The Power of Opinion Leaders on Youtube and Instagram to Influence Other Users - Influencer Marketing
Özet
This study examines the influence of opinion leaders (influencers and vloggers) with high follower counts, interaction rates, and trustworthiness on social networking sites such as YouTube and Instagram on other users' brand, product, and service experiences as well as purchasing decisions, and explores the role of this process in modern marketing strategies. The study highlights that digital and online celebrities, who have replaced the concept of traditional celebrity, directly shape consumers' attitudes and behaviors through factors such as expertise, credibility, intimacy, content originality, and visual and social attractiveness. While the expertise and credibility of vloggers producing content on the YouTube platform increase brand awareness, perceived quality, and purchase intention, Instagram, which stands out with its visually oriented structure, drives consumers toward impulse and guided buying behaviors. Within the framework of influencer marketing, this interaction process is explained in two fundamental theoretical dimensions: opinion leadership refers to influencers guiding followers' ideas and decisions based on their knowledge, experience, and competence, whereas parasocial relationships describe the one-sided, intimate, psychological, and friendly bond that followers feel without establishing any direct contact with the influencer. In conclusion, it is stated that companies seeking to achieve success in modern digital marketing strategies must develop strategic collaborations with opinion leaders who are experts in their fields, trustworthy, possess high interaction power, effectively utilize technology, and present realistic ideas regarding brands.
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