Consumer Perceptions of Influencer Marketing in Cosmetic Industry
Räsänen, Siiri (2022)
Räsänen, Siiri
2022
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202204185315
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202204185315
Tiivistelmä
This bachelor’s degree thesis was created to research the consumer perceptions of influencer marketing in the cosmetic industry. The research was non-commissioned, but was done to serve the purpose of helping cosmetics brands with influencer marketing, on the international market. The research question was: What are the consumer perceptions of influencer marketing in cosmetic industry? The thesis focused on women aged 15-35, which are currently Millennials and Generation Z.
The empirical part of this thesis was done with quantitative research and secondary research. Webropol was used to create a survey for the research, that consisted of thirteen questions and was supported by the theoretical framework. The survey collected 102 valid responses. The survey was open from March 3rd to March 18th .
Theoretical framework was created with four theory bases, that were: social media marketing, to understand the platforms that the marketing of the research happens on. Influencer marketing, to give the reader an in depth analysis on influencers, who and what they are. Network theory was used to find out consumers’ following patterns on social media. And cultural marketing was used to map out whether culture paid a role in consumers’ influencer following patterns. The sources for the framework were high-quality books, articles and journals
The results of the research indicated, that Generation Z responded more to influencer marketing, than Millennials. They followed more influencers on multiple platforms, as well as had a higher percentage of purchases made, based of influencer recommendation. The results showed that the respondents do not perceive paid collaborations and sponsored content positively, as that made influencers seem less authentic and genuine. Those influencers that only rarely did paid content, or had a longer history on social media, were perceived more authentic.
In case of future research, the effects of culture and nationality on influencer following could be further investigated. If further research would be conducted, it would be beneficial to interview consumers on how frequently and in what form, would they like to see paid content from influencers.
The empirical part of this thesis was done with quantitative research and secondary research. Webropol was used to create a survey for the research, that consisted of thirteen questions and was supported by the theoretical framework. The survey collected 102 valid responses. The survey was open from March 3rd to March 18th .
Theoretical framework was created with four theory bases, that were: social media marketing, to understand the platforms that the marketing of the research happens on. Influencer marketing, to give the reader an in depth analysis on influencers, who and what they are. Network theory was used to find out consumers’ following patterns on social media. And cultural marketing was used to map out whether culture paid a role in consumers’ influencer following patterns. The sources for the framework were high-quality books, articles and journals
The results of the research indicated, that Generation Z responded more to influencer marketing, than Millennials. They followed more influencers on multiple platforms, as well as had a higher percentage of purchases made, based of influencer recommendation. The results showed that the respondents do not perceive paid collaborations and sponsored content positively, as that made influencers seem less authentic and genuine. Those influencers that only rarely did paid content, or had a longer history on social media, were perceived more authentic.
In case of future research, the effects of culture and nationality on influencer following could be further investigated. If further research would be conducted, it would be beneficial to interview consumers on how frequently and in what form, would they like to see paid content from influencers.