"THIS IS MY FAVORITE BEAUTY PRODUCT DO YOU LIKE IT TOO?" - DIVA
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“This is my favorite beauty product… Do you like it too?” A quantitative study on the user's interaction on beauty brands' Instagram account and how the presence of an influencer effect it. En kvantitativ studie om användares interaktion på skönhetsmärkens Instagram konto och hur en influencer’s närvaro påverkar den. Fanny Evensson and Erika Jansson Faculty of Humanities and Social Science Media and Communication: Digital Media and Analysis 15 HP Michael Karlsson 9/6/2020
Abstract
Looking at earlier studies and previous research in influencer marketing and parasocial relations between
influencers and their followers, many of them are studying influencers in other countries such as Singapore
and not in Sweden. This is a research gap we want to fill, which is why this study is focusing on Swedish
influencers. By investigating the effects of interaction between consumer and producer might give a better
understanding of how marketing strategies can develop in the online environment by using the interactive
features of the social media platform Instagram.
For this study, the objects of analysis are three Swedish companies selling beauty products. One of the
purposes of this study is to illustrate what effect an influencer has on a company’s interaction in terms of likes
and comments on Instagram. Another one is to create new knowledge in this research field by studying a
specific industry, such as the beauty market. In light of previous research that confirms that influencer
marketing is reaching several markets and are quickly expanding, we want to examine how this new way of
marketing takes place among Swedish brands. Based on the purposes of the study, two research questions
have emerged:
➢ What effect does the participation of an influencer have on a company's Instagram account in terms
of interaction?
➢ What features on Instagram can be seen as influential factors on the interaction in terms of likes and
comments?
The analytical framework is based on the theory of parasocial interaction, which has the purpose to give an
understanding of how the relationship between influencers and followers are established in today’s social
media environments. In addition, we have used relevant previous research in perceived interconnectedness,
influencer marketing, and how the interaction online from the audiences have developed.
The empirical material that was examined in the study was content in forms of posts on the social media
platform Instagram. The objects of analysis are three Swedish beauty product companies, CAIA Cosmetics,
Indy Beauty, and Kicks. Two well-established influencers have created the first two companies; Bianca
Ingrosso is the creator of CAIA Cosmetics, and Therese Lindgren is the creator of Indy Beauty. The collected
data, 300 posts in total, has been analyzed through a quantitative content analysis.
The results from the study show that there is an extensive difference in interactions, in terms of likes and
comments on average, when the companies are posting content including the influencer, in contrast to the
opposite. Even if the number of posts with influencers is considerably low on two of the Instagram accounts
compared to posts without influencers, they still manage to achieve more interaction in both likes and
comments. For CAIA Cosmetics, the results show that interactions on average share approximately the same
amount of numbers throughout the analysis. For Indy Beauty, this was not the case. The number of comments
on average when not including Therese Lindgren was distinguishable higher compared to when including her.
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The reason behind this result might be a product-oriented campaign Indy Beauty launched at the beginning
of December 2019. The empirical material of this study included data from this specific time and caused an
effect on the results in this case. The campaign only included posts of products, and one of the requirements
to win the Christmas gift was to comment on the posts, which led to a higher number of comments of posts
without an influencer.
To summarize the analysis, the involvement of an influencer in its marketing strategy gives a certain effect in
interaction. However, it can also be efficient to apply the features of Instagram and launch product-oriented
campaigns on your social media platforms to gain interaction in terms of likes and comments among your
followers. Finally, it is difficult to generalize the conclusion since the outtake of this study only includes three
Swedish companies and their content.
Keywords: Influencer, interaction, parasocial interaction and beauty market.
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Sammanfattning
I tidigare studier och forskning inom influencer marketing och parasociala relationer mellan influencers och
deras följare, studeras influencers i andra länder såsom Singapore och inte i Sverige. Detta är ett
forskningsområde vi vill bidra till genom att i denna studie studera svenska influencers. Genom att undersöka
effekterna av interaktion mellan konsument och producent kan det ge en bättre förståelse för hur
marknadsstrategier kan utvecklas i dagens sociala mediemiljöer och dessutom genom användandet av de
interaktiva funktionerna på den sociala plattformen Instagram.
Ett av syftena med denna studie är att illustrera vilken effekt en influencer har på interaktionen när det gäller
likes och kommentarer på Instagram. En annan är att skapa ny kunskap inom detta forskningsområde genom
att studera en specifik marknad, till exempel skönhetsmarknaden. Mot bakgrund av tidigare forskning som
bekräftar att influencer marketing når flera marknader och snabbt expanderar, vill vi undersöka hur detta nya
sätt att marknadsföra sker bland svenska märken. Baserat på syftet med studien har två forskningsfrågor
framkommit:
➢ Vilken effekt har deltagandet av en influencer på företags Instagram-konto när det gäller interaktion?
➢ Vilka funktioner på Instagram kan ses som inflytelserika faktorer för interaktionen när det gäller likes
och kommentarer?
Det analytiska ramverket är baserat på teorin om parasocial interaktion, som har som syfte att ge en förståelse
för hur förhållandet mellan influencer och följare är etablerat i dagens sociala mediemiljöer. Dessutom har vi
använt relevant tidigare forskning i perceived interconnectedness, influencer marketing och hur interaktionen
från publiken har utvecklats online.
Det empiriska materialet som undersöktes i studien var innehåll i form av inlägg på den sociala
medieplattformen Instagram. Analysobjekten är tre svenska skönhetsproduktföretag, CAIA Cosmetics, Indy
Beauty och Kicks. Två väletablerade influencers har skapat de två första företagen; Bianca Ingrosso är
skaparen av CAIA Cosmetics, och Therese Lindgren är skaparen av Indy Beauty. De insamlade uppgifterna,
totalt 300 inlägg, har analyserats genom en kvantitativ innehållsanalys.
Resultaten från studien visar att det finns en omfattande skillnad i interaktioner, i termer av likes och
kommentarer i genomsnitt, när företagen publicerar innehåll inklusive influencers, i motsats till att inte
inkludera influencers. Även om antalet inlägg med influencers är avsevärt lågt på två av Instagram-kontona
jämfört med inlägg utan influencer lyckas de fortfarande uppnå mer interaktion i både likes och kommentarer.
För CAIA Cosmetics visar resultaten att interaktioner i genomsnitt delar ungefär samma antal siffror under
hela analysen. För Indy Beauty var detta inte fallet. Antalet kommentarer i genomsnitt när Therese Lindgren
inte inkluderades var högre jämfört med när hon inkluderades. Anledningen bakom detta resultat kan vara en
produkt-orienterad kampanj Indy Beauty lanserades i början av december 2019. Det empiriska materialet i
denna studie inkluderade data från denna specifika tidpunkt och påverkade i detta fall resultaten. Kampanjen
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inkluderade bara inlägg av produkter, och ett av kraven för att vinna en julklapp var att kommentera inlägget,
vilket ledde till ett högre antal kommentarer på inlägg utan influencern.
Slutsatsen av studien visar genom att involvera influencers i sin marknadsföringsstrategi kan ge en viss effekt
i följares interaktion. Det kan även vara effektivt att tillämpa funktionerna på Instagram och lansera produkt-
orienterade kampanjer på dina sociala medieplattformar för att öka interaktionen när det gäller likes och
kommentarer bland dina följare. Slutligen är det svårt att generalisera slutsatsen eftersom undersökningen från
denna studie endast innehåller tre svenska företag och deras innehåll.
Nyckelord: Influencer, interaktion, parasocial interaktion och skönhetsbranschen.
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Preface
This essay is written together by Fanny Evensson and Erika Jansson. We have both taken an equal
responsibility in terms of commitment and participation during the joint work process.
We want to thank our supervisor Susanne Almgren for her advice, knowledge, feedback, and support
throughout this semester and study.
We also want to thank each other for great collaboration during the work process!
Fanny Evensson & Erika Jansson
Karlstad, June 2020
6Table of Contents
1. Introduction 10
1.1 Research problem 12
1.2 Purposes of the study and research questions 12
1.3 Limitations of the study 13
1.4 Definitions 13
1.5 Disposition 14
2. Analytical framework 15
2.1 Parasocial interaction theory 15
2.2 Perceived interconnectedness 16
2.3 Interactive audience 17
2.4 The role of parasocial interaction in social media environments 18
2.5 Marketing through Instagram influencers 19
2.6 Influencer marketing in beauty markets 20
2.7 Spreadability of content online 21
2.8 Summary of analytical framework 22
3. Method and material 23
3.1 Quantitative content analysis 23
3.2 Methodological problems 24
3.3 Units of analysis, population and sample 24
3.4 Data collection & procedure 25
3.5 Operalization of variables 26
3.6 Variables 27
3.7 Validity 31
3.8 Reliability 32
3.9 Generalisability 34
3.10 Ethical research considerations 34
4. Results 36
4.1 Background of the results 36
4.2 Post of influencer 36
74.3 Hashtag of influencer 40
4.4 Tag of influencer in picture of post 42
4.5 Tag of influencer in text of post 44
4.6 Post of influencer together with products 46
4.7 Summary of results 48
5. Analysis and Discussion 49
5.1 Influencer in post effecting the user’s interaction 49
5.2 Other factors effecting the results 49
5.3 Transparency of the influencer 50
5.4 Different effects depending on the way the influencer is presented 50
5.5 Mainstream advertisements VS Influencer marketing 51
6. Conclusion 53
6.1 What effect does the participation of an influencer have on a company's Instagram account in terms of interaction?53
6.2 What features on Instagram can be seen as influential factors on the interaction in terms of likes and comments? 54
6.3 Overall conclusions 54
6.4 Further research 55
7. Implications for society 56
8Table of figures
Table 3:1 33
Table 4:1 37
Table 4:2 38
Table 4:3 40
Table 4:4 41
Table 4:5 42
Table 4:6 43
Table 4:7 44
Table 4:8 45
Table 4:9 46
Table 4:10 47
91. Introduction
The first chapter will begin by introducing the background of this study, it will give a presentation of the research problem, the
limitations of the study, and definitions.
Social platforms online such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube offer various infrastructures, where users
of social media can join social networks, read blogs, or watch videos (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). The
increasing availability of high-speed internet has led to creations of social networking sites such as Facebook
and Instagram (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). By investigating the effects of interaction between consumer and
producer might give a better understanding of how marketing strategies can develop in the online environment
by using the interactive features. The features of the social media platform allow the users to interact with
each other, show appreciation, and be supportive. This study focuses on Instagram, where the features likes
and comments are most common. Liking something is a way for the users to show support on the posts since it
is a positive feature in the form of a heart (Instagram, 2020). When users comment on the post, all comments
are collected in a comment section beneath the post. In the comment section, all users can read, like, and
comment on other comments, which makes it possible for the users to connect.
Subsequently, the features give the company a way of seeing their audience and measure what they like, which
can help them grow their business and reach a bigger audience (Green & Jenkins, 2020).
In Abidin and Ots’s (2016) study, one specific group of stakeholders in the transforming marketing landscape
is more focused on; influencers. The everyday Internet users who have become the new social media micro-
celebrity. They carry a persona that feels authentic to their audience, and their success establishes on the
management and growth of their personal brands that are grounded in a deep and intimate relationship with
their social media followers (Abidin & Ots, 2016).
As influencers can increase the number of followers on Instagram, they become valuable for marketing and
brand endorsers as influencers can produce adverts on their social media accounts. The influencers advertise
companies and, through their accounts, accumulate customers to the company in exchange for payments and
sponsored products (Abidin and Ots, 2016). By implementing influencer marketing to market products or
services of a company, one may reach an incredibly high amount of people that might represent a new market
for the company. De Veirman, Cauberghe, and Hudders (2017) mention that companies have been
discovering this type of marketing strategy recently and understood the impact one specific influencer might
have on his/hers followers on for example social media platforms. Companies who target the right influencer
can gain high credibility, grow their social media audience, and have an advantage within influencer marketing,
which for an e-commerce business can be crucial (De Veirman, Cauberghe, & Hudders, 2017).
Previous research shows that influencer marketing has proliferated the last couple of years (Vettese, 2019),
which has led us to investigate if the presence of an influencer has any effect in interaction on Instagram.
Interaction for this study is some of the features of Instagram, such as likes and comments. What lay behind
10the action to interact then? Horton and Wohl’s (1956) theory parasocial interaction (PSI) defines as the illusion
of a seemingly face-to-face relationship with the performer that mass media allows. It describes the feeling of
an intimate connection that an audience member feels towards a performer in media. It is one-sided,
nondialectical, and only controlled by the performer (Horton & Wohl, 1956). The more the performer adjusts
the performance towards the supposed response, the more the audience makes the predictable response, and
this creates an illusion of intimacy (Horton & Wohl, 1956).
According to Abidin (2015), Horton and Wohl (1956) oppose that the parasocial interaction is the created
one-sided relation that mass media produces with media personalities. However, Abidin (2015) implies that
this is what the influencer does as well when mediating intimacy through social media platforms, though they
are using another structural way of doing it. Abidin's (2015) communication model perceived interconnectedness
looks at how the intimate relationship between influencers and their audience is created. This model refers to
the interactive features that social media platforms allow, which makes it easier for influencers and audiences
to have a tangible give- and take relationship. Since social media platforms allow the influencer to control their
self-presentation and interactions with their audience directly, it extends beyond the PSI in some ways (Abidin,
2015).
We are interested in studying how Swedish beauty brands relate to the theory of PSI (Horton & Wohl, 1956)
and to examine what effect it can generate on the interaction of the companies' Instagram account. This
research area is interesting to investigate since influencers are a new way of marketing beauty products on
social media (Gerdeman, 2019). It is also essential to study this area since the online environment has changed
marketing strategies (Vettese, 2019), and this analysis can be applied to social media platforms. Companies
can apply this knowledge when developing their marketing strategies to reach their target group in the right
way to get the highest amount of impact. We want to fill a research gap where analysis shows influencer's
impact on the beauty industry by looking at how much interaction is generated on social media platforms. Can
a pattern in the interaction be detected by looking at an influencer's presence?
Abidin (2015) reports that since the influencers attract a considerable number of followers on social media,
the competition for the consumer's attention is tough. Influencers are improving their way of marketing,
specifically through Instagram, where they can market their products and services with high-quality photos
and visual effects, making the consumers have an at the fingertip experience with their content. Many
consumers reject traditional marketing forms, such as TV and magazine ads (Abidin, 2018). This study chooses
to analyze the social media network Instagram since it is the second most popular social media network in
Sweden (Internetstiftelsen, 2019) and because of how influencer marketing has increased on the platform
(Schomer, 2019). The global spending in influencer marketing has been rising from $2 billion in 2017 to about
$8 billion in 2019. It is estimated to be $15 billion by 2022 (Vettese, 2019).
111.1 Research problem
Looking at earlier studies and previous research in influencer marketing and parasocial relations between
influencers and their followers, many of them are studying influencers in other countries such as Singapore
and not in Sweden. This is the research gap we want to fill, which is why this study is focusing on Swedish
influencers on Instagram. For this study, the objects of analysis are three Swedish companies selling beauty
products.
With this study, we want to contribute to research by comparing Instagram accounts to see if presenting
influencers for marketing reasons can make a difference in interactions. Marketing beauty products on social
media have expanded rapidly in the last couple of years, which makes it relevant to study this market and its
influencers. It is relevant since it fills a gap in the research field yet also relevant for companies in this industry
to understand the importance of the relationship between an influencer and its followers to be able to make
an effect and reach the company's marketing goals.
1.2 Purposes of the study and research questions
One of the purposes of this study is to illustrate what effect an influencer has on a company’s interaction on
Instagram. Another is to create new knowledge in this research field by studying a specific industry, such as
the beauty market. In light of previous research that confirms that influencer marketing is reaching several
markets and are quickly growing, we want to examine how influencer marketing is shown for Swedish
companies.
For us to examine this, an analysis of three Instagram accounts will be conducted by applying a quantitative
content analysis. We will study content from each Instagram account and measure the features in forms of
likes and comments.
Based on the purposes of the study, a research question emerged:
➢ What effect does the participation of an influencer have on a company's Instagram account in terms
of interaction?
During the process of conducting this study, we came across the different features that the social media
platform Instagram allows, such as tag and hashtag, which can generate interactions as well. Subsequently, a
second research question emerged:
➢ What features on Instagram can be seen as influential factors on the interaction in terms of likes and
comments?
121.3 Limitations of the study
Instagram is just one of several social media platforms available in Sweden for influencer marketing. Facebook,
Twitter, and YouTube are other popular networking sites. Instagram is the second most popular social media
in Sweden (Internetstiftelsen, 2019) and will be the only object of analysis for this study.
Another limitation is the difference in the timeline of each account's content. It may differ in seasons,
depending on how active the account is with posting content on Instagram. The collection of data will start
from the same date yet not finish within the same month, which can have an effect on the results.
1.4 Definitions
Influencer
Young people that monetise their lives, someone that often is an ordinary internet user but has a relatively
high number of followers on social media. Influencers show their lives and lifestyles together with highly
personal promotions of products and services, for a fee (Abidin, 2015).
Interaction
In this study the interaction refers to features Instagram allows such as liking and commenting posts
(Instagram, 2020).
Advertorials
Advertorials are the advertisements that are written as editorial opinions (Abidin, 2016). In this study it refers
to the posts with commercial and sponsored content posted by influencers on their social media accounts.
Posts
A post in this study refers to a picture, video or an InstagramTV posted on Instagram. The posts are all
gathered as a timeline on a specific feed that is connected to the company's account (Instagram, 2020).
Followers
The definition of followers in this study refers to the people that use the social media platform feature
“follow”. It allows someone to connect their account with another one's account to show support and get
updates on the account in order to interact continuously (BigCommerce, 2020).
CAIA Cosmetics/ Bianca Ingrosso
CAIA Cosmetics is a beauty product brand. It was created by Bianca Ingrosso who is a blogger, social
influencer and singer. She has 346 000 subscribers on YouTube (Youtube, 2020) and 1 100 000 followers on
Instagram (Instagram, 2020). The products can only be bought on their E-commerce store, caiacosmetics.se
(CAIA Cosmetics, 2020).
13Indy Beauty/ Therese Lindgren
Indy Beauty is a cruelty-free and vegan beauty brand that is owned and operated by Therese Lindgren, who is
a YouTuber that fights for animal rights and mental illness. She is one of Sweden's biggest YouTubers with 1
000 400 subscribers (YouTube, 2020) and an Instagram Influencer with over 900 000 followers. Therese has
won awards for YouTuber of the year, Business of the year and has released non-fiction books that became
best-selling 2016 (Indy Beauty, 2020).
Kicks
Kicks is one of the biggest beauty chains in the Nordic countries, it was formed in 1991 and they now have
250 stores in Sweden, Norway and Finland which they combine with an E-commerce store. Their staff are
trained beauty professionals, make-up artists and beauticians (Kicks, 2020).
1.5 Disposition
Altogether, the essay consists of seven chapters, of which the first one is the introduction. In chapter two, the
theories and previous research on which the study is based on are presented. In chapter three, the chosen
method of the study to help investigate the research area and help fulfill the purpose and answer the research
questions of the study is presented. The variables, operalization, the collecting procedure, ethical issues of the
study, and what makes the study reach high reliability and validity, is also presented in chapter three. Chapter
four presents the results of the collected empirical material in tables. Subsequently, a discussion and an analysis
of the results are presented in chapter five. In chapter six, the conclusions of the study are presented and also
suggestions for further research. The essay finish with chapter seven, where implications for society are
presented. Subsequently, references and appendixes of code scheme, code instructions, and other tables are
displayed.
142. Analytical framework
This section will explain theories and previous research on parasocial interaction and its development in the social media
environment, influencer marketing and the development of active audiences online.
2.1 Parasocial interaction theory
This study applies Horton and Wohl's (1956) theory about parasocial interaction (PSI) to identify what
patterns in interactions of influencer marketing on social media can be found by studying Instagram accounts.
PSI is the illusion of a face-to-face relationship a member of the audience has with the performer (Horton &
Wohl, 1956). The interaction is characterized by being one-sided and controlled by the performer who adjusts
the performance to get the supposed response of the audience. The PSI is comparable to and, in many ways,
resembles the social interaction that happens between people in real life. The interaction encourages the
audience to feel a sense of intimacy with the performer as it would towards a real person. However, the image
of the performer that is presented is, to some extent, a construct with little resemblance to the performer's
private character. The private life of the performer is not to be made an absolute secret since it creates an
interest for the audience but it should be made into an acceptable facade that the audience finds desirable and
interesting (Horton & Wohl, 1956). The influencer who is the performer has the control over the relationship
but there are ways in which the follower can make their feelings known to the performers and technicians of
the show. Whoever finds the experience unsatisfying has the option to withdraw, which in this case means
unfollow the account on Instagram (Horton & Wohl, 1956). It is argued that what the media persona offers
above all is a continuing relationship and that the appearance is regular and integrated into the routines of
daily lives. Those who follow, share a small part of the performer's public life. During the time, the devotees
will come to believe that he knows the performer (Horton & Wohl, 1956).
PSI can be recognized as the relationship one can develop with media personalities on TV when, for example,
the viewer agrees with the TV-host. The more the performer seems to adjust his performance to the supposed
response of the audience, the more the audience tends to make the response anticipated (Horton & Wohl,
1965). Since influencers can adapt their content on Instagram towards their followers and the followers can
in return like and comment to support them, the give and take actions are related to what is needed in a PSI.
Furthermore, by having a back and forth interaction in the comment section or when the “ask a question”
feature is used a give and take interaction is also made (Horton & Wohl, 1956). Further on, this study will
apply the communication model perceived interconnectedness by Abidin (2015), who argues is a model that
describes the intimate relation that goes beyond PSI between an influencer on social media and their audience.
152.2 Perceived interconnectedness
The internet allows social platforms where people, often young, monetize their personal lives by posting and
sharing content about themselves to their followers (Abidin, 2015). Some of them have created accounts so
that many people want to follow and interact with, making them attractive for commercial use. Abidin (2015)
mentions in her article that she conceptualizes these internet microcelebrities as influencers regardless of the
platform they are using. Through the textual and visual narration that social media platforms allow, these
ordinary users can accumulate a large number of followers just by showing their personal lives and lifestyles.
At the same time, they can integrate and market adverts and commercial content into their account for a fee.
The industry is highly personalized, as the promotion of products and services the influencer promotes are
personally experienced. Previous research mentions that influencers can be seen as celebrities of the internet
(Abidin, 2018). A traditional celebrity, as Abidin (2018) argues, is someone that is associated with an
achievement, talent, or position. Nevertheless, having fame is not necessarily tied to these sources. When the
public takes an interest in a person for their personal lives rather than for what they have accomplished, they
stop being just a public figure and become a celebrity with a public persona. The study objects that have been
chosen for this study are not only influencers, since they have extended their careers to reality shows, TV, and
have become entrepreneurs with their beauty brands. This makes a gap from previous research since they are
not only mainstream celebrities or influencers; they are a mix between these two categories.
Abidin (2015) refers to Horton and Wohl's (1956) work on PSI and argues that influencers use and mobilize
intimacy in different ways on their accounts and towards their followers, which the author connects to a model
of communication between the influencer and followers, called perceived interconnectedness. Influencers have now
gone beyond the web, and their impact and status have even been recognized by the mainstream industries,
which is challenging the media space where regular celebrities and public figures once were dominant. A
difference compared to celebrities, is, however, that the influencers refer to their audience as followers instead
of fans to avoid the hierarchical naming that "fans" implies. The influencers want to maintain the intimacy
they have with their followers, which they do by emphasizing that they are ordinary people and not above
their followers. The intimacy that plays out between influencers and followers is understood as to how familiar
and close the followers feel to an influencer. It seems to be possible that this intimacy can be motivated by
commerce as long as the followers feel close and attached to the influencer even if they are critically aware of
the situation (Abidin, 2015).
This critical awareness goes both ways as the influencers seem to be aware of the underlying profit-orientation
behind their actions, but even though they have an underlying commercial interest, they also experience
personal attachments toward their followers. PSI is constructed to be more theatrical and has a production
backend; in contrast, the perceived interconnectedness is a more democratic infrastructure where influencers
and followers produce and shape the conversation amongst each other (Abidin, 2015). As Abidin (2015)
claims, influencers can interact with their audience in a more intimate way, which creates an illusion that they
16are connected, familiar, and closer with the audience. Unlike mainstream celebrities, influencers are ordinary
internet users that happen to have many followers. That is why this study explores, with the help of perceived
interconnectedness, how this intimacy between the audience and influencer is used commercially.
In this study, two of the companies that are created by influencers that are both entrepreneurs and have
extended careers from being influencers on social media are investigated. The reason for this is that their
audience originates from different mediums and can be seen as expecting different types of intimacies and
connections towards the performers. Previous research has shown how audiences are influenced by PSI
(Labrecque, 2014), and we believe that this study can fill a research gap by analyzing how the PSI is related to
influencer marketing on social media in Sweden.
2.3 Interactive audience
In this section, previous research will be looked at to explain what an active audience means. It explores
interactivity and how this phenomenon enables the audience to be active, which makes it easier for them to
become fans. The negative effects of the interactive platforms are further discussed, and what problems it
brings to the fan-created communities (Olsson, 2013). With interactive media, audience behaviour has
changed. They are no longer expected or seen as being only able to recover the author's meanings and
reworking it to make it fit in the context of lived experiences. Interactivity makes it possible for audiences to
create new texts from the original stories, viewing a Tv-series and seeing it as a springboard for conversation
and debate among the fans (Olsson, 2013). Interactivity makes the media gain resonance and significance.
How the media has evolved, allows social media to be viewed as a tool for community formation, as online
communities strengthen the offline ties of fandoms (Olsson, 2013). Fans can now, thanks to being online,
discuss their favourite TV-series, film or idol in real-time as they are broadcasted (Duffett, 2013). The
characteristics of social media therefore means that a new audience can be formed. As Duffett (2013)
mentions, the new pace of interaction that is possible between the members of the audience, means that
practices of the media industry had to change and adapt with it.
Users can now upload, download, stream and share content (Duffett, 2013). They can take part in a new way
and interact with the media content, producers and stars. Often the fans know more about a character or TV-
series than the actors or people related to the actual production of the content, and the development of new
media, create possibilities of new forms of fandom that are even more involved (Hills, 2002).
To what extent has the internet transformed fan cultures? The internet has placed the power of fan activity
and distribution of media content in the hands of the audience itself, now having the possibility of accessing
the information themselves and even communicating directly with the performers and producers (Duffett,
2013). However, Duffet (2013) argues that a complicated aspect of the active audience is that the online
communities, in some cases without the audience intention, make a profit for site owners and sponsors
(Duffet, 2013). Platforms often hide that all user activity, whether it is active by posting, commenting or
17passive observation, contributes to the platform or site’s economy. This means that platform architecture
pushes users towards being active and connecting, to create groups and communities (Olsson, 2013).
2.4 The role of parasocial interaction in social media environments
Previous research has shown how PSI can be recognized from traditional mediums such as TV (Horton &
Wohl, 1956). However, digitalization is changing the media audience's behavior and how they interact with
digital devices. This creates a new field for researchers to study since the shape and form of PSI might have
changed over the last period of time. Abidin (2015) argues that because the social media platforms allow the
performer to interact with the audience in more ways than what other medium has allowed, influencers can
create and have an even more intimate bond with the audience than other performers can. Which is one of
the reasons why marketing on social media is an important subject to investigate together with PSI. As Abidin
(2015) states, the audience on social media feel a more intimate and trustworthy relationship towards
influencers than they do with mainstream celebrities. Their interaction with the influencer is more organic and
similar to being friends with someone (Abidin, 2015). Even though TV and magazine are mediums that have
commercials of celebrities, they tend to be less credible, since the consumers want to ask questions and get
personal responses which a social media platform allows for. At the same time, the marketing of the product
gives the consumer a feeling of being a regular person. Subsequently, the established beauty brands are losing
their credibility as they cannot offer the same direct-to-consumer relation without using influencers’ perceived
intimate relationship with the consumers (Gerdeman, 2019).
Labrecque's (2014) study examines how to foster consumer-brand relationships in social media environments
and what role PSI has in it. Labrecque (2014) also brings up the importance of having active social media
accounts for companies since social media platforms are a massive part of people's everyday life. The study
shows how historical theoretical frameworks can be related to today's online environment and how companies
can use these theories in order to build relationships with their customers (Labrecque, 2014). The theory that
the scholar is referring to is PSI. It describes as being "used to help explain a brand's success in developing
strong ties with consumers through social media and provides insights on how to preserve intimate
relationship feelings in light of the increasing movement towards response automation" (Labrecque, 2014, p.
135).
So, how can PSI be placed within an online environment? Since it is not limited to traditional mass media, it
can be shown through messages online that are designed to bring the customers closer to a specific brand or
celebrity, or as Labrecque uses the term media persona. (Labrecque, 2014). While social media can be a
successful choice for marketing, Labrecque shows some negative aspects of the automation of messages and
their outcomes. Through technological developments, it is now possible to have direct two-way
communication between the media persona and its audience. However, it might end up being a one-way
conversation to the audiences since many companies use pre-written scripts, and the responses are automated,
which causes a loss of the two-way communication (Labrecque, 2014). She says that companies "can even
18scan message content to inform dynamically generated responses" (Labrecque, 2014, p. 136), which makes it
harder for the audience to know the difference between what is real or not. They might question their loyalty
to the company.
Labrecque’s (2014) study can be used as a foundation for companies who value communication very highly
and want to reduce the distance between them and their customers. Continuing with the example of messages,
Labrecque (2014) discusses two message components that ought to be transferred from traditional settings of
parasocial interaction to the online environment. The first one is “the perceived interactivity of the persona
with the viewer” (Labrecque, 2014, p. 136) and can be seen through signs of messages that indicate
responsiveness and listening. The second message component is openness in communication, which imitates
the brand's self-disclosure, and can be seen through the content of the message (Labrecque, 2014). Research
shows that what makes the perceived interactivity as efficient as possible, is that the speed of the response
from the brand is crucial. Basically, how quick they are to respond to their customers but also that they
communicate the most accurate message that matches the customer's needs. In this case, the term interactivity
does not focus on the technological features of the social media account, but on the content and symbolic of
the message as this is what really matters (Labrecque, 2014).
PSI can be related to the feelings one might have for a real relationship since it involves revealing personal or
private information about you, which builds trust and intimacy (Labrecque, 2014). Sharing this information
creates openness between the participants, even if it is only the media persona who is sharing; it still feels for
the audience as if they have something special together. Research also shows that audiences who engage in
PSI feel the desire to learn about personal details of the persona, and that is similar to having a real relationship
(Labrecque, 2014). The power of the Internet has changed how communication looks like, and it provides
consumer-brand relationships with the ability to grow and to succeed (Labrecque, 2014).
2.5 Marketing through Instagram influencers
Influencers can be seen as the popular kids in school, as they are more likely to be found as more likable and
popular based on their high number of followers (De Veirman, Cauberghe & Judders, 2017). Since they have
a high number of followers, they are perceived as tastemakers, and as brands need to evolve with the new
media, they focus more on these influencers as they can promote their products among their followers who
subsequently can spread it further. With the new media, people are rejecting the traditional media and paid to
advertise, and the influencers make the message more genuine, authentic, and credible (De Veirman,
Cauberghe & Judders, 2017). However, even though brands that want to stay relevant need to be active on
social media and use influencers in their marketing, they are up for a challenge when the brand needs to
identify and select the right influencers. The influencers need to have a substantial impact on the brand's target
group and be able to influence them to become consumers. A high number of followers can result in a more
extensive reach of consumers, but to increase the impact of the message, the influencers need to be likable,
19credible and be seen as an opinion leader by the audience. This means that there is a challenge for brands and
producers to find suitable influencers that can, through their social media channels, be both representatives
for the brand but also be able to influence their follower's attitudes, decisions, and behaviors. This means that
influencer marketing from the beginning is based out of brands identifying and targeting who is an influential
user (De Veirman, Cauberghe & Judders, 2017).
2.6 Influencer marketing in beauty markets
In Gerdeman’s (2019) article, it is discussed how influencers are changing the marketing of beauty products
online, and a study made by a Harvard Business School MBA graduate named Alessia Vettese is presented.
The article starts with a segment where the British makeup guru Katie Jane Hughes shows beauty products
for her 336 000 followers on Instagram and gives beauty tips on how to apply the products. Hughes has a
YouTube channel with tutorials where her followers can see her applying all the beauty products from the
start with a scrubbed clean face, with the same spots that one might recognize by themselves, until the last
finishing product. She is giving her best beauty advice and sharing different experiences in the video, which
makes it feel like a conversation more than an advertisement. She is not only talking and creating a bond with
her followers, but she is also selling the beauty products she uses. Gerdeman (2019) is saying, Hughes is not
the typical celebrity IT-girl, yet her social media posts convert many followers into customers, which increases
the selling of products.
Gerdeman (2019) mentions that new research shows that influencers like Hughes are changing beauty
marketing on social media, especially on Instagram and YouTube. To get the consumer’s attention nowadays,
influencers have found the winning concept of packaging photos and videos. According to Vettese (2019),
consumers tend to think that the traditional forms of marketing like TV commercials and magazine ads are
unmodern and give less credibility and less trustworthy compared to the new way of marketing on social
media. Vettese (2019) also discusses that the personal relationship between influencers and consumers is a
much more critical aspect compared to before, and that is why people want to go online and get advice instead
of reading it in magazines. The consumers value the option to ask questions to the influencers and get personal
responses back (Vettese, 2019). Many of the well-established brands face a difficult time ahead with changing
the way they advertise their products. Vettese (2019) also mentions that the global spending of influencer
marketing has skyrocketed in recent years. For example, the beauty giant Estée Lauder has revealed that 75%
of its marketing budget is on influencers.
In the article by Gerdeman (2019), the mantra is “consumers listen to influencers, not company ads” which is
central throughout the text. In Vettese’s (2019) study, 520 women were surveyed and said that Instagram was
the social media they visited the most and used daily by 82% of the respondents. Vettese (2019) says that the
interface and features of Instagram and the ability to get direct responses through comments, which makes
the communication easy are parameters to being the most used social media. Many of the videos influencers
20post are focusing on selling products which the surveyed women are aware of. There is a difference in about
half of the respondents who would purchase from an influencer ad, and the other half is not too sure about
it. The fact that it feels trustworthy from the influencer's perspective matters and also that the influencer is
clear about whether they are being paid or not to promote the products. Vettese (2019) agrees with what
Abidin (2015) discusses in her article, which is the importance of creating and maintaining a relationship
between the influencer and its followers. Vettese (2019) says that consumers are drawn to influencers with the
same skin tone or same skin sensitivities as themselves and are paying close attention to what decisions the
influencers make and “the slightest slipup can jeopardize their sense of trust”. Another sign of legitimacy is if
the influencer can give negative critique to products if they do not like it, which is appreciated by consumers.
This fosters the relationship and the reputation of the influencer if they can show honesty and transparency.
Vettese (2019) advises not only beauty companies, but to other industries as well, that they, for example, need
to make active decisions in what social media channels suit their audience to keep it updated and modern. Just
as other scholars (Abidin, 2015) state, the relationship, and trust towards influencers are one of the essential
parts of your marketing strategy.
2.7 Spreadability of content online
Lastly, the interactive media and the world wide web has not only changed the way the audience behave and
interact. It has also changed the producers' way of marketing and creating. It is now crucial to create texts that
can be portable as audiences do not want to be stuck in one place. It has to be created so that it is easy for
consumers to spread it and circulate it, and since the new media allows content to "stumbled upon" by new
audiences, it should be relevant to multiple audiences (Jenkins, Ford, & Green, 2013).
Subsequently, when having spreadable content, which is essential for producers who want their content to
grow and become viral, it is also essential to be able to measure the interaction and be aware of what happens
with the content. As argued by Green and Jenkins (2011), a new consumer within the media landscape is a
new producer; with the transforming audience, the way they are valued and understood is changing. The
audience is said to have a new value where they no longer are only part of the end of the one-way
communication chain. They still have an essential work as audiences and too not only be producers that they
are now said to become. However, since the audience is aware that they now can be part of and contribute to
meaningful participation, it is argued that there are still those who only listen and watch without actively
participating. However, they do it differently with knowledge in the process.
With social media platforms and the world wide web, every move a user does is logged. Even if it is by an
inactive member, the actions are generating data, which is useful when producers want to drive up popularity
online. Subsequently, it is also a downside to the audience being active and having the opportunity to spread
content. All are now distributors and appraisers, which means that when a large number of people are actively
passing along content, the spreadability quickly gets large. However, for content that is not suitable to be
spread, this is not a good thing. However, by using the technical affordances of spreadability, the social
21networks, and the diverse motives that make people share content, the producers can make their content
become more spreadable than others (Green & Jenkins, 2011).
Green and Jenkins (2011) use the example of the popular television show American Idol, and Britains got the
talent to explain the purpose of using the spreadability online. They produce content that can be used on
different media platforms and interests those who casually watch it by glancing as well as the dedicated
watchers who glaze at the content. If the producers want their content to be relevant and spreadable, they
must take into consideration that users only share content that they think is interesting enough and easy to
share on their favourite platform (Green & Jenkins, 2011).
2.8 Summary of analytical framework
When companies such as the ones within the beauty market use influencers, they can commercialize on the
intimate relationship that the influencer has with its audience. It is crucial for companies that want to reach
young consumers to use social media platforms as a marketing tool, since influencers have changed the
industry to become more intimate and the consumer wants a face-to-face experience (Abidin, 2018). Previous
research shows that the relation between influencers and their audience can be seen as even more profound
than the PSI since the influencer can interact with their followers on a more intimate level. As Abdin (2015)
argues, with PSI, the performer is more controlled than influencers are. The features of Instagram allow
influencers to interact and regularly share an aspect of their personal life (Abidin, 2015). Some people have a
more significant impact on others and that even before the internet, audiences sought a relationship with
performers (Abidin, 2018).
This study will focus on how the presence of an influencer has an impact on the interaction, which will be
done by looking at companies' usage of influencers in their social media strategies. Research clearly shows that
the audience members can feel a connection towards the performer and since Instagram allows features that
contribute to an even more intimate relationship between the performer and the audience, all different sub-
chapters in this study are linked to each other.
Since research has primarily been focused on the relationship between the audience and the performer it will
be interesting to see how a third party, in this case, the beauty company, is achieving interaction on their
account by using an influencer’s presence. To be able to answer the purpose of the study, relevant theories
have been selected that will further help explain how the relationship between a performer and an audience
can be used for marketing purposes on Instagram. This study will look further into this development of
automation and see how it can be both used in a negative way and in a positive way. It depends on how the
company works with it and how much they value their two-way conversation with their customers.
223. Method and material
This section will explain the reason for choosing a quantitative content analysis as the methodology approach for this study, the
methodological problems that can be encountered by using that method, the population and sample, the collecting process,
operalization of the chosen variables that were used for the code scheme and a discussion of the study’s relation to validity, reliability,
generalizability and ethics.
3.1 Quantitative content analysis
To answer the research question, “What effect on the interaction on a company’s Instagram account can be
found through the participation of an influencer in the posts?”, this study uses quantitative content analysis
to find patterns in posts on Instagram. If you are interested in media content and want to achieve a study
within that research field, to find out to what extent, what similarities or differences exist or to find patterns
in media content, quantitative content analysis is the most suitable method to use (Karlsson & Johansson,
2019). Media content has been produced and analyzed in centuries. Karlsson and Johansson (2019) mention
the book “Content analysis in communication research” by Bernard Berelson from 1952 as the starting point
in the modern age for the method. Content analysis and its foundations are still relevant and up to date. For
example, for this study, it is still meaningful to study and to quantify the manifest content, manifest content
such as sentences, letters, and images that are published through various forms of media channels differ from
the qualitative research methods, that usually put more weight into the context and the researcher’s
interpretation of the content (Karlsson & Johansson, 2019). We seek to answer how companies are presenting
influencers and what effect it might have on the interaction and not the feelings or thoughts behind the
interaction. Since the study objects of this study are Instagram profiles, a quantitative method such as content
analysis is the most suitable method to use. If the study’s direction were toward understanding the reasons
why an influencer is being presented and how it stimulates the feelings, a qualitative method such as interviews
would be more suitable.
According to Karlsson and Johansson (2019), to quantitatively media content is essential to translate the
content’s linguistic and formal expressions into figures to describe various patterns and make general
conclusions. How often and how much something is occurring, also called frequency, is a central part of the
foundations of the method and can help answer the research question. Since the study is starting from a
quantification of the manifest content, specific demands characterize the collection of the data; it should be
collected systematically and objectively. Systematic collection of material means that all relevant material shall have
an equal chance of being included in the study and also to be evaluated from the same definitions and models,
which is the codebook and code instructions. Objectively in this context, is that the interpretation of the content
shall be the same regardless of who is coding the data. One example of keeping a study objective is to conduct
an inter-coder reliability test between the researchers before the actual coding. As discussed earlier, the
intention is to eliminate the impact from the particular researcher in quantitative content analysis in contrast
23to qualitative research where the researcher’s interpretation is central. Quantitative content analysis makes it
possible to process a high volume of data, which enables one to find comparisons over time and between
different mediums and, therefore, offer potential to generalize the results from the research to a larger
population (Karlsson & Johansson, 2019).
3.2 Methodological problems
One problem with using quantitative content analysis as a method for this study is the risk of human error in
the analysis process when coding the variables since it is two persons who will collect the data and not a
computer. Karlsson and Johansson (2019) mention this problem as one of the critiques of the method. They
argue that the main focus of the method is to get an (objective) interpretation, which can be problematic since
people are interpreting texts differently (Karlsson & Johansson, 2019). That is why the variables of this study
are required to be as descriptive as possible and easy to understand for the researchers.
3.3 Units of analysis, population and sample
The selection for this study is three different Instagram accounts that share a common interest in selling beauty
products. The chosen accounts are caiacosmetics, indybeautysweden, and kicks.se.
The reason for choosing the three specific accounts was to strengthen the connection between the parasocial
interaction and the influencer. We choose two big Swedish influencers that both have created brands within
the beauty business, Bianca Ingrosso, that is the creator behind CAIA Cosmetics, and Therese Lindgren that
is the creator behind Indy Beauty. These two units were chosen since they both have created brands and
careers successfully outside of their influencer careers, which makes it interesting to study to see how much
influence they have on their brands. By choosing them, we can see if their audience interacts more when they
are present on the companies Instagram, which also makes it easier for us to see if there is a difference in
interaction depending on if it is the influencer behind the brand that is present in the posts or if another
person generates more interaction. Kicks.se was chosen as a brand to compare the brands created by
influencers with since kicks are one of the Nordic countries’ biggest beauty brands (Kicks, 2020) it is suitable
to compare with. The brand is highly known and can generate interaction without using influencers.
The accounts were created at different times and, therefore, do not share the same amount of posts in total.
Kicks were created in August 2015 with up to this day, 2738 posts, CAIA Cosmetics was created in October
2018 with up to this day, 740 posts, and Indy Beauty was created in January 2018 with up to this day 304 posts
in total. The object of analysis will be a hundred posts posted from each Instagram account, and the sample
size will be three hundred posts in total. In order to gather information about the interaction in posts, a
selection has been made to start analyzing the posts. The selection made is a total of the most current
Instagram posts.
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