Influencer Marketing and Consumer Behavior on Social Media

Influencer marketing has emerged as a dominant strategy for brands seeking to connect with consumers through trusted individuals on social platforms. By leveraging influencers’ specialised knowledge, social attractiveness and authenticity, companies aim to foster deeper engagement than traditional advertising. Consumers form one-sided psychological bonds—known as parasocial relationships—with influencers, which can drive brand awareness, shape attitudes and ultimately influence purchase decisions. Key factors such as influencer credibility, audience congruence and content format determine the strength of these bonds. At the same time, perceptions of authenticity and moral responsibility shape consumer receptiveness, particularly in areas such as sustainability and health promotion. The rapid diversification of micro- and macro-influencers, alongside evolving platform algorithms, underscores the importance of understanding the drivers of engagement, the segmentation of consumer responses and the long-term impact of influencer endorsements on brand equity and consumer behaviour globally.

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Influencer Marketing and Consumer Behavior on Social Media publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in influencer marketing and consumer behavior on social media across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Parasocial relationship: A one-sided psychological bond in which a follower feels connected to an influencer without mutual interaction.

Authenticity components: Consumer judgments of an influencer’s genuineness, including accuracy, integrity and originality of content.

Micro-influencer: An individual with a relatively small but highly engaged social media following, often valued for niche credibility.

Purchase intention: A consumer’s reported likelihood of buying a product or service promoted by an influencer.

References

1. Unrequited love? A mixed-methods study of parasocial engagement with social media influencers. International Journal of Information Management (2025).
2. When Does Collaborating With Green Influencers Backfire? An Experimental Analysis of how Authenticity Components Shape Consumer Reactions to Sponsored Content. Business Strategy and the Environment (2025).
3. Social media influencer marketing: foundations, trends, and ways forward. Electronic Commerce Research (2023).