Date of Award

8-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Degree Discipline

Business Administration

Abstract

This study investigated the dynamics of social media influence on marketing with a focus on two key variables, information richness and influencer follower count, to determine how these characteristics influenced customer purchase intents. In the search for more successful advertising strategies, current marketing trends have capitalized on social media influencers’ expanding role in determining customer behavior. In some cases, this has led to unethical behavior and subsequent mistrust, underlining the challenge of maintaining openness and ethical standard in digital marketing.

This quantitative study used surveys to investigate consumer experiences with various influencer content forms and follower counts. The research specifically investigated two main questions: (1) How does social media influencer channel richness affect purchase intent? (2) How does the number of followers affect purchase intent? The survey looked at how different media types, that is, videos, images, and text posts, and follower sizes affected customer purchasing intents.

The findings revealed that content richness—characterized by quality and interactivity—significantly boosted engagement and purchasing intent, underscoring the critical role of content quality in influencer effectiveness. Conversely, increased audience size did not consistently enhance an influencer’s impact, illustrating the complex interplay between follower count and consumer trust. The study illuminates how influencer marketing strategies can be designed to increase purchase intents. Future studies should consider the cultural and technological elements influencing consumer behavior as well as ways for adapting to fast changing social media landscapes. In summation, this research lays the framework for more effective, consumer-focused influencer marketing methods.

Keywords: social media, information richness, purchase intent, social media influencer, social media content, consumer engagement, information richness theory

Committee Chair/Advisor

Elvis Ndembe

Committee Member

Louis Ngamassi

Committee Member

Robert Zinko

Committee Member

Sudhir Tandon

Publisher

Prairie View A & M University

Rights

© 2021 Prairie View A & M University

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Date of Digitization

8/13/2024

Contributing Institution

J. B Coleman Library

City of Publication

Prairie View

MIME Type

Application/PDF

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