Do influencers actually influence? : Uncovering the significance of beauty influencers on the social identities and self concept of their followers

Abstract

Social Media Influencers (SMI) and Influencer Marketing (IM) are all the rage nowadays, with many organisations trying to leverage its growth for advertising. The study is primarily interested in questioning whether influencers really “influence”, in other words, if followers really perceive a change in their attitudes, behaviour or identities through following SMIs. Focusing on the beauty industry, we interviewed female followers of such influencers involved in this market segment. Using concepts and theories from both the social sciences and communication field such as Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Limited Effects Theory (LET), the paper also shows how interdisciplinary bridges can be formed to understand recent social phenomena more holistically. We generally found that our respondents did not perceive any substantial change in attitude or identity, supporting the central view of LET. Given the rapid growth of IM, we expect many more opportunities for future studies.