Follow, Like and Share the Leader: Examining SMI Marketing through the Lense of Personality Cults

Abstract

Purpose: As marketing campaigns are using social media influencers (SMI) more and more, this thesis examines if the psychological underpinnings in the follower-leader dynamic in cults of personality (CoP) can help explain the behaviour of those who follow SMIs and if this leads to better marketing performance. Method: This report utilizes a quantitative, survey-based approach to test a wide spectrum of social media users. Utilizing both CFA and SEM testing, this report seeks to see the common ground between both SMIs and CoPs as well as their effects on purchase intention and brand perception. Findings: This report provides evidence that SMIs who exhibit features commonly associated with many CoP will command higher purchase intention and brand perception in a marketing campaign. Conclusion: This report indicates that there is a positive relationship between aspects of personality cults and SMIs. Marketers who understand this dynamic will be better suited to select appropriate SMIs and communities to conduct activities as the SMI field is still new and fragmented. Limitations: Sample size is the biggest limitation of this report as although it has a good response rate, the number of respondents makes it difficult to properly extrapolate the findings to the general population. Originality: This work expands on the work done by Cocker & Cronin (2017) by operationalizing CoP as a usable scale to evaluate SMIs and their effect on consumer perceptions.