Adolescents' Approaches to Influencer Marketing Content: A Literacy Study

Year 2024, Volume: 19 Issue: 1, 137 - 166, 20.04.2024

Gülden Özkan , Mehmet Halim Arslan

https://doi.org/10.17550/akademikincelemeler.1326301

Abstract

With the development and differentiation of technology and media tools, we witness that many innovations have entered our lives and brands have changed their advertising and marketing strategies accordingly. Apart from the traditional advertising approach, influencer advertising/marketing content, which we frequently see in social media environments recently and for which brands allocate significant investment budgets, targets children and adolescents in a considerable way. However, we have limited knowledge about how adolescents put their advertising literacy skills to work in the face of influencer marketing/advertising. This study was conducted to understand how adolescents use their cognitive, affective and moral advertising literacy skills to combat the persuasive nature of influencer marketing/advertising. Adopting an interpretive qualitative methodology, data for the study were collected through semi-structured interviews with adolescent participants aged 15-17. The findings obtained from the data analyzed through directed qualitative content analysis suggest that although adolescents have developed cognitive advertising literacy skills, the parasocial relationship they establish with influencers may prevent the activation of emotional and moral advertising literacy skills.

Keywords

Social Media Literacy, Advertising Literacy, Influencer Marketing, Adolescents

Ergenlerin Influencer Pazarlama İçeriklerine Yaklaşımları: Bir Okuryazarlık Araştırması

Abstract

Teknoloji ve medya araçlarının gelişmesi ve farklılaşmasıyla birçok yeniliğin hayatlarımıza girdiğine, buna bağlı olarak markaların da reklam ve pazarlama stratejilerini değiştirdiklerine tanık olmaktayız. Geleneksel reklamcılık anlayışının haricinde son zamanlarda sosyal medya ortamlarında sıklıkla gördüğümüz ve markaların önemli yatırım bütçeleri ayırdığı influencer reklamcılık/pazarlama içerikleri hatırı sayılır bir şekilde çocukları ve ergenleri de hedeflemektedir. Bununla birlikte ergenlerin influencer pazarlama/reklamcılık karşısında reklam okuryazarlık becerilerini nasıl işe koştukları hakkındaki mevcut duruma ilişkin bilgimiz sınırlıdır. Bu çalışma, ergenlerin bilişsel, duygusal ve ahlaki reklam okuryazarlığı becerilerinin influencer pazarlama/reklamcılığın ikna edici doğasıyla mücadelede nasıl kullandığını anlamak amacıyla yürütülmüştür. Yorumlayıcı nitel bir metodolojiyi benimseyen çalışmanın verileri 15-17 yaşları arasındaki ergen katılımcılardan yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler yoluyla elde edilmiştir. Yönlendirilmiş niteliksel içerik analiziyle irdelenen verilerden ulaşılan bulgular, ergenlerin bilişsel reklam okuryazarlığı becerilerinin gelişmiş olmasına karşın influencerlarla kurdukları parasosyal ilişkinin duygusal ve ahlaki reklam okuryazarlık becerilerinin devreye alınmasını engelleyebileceğini göstermektedir.

Keywords

Sosyal Medya Okuryazarlığı, Reklam Okuryazarlığı, Influencer Pazarlama, Ergenler

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