Effectiveness of Social Media Influencer Marketing on the Consumer Buying Intention: The Moderating Role of Materialism

Abstract: Influencer marketing on social media has recently drawn a significant amount of attention. The success of the company can be defined in many ways, especially considering social media's enormous popularity, networking opportunities, and online communities. This study investigates how customer purchase intentions are impacted by influential social media marketing characteristics. Another significant achievement in our research is the moderating impact of materialism, which is connected to source reliability, desirability, product compatibility, and message transference. Self-administered internet survey is performed for the sample of Instagram users (N=310) and was used in a quantitative study. Information was gathered from an online poll involving participants who made purchases after viewing influencer-produced Instagram page adverts. By analyzing data and employing measurement models, and structural modes, this research is successful in creating a path model. There is a constructive and noteworthy bond between source reliability, desirability, product compatibility, and message transference. Additionally, there is the positive role of the moderator which is materialism. The investigation revealed that influencer marketing techniques need to be adjusted based on individual characteristics, influencer kinds, and personal traits. The practical and conceptual implications of these observations are covered in this paper.

 Keywords: Influencer Marketing; Social Media Influencers; Materialism; Consumer Purchase Intention; Instagram Users