The online influencers strategies and their impact on consumers decision process



Limitations

Our study answered most of our questions, but we encountered some unforeseen situations and shortcomings. One of the most important limits of our work was to reach influential influencers and make them respond without a financial compensation. We asked over fifty influencers and only 5 of them answered us. Then, during these qualitative interviews, influencers tend to say that they are “truly authentic”, they “believe” in their product and are “confident” about their positive impact. Of course, they may be biased, and it was difficult for us to collect objectives opinions from them. For instance, when we asked influencers about partnerships, they all declare that they test and promote products that are trustworthy. However, we can wonder if their testimonies are reliable. Furthermore, there was a limitation regarding methods used for collection and analysis of empirical information: these data did not achieve to reach such a large-scale goal. Another limitation is linked to the respondent's professional status of the quantitative research. Almost 74% of our sample was students and belong to the age group of 20 to 25 years old. We expected this data as the survey was shared on social networks and that main users remain young people. They were the main target of our survey because they are more familiar with social networks and the concept of influencers which was valuable. However, we tried to expand this sample in order to have a general overview. Indeed, people over 25 years old do not have the same habits neither the same purchase behaviour and it would have really interesting to collect more data from older generations in order to understand their perspective regarding this societal phenomenon.



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Appendix 1

LIST OF INFLUENCERS CONTACTED FOR THE QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

Name	Number of followers	Contact
1	2	3
Julia Morgante	564 K	Juliamorgante@we-events.fr
agatheauproux	691 K	hello@agatyou.com
alix_dmx	829 K	prodevents69@gmail.com
anaiscss7officiel	1,9 M	anais@we-events.fr
Bastos	445 K	bastiengrimal.pro@gmail.com
benoit.assadi	419 K	pro.benoit.a@sublimetalents.com
cam_lacourt_off	136 K	Vip.partenariat@gmail.com
capucineanavoff	1,3 M	Capucine@we-events.fr
Carla Moreau	2,1 M	Pro.carla@shaunaevents.com
carla_ginola	153 K	carla@foll-ow.com
charlottepirroni	424 K	charlotte@agencejb.fr
chlosertoyou	83,5 K	chlosertoyou@gmail.com
cindycournoyer	120 K	cindy.c@dulcedo.com
cloecooper_off	304 K	cloe@we-events.fr
darkocttg	623 K	Darkocontactpro@gmail.com
Dylan Thiry	454 K	pro.dylan@shaunaevents.com
eddy_papeoo	268 K	eddylhammi10@gmail.com
emmacakecup	1,6 M	pro.emma@sublimetalents.com
emy_ltr	912 K	emyltr@studio71fr.com
floracoquerel	374 K	floracoquerelinfo@gmail.com
gioboyparis	576 K	giovanni@bonamy.pro
hilonagos_off	137 K	pro.hilona@shaunaevents.com
Hugo Decrypte	125 K	hugo.decrypte@hotmail.com
hugophilip	539 K	contact.hugophilip@gmail.com
illancto	653 K	Pro.illan@shaunaevents.com
jazztvshow	1,8 M	Pro.jazz@shaunaevents.com
jeremstar	1,9 M	Jeremstar@yahoo.com
jesta_hillmann	842 K	pro.jesta@sublimetalents.com
jodielapetitefrenchie	248 K	jodielapetitefrenchie.agent@gmail.com
Julie Ricci	644 K	Contact@juliericci.fr
Julien Geltmi	364 K	contact@juliengeloen.com
kellyvedovelli	497 K	Contactkellyofficiel@gmail.com
laxtitia	154 K	Laxtitia@gmail.com
Lena Situations	603 K	hello@lenasituations.com
Lola Dubini	633 K	Instagram message
lucindarossat	102 K	contact@blogdelucinda.com
ludivine	157 K	leblogdeludivine@gmail.com
maddyburciaga	1,6 M	Maddypro75@gmail.com
mathilde_gaunoux	19,4 K	Instagram message
morgane.adt	67,5 K	morgane@just-go-agency.com
mybeautyfuelfood	5 K	Instagram message
romy	957 K	stonemromane@gmail.com
sebydaddy	1 M	pro.seb@shaunaevents.com
stefan_tisseyre	90,2 K	olivier4stefan@gmail.com
stephaniedurant	2,3 M	Stephanie@we-events.fr
Tibz	8 K	Instagram message
uncle_bens_	74,6 K	Benmahitheblog@gmail.com
valentinlucas9	225 K	lucas.valentin9@gmail.com
Zoё Pastelle	200 K	contact@zoepastelle.com



Appendix 2

INTERVIEW INFLUENCERS

How did you become an influencer?

What was your strategy to increase your number of followers?

Is there a message in particular that you try to convey to your followers every day? If yes which?

As an influencer do you think you have a responsibility towards your followers?

Do you happen to be influenced by other influencers yourself?

Do you choose the brands you promote? If so, which criterion (s) do you choose?

Before promoting the products, do you test them?

How much do you think you influence your followers?

Do you think that you or influencers in general are promoting a “lifestyle” that is becoming more and more standardized?

Are you always sincere when sharing with your followers?



Appendix 3

INTERVIEW “HOW DO INFLUENCERS CHANGE OUR SOCIETY?”

See: https://forms.gle/cXYRhZ19vAiRUR8z7

-- required

Last name and first name.

Are you:*

a man

a woman

other

Are you:*

college / high school student

student

employee

liberal profession

farmer

boss of industry and commerce

senior

middle management

worker

no occupation

other

How old are you?*

15 years

between 15 and 19 years

between 20 and 25 years

between 26 and 35 years

between 36 and 40 years

+ 40 years

Which accounts on social networks do you have?*

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Snapchat

other

no social network

How many influencers do you follow on Instagram? (celebrities, sportsmen, actors, singers, reality TV, etc.):*

no

less than 5

between 5 and 20

between 20 and 50

between 50 and 100

+ 100

What type of influence do you follow the most?

What do you expect from an influencer?*

political information

cultural information

environmental information

entertainment

fashion tips

beauty tips

lifestyle

sports motivation

professional motivation

other

How often do you consult an influencer's profile?*

once a day

several times a day

once a week

2-3 times a week

once a month

never

What motivates you most to view the profile of an influencer?

What is your perception of Instagram influencers?*

Answer versions	Completely agree	Okay	I do not know	I do not think so
I only listen to their opinion, and I believe
They are sincere
I feel the influence they exert on me
The products they recommend are trustworthy
Posted content is often repetitive

What type of advertising do you prefer?*

TV ad

Street display influencers

Pop-ups, banner and pre-roll on websites

Advertisements on social networks and website

Other

Have you already made a purchase after reading content published by an influencer?*

Yes

No

Do you think they help to “standardize” our society?*

Yes

No

Other

Do you think influencers have a positive effect on our society?*

Yes

No

Other

What do you think of the impact of influencers on your consumption/lifestyle?

Do you know other types of media influences?



Appendix 4

INFLUENCERS INTERVIEW

How did you become an influencer?

It came on my own as I went, the more followers I gained, the more influence I had, and the more I had partnerships with brands.

I noticed that it was when I went to Paris that I started to be invited to much more events, I started doing fashion and fashion photography. I created my own style: I made colour-themed photos and that's when I started to define myself as an influencer.

What was your strategy to increase your number of followers?

My strategy is to be ubiquitous on social networks. That is to say, to follow and love a maximum of posts among influencers who have the same universe as me: lifestyle / fashion. It gave me more visibility with the people who follow them, I was lucky also that my profile is shared by other influencers or well-known brands, for example, Clinic, Clarins, SEASON, etc. And these accounts have so much community that it helped me a lot. As a result of some posts I could take several hundred followers a day so it was huge.

It's a virtuous circle because the more followers you have, the more you earn because you're even more visible. After we also depend a lot of algorithms so it can be quite random, for example, there was a big dip after Christmas.

The great method to take a lot of influencers is the sharing, I do quite regularly on Sunday, each time for different influencers because we target a community that did not follow us before and we made them discover our account.

Is there a message in particular that you try to convey to your followers every day? If yes which?

I have no real message to convey in the sense that I am not an influencer talking only food for example as those who are in the diet or healthy dishes. I only show my daily life, at first I showed very little my face, I give my opinion a minimum, especially not on everything that is political, religious, etc. I really do not want to talk about these kinds of things, debates, and so on. I think that Instagram must remain a social network of photos, photo sharing, commonalities, passions, etc. But it's not Twitter that is destined to speak; for me, the goal of Instagram is to make pretty pictures.

As an influencer do you think you have a responsibility towards your followers?

It is clear that we always have a responsibility towards our followers. When I see anorexic girls who advocate leanness or anorexia it is obvious that we must pay attention to what we say and what we show. Nothing is trivial, we do not know what people think, we do not know how they react, the best is to have a positive attitude and to share only good vibes. I think if people go on Instagram today it is to disconnect from reality, so for me, Instagram is only to talk about positive things.

I also have another responsibility, I do not take them for “cash cows” that is to say, all the influencers who share very regularly coupons. In particular, promotion codes on which influencers earn commissions on each promoted product sale. Personally I have always refused because once again our followers are not “cash cows” so I assume that we should not make money on the backs of people who follow us because they trust. When you advertise a product it must really be something you really like.

Do you happen to be influenced by other influencers yourself?

Yes I happen to be influenced by other influencers but it will be especially for food, I use a lot of Instagram for coffee shop places, addresses that I do not know. In fashion, I do not like to have the same clothes as others so I avoid the current collections. I am going to be influenced also for shooting places.

Especially for cosmetics, I do not buy cosmetics because I receive so many of that, I have not run at Sephora for about 3 years.

Do you choose the brands you promote? If so, which criterion (s) do you choose?

Yes, I choose the brands that I work with. I'm on platforms like Octoly or Hiency which are marketing influence platforms. We have a free store with a large selection of products or you choose the products you would like to test and the brands send them to you. On these free stores I always work with the same brands, which are brands that I really like, it's Payot, with whom I'm sponsored, Estde Lauder, Clinic, Clarins and sometimes Bobby Brown.

By using these platforms, I have established a relationship with these brands. I receive about ten products per week and I have to post about five products per feed of color so it's very little. I do not want my account to become an advertising page. I am not specialized in beauty at the base, I really have my scrunchies in cosmetics but I do not want my feed to look like an advertising page that cosmetics or sponsored parts.

From the moment you have 10 K followers, even before I received many proposals but from the moment you pass a certain stage it is even automatic for brands, they send you emails. It represents a huge demand because sometimes I can have 6 partnership requests every day so if you start saying yes to everything you cannot honor the contracts and test everything. We cannot tell people we love everything, we cannot lie to them and tell them that we love all products, it's not possible. I happened to have products, it was juice, which made me sick, so it was out of the question for me to make a post for these juices. I spoke to the brand and canceled the partnership. It's out of the question that I'm talking about a product that does not suit me, I'm not saying that it's bad because it can suit other people, but it was not for me, so it was out of the question for me to advertise these products.

In addition, there are partnerships for which we are not paid, we receive a gift which is already a huge opportunity but do not abuse by taking everything and anything. I have friends who accept everything, chewing gum or shampoos found in the supermarket but the problem is that I think it discredits you compared to your followers. After that depends also on the target that you target but personally in relation to my target I pay attention to the brands with which I work. I want it to be brands that I knew before but also high-end brands.

On the other hand, that does not prevent that if one proposes to me partnerships which may be luxurious that are rewarding I can say no if it is not ethical. I'm not a particularly ethical person, but for example Clarins had a scandal because he had made lipstick all day long but apparently it was tested on animals. It is obvious that even if initially I wanted to test the product it was then out of the question for me to advertise products tested on animals. Today we are really in a green and responsible mood so I could not endorse this kind of product and advertise it. So the fact that it is ethical, clean and luxury is more for me.

Before promoting the products, do you test them?

Yes, I test every time the products because as you know, I do my feed by color so I really have to anticipate so that I have a maximum of photos to make a consistent feed in declination of colors. The advantage is that suddenly I use this time to test the products. It is out of the question for me to advertise a product that I have not tested, for example the juices that made me sick. I make the pictures before testing the products because they are new, but I stock the photos and if I feel after trying it that the product suits me I publish the photo.

How much do you think you influence your followers?

I do not pretend to say that I influence people. It's a bit of a status that I did not necessarily assume because nowadays everyone can call themselves influencers. There are people who have 100 followers and who say they are influencers, so it wants a little everything and nothing to say. It can be bloggers, artists, people in the street; if we meet someone and we like his dress you are influenced.

I realized it after doing a promotion when I had to report to the brand. They showed me the numbers and there I realized that I had influenced people. For me it's a pleasure, it's not a job, I do it because I like it but it's not my job.

Do you think that you or influencers in general are promoting a “lifestyle” that is becoming more and more standardized?

It is obvious that it is true that the lifestyle “Parisienne”/“Frenchy” has become very popular, everyone does it as the “Healthy Food” it has become a clichd. We must eat well, be well dressed all the time, have great cosmetics, a bright apartment, etc.

Influencers Sport and Healthy Food will all make the same pictures of Granola or bowls, future moms always on a very sweet universe, etc. It is very hard today to differentiate because everyone has the same tastes. Brands also target the same people for partnerships, so we often find the same brands in everyone.

For example, the product for white teeth has been seen on thousands of influencers.

Are you always sincere when sharing with your followers?

Yes, I always think to be honest. I was in the first to test Mathilde Lacombe's French Glow pills because I really wanted to test them. I was very motivated to try but these particular acne pills were a disaster, I had pimples. I contacted Mathilde Lacombe who told me that it was normal because it was a phase of detox so she recommended me other pills in her range but the same that I dry skin, etc. So I told him that it did not suit me. But as I was in the first to test and it was really asked a lot of people asked me for my return, so I had to make one. So I made a very polite return saying that it was my skin, it was me, it was hormonal and that it is not a generalized case and that it is perhaps me who made a bad reaction. Except she asked me to remove my post because it was bad pub. But I know that's what my followers want. Even when I have contracts, they stipulate that I have to talk about the brand but do not specify for good or bad. I do not work in advertising or communication, I am not a blogger so I want to stay neutral.

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