This is Why I Like Them: Exploring the Perceived Appeal of Social Media Influencers vs. Traditional Mass Media

Social-media influencers (SMIs) have created a wide range of content and research has shown that SMIs are perceived as credible by media consumers, and advertising by them can lead to higher user engagement than traditional advertising generally achieves. However, the factors that render SMIs more appealing than traditional media from an audience perspective have been underexplored. Using a grounded approach, we looked at the perceived appeal of SMIs of various types vs. traditional media by conducting semi-structured interviews with 20 of the former's audience members. Our preliminary findings suggest that such appeal can be divided into four types: 1) initiative to summarize takeaways from multiple sources, 2) high independence and low interference, 3) distinctive and diverse networks and connections, and 4) relatability and applicability. This typology of appeal uncovers how SMIs have formed new media use patterns, and hopefully inform the design opportunities of social media platforms.