A parasocial relationship refers to a one-sided relationship through which one particular person develops an emotional reference to one other particular person (usually a star, an influencer, or a well-liked fictional character). In accordance with new analysis, these relationships can heighten the persuasive energy of social media influencers by growing their credibility. The research additionally signifies that curiosity within the social media influencers’ discipline enhances parasocial relations. The findings have been printed in Acta Psychologica.
“We began to give attention to the subject of social media influencers (SMIs) and their persuasive energy as we realized their significance for the promoting market worldwide,” defined research writer Delia Cristina Balaban, a communication sciences professor on the Babeș-Bolyai College.
“There are some similarities between conventional celebrities and SMIs. Nevertheless, the variations are related, as SMIs are each content material creators on social media and managers of the audiences they construct on a number of platforms. We centered on the parasocial relationship between SMIs and their followers and the position this relationship performs for promoting outcomes. As SMIs continually work together with their followers by posting on social media each day, parasocial relations will be construct.”
For his or her research, the researchers collaborated with a feminine SMI from Romania who had 12,000 followers on Instagram. The individuals considered a screenshot her profile web page and an Instagram “story” (a brief video) through which she demonstrated the right way to use a branded hairstyling product. The research included 190 feminine individuals. 100 and 6 individuals had been followers of the SMI on Instagram, whereas the remaining 84 individuals weren’t.
Followers didn’t report stronger parasocial relationships with the SMI in contrast non-followers. “We had been stunned that the follower standing didn’t essentially lead to parasocial relationship, as earlier analysis acknowledged,” Balaban advised PsyPost.
Nevertheless, the researchers discovered that followers with higher ranges of product involvement tended to report stronger parasocial relationships with the SMI. Extra particularly, followers who agreed with statements akin to “I’m very focused on hairstyling merchandise” and “Hairstyling performs an necessary position in my each day routine” had been extra prone to agree with statements akin to “If the SMI felt good within the Instagram story, I felt good as nicely.”
“Our fundamental discovering was that the curiosity within the subject the influencer is publishing content material about performs a moderating position within the relationship between the follower standing and the promoting outcomes,” Balaban mentioned. “In different phrases, social media customers which have an curiosity within the topic the SMI is posting about will develop robust parasocial relations with SMIs. Simply being a follower is just not sufficient to construct parasocial relationship with SMIs. Curiosity within the subject can be wanted.”
The researchers additionally discovered that stronger parasocial relationships with the SMI had been related to higher perceived credibility (e.g. trustworthiness and experience). Larger perceived credibility, in flip, was linked to elevated intentions to buy the marketed product.
“Our research has the benefit to be carried out with the assistance of an SMI that supported us to have entry to her followers,” Balaban mentioned. “Analysis specializing in SMIs needs to be carried out in actual settings. Future analysis carried out with actual SMIs and actual followers ought to take into account different sorts of SMIs (macro and mega) that work in several fields (life-style, health, and so forth.). This will contribute to a greater understanding of the parasocial relationships.”
The research, “Parasocial relations and social media influencers’ persuasive power. Exploring the moderating role of product involvement“, was authored by Delia Cristina Balaban, Julia Szambolics and Mihai Chirică.