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Cited by 200Digital Marketing and Social MediaConsumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and IdentificationMarketing and Advertising Strategies

Gender effects in influencer marketing: an experimental study on the efficacy of endorsements by same- vs. other-gender social media influencers on Instagram

Hudders, Liselot, De Jans, Steffi·2022·International Journal of Advertising
DOI 10.1080/02650487.2021.1997455
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Abstract

Women largely dominate the influencer business, and previous studies often either have focused on female social media influencers, or else matched the influencer’s gender with the participant’s gender in experimental research, as it is assumed that same-gender endorsements may increase persuasion. However, no empirical research is available yet that examines how the influencer’s gender affects the persuasiveness of sponsored content posted by this influencer. Therefore, this paper reports on the results from an experimental study (N = 241) testing whether a sponsored post leads to more engagement and greater brand attitude when endorsed by a male vs. a female influencer, and whether the participants’ gender moderates this effect. The results revealed no main effects of an influencer’s gender, however, an interaction effect was found with participants’ gender. More specific, and in line with social identity theory, results suggest that women perceive themselves to be more similar to the female compared to the male influencer, leading to stronger feelings of parasocial interaction, which in turn positively affect brand attitude and post engagement. For men, no differences were found between a male and female influencer on brand attitude nor post engagement through perceived similarity and parasocial interaction. These findings’ implications will be discussed further.

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Crossref · 10.1080/02650487.2021.1997455

Cites

59 of 59 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Female users might be more likely to build parasocial interaction with female social media influencers, while male users might be more likely to build parasocial interaction with male social media influencers.

    “Female users might be more likely to build parasocial interaction with female SMIs, while male users might be more likely to build parasocial interaction with male SMIs (Hudders and Jans 2022).”

    From Influencer Marketing on Instagram: Empirical Research on Social Media Engagement with Sponsored Posts (2022) · cites this paper as Hudders and Jans 2022

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Related

Authors
Hudders, L., & De Jans, S.
Affiliations
  • Ghent University (BE)
  • Department of Communication Sciences, Ghent University
Corresponding author
Hudders, Liselot
ORCID
Hudders, Liselot
Venue
International Journal of Advertising
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2021-11-15
Volume
41
Issue
1
Pages
128-149
ISSN
  • 0265-0487 (ISSN-L)
  • 1759-3948
DOI
10.1080/02650487.2021.1997455
OpenAlex
W3212041623
Cited by
200
References
59
Citations by year
2026: 45 · 2025: 64 · 2024: 47 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 13
FWCI
31.51
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • International Journal of Advertising (publishedVersion)
  • Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) (publishedVersion)
  • Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Marketing and Social Media
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Marketing and Advertising Strategies
Keywords
influencer marketing, sponsored content, Instagram, parasocial interaction, social identity theory, perceived similarity, brand attitude, post engagement, moderating effect of gender, persuasion

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