Attitudes of younger generations towards influencer marketing

Abstract

Social media has become an integral part of our lives. Influencers, who have gathered a significant following on social media have become a way for companies to advertise themselves. Younger generations use social media more than anybody and are a clear target audience for influencer marketing. Research on what are the opinions of these younger consumers towards influencers would open new doors in terms of marketing opportunities. The goal of the study was to dive into the minds of younger generations and find out their opinions on social media and influencer marketing to see how those opinions affected their buying behavior. This could provide companies and influencers more information on what type of influencer marketing would be the most effective. Research with both primary and secondary data was conducted to answer the research questions. The primary qualitative data was collected through survey, which received 87 responses. The secondary data was presented in the form of a literature review, which compiled a knowledge base from already existing literature. Results of the research indicated that younger people had quite neutral view on both social media and influencer marketing. They used social media daily and encountered influencer marketing often. Despite the coverage of influencer marketing, younger generation did not feel like it had a big impact on their buying decisions. Characteristics of an influencer were seen as a big factor on their credibility. Personality and familiarity were seen as the most important factors.