Trust me, trust me not: A nuanced view of influencer marketing on social media

Social media influencers are widely employed as a marketing strategy as they successfully attain trust from followers. Applying the social exchange theory and its principle of reciprocity, this study investigated whether the source characteristics of an influencer (i.e., expertise, authenticity, physical attractiveness, homophily) can function as relational resources in the formation of follower trust. Whether followers’ trust in the influencer...