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Effects of emotional expression on user engagement in virtual influencers’ Instagram posts: A comparative analysis with human influencers

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  • Ko, Chaeeun
  • Baek, Hyunmi

Abstract

As virtual influencers (VIs) gain visibility in social media marketing, this study examines the influence of their emotional expressions on user engagement on Instagram, compared to those of human influencers (HIs). Using data from 4142 VI posts and 66,813 HI posts collected via the Meta Content Library API, this study analyzes the effects of emotional intensity and valence in post captions on the number of likes. Controlling for content characteristics such as text length, media type, and sponsorship, the findings show that posts that are more emotional and more positive tend to receive higher user engagement for both VIs and HIs. Notably, emotional expression has a stronger effect on engagement with VI posts, suggesting that sharing emotions can be a particularly effective strategy for making VI content more compelling. This study enhances our understanding of how user interaction patterns differ between VIs and HIs on social media and offers practical insights for leveraging emotional expressions in influencer marketing.

Suggested Citation

  • Ko, Chaeeun & Baek, Hyunmi, 2026. "Effects of emotional expression on user engagement in virtual influencers’ Instagram posts: A comparative analysis with human influencers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:88:y:2026:i:c:s0969698925002632
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104484
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