The Mediate Role of Parasocial Relationship in The Effect of Influencer’s Credibility and Trust in Sponsored Content on Brand Awareness: An Investigation on YouTube

Year 2021, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 1789 - 1811, 30.06.2021

Yusuf Zafer Can Uğurhan , İbrahim Halil Yaşar

https://doi.org/10.15869/itobiad.837093

Cited By: 3

Abstract

Due to the advancements of communication technologies, brands have difficulties in delivering their advertising messages to their target audiences in an ecosystem where consumers are exposed to excessive amount of persuasive messages and often choose to skip the advertising content. At this point, social media influencers emerged as a solution for brands and thus connected brands together with influencers’ followers via their sponsored content. As a social media platform, YouTube offers the opportunity to initiate a two-way communication for social media influencers with their followers via the video content prepared. The interaction between influencers as an internet celebrity and their followers is different from the one between traditional media celebrities and the audiences. Social media influencers are able to develop relationships by regularly creating/sharing content and interacting with their followers and, in turn, the followers can create emotional attachment towards them. In explaining the interaction, the concept of parasocial relationship comes to the forefront. Social media influencers create sponsored content and share it from their social media accounts because of their cooperation with brands. In this way, their followers are exposed to the logos, images, advertisements of the mentioned brands or information about the use of them. In this context, parasocial relationship provides very important clues in terms of creating brand awareness. In this study conducted in the context of YouTube influencers, a prediction based correlational quantitative research method was used to examine the mediate role of parasocial relationship in the effect of influencer credibility and trust in sponsored content on brand awareness. Consequently, it was found that trust in sponsored content, perceived attractiveness, trustworthiness and similarity had a significant effect on parasocial relationship. Parasocial relationship, trust in sponsored content, perceived similarity and expertise had a significant effect on brand awareness. On the other hand, parasocial relationship had a mediate role in the effect of perceived trustworthiness, attractiveness, similarity and trust in sponsored content on brand awareness.

Keywords

YouTube, Social Media Influencers, Brand Awareness, Trust, Parasocial Relationship

Fenomene ve Sponsorlu İçeriğe İlişkin Güvenin Marka Farkındalığı Üzerindeki Etkisinde Parasosyal İlişkinin Aracı Rolü: Youtube Özelinde Bir İnceleme

Abstract

İletişim teknolojilerinde yaşanan gelişmelerin bir sonucu olarak markalar, tüketicilerin çok fazla ikna edici mesaja maruz kaldığı ve genellikle reklam içeriğini atlamayı seçtikleri bir ekosistemde, reklam mesajlarını hedef kitlelerine iletebilmede zorluklarla karşılaşmıştır. Sosyal medya fenomenleri bu noktada markalara bir çözüm yolu olmuş ve sponsorlu içerikleri vasıtasıyla takipçileriyle markaları buluşturmuştur. Bir sosyal medya platformu olarak YouTube, sosyal medya fenomenlerine hazırladıkları video içerikler aracılığıyla takipçileriyle çift yönlü bir iletişim başlatma imkânı sunmaktadır. Bir internet ünlüsü olan fenomenler ile takipçileri arasındaki söz konusu etkileşim, geleneksel medya ünlüleri ve onların hayran kitleleri arasındaki etkileşimden farklıdır. Sosyal medya fenomenleri, düzenli olarak içerik oluşturarak/paylaşarak ve takipçileriyle etkileşim kurarak ilişkiler geliştirebilmekte ve fenomenlere yönelik takipçiler duygusal bağlılık oluşturabilmektedir. Bu etkileşimi açıklamada parasosyal ilişki kavramı ön plana çıkmaktadır. Bununla birlikte, sosyal medya fenomenleri markalarla yaptıkları iş birliği sonucunda sponsorlu içerikler oluşturup hesaplarından paylaşabilmektedir. Böylelikle takipçileri söz konusu markaların logosuna, görseline, reklamına ya da markaların kullanımıyla ilgili bilgilere maruz kalabilmektedir. Bu bağlamda parasosyal ilişki, marka farkındalığının sağlanması açısından çok önemli ipuçları sunabilmektedir. YouTube fenomenleri özelinde yapılan bu çalışmada nicel araştırma yöntemi ve yordamaya dayalı ilişkisel tarama modeli kullanılarak fenomen güvenirliği ve sponsorlu içerik güveninin, fenomen takipçilerinin marka farkındalığı üzerindeki etkisinde parasosyal ilişkinin rolü incelenmiştir. Sonuç olarak parasosyal ilişki üzerinde sponsorlu içerik güveninin, algılanan çekiciliğin, güvenirliğin ve benzerliğin anlamlı bir etkiye sahip olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Marka farkındalığı üzerinde ise sponsorlu içerik güveni, algılanan benzerlik, uzmanlık ve parasosyal ilişki anlamlı bir etkiye sahiptir. Öte yandan algılanan güvenirlik, çekicilik, benzerlik ve sponsorlu içerik güveninin marka farkındalığı üzerindeki etkisinde, parasosyal ilişkinin aracı rolü söz konusudur.

Keywords

YouTube, Sosyal Medya Fenomenleri, Güven, Marka Farkındalığı, Parasosyal ilişki

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