Perception of Influencers among Young Consumers: An Overview of Marketing Communication Practices in Social Media from a Social Comparison Perspective

Yıl 2022, , 118 - 139, 31.12.2022

Murat Çelik , Uğur Bakır , Selçuk Bazarcı

https://doi.org/10.17829/turcom.1121574

Öz

The fact that influencers are being employed more and more as an alternative marketing communication strategy makes it important to determine the social comparison processes about these people and how they are perceived by the target audiences. This research aims to discuss how influencers in social media are perceived by their followers and its reflections on marketing communication practices utilitizing the perspective of social comparison. The study was carried out with a qualitative research design, including 16 university students who actively use social media and follow at least two different influencers. The data were collected by the semi-structured interview technique and analyzed with an inductive analysis approach. As a result of the interviews, the participants’ views on influencers were gathered under the themes of “perceptions of and motivations to follow influencers”, “emotions and social comparisons for influencers” and “brand-influencer collaboration and social comparison”. According to the results of the research, it is seen that the participants have positive inclinations towards influencers they feel close to, positive impressions appear mostly as upward assimilation, and that downward assimilation codes such as sympathy and pity, albeit limited, are encountered. In addition, while upward contrastive emotions such as jealousy and envy are frequently encountered, downward contrastive emotions are also observed when the influencer is seen as inadequate. When viewed from the perspective of influencer-brand cooperation, it has been determined that the influences’ going out of the natural flow by sharing advertising content is received negatively by consumers.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Social Media, Influencer, Social Comparison, Marketing Communication, Young Consumers

Genç Tüketicilerde Etkili Kişi Algısı: Sosyal Medyadaki Pazarlama İletişimi Uygulamalarına Sosyal Karşılaştırma Perspektifinden Bir Bakış

Öz

Etkili kişilerin alternatif pazarlama iletişimi stratejisi olarak giderek daha fazla kullanılıyor olması, bu kişilere dair sosyal karşılaştırma süreçlerini ve hedef kitleler tarafından bu kişilerin nasıl algılandığını belirlemeyi önemli kılmaktadır. Bu araştırmada, sosyal medyadaki etkili kişilerin takipçileri tarafından nasıl algılandığı ve bunun pazarlama iletişimi uygulamalarına olan yansıması sosyal karşılaştırma perspektifinden ele alınmaktadır. Nitel araştırma deseniyle gerçekleştirilen çalışma, sosyal medyayı aktif kullanan, asgari iki farklı etkili kişiyi takip eden, üniversite öğrencisi 16 katılımcıyla gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veriler, yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme tekniğiyle toplanmış, tümevarımsal yaklaşımla analiz edilmiştir. Görüşmeler sonucunda, katılımcıların etkili kişilere yönelik görüşleri “etkili kişilere yönelik algı ve motivasyonlar”, “etkili kişilere yönelik duygular ve sosyal karşılaştırma” ve “marka-etkili kişi iş birliği ve sosyal karşılaştırma” temaları altında toplanmıştır. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre katılımcılar, kendilerine yakın hissettikleri etkili kişilere karşı daha olumlu yaklaşmakta, katılımcılarda olumlu izlenimler daha çok yukarı yönlü asimilasyon olarak ortaya çıkmakta, sınırlı da olsa sempati, acıma gibi aşağı yönlü asimilasyon kodlarına rastlandığı görülmektedir. Ayrıca kıskançlık, haset gibi yukarı yönlü kontrast duygularla sıklıkla karşılaşılırken, etkili kişinin yetersiz görüldüğü durumlarda belirginleşen aşağı yönlü kontrast duygular da gözlenmektedir. Etkili kişi – marka iş birliği boyutuyla bakıldığında ise etkili kişinin, reklam içerikli paylaşımlarda benimsediği doğal akışın dışına çıkmasının tüketiciler tarafından olumsuz karşılandığı tespit edilmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Sosyal Medya, Etkili Kişi, Sosyal Karşılaştırma, Pazarlama İletişimi, Genç Tüketiciler

Kaynakça

• Appel, H., Crusius, J. & Gerlach, A. (2016). The interplay between Facebook use, social comparison, envy, and depression. Current Opinion in Psychology, 9, 44–49.
• Appleton, J. V. (1995). Analysing qualitative interview data: Addressing issues of validity and reliability. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 22(5), 993-997.
• Başkale, H. (2016). Nitel araştırmalarda geçerlik, güvenirlik ve örneklem büyüklüğünün belirlenmesi. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Hemşirelik Fakültesi Elektronik Dergisi, 9(1), 23-28.
• Büyükmumcu, S. B. & Ceyhan, A. A. (2020). Sosyal medya kullanıcılarının sosyal karşılaştırma eğilimlerinin incelenmesi. Anadolu Journal of Educational Sciences International, 10(1), 273-302.
• Chae, J. (2018). Explaining females’ envy toward social media influencers. Media Psychology, 21(2), 246-262.
• Chapman, J. & Whitlock,, J. (2019). Social media influencers: Followers’ perceptions and self-concept. Society for Personality and Social Psychology. New York, USA: Cornell University.
• Chloe Ki, C. & Kim, Y. (2019). The mechanism by which social media influencers persuade consumers: The role of consumers’ desire to mimic. Psychology & Marketing, 36(10), 905-922.
• Coyne, I. T. (1997). Sampling in qualitative research. Purposeful and theoretical sampling; merging or clear boundaries? Journal of Advanced Nursing, 26(3), 623-630.
• Cramer, E. M., Song, H. & Drent, A. M. (2016). Social comparison on Facebook: Motivation, affective consequences, self-esteem, and Facebook fatigue. Computers in Human Behavior, 64, 739-746.
• De Vries, D., Möller, A., Wieringa, M., Eigenraam, A. & Hamelink, K. (2018). Social comparison as the thief of joy: Emotional consequences of viewing strangers’ Instagram posts. Media Psychology, 21(2), 222–245.
• 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.
• Etherson, M. E., Curran, T., Smith, M. M., Sherry, S. B. & Hill, A. P. (2022). Perfectionism as a vulnerability following appearance-focussed social comparison: A multi wave study with female adolescents.
• Personality and Individual Differences, 186(Part B), 33-24.
• Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117–140.
• Freberg, K., Graham, K., McGaughey, K. & Freberg, L. (2010). Who are the social media influencers? A study of public perceptions. Public Relations Review, 37(2011), 90-92.
• Jiang, S. & Ngien, A. (2020). The effects of Instagram use, social comparison, and self-esteem on social anxiety: A survey study in Singapore. Social Media+ Society, 6(2), 1-10.
• Jin, S. & Muqaddam, A. (2019). Product placement 2.0: “Do brands need influencers, or do influencers need brands?”. Journal of Brand Management, 26(5), 522-537.
• Jin, S. V. & Ryu, E. (2020). “I’ll buy what she’s #wearing”: The roles of envy toward and parasocial interaction with influencers in Instagram celebrity-based brand endorsement and social commerce. Journal of Retailing & Consumer Services, 55(1), 102-121.
• Khamis, S., Ang, L., & Welling, R. (2016). Self-branding,‘micro-celebrity’and the rise of social media influencers. Celebrity Studies, 8(2), 191-208.
• Kim, H., Schlicht, R., Schardt, M. & Florack, A. (2021). The contributions of social comparison to social network site addiction. PLoS ONE, 16(10), 1-24.
• Klaus, N. & Bailey, A. (2008). Celebrity endorsements: An examination of gender and consumers’ attitudes. American Journal of Business, 23(2), 53-61.
• Kuselias, S., Lauck, J. & Summer, W. (2020). Social media content and social comparisons: An experimental examination of their effect on audit quality. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 40(1), 55-72.
• Lee, J. A. & Eastin, M. (2020). I like what she’s #endorsing: The impact of female social media influencers’ perceived sincerity, consumer envy, and product type. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 20(1), 76-91.
• 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), 58-74.
• Markova, I. & Azocar, C. (2020). The effects of social and entertainment media on body dissatisfaction and social comparison of men with marginalized identities. International Journal of Home Economics, 13(2), 29-41.
• Marwick, A. (2015). Instafame: Luxury selfies in the attention economy. Public Culture, 27 (1(75)), 137-160.
• Miao, M. (2020). Understanding envy and its effects on SNSs activates: The role of self-motives. D. Harrison & T. Grabner (Ed.), Analysis for a brave new marketing world içinde (ss. 384–391). Georgia: Society for Marketing Advances.
• Moore, A., Yang, K. & Kim, H. (2018). Influencer marketing: Influentials’ authenticity, likeability and authority in social media. International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings, 75 (1), Cleveland, Ohio.
• Nayenggita, S. & Adishesa, M. (2021). Social comparison as mediator: Does instagram intensity predict self- esteem? Journal of Educational. Health & Community Psychology (JEHCP), 10(1), 104-117.
• Palinkas, L., Horwitz, S., Green, C., Wisdom, J., Duan, N. & Hoagwood, K. (2015). Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 42(5), 533-544.
• Rosengren, S. & Campbell, C. (2021). Navigating the future of influencer advertising: Consolidating what is known and identifying new research directions. Journal of Advertising, 50(5), 505-509.
• Sandelowski, M. (2000). Combining qualitative and quantitative sampling, data collection, and analysis techniques in mixed-method studies. Research in Nursing & Health, 23(3), 246-255.
• Schaefer, A. & Keillor, B. (1997). The effective use of endorsements in advertising: The relationship between “Match-Up” and involvement. Journal of Marketing Management (10711988), 7(2), 23-33.
• Schouten, A., Janssen, L. & Verspaget, M. (2020). Celebrity vs. influencer endorsements in advertising: The role of identification, credibility, and product-endorser fit. International Journal of Advertising, 39(2), 258–281.
• Smith, R. H. (2000). Assimilative and contrastive emotional reactions to upward and downward social comparisons. J. Suls, & L. Wheeler (Ed.), Handbook of social comparison içinde (ss. 173-200). Boston: Springer.
• Taylor, D. & Struttom, D. (2016). Does Facebook usage lead to conspicuous consumption? The role of envy, narcissism and self-promotion. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 10(3), 231-248.
• Taylor, D. (2020). Putting the “self ” in selfies: How narcissism, envy and self-promotion motivate sharing of travel photos through social media. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 37(1), 64–77.
• Teközel, İ. M. (2007). Gerçekliği inşa etkinliği olarak sosyal karşılaştırma: Sosyal karşılaştırma süreçlerinde gerçekçi ve kurgusal karşılaştırma enformasyonu kullanma eğilimlerinin incelenmesi. Yayınlanmamış Doktora Tezi. İzmir: Ege Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü.
• Tosun, L. & Çoban, A. (2020). Sosyal ağ sitelerinde fiziksel görünüm karşılaştırmaları, bedeni beğenme ve depresyon. Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar, 12, 52-69.
• Tosun, L., Öztürk, A. & Özdemir, G. (2020). Mother to mother: Mothers’ social comparison-based emotions on social networking sites. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 16(4), 602-618.
• Wang, J., Cheng, Y. & Chu, Y. (2013). Effect of celebrity endorsements on consumer purchase intentions: Advertising effect and advertising appeal as mediators. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries, 23(5), 357-367.
• Wang, W., Wang, M., Hu, Q., Wang, P., Lei, L. & Jiang, S. (2020). Upward social comparison on mobile social media and depression: The mediating role of envy and the moderating role of marital quality. Journal of Affective Disorders, 270, 143-149.
• We Are Social. (2021, January 27). Digital 2021: The latest insights into the ‘State of Digital’. 03.03.2022 tarihinde https://wearesocial.com/uk/blog/2021/01/digital-2021-the-latest-insight s – into-the-state-of-digital/: https://wearesocial.com/uk/blog/2021/01/digital-2021-the-latest-insights-into-the-state-of-digital/ adresinden edinilmiştir.
• Wheeler, L. & Miyake, K. (1992). Social comparison in everyday life. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 62(5), 760‐773.
• Wills, T. A. (1981). Downward comparison principles in social psychology. Psychological Bulletin, 90(2), 245- 271.
• Yıldırım, A. & Şimşek, H. (2018). Sosyal bilimlerde nitel araştırma yöntemleri (11. baskı). Ankara: Seçkin Yayıncılık.
• Young, R., Len-Ríos, M. & Young, H. (2017). Romantic motivations for social media use, social comparison, and online aggression among adolescents. Computers in Human Behavior, 75, 385–395.