The Effect of Influencer Reach on Consumer Engagement and Persuasion Knowledge
Dr. Charlene Chu - cchu@chapman.edu
Dr. Cristina Nistor - nistor@chapman.edu
College: Argyros School of Business and Economics
Overview of scholarly research/creative activity: We are interested in studying the factors that affect social media engagement: influencer reach and persuasion knowledge.
Specific projects working on: Influencer marketing is being used more and more as brands attempt to engage consumers across the world. Social media influencers create organic and sponsored content that engages and attempts to persuade their followers about brands and products. We use three novel datasets to analyze the effect of influencer reach on consumer engagement and persuasion knowledge. Our results indicate that the number of followers (the influencer’s reach) affects the consumer engagement with the content created by the influencer. We find that smaller influencers are able to engage consumers more deeply than large influencers. Moreover, influencers with a larger reach are less likely to be regarded as credible in sponsored posts, suggesting that persuasion knowledge plays a key role in the ability of smaller influencers to engage consumers more deeply. The managerial implications are notable: influencer advertising is an effective promotional tool, but the reach of the influencer is an important consideration for marketing managers as the level of engagement and perceived credibility of the source and message depend on the reach of the influencer.
Number of students looking to work with: 1-2
Time commitment for students: 2-10 hours per month
Requirements for students who work with you: Students in marketing, communications, public relations, web design, and educational outreach
When students are needed: Fall 2021, Interterm, Spring, and Summer 2022
What would students be expected to do: Data collection, literature research/summary
