The Impact of Influencer Marketing on Brand Engagement: A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

With the development of social media, influencer marketing has become a new and efficient brand marketing strategy that interests marketing managers. To better understand the impact of influencer marketing on brand engagement, this paper proposes a dual-route effect research framework based on prior literature. The model suggests that the parasocial relationship positively affects the source credibility during the content interaction between the audience and the influencer, and then the source credibility enhances brand credibility. In addition, content immersion increases brand content enjoyment. Both brand credibility and brand content enjoyment would ultimately cultivate brand engagement. The paper provides a potential framework of influencer marketing evaluation for future research and gives managerial implications.