Analyzing the Influence of Social Media Influencer’s Attributes and Content Esthetics on Endorsed Brand Attitude and Brand-Link Click Behavior: The Mediating Role of Brand Content Engagement

Abstract

Brand communication via social media influencers (SMIs) has become a vital constituent of firms’ brand communication strategy. The current study assesses the mediated (via brand content engagement) and direct influence of SMI attributes and brand content esthetics on followers’ attitude toward the endorsed brand and brand-link click behavior. The current study analyzed the data from an online survey of 300 followers of the top 40 Instafamous Pakistani SMIs to test the model and hypotheses. The results show that brand content engagement mediates between SMI attributes (i.e. trustworthiness, expertise, and similarity), brand content esthetics, and followers’ attitude toward the endorsed brand. SMI’s credibility directly influences followers’ attitude toward the endorsed brand. Furthermore, brand content engagement has an attitudinal and direct influence on followers’ brand-link click behavior. These findings will help practitioners understand how SMI and SMI-generated brand content influence followers’ brand-link click behavior.