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How authentic is authenticity on Instagram: a Swedish social media influencer and social media follower perspective

Matthys, Matilda Elisabeth LU (2020) SKOM12 20201
Department of Strategic Communication
Abstract
Companies are spending more money on the SMI marketing strategy than ever. Research does however show that SMIs are viewed as sellouts doing collaborations for personal profit. Hence it is questionable for how authenticity (the number one thing people look for before making a purchase) is perceived and communicated. One does simply not understand how authenticity is perceived, as SMIs themselves are perceived as sellouts and the influencer market value still is increasing. Hence, the aim of this research is to understand the concept of authenticity within the SMI and follower relationship within SMI marketing. The empirical material has been conducted through 15 in depth interviews with both SMIs and followers. The interviews were... (More)
Companies are spending more money on the SMI marketing strategy than ever. Research does however show that SMIs are viewed as sellouts doing collaborations for personal profit. Hence it is questionable for how authenticity (the number one thing people look for before making a purchase) is perceived and communicated. One does simply not understand how authenticity is perceived, as SMIs themselves are perceived as sellouts and the influencer market value still is increasing. Hence, the aim of this research is to understand the concept of authenticity within the SMI and follower relationship within SMI marketing. The empirical material has been conducted through 15 in depth interviews with both SMIs and followers. The interviews were conducted with both SMIs and their followers in order to compare the two and thereof get an understanding of the relationship. Moreover, the empirical material was conducted from a social constructivism perspective and the analysis shows diversified results. The findings of this research do in fact show that authenticity within the SMI and follower relationship can be built upon the source models. However, as it is understood that one is the most authentic when being oneself, one can in fact argue for that one can simply not have a strategy for how to be authentic. Hence, the SMI marketing strategy can be understood to not find a fully developed strategy where one can simply work towards being authentic. (Less)
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author
Matthys, Matilda Elisabeth LU
supervisor
organization
course
SKOM12 20201
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Social media influencer marketing, Social media influencer (SMI), Social media follower, Authenticity, Paid collaborations, Strategic communication, Marketing, Branding
language
English
id
9014172
date added to LUP
2021-02-01 09:11:05
date last changed
2021-02-01 09:11:05
@misc{9014172,
  abstract     = {{Companies are spending more money on the SMI marketing strategy than ever. Research does however show that SMIs are viewed as sellouts doing collaborations for personal profit. Hence it is questionable for how authenticity (the number one thing people look for before making a purchase) is perceived and communicated. One does simply not understand how authenticity is perceived, as SMIs themselves are perceived as sellouts and the influencer market value still is increasing. Hence, the aim of this research is to understand the concept of authenticity within the SMI and follower relationship within SMI marketing. The empirical material has been conducted through 15 in depth interviews with both SMIs and followers. The interviews were conducted with both SMIs and their followers in order to compare the two and thereof get an understanding of the relationship. Moreover, the empirical material was conducted from a social constructivism perspective and the analysis shows diversified results. The findings of this research do in fact show that authenticity within the SMI and follower relationship can be built upon the source models. However, as it is understood that one is the most authentic when being oneself, one can in fact argue for that one can simply not have a strategy for how to be authentic. Hence, the SMI marketing strategy can be understood to not find a fully developed strategy where one can simply work towards being authentic.}},
  author       = {{Matthys, Matilda Elisabeth}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{How authentic is authenticity on Instagram: a Swedish social media influencer and social media follower perspective}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}