Emotional language within influencer marketing on YouTube

Abstract This case study of twelve videos of Spanish YouTubers explores emotional language within influencer marketing. Special consideration is given to whether hedonic values were prevalent in the emotionally charged evaluations without neglecting the utilitarian values involved. The analysis of this interdisciplinary study reveals that most of the evaluations, the majority of which were directed toward feeling products, were generally positive. Expressions were categorized into different overlapping reasons, reflecting the co-occurrence of both hedonic and utilitarian rational values. Nonetheless, a general correlation can be established between hedonic values and feeling products, and between utilitarian values and thinking products. Furthermore, the YouTubers consistently employed the same linguistic and lexical patterns throughout the observed data, giving the impression of a rather spontaneous way of speaking in these videos. The videos were characterized by a certain amateurism on a discursive level, but with some features of professionalization particularly in the case of thinking products.