How Social Media Influencers Foster Relationships with Followers: The Roles of Source Credibility and Fairness in Parasocial Relationship and Product Interest

Via the unprecedented interactivity of social media, social media personae can build strong relationships with followers. Such relationships, which carry great marketing potential, appeal to corporations and brands. Based on the literature of source credibility and communication justice, this study investigated the determinants of the parasocial relationship between social media influencers and their followers, as well as their effects on followers’ interests in the products advertised by influencers. The results of an online survey showed that followers’ perceived attractiveness of influencers, similarity to influencers, procedural fairness, and interpersonal fairness of their interactions with influencers…