Influencer Authenticity: To Grow or to Monetize

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Nistor, Cristina; Selove, Matthew; Villas-Boas, J. Miguel
• 署名单位: Chapman University System; Chapman University; University of California System; University of California Berkeley
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2023.03479
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: marketing: advertising and media; marketing: promotion; economics: game theory and bargaining theory

摘要

Social media influencers can grow their number of followers by endorsing products that are authentic for their social media persona or, alternatively, monetize their followers by endorsing a wider variety of products. We develop a dynamic model in which an influencer continuously decides whether to be authentic as she balances increasing awareness with generating revenues from sponsored posts. We derive conditions in which the influencer is authentic during an early growth phase, but she becomes inauthentic once a large enough fraction of potential followers are aware of her. Celebrities become inauthentic at a lower awareness level than pure social media influencers. If posts can go viral, the influencer initially is inauthentic as she hopes to go viral, she later becomes authentic to grow awareness rapidly, and she eventually becomes inauthentic again.