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Followers' engagement with instagram influencers: The role of influencers’ content and engagement strategy

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  • Tafesse, Wondwesen
  • Wood, Bronwyn P.

Abstract

Influencer marketing has emerged as an effective approach for brands to connect with customers through social media influencers. Although influencer marketing has attracted increased interest from marketing researchers in recent years, relatively little is known about influencers' content and engagement strategy and its links to followers' engagement behavior. The present study addresses this gap by examining how measures of influencers' content and engagement strategy (i.e., follower count, followee count, content volume, and domains of interest) are associated with followers' engagement behavior on Instagram both independently and interactively. The study leverages a unique dataset of Instagram influencers compiled by scraping an online influencer database to test its hypotheses. The findings indicate that follower count and content volume are negatively associated with follower engagement, while followee count is positively associated with follower engagement. However, these main effects are modified by influencers' domains of interest. The findings contribute to the literature by illuminating how elements of influencers' content and engagement strategy contribute to followers’ engagement behavior on Instagram.

Suggested Citation

  • Tafesse, Wondwesen & Wood, Bronwyn P., 2021. "Followers' engagement with instagram influencers: The role of influencers’ content and engagement strategy," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:58:y:2021:i:c:s0969698920313114
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102303
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    4. Koles, Bernadett & Audrezet, Alice & Moulard, Julie Guidry & Ameen, Nisreen & McKenna, Brad, 2024. "The authentic virtual influencer: Authenticity manifestations in the metaverse," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
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    6. Belanche, Daniel & Casaló, Luis V. & Flavián, Marta & Ibáñez-Sánchez, Sergio, 2021. "Building influencers' credibility on Instagram: Effects on followers’ attitudes and behavioral responses toward the influencer," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    7. Liao, Junyun & Chen, Jiada, 2024. "The authenticity advantage: How influencer authenticity management strategies shape digital engagement with sponsored videos," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    8. Wang, Fei & Xu, Haifeng & Hou, Ronglin & Zhu, Zhen, 2023. "Designing marketing content for social commerce to drive consumer purchase behaviors: A perspective from speech act theory," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    9. Zheng, Run & Li, Zhuyuan & Na, Sanggyun, 2022. "How customer engagement in the live-streaming affects purchase intention and customer acquisition, E-tailer's perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    10. Peng, Yi & Lu, Liling, 2024. "Untangling influence: The effect of follower-followee comparison on social media engagement," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    11. Rosengren, Sara & Campbell, Colin & Rapp Farrell, Justine, 2024. "Tricks of the trade: Understanding and utilizing influencer tactics to improve retailer performance," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    12. Spörl-Wang, Katja & Krause, Franziska & Henkel, Sven, 2025. "Predictors of social media influencer marketing effectiveness: A comprehensive literature review and meta-analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    13. Li Chen & Yajie Yan & Andrew N. Smith, 2023. "What drives digital engagement with sponsored videos? An investigation of video influencers’ authenticity management strategies," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 198-221, January.
    14. Ren, Shengnan & Karimi, Sahar & Bravo Velázquez, Alberto & Cai, Jianfeng, 2023. "Endorsement effectiveness of different social media influencers: The moderating effect of brand competence and warmth," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    15. Barta, Sergio & Belanche, Daniel & Fernández, Ana & Flavián, Marta, 2023. "Influencer marketing on TikTok: The effectiveness of humor and followers’ hedonic experience," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    16. Aw, Eugene Cheng-Xi & Chuah, Stephanie Hui-Wen, 2021. "“Stop the unattainable ideal for an ordinary me!” fostering parasocial relationships with social media influencers: The role of self-discrepancy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 146-157.
    17. Li, Huajun & Lei, Yueqiu & Zhou, Qi & Yuan, Hong, 2023. "Can you sense without being human? Comparing virtual and human influencers endorsement effectiveness," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    18. Belanche, Daniel & Casaló, Luis V. & Flavián, Marta & Ibáñez-Sánchez, Sergio, 2021. "Understanding influencer marketing: The role of congruence between influencers, products and consumers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 186-195.
    19. Johnson, Nicholas E. & Short, Jeremy C. & Chandler, Jeffrey A. & Jordan, Samantha L., 2022. "Introducing the contentpreneur: Making the case for research on content creation-based online platforms," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 18(C).
    20. Yang, Defeng & Zhang, Jiaen & Sun, Yu & Huang, Zan, 2024. "Showing usage behavior or not? The effect of virtual influencers’ product usage behavior on consumers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    21. Zofia Saternus & Cristina Mihale-Wilson & Oliver Hinz, 2024. "Influencer marketing on Instagram—The optimal disclosure strategy from influencers’ and marketers’ perspectives," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 34(1), pages 1-27, December.
    22. Xiuping Zhang & Jaewon Choi, 2022. "The Importance of Social Influencer-Generated Contents for User Cognition and Emotional Attachment: An Information Relevance Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-18, May.
    23. Cheung, Man Lai & Leung, Wilson K.S. & Aw, Eugene Cheng-Xi & Koay, Kian Yeik, 2022. "“I follow what you post!†: The role of social media influencers’ content characteristics in consumers' online brand-related activities (COBRAs)," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    24. Tafesse, Wondwesen & Dayan, Mumin, 2023. "Content creators' participation in the creator economy: Examining the effect of creators’ content sharing frequency on user engagement behavior on digital platforms," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).

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