Decoding influencer authenticity: the CueSphere model of extrinsic cues

Purpose This study aims to explore extrinsic cues and how they contribute to decoding the perceived authenticity of social media influencers in content co-creation within professional beauty services. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in attribution theory, the causes of social media influencer’s unobservable authenticity are attributed to extrinsic cues. This study delves into these extrinsic cues by conducting in-depth interviews and thematic analysis with 21 customers of professional service beauty brands. Findings This study introduces the CueSphere model for decoding the perceived authenticity of social media influencers, incorporating nine distinct extrinsic cues: five customer experience-related cues (i.e. source factors, comment valence, post-service effectiveness, experience alignment and customer materialism) and four collaborative brand-related cues (i.e. brand credibility, brand coolness, brand experience and influencer-owned brand). Practical implications The CueSphere model guides service providers, marketing agencies and various stakeholders within the service marketing ecosystem to decode the perceived authenticity of social media influencers. Social implications This study endorses ethical marketing and supports societal goals of body positivity and well-being by promoting authentic social media influencers. Originality/value Building on attribution theory, this study discovers extrinsic cues (i.e. customer experience-related and collaborative brand-related cues) as a new avenue to decode the perceived authenticity of social media influencers in content co-creation within professional beauty services marketing. This study demonstrates that unlike product-based endorsements, where authenticity relates to an influencer’s honesty and expertise, decoding authenticity in service-based endorsements requires considering extrinsic cues from both the service brand and customer experiences. The CueSphere model offers nine distinct extrinsic cues to evaluate the perceived authenticity of social media influencers in shaping the servicescape atmosphere for minimally invasive cosmetic procedures.