The Effect of in Uencer Marketing On Consumer Engagement and Brand Loyalty
The Effect of in Uencer Marketing On Consumer Engagement and Brand Loyalty
The Effect of in Uencer Marketing On Consumer Engagement and Brand Loyalty
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Article in International Journal of Multidisciplinary Applied Business and Education Research · July 2024
DOI: 10.11594/ijmaber.05.07.02
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Research Article
Sean Calvin Shin Ching Yong1*, Xing Gao2, Wen Sern Poh3
1Marketing Department, Perdana University, 50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2Collegeof Fine Art and Design, Shenyang Normal University, 110034 Shenyang, China
3Graduate Student Services, Intown Design and Marketing Solutions Sdn. Bhd., 56000 Cheras,
How to cite:
Yong, S. C. S. C., Gao, X. & Poh, W. S. (2024). The Effect of Influencer Marketing on Consumer Engagement and Brand
Loyalty. International Journal of Multidisciplinary: Applied Business and Education Research. 5(7), 2357 – 2364. doi:
10.11594/ijmaber.05.07.02
Yong et al., 2024 / The Effect of Influencer Marketing on Consumer Engagement and Brand Loyalty
tation of a product or service to satisfy and at- a behavioral aspect, which pertains to how cus-
tract consumers. This process revolves around tomers shape their interactions with a particu-
four fundamental variables: product, price, lar brand of a product or service. As previously
place, and promotion, which were initially established, internet celebrities who function
conceptualized and formally introduced by E. as influencers in the digital realm mostly utilize
Jerome McCarthy in 1960. social media platforms.
The development of the internet and social Consequently, the evaluation and monitor-
media has given rise to a novel marketing ap- ing of consumer engagement in this context re-
proach known as influencer marketing. This volve around the level of interaction with a
style of marketing capitalizes on the promi- business post on the aforementioned social me-
nence and visibility that individuals can dia platform (Oh et al., 2017) is critical. One
achieve through online and social media plat- way to assess consumer engagement is by ex-
forms. The concept of influencer marketing re- amining the quantity of reactions generated by
volves around the strategic utilization of prom- an advertisement, as well as the probability of
inent individuals to effectively communicate a a consumer clicking on the ad. This method
brand’s message to a wider target audience serves as a means of observing consumer en-
(Byrne et al., 2017). According to Grafstrom et gagement, but it is important to consider that
al. (2018), an influencer is seen as an opinion various social media platforms possess distinct
leader who promotes products or services by characteristics (Coursaris et al., 2016).
using their influential status and strong per- The level of consumer involvement varies
sonal brand. Additionally, the reputation and between influencer marketing posts and spon-
promotion built by these influencers are fac- sored ads by companies. According to Kaplan
tors that significantly affect consumer engage- and Haenlein (2010), consumer engagement
ment and purchasing behavior (Yong et al., levels become significantly higher when ex-
2023) on online platforms. In contemporary posed to persuasive messages promoted
marketing practices, influencer marketing gar- through social media platforms. Our study pri-
nered significant recognition due to its efficacy. marily examines consumer engagement as per-
This approach capitalizes on individuals who ceived by the consumer. Consumer engage-
possess influencer status, as they are perceived ment can be assessed and quantified by exam-
as trustworthy and credible sources. In con- ining the extent to which consumers willingly
trast, direct marketing through paid advertise- interact with content produced by a brand or
ments by the companies may not elicit the same business (Javornik & Mandelli, 2012). This en-
level of trust and credibility (Abidin, 2018). compasses a range of concepts, with a special
Previous research has indicated that consum- focus given to the behavioral and psychological
ers tend to assign greater importance to evalu- predisposition of consumers (Tafesse, 2016)
ations made by fellow individuals in compari- and their engagement with a brand.
son to those made by advertisers. This prefer-
ence stems from the perception that advertis- H1: There is a significant positive effect of the in-
ers may possess biased viewpoints toward the fluencer marketing approach on consumer en-
products and services they promote, conse- gagement.
quently diminishing the perceived credibility
of their word-of-mouth communications. Brand Loyalty
When discussing the act of consumers ac-
Consumer Engagement quiring products or services from a particular
Consumer engagement encompasses vari- brand, it is important to note that consumers
ous ideas, with a specific focus on the behav- are not solely motivated by the practical value
ioral and psychological predisposition of con- of the product or service itself. In addition to
sumers and their interactions with brands the functional benefits, consumers also derive
(Tafesse, 2016). According to Bianchi and An- symbolic value from the brand. This symbolic
drews (2018), it has been argued that con- value contributes to the formation of consumer
sumer engagement in a retail context will have identity and serves as a means for consumers
to express their personal goals and aspirations offers distinct advantages in situations where
(Van der Westhuizen, 2018). The relationships the study requires a targeted sample of individ-
between consumers and brands are subject to uals who exhibit specific attributes or experi-
continuous evolution (Alvarez and Fournier, ences. The population of this study will serve as
2016). These relationships have become in- a representative sample, reflecting the
creasingly intricate, particularly due to ad- characteristics of the sample size. This study
vancements in information technology. This sample consisted of 120 respondents residing
has provided consumers with a wider range of in the Klang Valley region of Malaysia. The es-
avenues to express their brand loyalty, while tablishment of a geographic standard of popu-
also enabling brands to offer their target con- lation is intended to mitigate potential chal-
sumers novel channels for expressing their loy- lenges in data collection arising from geograph-
alty to the brand. ical factors. Additionally, the researchers estab-
The loyalty exhibited by consumers who lished the age range of the demographic to en-
follow influencers can be assessed by observ- compass those between the ages of 18 and 50.
ing their inclination to make repeat purchases The imposition of an age restriction on the sam-
of products and services endorsed by these in- ple population is predicated upon the study’s
fluencers. Graftrom et al, (2018) asserted that focus on online influencer marketing and its re-
this loyalty is evident in their preference for the lationship with brand loyalty.
endorsed brand over others, even when the al-
ternative brands offer superior quality options. Procedures
The selection of the questionnaire ap-
H2. There is a significant positive effect of the in- proach as the data collection method was based
fluencer marketing approach on brand loyalty. on its suitability for our study. The structure of
our questionnaire relies upon the fundamental
Methods principles governing the development of sur-
Research Design veys. The questionnaire was divided into two
This study employed descriptive research sections, each section collecting its own set of
methodology to investigate the effect of influ- data and labeled as Section A and Section B. The
encer marketing on consumer engagement and primary objective of Section A in our question-
brand loyalty. This approach is considered non- naire is to collect demographic information
experimental, as it focuses on analyzing the ef- from the respondents. Section B was about the
fects of the variables of this study. The primary variables of our study. In this section, we em-
objective of this study was to examine the effect ployed a 5-point Likert scale to elicit responses:
of influence marketing on consumer engage- 5 – Strongly Agree, 4 – Agree, 3 – Moderately
ment and brand loyalty within the specific con- Agree, 2 – Disagree, 1 – Strongly Disagree. The
text of Malaysia. utilization of the Likert scale is a prevalent
method for eliciting responses as it offers a rel-
Participants and Sampling atively high level of precision in assessing the
The researchers employed the purposive attitudes of individuals by gauging their level of
sampling approach in this study. Purposive agreement or disagreement (Awang et al.,
sampling is a sampling technique classified 2016) with a given statement.
within the realm of non-probability sampling.
The process involves the deliberate selection of Data Analysis
individuals or respondents according to speci- The data collected from the questionnaire
fied criteria or objectives. Researchers used were compiled, organized, and analyzed to fa-
this approach because they aim to include indi- cilitate the process of analysis and interpreta-
viduals who possess particular features or ex- tion. Given the quantitative nature of our study,
periences that are relevant to the study. De- statistical analysis must be conducted on the
spite its non-random nature and consequent raw data. The statistical analysis for this study
lack of representativeness, purposive sampling was conducted using the IBM-SPSS version 28.
The selection of IBM-SPSS was based on its ap- Result And Discussion
propriateness for our study focus, as it pro- The mean score of the survey, displayed in
vides researchers with valuable insights into Table 1, represents the average value used to
the relationships and significance of variables. assess the level of agreement or disagreement.
The sequential arrangement of the descrip- respondents, based on their age, awareness of
tive analysis and interpretation corresponded influencer marketing, and the social media
to the research objectives of this study. Table 2 platforms they most commonly use.
illustrates the demographic profile of the
Based on the above statistical results, it was utilization of influencer marketing by brands
observed that among the 120 respondents sur- and businesses is widely recognized by con-
veyed, a significant majority of 103 respond- sumers. Upon analyzing the statistics given by
ents, including around 85.8% of the sample in- ANA (2018), it was observed that the obtained
dicated their awareness of the influencers they findings surpassed the percentile of awareness
follow who engage in marketing activities for of influencer marketing. Undoubtedly, the pro-
various brands and businesses. A substantial liferation of social media platforms has contrib-
portion of our survey participants demon- uted to a heightened awareness and under-
strated familiarity with the implementation of standing of influencer marketing within the
influencer marketing. These findings suggested context of Malaysia.
that among our selected population, the
The coefficients of the testing of influencer fosters a positive inclination (Chen et al., 2021)
marketing are presented in Table 3 above. toward engaging with their content.
These coefficients represent the impact of in-
fluencer marketing on the variables that are in- Brand Loyalty
fluenced by it. They provide insight into the ex- From the data presented in Table 3 above,
tent to which each equation applies to each re- it can be revealed that a positive effect accounts
spective variable. The significance value (sig.) for influencer marketing on consumer brand
is employed to elucidate the significance of our loyalty. This finding is substantiated by the T-
proposed variables concerning the dependent value of 2.984 and the significance level (sig.) of
variable. 0.004. Consequently, the researchers accept
Upon examining the coefficients presented hypothesis H2 as it provides supporting evi-
in Table 3, it becomes evident that variables dence in favor of the proposition that influ-
possessing a significance value below 0.05 are encer marketing has a positive effect on brand
deemed meaningful and statistically signifi- loyalty. Within the field of marketing, influ-
cant. In this study, we analyzed two variables encer marketing is the strategic utilization of
that have been identified as potentially influ- individuals who possess a significant online
enced by influencer marketing. These variables presence and influence. These individuals,
include consumer engagement and brand loy- commonly referred to as influencers, harness
alty. their personal identity, reputation, and connec-
tion with consumers to exert a persuasive im-
Consumer Engagement pact on the various elements that lead to brand
Based on the data presented in Table 3, it loyalty. Several elements that can influence
can be inferred that influencer marketing has a consumer behavior towards a brand include
positive effect on consumer engagement, as ev- brand trust, satisfaction, and the attitudes dis-
idenced by the T-value of -1.995 and the signif- played toward the brand. The importance of re-
icance level (sig.) of 0.049. As a result, the ac- latability of these influencers to the end con-
ceptance of hypothesis H1 is established, indi- sumer plays a significant role (Grafstrom et al.,
cating that influencer marketing has a favora- 2018) in this process.
ble impact on consumer engagement. This find-
ing confirms our hypothesis, which posits that Conclusion
influencer marketing is capable of eliciting Major findings of the study provide addi-
greater consumer engagement has been sup- tional evidence that effective implementation
ported. Based on the findings of our literature of influencer marketing can enhance consumer
review, it has been observed that consumers engagement and foster brand loyalty. Based on
display varying levels of engagement when ex- the evidence gathered, it is apparent that a sig-
posed to different marketing approaches. This nificant relationship exists between influencer
statement aligns with the conclusions drawn marketing and both consumer engagement and
by Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) and Syed et. al. brand loyalty. Consequently, our study indi-
(2024), who contend that social media exerts a cates that marketers can gain valuable insights
substantial influence on consumer engage- from the utilization of influencer marketing
ment. Notably, consumers tend to perceive so- strategies. This technique not only improves
cial media influencers and their posts as less engagement but also leads to an expansion of
apparent forms of advertising, which in turn market presence. This facilitates marketers
from various brands and companies to enhance Byrne, E., Kearney, J., & MacEvilly, C. (2017). The
their marketing approach. Moreover, there is a Role of Influencer Marketing and Social In-
rising need for brands and companies who fluencers in Public Health. Proceedings of
have not yet embraced influencer marketing to the Nutrition Society, 76(OCE3).
consider its adoption, since it has notable ben- https://doi.org/10.1017/s00296651170
efits in terms of enhancing customer engage- 01768
ment and fostering brand loyalty. Chen, K. J., Lin, J. S., & Shan, Y. (2021). Influencer
Our study is limited by its narrow geo- marketing in China: The roles of par-
graphical focus. Given the possible diversity in asocial identification, consumer engage-
consumer behavior across different geograph- ment, and inferences of manipulative in-
ical locations and cultural contexts, it is imper- tent. Journal of Consumer Behaviour,
ative to recognize that the results of our study 20(6), 1436-1448.
may not offer a thorough depiction of con- Coursaris, C., Van Osch, W. & Balogh, B. (2016).
sumer behavior in its entirety. Nevertheless, Do Facebook likes lead to shares or sales?
according to the analysis and findings, it has Exploring the empirical links between so-
been concluded that influencer marketing has a cial mediacontent, brand equity, purchase
positive impact on consumer engagement and intention, and engagement. System-
brand loyalty. While acknowledging areas for sciences (HICSS), 106, 3546-3555
potential improvement for future research, we Dippner, A. (2018). How Much Is My Face
maintain a strong conviction that our findings Worth? Neoliberal Subjectification, the
and results hold significant value for marketers Beauty Economy, and the Internet Celeb-
and contribute to the existing body of rity Culture in China. ASIEN: The German
knowledge on influencer marketing, as well as Journal on Contemporary Asia, 147, 38-63.
on consumer engagement and brand loyalty. It Grafströ m, J., Jakobsson, L., & Wiede, P. (2018).
is vital to recognize that the utilization of con- The impact of influencer marketing on
sumer engagement can serve as a strategic ap- consumers' attitudes.
proach to foster consumer satisfaction and Javornik, A., & Mandelli, A. (2012). Behavioral
trust, ultimately leading to the development of perspectives of customer engagement: An
brand loyalty towards specific companies. exploratory study of customer engage-
ment with three Swiss FMCG brands. Jour-
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