From influencers to followers: Unpacking credibility dimensions on food sharing intentions among Malaysian Youth

Siti Nor Amalina Ahmad Tajuddin

Abstract

Influencer marketing has blossomed into an increasingly prevalent method for products and brands to engage with followers, prompting interest in digital marketing and social media studies. However, due to a lack of source credibility, many social media influencers are experiencing a decline in content sharing from their followers despite investing time and money in developing engaging content. Yet, relatively little is known about influencers’ credibility in relation to food-sharing intentions among Malaysian youth. The present study addresses this gap by examining the relationship between social media influencers’ credibility and followers’ sharing intention on food content. By adopting a quantitative approach with a correlational design, this study aimed to discover the relationship between social media influencers’ perceived expertise, trustworthiness and attractiveness with followers’ sharing intention towards the food content among Malaysian youths. The researcher employed a probability sampling technique using a random selection of respondents for the sampling. The findings showed that the level of perceived source credibility dimensions and followers’ sharing intention towards the food content among Malaysian youths was mostly moderate. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant relationship between social media influencers’ source credibility dimensions and followers’ sharing intention towards the food content among Malaysian youths. The study leverages a deeper understanding of social media influencers through the dimension of credibility and food-sharing intention and thus contributes to developing a more successful social media strategy to engage with netizens. © 2024, Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. All rights reserved.

References

Ahmad Tajuddin, S. N. A., Bahari, K. A., Al Majdhoub, F. M., Balraj Baboo, S., & Samson, H. (2022). The expectations of employability skills in the Fourth Industrial Revolution of the communication and media industry in Malaysia. Education and Training, 64(5), 662–680. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-06-2020-0171.

Ahmad Tajuddin, S. N. A., Bahari, K. A., Al-Majdhoub, F. M., Maliki, N. K., & Baboo, S. B. (2024). Developing and measuring an assessment instrument for media literacy among digital natives using Digital Intelligence (DQ) framework. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 16(2), 29–45. https://doi.org/10.23860/JMLE-2024-16-2-3.

AlFarraj, O., Alalwan, A. A., Obeidat, Z. M., Baabdullah, A., Aldmour, R., & Al-Haddad, S. (2021). Examining the impact of influencers’ credibility dimensions: Attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise on the purchase intention in the aesthetic dermatology industry. Review of International Business and Strategy, 31(3), 355-374. https://doi.org/10.1108/ribs-07-2020-0089.

Añaña, E., & Barbosa, B. (2023). Digital influencers promoting healthy food: The role of source credibility and consumer attitudes and involvement on purchase intention. Sustainability, 15(20), 15002. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152015002.

Arfan, A., Rizal, A. R. A., & Kawuryan, M. W. (2023). Komunikasi nilai-kepercayaan di media sosial: Analisis terhadap kesan pempengaruh di platform TikTok. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication, 39(4), 428–444. https://doi.org/nhdb.

Balaban, D. C., Szambolics, J., & Chirică, M. (2022). Parasocial relations and social media influencers’ persuasive power. Exploring the moderating role of product involvement. Acta Psychologica, 230, 103731. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103731.

Bernama. (2023, Dec 22). New youth age limit to enhance their maturity level - Experts. Astro Awani. https://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/new-youth-age-limit-enhancetheir-maturity-level-experts-451091.

Brooks, G., Drenten, J., & Piskorski, M. J. (2021). Influencer celebrification: How social media influencers acquire celebrity capital. Journal of Advertising, 50(5), 528-547. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2021.1977737.

Carneiro, B., & Costa, H. A. (2022). Digital unionism as a renewal strategy? Social media use by trade union confederations. Journal of Industrial Relations, 64(1), 26-51. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022185620979337.

Castillo-Abdul, B., Pérez-Escoda, A., & Núñez-Barriopedro, E. (2022). Promoting social media engagement via branded content communication: A fashion brands study on Instagram. Media and Communication, 10(1), 185-197. https://doi.org/gsnkzd.

Chae, J. (2018). Explaining females’ envy toward social media influencers. Media Psychology, 21(2), 246-262. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2017.1328312.

Chaihanchanchai, P., Anantachart, S., & Ruangthanakorn, N. (2024). Unlocking the persuasive power of virtual influencer on brand trust and purchase intention: A parallel mediation of source credibility. Journal of Marketing Communications. https://doi.org/nhdc.

Chetioui, Y., Benlafqih, H., & Lebdaoui, H. (2020). How fashion influencers contribute to consumers' purchase intention. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 24(3), 361-380. https://doi.org/10.1108/jfmm-08-2019-0157.

Cirisano, T. (2021, Dec 10). The creator economy has a sustainability problem. Midia Research. https://midiaresearch.com/blog/the-creator-economy-has-a-sustainability-problem.

Croes, E., & Bartels, J. (2021). Young adults’ motivations for following social influencers and their relationship to identification and buying behavior. Computers in Human Behavior, 124, 106910.

Cucu, E. (2023, April 10). [STUDY] Social media industry benchmarks 2023 reveal how TikTok's engagement rate is decreasing. Social Insider. http://thesocialinsider.org/index2.html.

Digital Marketing Institute. (2024, April 14). 20 Surprising influencer marketing statistics. https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/20-influencer-marketing-statistics-thatwill-surprise-you.

Erdogan, B. (1999). Celebrity endorsement: A literature review. Journal of Marketing Management, 15(4), 291-314. https://doi.org/10.1362/026725799784870379.

Fetter, S., Coyne, P., Monk, S., & Woodruff, S. J. (2023). An exploration of social media users’ desires to become social media influencers. Media Watch, 14(2), 200-216. https://doi.org/10.1177/09760911231159690.

García-León, R. A., & Teichert, T. (2023). Food and social media: A research stream analysis. Management Review Quarterly, 74, 145–1183. https://doi.org/gtnzpp.

García-Morales, V., Garrido-Moreno, A., Martín-Rojas, R., & Lockett, N. (2022). Entrepreneurship and digital transformation: Managing disruptive innovation in a changing environment. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 735503. https://doi.org/nhdh.

Garg, M., & Bakshi, A. (2024). Exploring the impact of beauty vloggers’ credible attributes, parasocial interaction, and trust on consumer purchase intention in influencer marketing. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02760-9.

George, C. (2020). How Charli D’Amelio became the face of TikTok. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/how-charli-dameliobecame-the-face-of-tiktok.

Gohain, M. (2021). Impact of Covid-19 on Malaysian e-commerce. International Journal on Recent Trends in Business and Tourism (IJRTBT), 5(4), 8-10. https://doi.org/nhdj.

Gross, J., & von Wangenheim, F. (2022). Influencer narketing on Instagram: Empirical research on social media engagement with sponsored posts. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 22(3), 289–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2022.2123724.

Harun, M. F., Fadly, F. V. A. M., Abdullah, N. N. N., & Albakry, N. S. (2023). The effects of religiosity in ads toward brand image. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication, 39(2), 119–135. https://doi.org/10.17576/JKMJC-2023-3902-07.

Hayes, M. (2022). Social media and inspiring physical activity during COVID-19 and beyond. Managing Sport and Leisure, 27(1-2), 14-21. https://doi.org/gg56j9.

Hovland, C. I. & Weiss, W., (1951). The influence of source credibility on communication effectiveness. Public Opinion Quarterly, 15(4), 635–650. https://doi.org/fs3zww.

HypeAuditor. (2021). State of influencer marketing 2021. https://hypeauditor.com/whitepapers/state-of-influencer-marketing-2021.

Istituto Marangoni. (2024, January 24). Who are the UAE influencers of 2024? Meet the 5 top Emirati creators. https://www.istitutomarangoni.com/en/maze35/industry/who-arethe-uae-influencers-of-2024-meet-the-5-top-emirati-creators.

Jang, W., Kim, J., Kim, S., & Chun, J. W. (2021). The role of engagement in travel influencer marketing: The perspectives of dual process theory and the source credibility model. Current Issues in Tourism, 24(17), 2416-2420. https://doi.org/gpsfwt.