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The impact of information on consumers' purchase intentions has been known for quite some time. Ever since the idea of consulting family members and friends regarding their purchase, and with the evolution of the Tv and the Internet, consumers have reached a new level of access to products' related content. So they can be informed and evaluate purchases and share their experiences not only with people close to them but also with an endless number of current and potential consumers. Moreover, such a way of content sharing between people had primarily been formed in the verbal and textual form, more precisely verbally in face-to-face interaction and textually through the Internet, all to serve the purpose of informing other consumers about brands. Researchers have long acknowledged and investigated such a way of content exchanging under the well-known topics of word of mouth (WOM) and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) and their influence on consumers' purchase intentions. With the constant evolution of the Internet, a new communication channel has emerged known as social media platforms. A way of connecting with people worldwide so that they can reach each other all the time, regardless of any barriers. An area of interest that academics have found fascinating in investigating eWOM and its impact on consumers' choices. Such an exchange of words over social media applications can reshape consumers' intentions regarding their potential purchases. However, as we live in a world where technology evolution never stops, these social media applications have reached different and more exciting features, as users not only can interact verbally but now have the ability to interact visually via different online platforms. So the entire idea of eWOM has changed to a more advanced level, known as visual eWOM. Moreover, users of such applications can share brand-related content visually in the form of pictures and videos. A feature that makes platforms developers race against time to develop the best way to introduce new applications that make the best use of such a modern technological feature. So nowadays, we can see an endless number of social media applications that enable people to communicate visually. Nevertheless, there are few applications which have been tremendously popular. Instagram and Snapchat are two relatively recent platforms that can be mainly viewed to serve the visual exchange of content. Their popularity has reached almost most social media users worldwide. From such a perspective, the idea of exploring and investigating such visual content and how it influences consumers have become highly crucial. Not only due to how such content impacts consumers but also to how this content on social media applications can be spread among millions of people, as well as how brands can take advantage of such an excellent way of communication with current and potential consumers. An area of interest that this thesis aims to investigate. To do so, this research is built into two main phases; the first phase aims to explore the usage of social media among Saudi consumers and gather as much information as possible on their usage behaviour and the impact of social media influencers on their purchase behaviour. Through a survey of 512 Saudi consumers. The results show that Saudi consumers use social media at a very high rate, more precisely Instagram and Snapchat, and they follow and view social media influencers' content at a tremendously high percentage. However, when it comes to the impact of such content on consumers, the results indicate a low influence on consumers' purchase intentions regarding their restaurants' choices. The second phase of this thesis is to analyse content on social media applications. In detail, it examines the content, the source of the content (social media influencers), and consumers' behaviour toward the content. In order to reach such, a theoretical model was developed based on the integration of the Information Acceptance Model (IACM). The results highlighted that visual content quality, source credibility, source experience, content quantity, adoption of content, attitude toward content and subjective norms are the primary factors for visual eWOM in social media (Instagram and Snapchat) that influence consumers' purchase intentions. This thesis contributes to theoretical implications through its validated model and introduced vital findings. Moreover, the research model highlights a new approach to information adoption by expanding the IACM and introducing new insights to researchers. Future studies can consider the research model to investigate the visual content in social media and its influence on consumers' purchase intentions. Moreover, this study's results can help researchers consider other factors in studying the impact of such technology, such as employing the results to examine other social media applications that serve the visual feature, such as TikTok. Also, since this research was only conducted through a quantitative method, employing qualitative or mixed methods can be beneficial in providing a complete picture of visual eWOM influence. A further benefit of this study is how it considers the cultural character of Saudi consumers. Yet, other studies might find it worth considering other cultural factors or employing such findings in different countries. The same goes with considering different categories besides SMEs restaurants.

There is currently a need for academics and practitioners to understand the role of Social Media Influencers (SMIs) as they create ties with their audiences that lead to behavioural change, long-term relationships, brand loyalty and ultimately to customer advocacy. This understanding will help lay the foundations for brands to plan, and help to justify their decisions when selecting an SMI as part of a marketing strategy (Casaló, Flavián and Ibáñez Sánchez 2020; Delbaere, Michael and Phillips 2021; Hudson et al. 2016). Hence, the research questions proposed for this study address who an SMI is, how and under what circumstances they influence their audiences, and how a brand's management of an SMI might be most effective. The topic of SMIs has gained significant relevance over the past five years, as the ties between SMIs and their audience grow stronger, and so does the SMI's ability to influence and convince their followers to take actions (Borgonovi, Andrieu and Subramanian 2021; Shang, Wu and Sie 2017; Tiwari, Lane and Alam 2019). Given that guidelines and regulations for SMI promotional activities are being developed, it is a priority to conceptualise how a regular person attains the position of being an SMI, the steps that launch them into stardom and the mechanisms that they use to draw, engage and influence their audiences. In this research, Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) and Pierre Bourdieu's sociological conceptualisations (social capital, influence, practices and reproduction) are used in conjunction to form a theoretical and methodological framework for the study of social bonds, group dynamics, practices and consumption in a digital context (Amiraslani et al. 2021; Clark 2020; MacArthur et al. 2017). Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Big Data techniques were used to collect more than nine million tweets dating back to 2008. The knowledge and insights gained from this research have successfully fulfilled its purpose at three levels. Firstly, by expanding the academic and business knowledge of the characteristics of SMIs, the mediation role that they play between brands and consumers, and the methods they use to shape the opinions of the masses, to popularise trends and promote consumption habits. Secondly, by advancing current SM analysis techniques to include a more precise approach to processing and analysing text and graphical (emoji) data. Thirdly, by proposing alternative social network visualisation and ranking parameters for examining the dialogues taking place between brands and consumers in a digital environment. Despite important positive outcomes derived from strong social capital between SMIs and their audience, such as the commercial success of the SMI's own-labels and SMI−brand collaborations, this research also identified a series of problems related to the "negative" social capital that can be mobilised between the SMI and their audience. However, these results would not have been possible to achieve if the researcher had not employed novel and innovative approaches to solve the numerous technical and methodological problems faced when gathering large datasets and analysing complex patterns of relationships and sharing.

In today's digital landscape, online platforms serve as hubs of political discourse, akin to modern-day town halls. Among these platforms, TikTok has surged in popularity, emerging as a significant arena for ideological exchange. However, it has also become a breeding ground for anti-feminist rhetoric, a trend not exclusive to TikTok but also observable across competitors like YouTube Shorts. A content analysis conducted on the initial 100 videos suggested by both TikTok and YouTube Shorts for a new account revealed several noteworthy insights. Within this sample, it was found that 5% of TikTok videos contained anti-feminist themes, while only 3% of YouTube Shorts exhibited similar content. The first anti-feminist TikTok video surfaced 19% into the analysis, contrasting with YouTube Shorts, where such content did not emerge until the 79th video. These findings underscore TikTok's comparatively more hospitable environment for anti-feminist sentiments when juxtaposed with YouTube, shedding light on the dynamics of digital discourse and ideological trends within these platforms.

The following research used a qualitative content analysis to explore the communicative and communal characteristics of online communities that form around the topic of positive mental health communication on the social media platform TikTok. These characteristics were analyzed in the context of social penetration theory in consideration of how TikTok influencers use thematic messaging and acts of self-disclosure to build and enhance their online communities centered on positive mental health communication. In total, 135 TikTok videos and their accompanying comment feeds were analyzed to identify emergent themes, patterns, and concepts relative to the communicative and communal characteristics that define online communities dedicated to the topic of positive mental health. The findings suggested the existence of common themes across the video messages of TikTok’s influencers and content creators, as well as the content feeds of those interacting textually with viewed video content. This study documents the prominent types of mental health messaging that commonly present themselves in the content curated and disseminated by both professional and non-professional content creators and influencers. The possibilities for future investigation that build upon this study’s findings are numerous and possess the capability to further illuminate the topic of mental health communication within the academic field of communication on a larger and more specified scale.

This study examined the concept of parasocial relationships with lifestyle YouTubers. Parasocial relationships have been studied since the 1950s, but digital communication with social media has changed the way followers interact with modern public figures. Previous research has studied parasocial relationships with traditional media figures, however, there was a gap in knowledge pertaining to lifestyle YouTubers. In this study, a lifestyle YouTuber was designated as a person whose channel mainly focuses on topics such as makeup, hairstyling, fashion, cooking, baking, art, interior design or similar subjects. This study sought to better understand how social media communication plays a role in the formation and maintenance of parasocial relationships with followers of lifestyle YouTubers. It also looked at how parasocial relationships contribute to behavior changes, including purchase intentions. Five qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with followers of lifestyle YouTubers. From the collected data, three overarching themes emerged: YouTuber’s Personality Displayed Through Social Media Communication, Social Media Communication that Validates Parasocial Relationships and Parasocial Relationship’s Influence on Behavior Changes. Additionally, two subthemes emerged: Trust and Similarity. The first theme revealed participants preferred when their favorite YouTuber displayed their authentic personality through social media communication. The second theme found participants experienced positive feelings toward the YouTuber following personal interaction via social media communication. The third theme discovered parasocial relationships can have influence on behavior changes and purchase intentions. All five participants changed their behavior or made a purchase based on the recommendations of their favorite YouTubers. The first subtheme found participants trusted the recommendations of their favorite YouTubers if the content creator had experience or education in the field. The second subtheme showed how participants changed their behavior to appear similar to their favorite YouTuber. These findings will be discussed in greater detail in this study.

Influencer marketing is a growing industry on social media platforms, like TikTok. Influencers have the power and authority to control the purchases and habits of their audiences, however, the communities of these followers can be just as influential. According to TikTok For Business (2021), “part of the excitement of [TikTok] is derived from people having the power to choose the spaces they want to be part of, and the content they want to interact with.” The purpose of this study is to determine if social media influencers alter their image and self-presentation based on their community. The study examines the TikTok accounts of two popular social media influencers who use TikTok to post video content for fun and share brand deals with their followers. Each of these influencers is 21 years old or younger and has an audience of mostly girls between the ages of 13 and 24. To determine if being an influencer means altering personal image on social media, researchers will examine their TikTok posts and comments to gather a deeper understanding of the SMIs when they began posting, how their content has changed, and what actions could have affected those changes.

El trabajo explora y describe cómo presentan su identidad en Instagram jóvenes colombianos y españoles de acuerdo con el juego social y los capitales simbólicos que infieren como normativos a partir de la figura del influencer. La metodología combina la técnica del grupo focal (7 grupos) con el análisis de contenido de los perfiles de los informantes (N= 651). En total, participaron 53 universitarios de primer curso del ámbito de las industrias creativas. Los resultados muestran que el trabajo desarrollado por los influencers ha cristalizado en un género narrativo aspiracional que estos jóvenes tienden a emular para mostrarse conforme al habitus de Instagram y ser reconocidos como agentes legítimos. Así, su autopresentación presenta tres rasgos: 1) preferencia por mostrar prácticas que expresan estatus como el ocio y los gustos de libertad, 2) predominio de un tipo de retrato y gestualidad que evita las marcas de autoproducción y aspira a una audiencia global, y 3) la normalización del discurso autopromocional. La mayoría de estos estudiantes utiliza Instagram como un juego donde compiten por la acumulación de visibilidad concebida como validación relacional, aunque entre la muestra colombiana aparece una visión más profesional de la plataforma. Finalmente, Instagram constituye para todos un juego serio donde reconocen sentirse demasiado expuestos, lo que les lleva a desarrollar prácticas de autovigilancia como la consulta a los pares, el uso de cuentas secundarias y el borrado de publicaciones.

La publicidad en redes sociales, junto con las apps, display y geolocalización, son las acciones más recurrentes de las marcas en el contexto del marketing móvil. Igualmente, se identifica a los adolescentes como el principal público objetivo del marketing móvil por ser usuarios muy activos, por sus conocimientos en tecnología y por su papel de prescriptores, especialmente en redes sociales. Por ello, se ha propuesto analizar qué interacción despierta la publicidad en redes sociales entre los menores de edad (10-14 años), tanto aquellos anuncios en formato estándar como los contenidos comerciales publicados por influencers. Para ello se analizaron más de 2.400 anuncios registrados tras monitorizar durante una semana los móviles de uso común de una muestra de menores del Área Metropolitana de Santiago de Chile. Se pudo comprobar que los formatos estándares, a pesar de ser de uso recurrente, apenas generaron interacción en los usuarios, a diferencia de los contenidos comerciales de la mano de influencers que sí lograron un mayor nivel de interacción (tanto visual como en forma de clic), aunque tuvieran una presencia más anecdótica en el conjunto de la muestra. Estos resultados abren la puerta a cuestionar el uso publicitario que se realiza de un espacio concebido para el diálogo, como son las redes sociales, en el que los anunciantes tienen como principal objetivo la venta de productos y servicios.

The purpose of this project is to examine how contemporary contexts of Islamophobia contribute to shaping notions and performances of Muslim womanhood. I center Muslim female social media influencers in my analysis and examine how they perform and (re)define Muslim womanhood through fashion, aesthetic labor, the hijab, and modest embodiment practices online. The specific research question that undergirds this project is, "How do contexts and discourses of Islamophobia contribute to shaping notions and performances of Muslim womanhood?" My data is derived from interviews with Muslimah social media influencers in the US, UK, and Canada; a survey with their social media followers, and a content analysis of their photo and video posts on Instagram and YouTube. Findings suggest that racialized and gendered expectations of Muslim womanhood emerge on the one hand, from the western non-Muslim community's racialized perceptions and understandings of Muslim women and Islam, and on the other, from the western Muslim community's reaction to its racialization in the global war on terror. The result of these expectations is the imposition of representational and moral responsibilities on Muslim women, who are regarded as visible and public representations of the Muslim community and of Islam as a faith. Findings also suggest that in response to the burden of these expectations, Muslim women exercise their agency to mobilize Islamic feminisms to their advantage in order to negotiate with, resist, and critique western Muslim and non-Muslim expectations of modesty, piety, empowerment, and the hijab. Consequently, Muslimah influencers are forcing western Muslim and non-Muslim communities to reevaluate their expectations of who fits within the category the 'Muslim Woman' while also opening up a discursive space for the possibility of new formulations and conceptualizations of Muslim womanhood that are more aligned with egalitarian Islamic feminist interpretations of Muslimah ways of living and being.

Millennials are leaving the Catholic Church in great numbers, despite being raised in the faith. When asked for the reason of disaffiliation, young adults do not blame sexual abuse scandals in the Church nor do they cite specific Catholic beliefs and teachings. Instead, they say that they have begun to ask why stay Catholic and what meaning does the Catholic faith provide in their lives. This search for meaning has caused them to leave their faith and seek it elsewhere. However, prominent figures in Catholic media, Emily Wilson and Fr. Mike Schmitz, use YouTube as a platform to reach out to young adults in the Catholic faith. This thesis aims to understand how the two Catholic YouTube influencers use eudaimonic messages in their videos to provide the meaning that young adults have been missing from their faith. Eudaimonics has been linked to a sense of enjoyment beyond pleasure, focusing on a sense of well-being instead; this provides a deeper sense of meaning for those who view media containing eudaimonics. Using a directed content analysis, videos will be analyzed for the seven dimensions of eudaimonics – meaning in life/sense of purpose, self-acceptance, autonomy, competence, relatedness, personal growth, and living according to central personal values – and two transcendent elicitors – hopefulness and religiousness. Comments left by viewers under the videos will also be analyzed to see if viewers pick up on these meaningful messages. This analysis will evaluate how those messages by the YouTube influencers may impact young adult viewers and their Catholic faith.

Social media brand influencers have become one of the biggest marketing and public relations trends of 2017, especially those who promote lifestyle brands (Glucksman, 2017). While many social media users are capitalizing on the “brand influencer” trend, people who identify as the LGBTQ, still struggle to connect with the heterosexual audience as brand influencers source. YouTube and Instagram are visual mediums that allow brand influencers to craft their expertise verbally and visually to communicate their expertise and enhance credibility. Using the source credibility theory, which posits that persuasiveness of the message is based on the perceived credibility of the source (Hovland et al, 1951), this study investigates how the LGBTQ and heterosexual influencers were perceived by the followers on the YouTube and Instagram platform. Using a Netnography approach, (n=4,646) comments were analyzed from YouTube and (n=16,683) from Instagram to identify positive, negative, and neutral sentiment. Findings demonstrate the LGBTQ community have a higher level of engagement, but at the same time, a high interest from followers on the sponsored posts. The commenters responding to the heterosexual influencers focus more on the influencer appearance rather than the content presented by them. Comments on Instagram are more explicit compared to YouTube.

Because religious rhetoric is so central to social and political commentary in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, no one expected to witness Ayedh al-Qarni, a central figure in the Saudi religious establishment, renounce and apologize for the Sahwa movement, which shaped the lived experience of Saudi and Bahraini society for decades. His apology in 2019 may have embodied the mainstream Saudi religious elites’ choice to accept co-optation and complacency in Mohammed bin Salman’s kingdom, but it also sprang from a broader shift in religion’s place within public discourse that began in the 2010s. This thesis traces and analyzes recent transformations in the religio-social sphere by mapping the shifting position of religious rhetoric from the center to the periphery of Saudi and Bahraini public discourse, and by situating this shift within the broader political and social transformations of the 2010s.

Los influencers son la nueva narrativa de las marcas. De ahí que muchas empresas e instituciones posicionen a sus ejecutivos, con nombre propio, para fidelizar a sus diferentes tipos de clientes. Por otra parte, la técnica de reputación denominada CEO Executive Visibility tiene como objetivo destacar la personalidad de los máximos responsables empresariales, alineándola también con los valores que la institución quiere transmitir, y captando así nuevas audiencias, fidelizando a sus seguidores y generando engagement. Siguiendo estas pautas, y con una metodología fundamentada en el análisis cuantitativo y en el de contenido, y aunando lo económico y lo comunicativo como fundamentos teóricos, esta investigación indaga en el uso que han llevado a cabo los presidentes del selectivo español Ibex 35 en las principales redes sociales (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Youtube y blog personal). Los resultados obtenidos indican cómo está desarrollada en España esta “visibilidad ejecutiva” y cuáles son los mayores influencers en este entorno financiero. Se demuestra, finalmente, el bajo nivel de actividad continuada en redes sociales por parte del conjunto de los presidentes de las empresas del Ibex 35, y se constata que la imagen de la empresa y el compromiso con sus públicos sí atañe a sus principales directivos.

A modified grounded theory approach was used to analyze the 2016 Target #NOFOMO swimwear campaign in which Target partnered with top bloggers and social media influencers to promote their inclusive swimwear line. Public and public prioritization as well as message themes, message styles, and message consistency were analyzed in research questions one A through F. Relationship management theory emphasizes that the organization-public relationship is key to organizational success. Constructs of trust, openness, and transparency are important measures of this organization-public relationship. Thus, research question two analyzed the frequencies of these constructs in public commentary on Target and blogger related content. Findings indicate that there was overall campaign consistency in both message themes and message styles across Target, the bloggers, and their publics. Moreover, the campaign prioritized the social media platform Instagram and, in doing so, created an intentional online social community of strategic publics that helped facilitate trust between Target, the bloggers, and their publics. Trust was the most frequently used construct of relationship management theory in public commentary, transparency seemed to be assumed in trust, despite the low frequency findings. Target mainly prioritized small-bodied white models/bloggers despite the campaign's inclusive messages and the greater opportunities for public interaction when medium- and large-bodied, non-white models/bloggers were featured. Finally, campaign disclosure and disclosure placement by Target partners were inconsistent across social media platforms which remains troubling in light of FTC requirements and Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Code of Ethics guidelines.

This study examines the use of databases to improve marketing techniques and customer segmentation in lending institutions. Specifically, this study examines the use of products and services by agricultural customers, and then determines the relationship between the use of those products and services with farm business characteristics. Information is also obtained on the interest rate sensitivity of the producers and correlated with farm business characteristics. The importance of technology and strategic alliances and other influences in the decision making process are determined after survey analysis. The survey was sent to producers who had some type of loan. Respondents from this study used an average of 3.2 loan products and 7.6 services for a total of 10.8 loans and services. Only 1 percent of the respondents indicated that they did not have a personal checking account. Twelve percent of the respondents indicated that they did not use a credit card. Only 16 percent of the respondents indicated that they used leasing services. Investment products did not have a high percentage of use. Thirty-three percent indicated they were using certificates of deposit, while only 21 percent indicated the use of money market funds, and 30 percent indicated the use of mutual funds. Thirty-seven percent indicated they were using IRAs. However, most of the respondents were using some form of insurance. Three-fourths of the respondents were using life insurance, while only 21 percent indicated that they did not possess disability insurance. Other services were also analyzed in this study. Only 15 percent of the respondents indicated that they were utilizing estate planning services, despite the 67 percent of respondents who were greater than age 41 and the 58 percent of respondents with greater than $500,000 in assets. Seventeen percent of the respondents were using an appraisal service. Due to the lower levels of usage for the investment products, this study focused on the relationship between farm characteristics and the investment products. This study showed that a relationship existed between farm and non-farm income with IRA usage. iii Only farm income had a relationship with money market fund usage and mutual fund usage. While, the use of estate plans was related to asset level. The analysis on interest rate sensitivity was determined by the amount an interest rate would have to decrease for a producer to switch lending institutions. The producers who were found to be less interest rate sensitive were those who had lower farm and non-farm incomes, lower asset levels, lower education levels, higher debt-to-asset ratio, and those who owned a computer. This implies that these are the more loyal customers to an institution or perhaps these producers have fewer opportunities to switch institutions. Producers in this study indicated that when selecting a lender/service provider, a competitive interest rate (76 percent of respondents) and the institution being a dependable source of credit (75 percent) was important. Knowledge of agriculture was also very important (69 percent of respondents). Internet banking and educational seminars rated as the characteristics that were least important, 3 percent and 9 percent, respectively. However, in the decision making process, lenders (69 percent of respondents), accountants (53 percent), and veterinarians (38 percent) were shown to be very important. The spouse/partner has considerable influence also on decision making. Sixty-seven percent of the respondents indicated that the spouse/partner had a considerable influence on investment decision, while sixty-one percent of the respondents indicated that the spouse/partner had a considerable influence on credit decisions. Five specific recommendations were made to the institutions following this study. These recommendations include: use of technology, institutional use of databases, use of influencers, and targeting and segmenting the marketplace.