The Relationship between the Attributes of Social Media Influencers and Customers’ Brand Attitude in the Fashion Industry

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to study the relationship between the attributes of fashion social media influencers and customers’ brand attitude to gain insight onto the reasons for fashion SMIs performing below average in comparison with other industries and to add onto literature studying this relationship. The authors proposed a conceptual model based on the literature review conducted and then tested using a qualitative approach through exploratory research and a quantitative approach through online surveys. The exploratory research findings indicate that the attribute trustworthiness is the most important attribute in impacting customers’ brand attitude, followed by the others. Meanwhile, results of a survey of 323 participants who follow fashion SMIs, collected using a non-probability convenience sampling technique, indicate that there is a positive moderate relationship between all attributes of fashion SMIs and customers’ brand attitude. To reach this, the SPSS software was used to analyze the data using statistical techniques including descriptive statistics, frequencies, Spearman's correlation coefficient, and Cronbach’s alpha. Finally, this research offers recommendations and implications for fashion SMIs, fashion brands, and marketing agencies to better utilize influencer marketing based on the research findings. Notably, it is recommended for fashion SMIs to include hashtags of their sponsorship in order to improve their perceived honesty, and to increase their reachability to improve their social proximity with customers. Fashion brands should hire fashion SMIs with high authentic engagement and to improve upon the 4Ps to utilize influencer marketing.