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

Yıl 2021, , 1789 - 1811, 30.06.2021

Yusuf Zafer Can Uğurhan , İbrahim Halil Yaşar

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

Cited By: 3

Öz

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.

Anahtar Kelimeler

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

Öz

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.

Anahtar Kelimeler

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

Kaynakça

• Arifin, W. N. (2015). The graphical assessment of multivariate normality using SPSS. Education in Medicine Journal, 7(2), 71-75.
• Backaler, J. (2018). Digital influence: Unleash the power of influencer marketing to accelerate your global business. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
• Başaran, Y.K. (2017). Sosyal bilimlerde örnekleme kuramı. Akademik Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 47(5), 480-495.
• Berail, P., Guillon, M., & Bungener, C. (2019). The relations between YouTube addiction, social anxiety and parasocial relationships with YouTubers: A moderated-mediation model based on a cognitive-behavioral framework. Computers in Human Behavior, 99, 190-204.
• Boerman, S. C. (2019). The effects of the standardized Instagram disclosure for micro- and meso-influencers. Computers in Human Behavior, 103, 199-207.
• Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research planning, conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. USA: Pearson
• De Veirman, M., Cauberghe, V., & Hudders, L. (2017). Marketing through Instagram influencers: the impact of number of followers and product divergence on brand attitude. International Journal of Advertising, 36(5), 798-828.
• Dehghani, M., Niaki, M., Ramezani, I., & Sali, R. (2016). Evaluating the influence of YouTube advertising for attraction of young customers. Computers in Human Behavior, 59, 165-172.
• Djafarova, E. & Rushworth, C. (2017). Exploring the credibility of online celebrities’ instagram profiles in influencing the purchase decisions of young female users. Computers in Human Behavior, 68, 1–7.
• Eru, O., Karapınar Çeli̇k, İ., Çeli̇k, S., & Cop, R. (2018). Kaynak olarak YouTuber’a güvenilirliğin ve marka güveninin gençlerin satın alma niyetine etkisi. Ekonomik ve Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 14(2), 219-238.
• Fornell, C. & D. F. Larcker. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39 – 50.
• Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate data analysis. China: Cengage.
• Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
• Hanseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135.
• Horton, D. & Wohl, R. R. (1956). Mass communication and para-social interaction; observations on intimacy at a distance. Psychiatry, 19(3), 215–229.
• Hu, L. T. & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1-55.
• Hu, L., Min, Q., Han, S., & Liu, Z. (2020). Understanding followers’ stickiness to digital influencers: The effect of psychological responses. International Journal of Information Management, 54, 1-14.
• Hwang, K. & Zhang, Q. (2018). Influence of parasocial relationship between digital celebrities and their followers on followers’ purchase and electronic word-of-mouth intentions, and persuasion knowledge. Computers in Human Behavior, 87, 155-173.
• Kalaycı, Ş. (2017). SPSS uygulamalı çok değişkenli istatistik teknikleri. Ankara: Dinamik Akademi Yayın Dağıtım.
• Kaplan, A. M. & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68.
• Keller, K. (2012). Strategic brand management building, measuring, and managing brand equity (Global Edition). USA: Pearson.
• Kelly, L., Kerr, G., & Drennan, J. (2010). Avoidance of advertising in social networking sites. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 10(2), 16-27.
• Khan, M. L. (2017). Social media engagement: What motivates user participation and consumption on YouTube? Computers in Human Behavior, 66, 236–247.
• Kim, H., Ko, E., & Kim, J. (2015). SNS users' para-social relationships with celebrities: social media effects on purchase intentions. Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science, 25(3), 279-294.
• Langaro, D., Rita, P., & Salgueiro, M. F. S. (2018). Do social networking sites contribute for building brands? Evaluating the impact of users’ participation on brand awareness and brand attitude. Journal of Marketing Communications, 24(2), 146–168.
• Lee, J. E. & Watkins, B. (2016). YouTube vloggers' influence on consumer luxury brand perceptions and intentions. Journal of Business Research, 69, 5733-5760.
• Lou, C. & Kim, H. K. (2019). Fancying the new rich and famous? Explicating the roles of influencer content, credibility, and parental mediation in adolescents’ parasocial relationship, materialism, and purchase intentions. Frontiers in Psychology, 1-17.
• Lou, C. & Yuan, S. (2019). Influencer marketing: How message value and credibility affect consumer trust of branded content on social media. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 19(1), 58-73.
• Munnukka, J., Uusitalo, O., & Toivonen, H. (2016). Credibility of a peer endorser and advertising effectiveness. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 33(3), 182-192.
• Ohanian, R. (1990). Construction and validation of a scale to measure celebrity endorsers' perceived expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. Journal of Advertising, 19(3), 39-52.
• Oyman, M. & Akıncı, S. (2019). Sosyal medya etkileyicileri olarak vloggerlar: Z kuşağı üzerinde para-sosyal ilişki, satın alma niyeti oluşturma ve Youtube davranışları açısından vloggerların incelenmesi. Akdeniz Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Dergisi, 32, 441-464.
• Ozer, S., Oyman, M., & Ugurhan, Y.Z.C. (2020). The surprise effect of ambient ad on the path leading to purchase: Testing the role of attitude toward the brand. Journal of Marketing Communications, 26(6), 615-635.
• Pallant, J. (2011). SPSS survival manual: A step-by-step guide to data analysis using SPSS (4th ed.). New York: Open University Press.
• Puhakka, R., Ollila, S., Valve, R., & Sinkkonen, A. (2018). Consumer trust in a health enhancing innovation – comparisons between Finland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 31(2), 162-176.
• Racherla, P., Mandviwalla, M., & Connolly, D. J. (2012). Factors affecting consumers' trust in online product reviews. Journal of Consumer Behavior, 11, 94-104.
• Reinikainen, H., Munnukka, J., Maity, D., & Luoma-aho, V. (2020). ‘You really are a great big sister’ – parasocial relationships, credibility, and the moderating role of audience comments in influencer marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 36(3-4), 279-298.
• Reinikainen, H., Munnukka, J., Maity, D., & Luoma-aho, V. (2020). ‘You really are a great big sister’ – parasocial relationships, credibility, and the moderating role of audience comments in influencer marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 36(3-4), 279-298.
• Sokolova, K. & Kefi, H. (2020). Instagram and YouTube bloggers promote it, why should I buy? How credibility and parasocial interaction influence purchase intentions. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 53, 1-9.
• Solomon, M. R. (2017). Consumer behavior, buying, having, and being (Global Edition). Malaysia: Pearson.
• Tolbert, A. N. & Drogos, K. L. (2020). Tweens’ wishful identification and parasocial relationships with YouTubers. Frontiers in Psychology. 1-15.
• Yoo, B., Donthu, N., & Lee, S. (2000). An examination of selected marketing mix elements and brand equity. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28(2), 195-211.
• Yuan, S. & Lou, C. (2020). How social media influencers foster relationships with followers: The roles of source credibility and fairness in parasocial relationship and product interest. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 20(2), 133-147.