The impact of the social digital influencer on the attitudinal change of his virtual community

In an environment that has become entirely connected, the phenomenon of digital influencers is proving to be a relevant and appropriate practice in today's context of digital transformation. Perceived as a key player in social change, the digital influencer has become a veritable electronic opinion leader, constantly inspiring, raising awareness and shaping the opinions, beliefs, mentalities and, consequently, attitudes and purchasing behavior intentions of his or her community. The aim of this research is dual: on the one hand, to highlight social influencer marketing, given the scarcity of studies carried out in the Moroccan context; on the other, to analyze the social role of the digital influencer, focusing on a myriad of skills that characterize his profile and the content disseminated through the engagement of his virtual community. The innovative aspect of this research lies in the proposal of a mixed theoretical model with a rich and complementary interdisciplinary overlap, combining the ELM model of information processing derived from social psychology theories of persuasion and the model of reasoned action drawn from management sciences and referring to consumer behavior. The research methodology adopted is based on descriptive methods supported by documentary analysis techniques, as well as an exploratory qualitative study involving a sample of 32 creators of socially-oriented content, chosen according to the principle of semantic diversification and saturation. The data collected through interviews will then be compared with statistical data from the instagram platform, the subject of our study, to concretize and measure the research parameters studied.