The consumers' perception of sponsored and non sponsored instagram publications in the influencer marketing world

Abstract

In the current context hugely shaped by social media and internet accessibility, an increasing attention is dedicated to alternative marketing initiatives. Because of the incredible number of advertisements that target consumers on a daily basis, brands struggle to find efficient marketing strategies that can actually capture the consumers’ attention. Influencer marketing seems to be an effective strategy to overcome this problem. As consequence of following influencers, especially on Instagram, users are exposed to hundreds of sponsored content each day. The objective of this dissertation is to analyze whether or not followers perceive differences between sponsored and non-sponsored posts, and eventually, how these differences affect the users’ behaviors.

In order to provide an answer to this question, as first step the author analyzed the existing studies and researches about Influencer marketing, influencers and which main elements are taken into account by followers. Additionally, the thesis explains the role of brands in Influencer marketing and a deep and exhaustive study of purchase intention, message credibility and source authenticity. Then, the author conducted a qualitative analysis by interviewing Instagram users through in-depth interviews, with the aim to better understand how do users really perceive influencers, sponsoring brands and sponsored content.

The present paper provides several insights for both brands and influencers. From an influencer’s prospective, genuineness, honesty and transparency are what make them authentic as sources, their messages credible and therefore followers likely to be influenced in the purchase intention. Different perceptions between sponsored and non-sponsored content are registered for authenticity and message credibility and only partially expressed in terms of purchase intention. On the other hand, the results presented provide brands with clear instruction on how to select the right influencer and on how to leverage their position in the market and in the consumers’ minds.