The development of reputational capital – How social media influencers differ from traditional celebrities

Abstract

Social media influencers (SMI) have grown in importance as a promotional channel.However, little is known about how they build reputational capital and thus endorsement effectiveness, particularly compared to traditional celebrity endorsers. From a consumers' perspective, this research investigates both types of endorsers in different stages of the Celebrity Capital Life Cycle (CCLC). Across three studies, we find that parasocial relationships and interactions with consumers are paramount for SMIs reputational capital and endorsement effectiveness, yet not critical for traditional celebrities. Further, a consumer's perceived weak parasocial relationship/interaction with SMIs can be detrimental to their effectiveness yet has little impact on traditional celebrities' influence. We find that the positive effect of a SMI with high parasocial relationship/interaction with consumers on Word of Mouth (i.e., endorsers effectiveness) is mediated by expectation fulfillment and brand endorsers' credibility (i.e., reputation capital). This research discovers how important parasocial relationships with consumers are for SMIs in comparison to traditional celebrities; importantly this is the first research that empirically identifies how SMIs can gain and maintain reputation capital and subsequently be more effective as brand endorsers.Our findings have important implications for marketing professionals who are managing SMIs.

Why Do Journalists Face Varying Degrees of Digital Hostility? Examining the Interplay Between Minority Identity and Celebrity Capital

“…The size of the audience is a reliable sign of how much attention journalists receive. It can represent both individual capital, such as social media followers for noninstitutionally embedded influencers (Hess et al, 2022), and organizational capital, which spills over onto embedded individuals. The size of an individual journalist's audience is very dynamic and difficult to determine, especially for printed newspapers.…”

Virtual idols vs online influencers vs traditional celebrities: how young consumers respond to their endorsement advertising

“…However, if consumers are skeptical of online information, then this will significantly reduce the overall effectiveness of online influencers’ endorsements (Jamil and Qayyum, 2022). Hess et al (2022) concluded that the type of endorser does not have a significant effect on word-of-mouth but that consumers prefer to recommend brands endorsed by online influencers with whom they have highly parasocial interactions, while this type of relationship is not relevant to traditional celebrities. Despite growing evidence indicating that online influencers occupy a unique position in consumers’ minds that differs from that of traditional celebrities, research has not provided a plausible or general explanation for this distinction or how it impacts the effectiveness of endorsements (Gräve and Bartsch, 2022).…”

Revisiting the elaboration likelihood model in the context of a virtual influencer: A comparison between high‐ and low‐involvement products

“…Unlike conventional endorsers, social media influencers co-create brand images with their followers on social media platforms (Bu et al, 2022;Halder et al, 2021). Additionally, followers on social media continuously engage in the influencers' lives, offering direct interaction opportunities and fostering a sense of closeness compared to celebrities (Hess et al, 2022;Lee et al, 2021;Torres et al, 2019).…”