Influencers and Their Salience: Public Perceptions of Individual Agendas on Instagram

Abstract

This article draws evidence from a national survey conducted in the Republic of Cyprus. Examining the influencer phenomenon, personal salience is scrutinised as the primary objective of ordinary social media users seeking to draw attention toward themselves. Respondents provided evidence about the types of content they desire in connection with influencers they follow on social media. Furthermore, they provided perceptional evidence about Instagram’s capacity to render individuals salient in social media communities. Finally, the study shows that demographic characteristics and certain types of personal content are associated with influencers’ personal salience.