The Impact of Social Media Influencers as an Advertising Source in the Beauty Industry from an Irish Female Millennials’ Perspective

Baker, Dayna Sara (2018) The Impact of Social Media Influencers as an Advertising Source in the Beauty Industry from an Irish Female Millennials’ Perspective. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Millennial females’ preference for advertising has changed in recent years, putting immense pressure on brands to consider new and innovative advertising sources. One of the most popular avenues today, particularly in the beauty industry, is influencer marketing. Because of its fledgling nature, literature related to this particular phenomenon is underdeveloped. Although celebrity endorsement has been studied extensively over the years, research on consumer beliefs and practices in relation to social media influencers, particularly in an Irish context, is limited. This has led to a gap in business knowledge.

The main purpose of this study is to explore social media influencers as an advertising source for the beauty industry in Ireland, through the lens of female Millennial consumers. Emphasis is placed on this target audience’s assessment of social media influencers, providing insight in to their propensity for potential product placement, stealth marketing and photo editing.

Seven in-depth interviews were conducted with female Millennial consumers, with a common interest in beauty and social media influencers. An interpretivist, inductive approach was used in this study, in an effort to capture a true reflection of female Millennial consumer views. Those views were interpreted using thematic coding. The findings of this research emphasised a need for brands to ensure the life of the social media influencer is portrayed similarly to that of Millennial consumers, to ensure relatability. Female Millennials acknowledged the practice but expressed their dissatisfaction with influencers editing published images. Millennials expressed this level of recognition for edited and non-edited images online was developed through their digital use and age. The strength of views relating to this topic warrant further investigation and therefore justify the need for further research of the topic.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > Marketing > Consumer Behaviour H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > Marketing > Advertising > Endorsements in advertising Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > ZA Information resources > ZA4150 Computer Network Resources > The Internet > World Wide Web > Websites > Online social networks T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering > Telecommunications > The Internet > World Wide Web > Websites > Online social networks
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Science in Marketing
Depositing User:	Caoimhe Ní Mhaicín
Date Deposited:	01 Nov 2018 13:24
Last Modified:	01 Nov 2018 13:24
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/3391

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