Exploring the Factors Influencing People to Follow a Social Media Influencer

Social media influencers also identified as micro-celebrities commonly entitled influencers, who provide content or thoughts based on their ideas and present experiences and ideas in the form of content or opinions. They are gaining popularity in the world of brand endorsement for attracting, developing and retaining consumers for their financial gain. The key emphasis of this study is to comprehend what motivates an individual to follow an influencer on social media platforms, so that the companies can efficaciously choose a social media influencer for their brand endorsement. Specifically, the major purpose of this study was to explore why an individual follows an influencer, so company can choose an influencer effectively. To achieve these aims, we choose to use questionnaires for an online survey among the social media users who follow at least one influencer, the questionnaire was circulated through social media and email. 392 individuals above 16 years old filled out the questionnaire. The outcome of the study confirmed that there are seven primary factors that motivate the social media audience to follow their selected influencers, namely authenticity, trustworthiness, attractiveness, credibility, expertise, legitimacy and likeability. The key takeaway from the study is that marketers, influencers and advertising agencies will be able to understand what factors affect the social media audience’s intention to follow the influencers. This study will make theoretical as well as practical contributions for the marketers as well as the influencers to understand what influences the users’ intention to follow social media influencers.