Influencer marketing via social media: The perceptions of Vietnamese consumers

Abstract

Influencer marketing is one of the trendiest marketing tools on social media today. Hence, it is of crucial importance to study viewpoints of the consumers who are daily exposed to influencer marketing content. The objectives of this thesis was set to explore the perceptions of Vietnamese consumers regarding influencer marketing and to measure the impacts of this marketing practice on brands.

Both quantitative and qualitative researches were conducted. An online survey was spread to mass social media users to collect generalisable sentiments and it was filled in by 120 Vietnamese respondents. 3 sequential interviews were carried out to gather more insights and subjective viewpoints so as to build a deeper understanding on the generalised data.

Overall, the results show positive impacts on consumers perceptions of brands thanks to influencer marketing, including making consumers feel closer to brands and giving brands vibrant characters. Regardless of the positive impacts, trust issues were found in consumers. Consumers see influencers as a supportive channel in their journey of purchase. Influencer marketing as a practice creates more positive social media experience for users. Insights from the qualitative research further elaborate on the trust issues and points out the problems in the approaches by which brands and influencers reach out to their target audience.