Social media influencers & consumer trust in the UAE

Gaelle Duthler & Ganga Dhanesh

College of Communication and Media Sciences

Zayed University

Content

Popularity of SM in the UAE

Effectiveness of influencers

Credibility and celebrity

endorsement

Parasocial interaction and

influencers

Influencers and disclosure of

paid endorsement

Disclosure and consumers’ persuasion knowledge

Disclosure and influencer-

public-relationship

Research questions

MethodsPreliminary

insights

Popularity of Social Media in the UAE

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

100.00%

WhatsApp Facebook Instagram Snapchat Twitter YouTube FB

Messenger

LinkedIn Line Viber Skype Google

chat/hangout

Don’t use

social media

Dennis, E.E., Martin, J.D., & Wood, R. (2017). Media use in the Middle East, 2017: A seven-nation survey.

Northwestern University in Qatar. Retrieved from www.mideastmedia.org/survey/2017

Type of content sent, shared or posted

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

Dennis, E.E., Martin, J.D., & Wood, R. (2017). Media use in the Middle East, 2017: A seven-nation survey.

Northwestern University in Qatar. Retrieved from www.mideastmedia.org/survey/2017

Reasons to use Social Media

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

100.00%

Communicate directly with specific

individuals or groups

Get news about current events Share news about current events Get entertainment content Share entertainment

Facebook WhatsApp Twitter Instagram Snapchat YouTube

Dennis, E.E., Martin, J.D., & Wood, R. (2017). Media use in the Middle East, 2017: A seven-nation survey.

Northwestern University in Qatar. Retrieved from www.mideastmedia.org/survey/2017

Effectiveness of Influencers

83% trust recommendations from friends and family

•83% of these take action on these opinions

66% online trust recommendations from consumer opinions

•69% of these take action on these opinions

Consumers in the MENA region have highest level

of trust of consumer opinions posted online

Influencers are most effective in raising brand awareness compared to generating sales lead or

increasing customer loyalty T

he N

iels

en

Glo

ba

l T

rust

in A

dvert

isin

g S

urv

ey 2

01

5.

ww

w.n

iels

en

.com

Credibility and celebrity endorsement

Attractiveness

ExpertiseTrustworthiness

Parasocial Interaction (PSI) and Influencers• Parasocial interaction: expressing

interpersonal affinity for mass mediated personalities

• Celebrities seek liking, intimacy, and credibility from their social media followers

• PSI helps build consumer trust and loyalty toward a brand by promoting a lifestyle

Need to post frequently

Postings may enhance credibility

Influencers and disclosure of paid content

FTC’s Endorsement Guides: Truth-in-advertising and

Disclosure; offers updated guidance for influencers

and marketers

International Consumer Protection and

Enforcement Network (ICPEN) Guidelines for

Digital Influencers

Oct 2017: Facebook announced updated

advertising transparency and authenticity efforts

FTC’s first law enforcement action against individual online influencers for their role in misleading practices

Dear Influencer,

…emails from FTC to social media influencers

Disclosure and consumers’ persuasion knowledge

• Persuasion knowledge model (PKM) (Friestad and Wright 1994): Refers to consumers’ knowledge and beliefs about what strategies marketers use to persuade them and how they deal with these strategies such as through heightened skepticism, resistance, and counter arguing

Disclosure affects…

Ad recognition (cognitive persuasion)

1Distrust towards the ad/brand (attitudinal persuasion)

2Purchase intention

3Online sharing intention

4Credibility perceptions

5

Disclosure and influencer-public-relationship

Trust

Commitment

Satisfaction

Control mutuality

Base

d o

n H

on

, L

., &

Gru

nig

, J

. E

. (1

99

9).

Gu

ideli

nes

for

mea

suri

ng r

ela

tion

ship

s in

pu

bli

c re

lati

on

s. G

ain

esv

ille

: In

stit

ute

for

Pu

bli

c R

ela

tion

s R

ese

arc

h, U

niv

ers

ity o

f F

lori

da

. R

etr

ieved

fr

om

htt

p:/

/ww

w.i

nst

itu

tefo

rpr.

org

/top

ics/

mea

suri

ng

-rela

tion

ship

s/

Trust in social media advertising varies across regions

Asia, Latin America, Africa

Europe & US

Th

e N

iels

en

Glo

ba

l T

rust

in A

dvert

isin

g S

urv

ey 2

01

5.

ww

w.n

iels

en

.com

Research questions

Are social media consumers in the UAE aware that many influencers promote content/brands they are paid for?

What is the impact of such non-disclosure of paid content on the trust of social media users in the UAE?

Would UAE consumers prefer that paid content be voluntarily be communicated by influencers?

What difference would the impact of voluntary disclosure of paid content by brands and social media influencers be on consumers and their trust in advertising and branding?

Do social media users understand when a post is sponsored, like they would with internet, radio and television advertising?

Do social media users expect social media influencers to clearly state when content is financially sponsored?

Research model

Awareness of paid content

Ad recognitionInfluencer-

Public Relationship

Behavioral intentions (purchase intention, eWOM)

Methods

Surveys – general population,

Instagram users (ongoing)

Focus groups –general population,

Instagram users (Spring 2018)

Experiments –Instagram users

(Spring 2018)

Pilot study Surveyed only 45 people

93% female

74% between the age of 18-24

Fouz Al Fahad was the most named social media personality

18% follow influencers on Instagram

38% follow influencers on Snapchat

13% follow the same influencer on multiple social media (mainly Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube)

Are social media consumers aware that many influencers promote content/brands they are paid for?

Consumers are aware

76% know that these social media personalities receive payments for endorsing a product or service

80% agree that these endorsements are paid advertising

78.3% are aware that social media personalities are paid to endorse certain brands and products

Do social media users understand when a post is sponsored, like they would with internet, radio and television advertising?

• YES

• 74.3% can tell when a social media personality is paid to endorse a certain brand or product or not

Would UAE consumers prefer that paid content be voluntarily be communicated by influencers?

• YES

• 78.3% would prefer for social media personalities to disclose when they are paid to advertise a product or brand

Do social media users expect social media influencers to clearly state when content is financially sponsored?

56.7% expect influencers to disclose when they are paid to advertise a product

What relationship exists between voluntary disclosure of paid content by social media influencers and consumers’ trust in the influencer?

Trust was not related to consumers’

expectation of disclosure by influencers

What relationship exists between consumers’ trust in the influencer and behavioral outcomes?

Trust was related to how much consumers were willing to try the brands endorsed by the influencers

01Trust was related to how much consumers were willing to talk to others about the brand

02Trust was not related to how much consumers were willing to buy the products/services or willing to share posts and opinions

03

Main study: The model

Awareness of paid content

Ad recognition

Influencer-Public

Relationship

Behavioral intentions (purchase intention, eWOM)

Thank you