Determinants of Audience Engagement among Virtual YouTubers

Developments in the digital space have enabled VTubers to emerge as a transformative force in digital entertainment; this they achieve by combining the concepts of virtual avatars, live streaming, and community-driven content creation. Their ability to engage audiences is critical for loyalty creation and continued entertainment. Nonetheless, the engagement of traditional influencers has been studied and elaborated upon in many studies, and relatively few studies exist that examine the interacting factors of engagement wholly within the unique VTuber ecosystem. Therefore, this study explored the determining factors of audience engagement by VTubers, and to which extent they achieve it. A conceptual framework was developed borrowing from Cultural Studies Theory, Social Presence Theory, Uses and Gratification Theory, and Thai contextual factors. The study adopted a quantitative methodology utilizing primary data collected from VTuber fans. A sample of 433 respondents was used. The data was analysed using structural equation modelling to evaluate the set hypotheses. The results revealed that VTubers’ audience engagement was significantly and positively influenced by content quality, interactivity, language proficiency, cultural relevance, localised humour, community involvement, and perceived entertainment. The results also indicated that perceived entertainment mediated the effect of VTuber personality, interactivity, language proficiency, localised humour, virtual aesthetic appeal, and community involvement on audience engagement. The study recommended that VTubers and other content creators should consider developing engaging, emotionally stimulating content. They should also invest in language adaptability. VTubers should also leverage community involvement as an extension beyond the visual aesthetic.