Influencer marketing effectiveness: giving competence, receiving credibility

Abstract

Travel influencers often disclose personal details in their social media recommendations. However, previous research has not explained how such content impacts influencer evaluations. This study explores how intimate self-disclosure in influencer recommendations affects perceptions of credibility. An experimental study demonstrates that recommendations containing intimate (vs. without intimate) content diminish perceptions of the travel influencer’s credibility. The congruence between the influencer’s content and expertise plays a mediating role, with intimate content being perceived as incongruent with their expertise, thereby reducing credibility. Competence need fulfillment moderates this effect such that influencers’ credibility is enhanced through content-expertise congruence as participants feel more competent.