Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Relevance of Social Media and Corporate Influencers as Potential Change Agents in Corporate Communications

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Media and Change Management

Abstract

Social media influencers have developed into a new form of endorsers for brands and companies. Successful social media influencers represent effective brand endorsers for internal and external corporate communications who have the ability to shape and change their followers’ behaviors with their content. Thus, social media influencers might be considered as change agents who are able to effectively communicate change processes to their followers. This chapter discusses the role of social media influencers and influencer marketing in corporate communications. First, recent influencer marketing research findings are presented. Second, current issues in social media influencer effectiveness research are outlined. The chapter concludes with directions for future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Kay et al. (2020) define micro-influencers as influencers with a smaller number of followers (1000–100,000 followers) and macro-influencers as influencers with a larger number of followers (100,0000–one million followers). See also Sect. 12.3.1.

References

  • Abidin, C. (2016). “Aren’t these just young, rich women doing vain things online?”: Influencer selfies as subversive frivolity. Social Media + Society, 2(2), 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amazeen, M. A., & Wojdynski, B. W. (2018). The effects of disclosure format on native advertising recognition and audience perceptions of legacy and online news publishers. Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism, 4(1), 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amos, C., Holmes, G., & Strutton, D. (2008). Exploring the relationship between celebrity endorser effects and advertising effectiveness. International Journal of Advertising, 27(2), 209–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Audrezet, A., de Kerviler, G., & Guidry Moulard, J. (2020). Authenticity under threat: When social media influencers need to go beyond self-presentation. Journal of Business Research, 117, 557–569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balabanis, G., & Chatzopoulou, E. (2019). Under the influence of a blogger: The role of information-seeking goals and issue involvement. Psychology & Marketing, 36(4), 342–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergk, A., & Slomian, P. (2018). Corporate influencer: Warum der Geschäftsführer nicht immer die Hauptrolle spielen muss. In A. Schach & T. Lommatzsch (Eds.), Influencer relations: Marketing und PR mit digitalen Meinungsführern (pp. 225–235). Springer Gabler.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bergkvist, L., & Zhou, K. Q. (2016). Celebrity endorsements: A literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Advertising, 35(4), 642–663.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boerman, S. C. (2020). The effects of the standardized instagram disclosure for micro- and meso-influencers. Computers in Human Behavior, 103, 199–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borchers, N. S., & Enke, N. (2020). Influencer und Meinungsführer als Herausforderung für die Unternehmenskommunikation. In A. Zerfaß, M. Piwinger, & U. Röttger (Eds.), Handbuch Unternehmenskommunikation (pp. 1–19). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breves, P. L., Liebers, N., Abt, M., & Kunze, A. (2019). The perceived fit between Instagram influencers and the endorsed brand. Journal of Advertising Research, 59(4), 440–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Britt, R. K., Hayes, J. L., Britt, B. C., & Park, H. (2020). Too big to sell? A computational analysis of network and content characteristics among mega and micro beauty and fashion social media influencers. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 20(2), 111–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casaló, L. V., Flavián, C., & Ibáñez-Sánchez, S. (2018). Influencers on Instagram: Antecedents and consequences of opinion leadership. Journal of Business Research, 117, 510–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corrêa, S. C. H., Soares, J. L., Christino, J. M. M., Gosling, M. D. S., & Gonçalves, C. A. (2020). The influence of YouTubers on followers’ use intention. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 14(2), 173–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Jans, S., Cauberghe, V., & Hudders, L. (2018). How an advertising disclosure alerts young adolescents to sponsored vlogs: The moderating role of a peer-based advertising literacy intervention through an informational vlog. Journal of Advertising, 47(4), 309–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Jans, S., Van de Sompel, D., De Veirman, M., & Hudders, L. (2020). #Sponsored! How the recognition of sponsoring on Instagram posts affects adolescents’ brand evaluations through source evaluations. Computers in Human Behavior, 109, 106342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Veirman, M., Cauberghe, V., & Hudders, L. (2017). Marketing through Instagram influencers: The impact of number of followers and product divergence on brand attitude. International Journal of Advertising, 36(5), 798–828.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Veirman, M., Hudders, L., & Nelson, M. R. (2019). What is influencer marketing and how does it target children? A review and direction for future research. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2685.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Enke, N., & Borchers, N. S. (2019). Social media influencers in strategic communication: A conceptual framework for strategic social media influencer communication. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 13(4), 261–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erdogan, B. Z. (1999). Celebrity endorsement: A literature review. Journal of Marketing Management, 15(4), 291–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, N. J., Phua, J., Lim, J., & Jun, H. (2017). Disclosing Instagram influencer advertising: The effects of disclosure language on advertising recognition, attitudes, and behavioral intent. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 17(2), 138–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Federal Trade Commission (FTC). (2019). Disclosures 101 for social media influencers. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/plain-language/1001a-influencer-guide-508_1.pdf

  • Freberg, K., Graham, K., McGaughey, K., & Freberg, L. A. (2011). Who are the social media influencers? A study of public perceptions of personality. Public Relations Review, 37(1), 90–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friestad, M., & Wright, P. (1994). The persuasion knowledge model: How people cope with persuasion attempts. Journal of Consumer Research, 21(1), 1–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs, T., & Hahn, C. (2018). Was sind die medienrechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen des Influencer-Marketings? Kennzeichnung, Jugendschutz und Aufsicht. In M. Jahnke (Ed.), Influencer Marketing: Für Unternehmen und Influencer: Strategien, Plattformen, Instrumente, rechtlicher Rahmen (pp. 161–175). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gläsemann, A., & Lau, C. (2019). Beauty and the business. Forbes Deutschland, 9(19), 27–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gross, J., & von Wangenheim, F. (2018). The big four of influencer marketing: A typology of influencers. Marketing Review St. Gallen, 2, 30–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatton, G. (2018). Micro influencers vs macro influencers. Retrieved October 26, 2020, from https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/micro-influencers-vs-macro-influencers/516896/

  • Hesse, A., Schmidt, H. J., & Baumgarth, C. (2020). How a corporate influencer co-creates brand meaning: The case of Pawel Dillinger from Deutsche Telekom. Corporate Reputation Review. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41299-020-00103-3

  • HypeAuditor. (2020a). Most-followed fitness and gym influencers on Instagram worldwide as of may 2020 [Graph]. Retrieved November 25, 2020, from Statista.com. https://www.statista.com/statistics/993699/most-followers-instagram-fitness-global/

  • HypeAuditor. (2020b). The state of influencer marketing 2020: Influencer fraud dynamics [Updated June 2020]. Retrieved November 25, 2020, from https://hypeauditor.com/blog/state-2020/#Type_of_influencers_by_category

  • I‘mJette (@jette). (2020). Anzeige ~this outfit is made from plastic waste Mein Outfit wurde aus Plastikmüll gemacht. Auch wenn das allein nicht den Planeten rettet, kann man es als Anlass sehen, eigene Ziele zu setzen um das eigene Konsumverhalten zu überdenken [Instagram photo]. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.instagram.com/p/CErdWeyjSGx/

  • Influencer Marketing Hub. (2020a). 8 influencer marketing trends for 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-trends-2020/

  • Influencer Marketing Hub. (2020b). Influencer marketing benchmark report 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020, from https://influencermarketinghub.com/Influencer_Marketing_Benchmark_Report_2020.pdf

  • Instagram. (2020). About Instagram shopping. Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://help.instagram.com/191462054687226

  • Instagram Business. (2020). Branded content tools on Instagram. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://business.instagram.com/a/brandedcontentexpansion

  • Jin, S. A., & Phua, J. (2014). Following celebrities’ tweets about brands: The impact of Twitter-based electronic word-of-mouth on consumers’ source credibility perception, buying intention, and social identification with celebrities. Journal of Advertising, 43(2), 181–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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 and Consumer Services, 55, 102121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kay, S., Mulcahy, R., & Parkinson, J. (2020). When less is more: The impact of macro and micro social media influencers’ disclosure. Journal of Marketing Management, 1–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kellershofen, J. (2020). Adidas, Volvic und die EU: So setzen Marken beim Thema Nachhaltigkeit auf Influencer Marketing. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://onlinemarketing.de/social-media-marketing/adidas-volvic-und-die-eu-so-setzen-marken-beim-thema-nachhaltigkeit-auf-influencer-marketing

  • Khamis, S., Ang, L., & Welling, R. (2017). Self-branding, ‘micro-celebrity’ and the rise of social media influencers. Celebrity Studies, 8(2), 191–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ki, C.-W., & Kim, Y.-K. (2019). The mechanism by which social media influencers persuade consumers: The role of consumers’ desire to mimic. Psychology & Marketing, 36(10), 905–922.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, D. Y., & Kim, H.-Y. (2020). Influencer advertising on social media: The multiple inference model on influencer-product congruence and sponsorship disclosure. Journal of Business Research., 130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.02.020

  • Knitter, M., & Sobottka, C. (2020). Germany: Influencer marketing – Labelling requirements in Germany. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.mondaq.com/germany/social-media/888160/influencer-marketing-labelling-requirements-in-germany

  • Lee, J. E., & Watkins, B. (2016). YouTube vloggers’ influence on consumer luxury brand perceptions and intentions. Journal of Business Research, 69(12), 5753–5760.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levin, A. (2020). Influencer marketing for brands. Apress.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • 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), 58–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marten, N., & Kirchmeer, E. (2018). Mit Leidenschaft anstecken und für den E-Commerce begeistern – Corporate Influencer bei OTTO. In A. Schach & T. Lommatzsch (Eds.), Influencer Relations. Marketing und PR mit digitalen Meinungsführern (pp. 277–284). Springer Gabler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martensen, A., Brockenhuus-Schack, S., & Zahid, A. L. (2018). How citizen influencers persuade their followers. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 22(3), 335–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mediakix. (2019). Influencer marketing 2019 industry benchmarks. Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://mediakix.com/influencer-marketing-resources/influencer-marketing-industry-statistics-survey-benchmarks/#instagram

  • Mediakix. (2020a). Influencer marketing statistics every marketer needs to know. Retrieved November 25, 2020, from https://mediakix.com/influencer-marketing-resources/influencer-marketing-statistics/#ineffect

  • Mediakix. (2020b). Influencer tiers for the influencer marketing industry. Retrieved November 25, 2020, from https://mediakix.com/influencer-marketing-resources/influencer-tiers/

  • Miller, D. (2019). The role of influencers in change management. Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://www.cmswire.com/digital-workplace/the-role-of-influencers-in-change-management/

  • Naturally Pam. (2020). Home. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.naturally-pam.de/

  • Ninova-Solovykh, N., & Einwiller, S. (2020). Mitarbeitende als Botschafter von Unternehmen. In S. Einwiller, S. A. Sackmann, & A. Zerfaß (Eds.), Handbuch Mitarbeiterkommunikation (pp. 1–24). Springer Fachmedien.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohanian, R. (1990). Construction and validation of a scale to measure celebrity endorsers’ perceived expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. Journal of Advertising, 19(3), 39–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OTTO inside (@otto_inside). (n.d.). Posts [Instagram profile]. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.instagram.com/otto_inside/

  • Pilgrim, K., & Bohnet-Joschko, S. (2019). Selling health and happiness how influencers communicate on Instagram about dieting and exercise: Mixed methods research. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 1054.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pöyry, E., Pelkonen, M., Naumanen, E., & Laaksonen, S.-M. (2019). A call for authenticity: Audience responses to social media influencer endorsements in strategic communication. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 13(4), 336–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reinikainen, H., Munnukka, J., Maity, D., & Luoma-aho, V. (2020). ‘You really are a great big sister’ – Parasocial relationships, credibility, and the moderating role of audience comments in influencer marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 32(1), 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sakib, M. N., Zolfagharian, M., & Yazdanparast, A. (2020). Does parasocial interaction with weight loss vloggers affect compliance? The role of vlogger characteristics, consumer readiness, and health consciousness. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 52, 101733.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schouten, A. P., 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shan, Y., Chen, K.-J., & Lin, J.-S. (2019). When social media influencers endorse brands: The effects of self-influencer congruence, parasocial identification, and perceived endorser motive. International Journal of Advertising, 26(1), 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stubb, C., & Colliander, J. (2019). “This is not sponsored content” – The effects of impartiality disclosure and e-commerce landing pages on consumer responses to social media influencer posts. Computers in Human Behavior, 98, 210–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stubb, C., Nyström, A.-G., & Colliander, J. (2019). Influencer marketing: The impact of disclosing sponsorship compensation justification on sponsored content effectiveness. Journal of Communication Management, 23(2), 109–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sturmer, M. (2020). Corporate Influencer. Mitarbeiter als Markenbotschafter. Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Voorveld, H. A. M. (2019). Brand communication in social media: A research agenda. Journal of Advertising, 48(1), 14–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • We Are Social, Hootsuite, & DataReportal. (2020). Most popular social networks worldwide as of October 2020, ranked by number of active users (in millions) [Graph]. Retrieved November 25, 2020, from Statista.com. https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/

  • Weismueller, J., Harrigan, P., Wang, S., & Soutar, G. N. (2020). Influencer endorsements: How advertising disclosure and source credibility affect consumer purchase intention on social media. Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ). In press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weskott, Nanda (@nanda_schwarz). (2020). Werbung/Advertisement about two weeks ago I was invited to be in front of the camera for the new 100% vegan and 70% recycled clean classics campaign for @adidas_de [Instagram photo]. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.instagram.com/p/CE9DGtgFyEw/

  • Wiedmann, K.-P., & von Mettenheim, W. (2020). Attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise – Social influencers’ winning formula? Journal of Product & Brand Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-06-2019-2442

  • Xiao, M., Wang, R., & Chan-Olmsted, S. (2018). Factors affecting YouTube influencer marketing credibility: A heuristic-systematic model. Journal of Media Business Studies, 15(3), 188–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Julia Durau

Authors
  1. Julia Durau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julia Durau .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Comparative Media and Communication Studies (CMC), University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria

    Matthias Karmasin

  2. Department of Media and Communications, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria

    Sandra Diehl  & Isabell Koinig  & 

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Durau, J. (2022). The Relevance of Social Media and Corporate Influencers as Potential Change Agents in Corporate Communications. In: Karmasin, M., Diehl, S., Koinig, I. (eds) Media and Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86680-8_12

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation