| Abstract [eng] |
In the last decade, in the flood of information and advertising, it is extremely difficult for brands to reach and engage their target audience. For this reason, there was a need to carry out brand communication not only through traditional advertising channels, but also to look for a channel where communication would take place authentically - in social networks through influencers. Collaborating with influencers creates authentic interactions with consumers that lead to better sales results. The vast majority of research papers focuses on the characteristics of influencers that may impact purchase intention (expertise, attractiveness, credibility, argument quality, profile and product match-up), but there is a lack of studies to discuss the differences between the types of influencers that may influence perceived usefulness of a product or purchase intention. The aim of this work is to identify the impact of social media influencers' characteristics on intention to buy functional food, in the presence of different types of influencers. Tasks: 1. Reveal the concept of influencers, naming the main types of influencers influencing user decisions; 2. Reveal communication features of influencers; 3. To examine the credibility, attractiveness, expertise, argument quality and profile and product match-up based on the results of previous studies; 4. Identify the theoretical features of perceived product's usefulness and purchase intention based on literature; 5. To create a research methodology in order to investigate the impact of influencer's characteristics on intention to buy a recommended product. 6. To conduct a study according to the established methodology, which would help to evaluate the impact of these factors on the intention to buy. 7. Present the research results and conclusions. During the empirical study, it was established that consumers evaluate the characteristics of influencers differently, depending on the type of influencer. So the perceived usefulness of the recommended product differs as well. In the case of the influencer-expert, the intention to buy is influenced by the expertise, credibility, attractiveness and argument quality. In the case of influencer-celebrity, expertise and argument quality are the main characteristics that determine purchase intention. |
