A  Study on the persuasiveness of male influencers on male followers in Sweden

Abstract: Since influencer marketing is a relatively new term, there is a scarce theoretical foundation investigating the subject. Previous research has mainly focused on identifying female followers' behavior and how they are persuaded, fewer studies are on male followers and the ability of male influencers to influence their followers. Therefore this master thesis aims to investigate if and how male influencers persuade their male followers.    Aim: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate if and in that case how male followers are influenced by the persuasiveness of male influencers.   Method: Based on the literature review, a theoretical framework is proposed to accomplish the aim of the thesis. For the empirical evidence, a qualitative approach was taken, with the help of ten online based interviews. Furthermore, the content analysis method was used for the analysis of the collected data.   Results & Conclusions: The results of the study provide evidence that followers of these influencers are persuaded by influencers, and they are persuaded by influencers on two main factors, authority and likeability.    Suggestions for future research: As a suggestion for future research we suggest someone to research more in depth with more interviews carried out.  Also, more research is needed on persuasion over male followers +35 years old and how persuasiveness of an influencer is influencing in different industries.     Contribution of the thesis: This research study contributes with knowledge on male influencers and male followers and especially with knowledge on how male followers are persuaded by male influencers. This research findings contributes to the theoretical framework by showing that social media influencers, influences its followers on two main factors, likability and authority. Furthermore, influencers can use this study to enhance their persuasive power and it provides a good understanding of the mechanisms that are influencing the persuasive power.