More than Just A Follower

Aaliyah Thompson-Vick

College: College of Liberal Arts

Major: BA.PSYCHOLOGY

Faculty Research Mentor: Salehi, Reza Fazli

Abstract:

Given that influencers build personal relationships with their audiences, influencer marketing has emerged as a key tactic in digital advertising. The efficiency of marketing is significantly influenced by parasocial interactions, which are one sided emotional attachments between media personalities and their audience. Customers are more likely to interact with content, form positive attitudes about promoted products, and make purchases when they believe influencers to be genuine, trustworthy, and relevant. These parasocial connections can be strengthened or weakened by variables including platform type, sponsored content disclosure, and influencer authenticity. Knowing the psychological mechanisms of these connections helps one better understand how customer behavior is influenced by emotional connections and emphasizes how crucial real influencer alliances are to successful marketing campaigns.