A qualitative content analysis of social media influencers' credibility

Abstract: The purpose of this thesis was to explore how concepts of credibility relate to each other in the context of SMIs. SMIs are individuals who use their social media channels to create their own content and communicate with their followers, partly for marketing purposes. Credibility is important for SMIs as it can mean that they have larger influence over their followers and therefore are more successful with their content and communications. Previous research regarding credibility and SMIs have looked at the different concepts of credibility separately, and it is unclear how these concepts relate to each other in the context of SMIs. Therefore, multiple case studies was conducted through content analysis, to study the blogs of SMIs. The content analysis generated in a modification of credibility theory which shows that the concepts of credibility are Personal Conversations and Competence. These concepts indicate that SMIs’ credibility come from them sharing their personal lives with their followers, as well as showing some skills and knowledge. A modified theory is proposed and it is suggested that future research tests this theory.