be relevant to examine the effectiveness of influencer marketing campaigns that
are endorsed as sponsored content on users who do not follow the influencer, a tool
currently available on Instagram.
Influencer marketing to affect social behavioral change

The studies in the current review focus mainly on influencer marketing for commercial
purposes. However, influencer marketing is increasingly used by the public sector to
influence public opinion or as part of social marketing campaigns. For example, the
Belgian government relied on influencers to communicate the measures that the
Belgian population should take to children and teenagers to prevent the further
spreading of COVID-19. Though promising, little research has yet focussed on influen-
cer marketing for social marketing purposes. An exception is the study by Lisdayanti,
Sinaga, and Saudi (2020) on plastic waste reduction and the case study of Alampi
(2020) on the use of influencers by Amnesty International. Although existing insights
from influencer marketing research in a for-profit context may be useful for social mar-
keting, caution is needed when transferring the insights to a nonprofit context as
responses may differ. Hence, influencer marketing for social marketing purposes may
be an interesting avenue for future research, keeping in mind the environmental and
public health challenges that may arise.
Developing and monitoring effective advertising disclosures

Most of the studies in our literature review concerning the ethical aspects of influen-
cer marketing focus on the effectiveness of advertising disclosures. Previous research
has investigated the effects of adding an advertising disclosure (compared to no dis-
closure), the use of clear disclosure language, and the source of the disclosure (plat-
form-generated vs. influencer-generated). However, the studies in our literature review
reveal that disclosures are not always noticed by respondents. Hence, the use of a
conspicuous and easily recognizable disclosure that is implementable on different
social media platforms may benefit disclosure effectiveness. Future research can con-
tribute to the development of such a standard disclosure.
To ensure an ethical use of influencer marketing, the implementation of effective
advertising disclosures should be accompanied with an effective monitoring system
such that deceptive and misleading influencer ads can be banned, and influencers
who commit themselves to unethical practices can be punished (Campbell and Grimm
2019). Artificial intelligence and machine learning may be valuable to detect influencer
posts that are deceptive; however, current research on the usefulness and develop-
ment of such algorithms is lacking. Most studies adopting a social network approach
or web scraping tactics focus on the development of algorithms to detect influencers
or on a discourse analysis of the content posted by influencers. Similar methodologies
can be used to monitor current influencer marketing practices and detect uneth-
ical content.
Conclusion and limitations

This study carefully synthesized past research on influencer marketing to detect
research streams, identify research gaps, and pave the way for further research on the
strategy of influencer marketing. A systematic approach was used to select the litera-
ture, and the Scopus database was used to ensure all recent publications were
included. However, the review remains time-bound. As the analysis shows, most
research on influencer marketing was published in the past three years, and research
on influencer marketing is still emerging; therefore, the review offers insight only into
the first wave of influencer marketing studies. The review is limited to studies identi-
fied through keywords selected by the authors. The authors are aware of multiple key-
words used in past and current research to describe social media influencers, and
using keywords such as ‘online personalities’ and ‘YouTube celebrities’ may have led
to the inclusion of other studies. Nonetheless, this review reveals that research on
influencer marketing is flourishing and shows sharp increase in recent years. As the
sector is professionalizing and influencer marketing becomes a widely implemented
tactic, research on the topic is expected to further expand.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Liselot Hudders, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Marketing Communication and Consumer
Behavior at the Dept. of Communication Sciences and Marketing of Ghent University and dir-
ector of the Center of Persuasive Communication. She focuses her research on how minors
cope with embedded advertising and how social media messages should be framed to foster
sustainable consumption. She published in a wide range of academic journals and she already
received several distinctions for her work.
Steffi De Jans, PhD, is visiting professor at the Department of Communication Sciences at Ghent
University. Her research focuses on minors’ advertising literacy for contemporary advertising,
advertising literacy interventions and influencer marketing.
Marijke De Veirman, PhD, is researcher and teaching assistant at the Department of
Communication Sciences at Ghent University. Her research focuses on social media marketing,
in particular influencer marketing.
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Appendix – Overview of studies on influencer marketing (N ¼ 154)
Author(s) Year Journal Title

Literature Review
De Veirman, M., Hudders, 2019 Frontiers in Psychology What Is Influencer Marketing and How
L., & Nelson, M. R. Does It Target Children? A Review and
Direction for Future Research.
Nafi, S. M., & Ahmed, T. 2019 African Journal of The ethical standpoint of social
Hospitality, Tourism influencers on hotel E services cape: A
and Leisure theoretical perspective on the
existing literature.
Sharma, R., Ahuja, V., & 2018 Journal of The Future Scope of Netnography and
Alavi, S. Internet Commerce Social Network Analysis in the Field
of Marketing.
Sundermann, G., & 2019 International Journal of Strategic Communication through Social
Raabe, T. Strategic Communication Media Influencers: Current State of
Research and Desiderata.
Voorveld, H. A. M. 2019 Journal of Advertising Brand Communication in Social Media: A
Research Agenda.
Conceptualization and Defining IM
Backaler, J. 2019 Journal of Digital and Digital influence: the rise of modern-day
Social Media Marketing influencer marketing and key
implications for global business leaders.
Baker, S. A., & Rojek, C. 2019 Journal of Sociology The Belle Gibson scandal: The rise of
lifestyle gurus as micro-celebrities in
low-trust societies.
Belk, R. 2019 Journal of Global On standing out and fitting in.
Fashion Marketing
Campbell, C., & Farrell, 2020 Business Horizons More than meets the eye: The functional
J. R. components underlying
influencer marketing.
Carter, D. 2016 Social Media and Society Hustle and Brand: The Sociotechnical
Shaping of Influence.
Enke, N., & Borchers, N. S. 2019 International Journal of Social Media Influencers in Strategic
Strategic Communication Communication: A Conceptual
Framework for Strategic Social Media
Influencer Communication.
Gaenssle, S., & 2020 Journal of Media Stars in social media: new light through
Budzinski, O. Business Studies old windows?
Khamis, S., Ang, L., & 2017 Celebrity Studies Self-branding, ‘micro-celebrity’ and the
Welling, R. rise of Social Media Influencers.
Lin, H. C., Bruning, P. F., & 2018 Business Horizons Using online opinion leaders to promote
Swarna, H. the hedonic and utilitarian value of
products and services.
Marwick & Boyd 2011 New Media & Society I tweet honestly, I tweet passionately:
Twitter users, context collapse, and the
imagined audience.
Peres, L. 2020 Journal of Digital and Influencer marketing: How to run
Social Media Marketing successful and authentic video
campaigns with creators.
Raun, T. 2018 Convergence Capitalizing intimacy: New subcultural
forms of micro-celebrity strategies and
affective labour on YouTube.
Sheth, J. N. 2020 Journal of Borderless Media: Rethinking
International Marketing International Marketing.
Sponsor and Intermediary Perspective
Childers, C. C., Lemon, L. 2019 Journal of Current Issues #Sponsored #Ad: Agency Perspective on
L., & Hoy, M. G. and Research in Influencer Marketing Campaigns.
Advertising
Coll, P., & Mico, J. L. 2019 Observatorio Influencer Marketing in the Growth
Hacking strategy of digital brands.
Day, J. 2020 Journal of Digital and
Social Media Marketing
(continued)
Appendix Continued.
Going mobile: Using influencer marketing
to launch a classic game to an all-
new audience.
Elton, L., & Lopez, L. 2018 Journal of Digital and How ELLE leverages customer
Social Media Marketing relationships to deepen
brand engagement.
Gr€ave, J. F. 2019 Social Media and Society What KPIs Are Key? Evaluating
Performance Metrics for Social Media
Influencers.
Hutchinson, J. 2019 Convergence Digital first personality: Automation and
influence within evolving
media ecologies.
Melzer, J., & Zech, B. 2018 Journal of Brand Strategy How social media influencers enabled a
B2B company to drive awareness and
engagement with their
target consumers.
Navarro, C., Moreno, A., 2020 Public Relations Review The challenge of new gatekeepers for
Molleda, J. C., Khalil, N., public relations. A comparative analysis
& Verhoeven, P. of the role of social media influencers
for European and Latin American
professionals.
Schlauderaff, S. 2019 Fat Studies Re-Imagining Futurity for Fat, Disabled
and ‘unhealthy’ Bodyminds: A Response
to 23andMe’s Health þ Ancestry
Genetic Testing Kits.
Seeler, S., L€
uck, M., & 2019 Journal of Hospitality and Exploring the drivers behind experience
Sch€anzel, H. A. Tourism Management accumulation – The role of secondary
experiences consumed through the
eyes of social media influencers.
Wolf, K., & Archer, C. 2018 Journal of Public relations at the crossroads: The
Communication need to reclaim core public relations
Management competencies in digital communication.
Identification of Social Media Influencers
Agostino, D., Arnaboldi, 2019 Heliyon How to quantify social media influencers:
M., & Calissano, A An empirical application at the Teatro
alla Scala.
Arora, A., Bansal, S., 2019 Journal of Retailing and Measuring social media influencer index-
Kandpal, C., Aswani, R., Consumer Services insights from facebook, Twitter
& Dwivedi, Y. and Instagram.
Bashari, B., & Fazl-Ersi, E. 2020 Measurement and Control Influential post identification on Instagram
through caption and hashtag analysis.
Bokunewicz, J. F., & 2017 Journal of Hospitality and Influencer identification in Twitter
Shulman, J. Tourism Technology networks of destination marketing
organizations.
Borowski, E., Chen, Y., & 2020 Travel Behaviour Social media effects on sustainable
Mahmassani, H. and Society mobility opinion diffusion: Model
framework and implications for
behavior change.
Chandawarkar, A. A., 2018 Aesthetic Surgery Journal The Top 100 Social Media Influencers in
Gould, D. J., & Stevens, Plastic Surgery on Twitter: Who Should
W. G. You Be Following?
Del Fresno Garcıa, M., 2016 Revista Espanola de Identifying the new influencers in the
Daly, A. J., & Sanchez- Investigaciones internet era: Social media and social
Cabezudo, S. S. Sociologicas network analysis.
Francalanci, C., & 2017 Information Systems Influence-based Twitter browsing
Hussain, A. with NavigTweet.
Francalanci, C., Hussain, A., 2015 Applied Mathematics and Representing social influencers and
& Merlo, F. Information Sciences influence using power-law graphs.
Hepworth, A. D., 2019 Journal of Social Structure Exploring patterns of social relationships
Kropczynski, J., Walden, among food bloggers on twitter using
J., & Smith, R. A. a social network analysis approach.
(continued)
Appendix Continued.
Himelboim, I., & Golan, 2019 Social Media and Society A Social Networks Approach to Viral
G. J. Advertising: The Role of Primary,
Contextual, and Low Influencers.
Lagree, P., Cappe, O., 2018 ACM Transactions on Algorithms for online
Cautis, B., & Maniu, S. Knowledge Discovery influencer marketing.
from Data
Lutkenhaus, R. O., Jansz, J., 2019 Digital Health Tailoring in the digital era: Stimulating
& Bouman, M. P. A. dialogues on health topics in
collaboration with social media
influencers.
More, J. S., & Lingam, C. 2019 Applied Computing and A SI model for social media influencer
Informatics maximization
Shen, C. W., Kuo, C. J., & 2017 International Review of Analysis of social media influencers and
Ly, P. T. M. Research in Open and trends on online and mobile learning.
Distance Learning
Varady, N. H., 2019 World Journal of Who should you be following? The top
Chandawarkar, A. A., Orthopaedics 100 social media influencers in
Kernkamp, W. A., & orthopaedic surgery.
Gans, I.
Vollenbroek, W., De Vries, 2014 International Journal of Identification of influence in social media
S., Constantinides, E., & Web Based Communities communities.
Kommers, P.
Influencer Perspective
Archer, C. 2019 Media How influencer ‘mumpreneur’ bloggers
International Australia and ‘everyday’ mums frame presenting
their children online.
Archer, C. 2019 Public Relations Inquiry Social media influencers, post-feminism
and neoliberalism: How mum bloggers’
‘playbour’ is reshaping public relations.
Archer, C., & Harrigan, P. 2016 Media Show me the money: How bloggers as
International Australia stakeholders are challenging theories of
relationship building in public relations.
Estables, M. J., Guerrero- 2019 Revista Latina de Gamers, writers and social media
Pico, M., & Contreras- Comunicacion Social influencers: Professionalisation
Espinosa, R. S. processes among teenagers.
Evers, C. W. 2019 Sport in Society The gendered emotional labour of male
professional ‘freesurfers’ digital
media work.
Leban, M., Thomsen, T. U., 2020 Journal of Business Ethics Constructing Personas: How High-Net-
von Wallpach, S., & Worth Social Media Influencers
Voyer, B. G Reconcile Ethicality and Living a
Luxury Lifestyle.
Novoselova, V., & 2019 Feminist Media Studies Authorship and professional digital
Jenson, J. presence in feminist blogs.
Wellman, M. L., Stoldt, R., 2020 Journal of Media Ethics: Ethics of Authenticity: Social Media
Tully, M., & Ekdale, B. Exploring Questions of Influencers and the Production of
Media Morality. Sponsored Content
Woodcock, J., & Johnson, 2019 International Journal of Live Streamers on Twitch.tv as Social
M. R. Strategic Communication Media Influencers: Chances and
Challenges for Strategic
Communication.
Message Content
Abidin, C., & Thompson, 2012 Women’s Studies Buymylife.com: Cyber-femininities and
E. C. International Forum commercial intimacy in blogshops.
Alampi, A. 2020 Journal of Digital and The future is micro: How to build an
Social Media Marketing effective micro-influencer programme.
Coates, A. E., Hardman, C. 2019 Frontiers in Psychology Food and Beverage Cues Featured in
A., Halford, J. C. G., YouTube Videos of Social Media
Christiansen, P., & Influencers Popular With Children: An
Boyland, E. J. Exploratory Study.
Duffy, A., & Kang, H. Y. P. 2020 Media, Culture and Society Follow me, I’m famous: travel bloggers’
self-mediated performances of
everyday exoticism.
(continued)
Appendix Continued.
Fan, K. L., Economides, J. 2019 Plastic and To bot or not? Challenging the top social
M., & Song, D. H. Reconstructive Surgery media influencers in #plasticsurgery.
Ge, J., & Gretzel, U. 2018 Journal of Emoji rhetoric: a social media influencer
Marketing Management perspective.
Ge, J., & Herring, S. C. 2018 First Monday Communicative functions of emoji
sequences on Sina Weibo.
Hejlova, D., Schneiderova, 2019 Adiktologie Analysis of presumed iqos influencer
S., Klabıkova Rabova, T., marketing on instagram in the Czech
& Kulhanek, A. republic in 2018–2019.
Iqani, M. 2019 International Journal of Picturing luxury, producing value: The
Cultural Studies cultural labour of social media brand
influencers in South Africa
Jorge, A., Marôpo, L., & 2018 Observatorio ’I am not being sponsored to say this’: A
Nunes, T. teen youtuber and her audience
negotiate branded content.
Khazraee, E. 2019 Big Data and Society Mapping the political landscape of Persian
Twitter: The case of 2013
presidential election.
Kolo, C., & Haumer, F. 2018 Journal of Digital and Social media celebrities as influencers in
Social Media Marketing brand communication: An empirical
study on influencer content, its
advertising relevance and audience
expectations.
Lewis, R. 2020 Television and New Media ‘This Is What the News Won’t Show You’:
YouTube Creators and the Reactionary
Politics of Micro-celebrity.
Mohamad, S. M., & 2019 Celebrity Studies Hijabi celebrification and Hijab
Hassim, N. consumption in Brunei and Malaysia.
Page, R. 2012 Discourse and The linguistics of self-branding and micro-
Communication celebrity in Twitter: The role
of hashtags.
Pilgrim, K., & Bohnet- 2019 BMC Public Health Selling health and happiness how
Joschko, S. influencers communicate on Instagram
about dieting and exercise: Mixed
methods research.
Porter, A. 2020 Performance Research The Influence of Intimacy: Amateur
performance on new media’s
neoliberal stage.
Qutteina, Y., Hallez, L., 2019 Frontiers in Psychology What Do Adolescents See on Social
Mennes, N., De Backer, Media? A Diary Study of Food
C., & Smits, T. Marketing Images on Social Media.
Schwemmer, C., & 2018 Social Media and Society Social Media Sellout: The Increasing Role
Ziewiecki, S. of Product Promotion on YouTube.
Tanupabrungsun, S., & 2018 Social Media and Society Studying Celebrity Practices on Twitter
Hemsley, J. Using a Framework for Measuring
Media Richness.
Usher, B. 2020 Journalism The celebrified columnist and opinion
spectacle: Journalism’s changing place
in networked public spheres.
van Eldik, A. K., Kneer, J., 2019 Frontiers in Psychology Urban Influencers: An Analysis of Urban
Lutkenhaus, R. O., & Identity in YouTube Content of Local
Jansz, J. Social Media Influencers in a Super-
Diverse City.
Appeal of Social Media Influencers
Balaban, D., & 2019 Romanian Journal of Users’ perspective on the credibility of
Mustatea, M. Communication and social media influencers in Romania
Public Relations and Germany.
Barbe, D., Neuburger, L., & 2020 e-Review of Follow us on instagram! Understanding
Pennington-Gray, L. Tourism Research the driving force behind following
travel accounts on instagram.
Chae, J. 2018 Media Psychology Explaining Females’ Envy Toward Social
Media Influencers.
(continued)
Appendix Continued.
Coates, A. E., Hardman, C. 2020 International Journal of ‘It’s Just Addictive People That Make
A., Halford, J. C. G., Environmental Research Addictive Videos’: Children’s
Christiansen, P., & and Public Health Understanding of and Attitudes
Boyland, E. J. Towards Influencer Marketing of Food
and Beverages by YouTube
Video Bloggers.
Cooley, D., & Parks- 2019 Journal of The Effect of Social Media on Perceived
Yancy, R. Internet Commerce Information Credibility and
Decision Making.
Daniel, E. S., Crawford 2018 Journal of Interactive The Influence of Social Media Influencers:
Jackson, E. C., & Advertising Understanding Online Vaping
Westerman, D. K. Communities and Parasocial Interaction
through the Lens of Taylor’s Six-
Segment Strategy Wheel.
Djafarova, E., & 2019 Information ‘Instafamous’–credibility and self-
Trofimenko, O. Communication presentation of micro-celebrities on
and Society social media.
Dwidienawati, D., 2019 International Journal of Young customers’ perception on
Abdinagoro, S. B., Advanced Trends in influencer endorsement, customer
Gandasari, D., & Nadira. Computer Science and review and E-tailing channel.
Engineering
Folkvord, F., Bevelander, K. 2019 Young Consumers Children’s bonding with popular YouTube
E., Rozendaal, E., & vloggers and their attitudes toward
Hermans, R. brand and product endorsements in
vlogs: an explorative study.
Freberg, K., Graham, K., 2011 Public Relations Review Who are the social media influencers? A
McGaughey, K., & study of public perceptions of
Freberg, L. A. personality.
Kadekova, Z., & 2018 Communication Today Influencer marketing as a modern
Holiencinova, M. phenomenon creating a new frontier of
virtual opportunities.
Konstantopoulou, A., 2019 International Journal of Improving SMEs’ competitiveness with the
Rizomyliotis, I., Organizational Analysis use of Instagram influencer advertising
Konstantoulaki, K., & and eWOM.
Badahdah, R.
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Man un~ez- 2020 Heliyon Neuromarketing as a strategic tool for
Gomez, P., & Tur- predicting how Instagramers have an
~es, V.
Vin influence on the personal identity of
adolescents and young people
in Spain.
Marôpo, L., Jorge, A., & 2020 Journal of Children ‘I felt like I was really talking to you!’:
Tomaz, R. and Media intimacy and trust among teen
vloggers and followers in Portugal
and Brazil.
Van Dam, S., & Van 2019 Cyberpsychology Insights in adolescents’ advertising
Reijmersdal, E. A. literacy, perceptions and responses
regarding sponsored influencer videos
and disclosures.
Efficacy of influencer marketing
Al-Khalaf, E., & Choe, P. 2020 Journal of Increasing Customer Trust Towards Mobile
Internet Commerce Commerce in a Multicultural Society: A
Case of Qatar.
Alotaibi, T. S., Alkhathlan, 2019 International Journal of Instagram shopping in Saudi Arabia: What
A. A., & Alzeer, S. S. Advanced Computer influences consumer trust and
Science and Applications purchase decisions?
Ballantine, P. W., & Yeung, 2015 Marketing Intelligence The effects of review valence in organic
C. A. and Planning versus sponsored blog sites on
perceived credibility, brand attitude,
and behavioural intentions.
Bratu, S. 2019 Review of Can social media influencers shape
Contemporary corporate brand reputation? Online
Philosophy
(continued)
Appendix Continued.
followers’ trust, value creation, and
purchase intentions.
Coates, A. E., Hardman, C. 2019 Pediatrics Social media influencer marketing and
A., Halford, J. C. G., children’s food intake: A
Christiansen, P., & randomized trial.
Boyland, E. J.
De Veirman, M., 2017 International Journal of Marketing through instagram influencers:
Cauberghe, V., & Advertising The impact of number of followers and
Hudders, L. product divergence on brand attitude.
Hu, H., Zhang, D., & 2019 Social Behavior and Impact of social media influencers’
Wang, C. Personality endorsement on application adoption:
A trust transfer perspective.
Hu, M., Milner, J., & Wu, J. 2016 Management Science Liking and following and the newsvendor:
Operations and marketing policies
under social influence.
Hughes, C., Swaminathan, 2019 Journal of Marketing Driving Brand Engagement Through
V., & Brooks, G. Online Social Influencers: An Empirical
Investigation of Sponsored
Blogging Campaigns.
Jiang, S., Hua, X., & 2020 Journal of Digital and How do popular online streamers
Parviainen, R. Social Media Marketing influence viewers’ purchase intention?
Evidence from a mobile game
campaign on youtube.
Jin, S. V., & Muqaddam, A. 2019 Journal of Product placement 2.0: ‘Do Brands Need
Brand Management Influencers, or Do Influencers
Need Brands?’
Jin, S. V., & Ryu, E. 2019 Journal of Product and Instagram fashionistas, luxury visual image
Brand Management strategies and vanity.
Jin, S. V., & Ryu, E. 2020 Journal of Retailing and ‘I’ll buy what she’s #wearing’: The roles of
Consumer Services envy toward and parasocial interaction
with influencers in Instagram celebrity-
based brand endorsement and
social commerce.
Jin, S. V., Muqaddam, A., & 2019 Marketing Intelligence Instafamous and social media
Ryu, E. and Planning influencer marketing.
Ki, C. W., & Kim, Y. K. 2019 Psychology and Marketing The mechanism by which social media
influencers persuade consumers: The
role of consumers’ desire to mimic.
Kupfer, A. K., Vor Der 2018 Journal of Marketing The role of the partner brand’s social
Holte, N. P., K€ubler, R. media power in brand alliances.
V., & Hennig-Thurau, T.
Lee, J. A., & Eastin, M. S. 2020 Journal of Interactive I Like What She’s #Endorsing: The Impact
Advertising of Female Social Media Influencers’
Perceived Sincerity, Consumer Envy,
and Product Type.
Lisdayanti, A., Sinaga, O., 2020 International Journal of How to reduce plastic waste by using
& Saudi, M. H. M. Psychosocial social media marketing?
Rehabilitation
Lou, C., & Kim, H. K. 2019 Frontiers in Psychology Fancying the New Rich and Famous?
Explicating the Roles of Influencer
Content, Credibility, and Parental
Mediation in Adolescents’ Parasocial
Relationship, Materialism, and
Purchase Intentions.
Lou, C., & Yuan, S. 2019 Journal of Interactive Influencer Marketing: How Message Value
Advertising and Credibility Affect Consumer Trust
of Branded Content on Social Media.
Lou, C., Tan, S. S., & 2019 Journal of Interactive Investigating Consumer Engagement with
Chen, X. Advertising Influencer- vs. Brand-Promoted Ads:
The Roles of Source and Disclosure.
Nisa, E. F. 2018 Asiascape: Digital Asia Creative and Lucrative Dawa: The Visual
Culture of Instagram amongst Female
Muslim Youth in Indonesia.
(continued)
Appendix Continued.
Petrescu, M., O’Leary, K., 2018 Journal of Retailing and Incentivized reviews: Promising the moon
Goldring, D., & Ben Consumer Services for a few stars.
Mrad, S
Mak, A. K. Y., & Song, 2019 Public Relations Review Revisiting social-mediated crisis
A. O. communication model: The Lanc^ ome
regenerative crisis after the Hong Kong
Umbrella Movement.
P€
oyry, E., Pelkonen, M., 2019 International Journal of A Call for Authenticity: Audience
Naumanen, E., & Strategic Communication Responses to Social Media Influencer
Laaksonen, S. M. Endorsements in Strategic
Communication.
Reinikainen, H., Munnukka, 2020 Journal of ‘You really are a great big
J., Maity, D., & Luoma- Marketing Management sister’–parasocial relationships,
aho, V. credibility, and the moderating role of
audience comments in
influencer marketing.
Satria, A. D., Jatipuri, S., 2019 International Journal of The impact of celebrity endorsement by
Hartanti, A. D., & Recent Technology and social influencer celebgram on
Sanny, L. Engineering purchase intention of generation Z in
fashion industry.
Schouten, A. P., Janssen, 2020 International Journal of Celebrity vs. Influencer endorsements in
L., & Verspaget, M. Advertising advertising: the role of identification,
credibility, and Product-Endorser fit.
Shan, Y., Chen, K. J., & Lin, 2019 International Journal of When social media influencers endorse
J. S. Advertising. brands: the effects of self-influencer
congruence, parasocial identification,
and perceived endorser motive.
Singh, J., Crisafulli, B., 2020 Journal of ‘To trust or not to trust’: The impact of
Quamina, L. T., & Xue, Business Research social media influencers on the
M. T. reputation of corporate brands in crisis.
Smit, C. R., Buijs, L., van 2020 Frontiers in Psychology The Impact of Social Media Influencers on
Woudenberg, T. J., Children’s Dietary Behaviours.
Bevelander, K. E., &
Buijzen, M.
Sng, K., Au, T. Y., & 2019 International Journal of Social Media Influencers as a Crisis Risk in
Pang, A. Strategic Communication Strategic Communication: Impact of
Indiscretions on Professional
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The Commercialization of Social Media Stars: A Literature Review and Conceptual Framework On The Strategic Use of Social Media Influencers

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International Journal of Advertising

The Review of Marketing Communications

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rina20

The commercialization of social media stars: a

Liselot Hudders , Steffi De Jans & Marijke De Veirman

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2020.1836925

Published online: 28 Oct 2020.

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The commercialization of social media stars: a literature

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

CONTACT Liselot Hudders Liselot.Hudders@Ugent.be Department of Communication Sciences, Ghent

impact on their followers’ decision-making. Therefore, they are repeatedly approached

Theoretical framework: the revised communication model for advertising

Table 1. Research questions.

framework is further used to conceptualize influencer marketing and to structure the

Research Clusters – Strategic Use of Social Media Inﬂuencers (N = 154)

MESSAGE (N = 21) AUDIENCE (N = 77)

Deﬁning and conceptualizing (N = Appealing Nature of Inﬂuencers (N = 15)

Figure 1. Research clusters in influencer marketing research.

reviews (excluding conference proceedings) and focussed on discovering the identified

General trends in research on influencer marketing

Number of Studies Published over the Years

Figure 2. Evolution in influencer marketing research.

Various sources in influencer marketing

Defining social media influencers

Identifying powerful social media influencers

Conceptualizing influencer marketing: the strategic use of social media

STRATEGIC USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS

SOURCES MESSAGE CHANNEL AUDIENCE

DOMAINS PLATFORMS AUDIENCE

Figure 3. Conceptualizing social media influencers and influencer marketing.

Sponsor and intermediary perspective

Content strategies in influencer marketing

Audience research in influencer marketing

Appeal of social media influencers to audiences

Efficacy of sponsored influencer posts

reviews by Petrescu et al. (2018) showed an incentivized review campaign offering

Source characteristics: credibility, attractiveness, parasocial interaction,

Message characteristics: content strategies and storytelling

Risks imposed by using social media influencers

Toward a transparent influencer marketing practice: the use of advertising

endorsement only highlighted positive product attributes, there was no difference

Alongside increasing the transparency of influencer marketing, educating consum-

Managerial and public policy implications

micro- or nano-influencers may be more relevant to influence attitudes or pur-

Providing guidance for influencers’ ethical concerns

Uncertainties about influencer marketing among marketing and PR professionals

Combine autobiographical information with storytelling

professionals concerning advertising law and all self-regulatory practices is crucial. In

Future research agenda on influencer marketing

Table 2. Furture research agenda.

importance to include in future research. In Table 2, an overview is given of the spe-

Sponsors’ and intermediaries’ views on influencer marketing

Influencer marketing on different platforms: TikTok as a rising star

Say it again: finding the optimal message frequency

Influencer marketing to affect social behavioral change

Developing and monitoring effective advertising disclosures

Conclusion and limitations

Appendix – Overview of studies on influencer marketing (N ¼ 154)

Author(s) Year Journal Title