Exploring How Influencer and Relationship Marketing Serve Corporate Sustainability

Abstract

Influencer marketing furthers the goals of relationship marketing. Companies use influencers to advertise their products through social networks such as Instagram. This digital advertising is aimed at shifting the company’s goals from customer acquisition to retention and commitment. While several articles provide interesting advances analyzing social media and sustainability goals, research about influencer types and their impact on engagement preserving corporate sustainability is limited. Thus, the objectives of this study are: (1) Select general influencer traits as positive characteristics in promoting a product; (2) analyze them for micro and macro influencer scenarios; (3) explore potential differences in their adequacy determining customer engagement and preserving corporate sustainability. Credibility, pleasantness, and emotions are the criteria analyzed through multivariate analysis applied over two independent samples of followers. Pleasantness and appearance in the macro influencer scenario and perceived integrity in that of the micro influencer appear to conflict with the desired transparency of the message, while transmission of emotions plays an essential role in both scenarios. This is a very important finding. Companies should assess candidate influencers’ emotional projection skills, in addition to evaluating the brand sponsorship costs and defining the target audience for the advertisement, always under the premise of preserving corporate sustainability.