Turning Tides: The Rise of Female Social Media Influencers and the End of Gender Congruency in Influencer Marketing [Poster]

2022 - International Communication Association Conference, Paris, France.

Abstract

This study investigates the rise of female opinion leadership in the form of social media influencers and its impact on influencer marketing, value for brands, and the consequent validity of deploying gender congruence when advertising through such influencers. A quantitative analysis of observed user behavior data from n=90,000 comments, n=90,000 followers, and n=9,000 posts from the top non-celebrity influencers on Instagram, found that gender dynamics on social media challenged traditional male dominance amongst opinion leadership positions. Importantly, it was revealed that not only are female opinion leaders more prevalent than their male counterparts, but they are also able to generate significantly higher user engagement, viral engagement, positive sentiment, and aspirational sentiment from both male and female followers; providing greater value for brands than their male counterparts. Furthermore, the long-standing theory and practice of gender congruence in advertising stood challenged on social media, as female influencers commanded an almost equal mixed-gender following and performed equally well when promoting male sex-role type products. This indicated that they could be utilized for promotions regardless of the sex-role type of the product, however, a high majority of the products promoted through them were still found to be female sex-role typed, indicating an underutilized opportunity for brands.