How Is Influencer Follower Size Related to Brand Responses?

Research has established that an influencer marketing campaign’s success is driven by size of the influencer’s following. Taking a step further, the current authors questioned real followers of influencers (N = 299) about their favorite YouTuber, to examine whether micro-versus macro-versus mega-influencers increase or decrease cognitive, affective, and behavioral brand responses. Three underlying, competing mechanisms were tested: wishful identification, perceived credibility, and perceived similarity. Results demonstrate that influencer marketing from micro-influencers (< 100k followers) is associated with more brand awareness, positive brand attitudes, and higher purchase intentions than from larger influencers (> 100k followers). Ultimately, micro-influencers are more persuasive than macro-or mega-influencers because they are perceived as being more similar and more credible.