Content Creator versus Brand Advertiser? The Effect of Inserting Advertisements in Videos on Influencers Engagement

Abstract

Influencer advertising has become an indispensable component of online marketing due to the exponential growth of social influencers and their influence. Whereas the effectiveness of using influencer endorsements is well studied from the brand or company perspective, how the commercial endorsements affect influencers themselves is an important yet unrevealed question. We empirically examine the instantaneous (measured using live comment sentiment) and longer-term (measured using video feedback and follower number change) influence of inserting advertisements in videos on influencers' reputation. We further investigate how this effect can be moderated when influencers demonstrate stronger endorsement by showing their faces during advertisements. Our result suggests that inserting advertisements have a negative impact on both instantaneous and longer-term viewer engagement; advertisements with influencers' face showing moderate the negative effect of advertisements on viewers' instantaneous response, while the different impact between advertisements with/out influencers showing their faces is not significant in the longer term.