Abstract:
As the digital age grows, influencer marketing has amassed a growing market around the world. Hence, it is necessary to understand how disclosure styles can be used by influencers to promote products and services. This research aims to study the impact of these disclosure styles (intimate self-disclosure, self-disclosure, and non-disclosure) on the purchase intentions of consumers. Along with this, the aim was to also study the role of parasocial relationships as a mediating variable between the two variables. In order to successfully carry out the research, a cross-sectional questionnaire was made and distributed to 385 people in the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The questionnaire was made using an experimental method and showcased posts from a beauty and fashion influencer on Instagram. The posts were similar in nature but different in disclosure styles and this was kept as a secret from the respondents to ensure fair answers. Further, the data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Version 25 and Process Macro Version 4.2. The results aligned with the social penetration theory indicating that the intimate disclosure style strengthens interpersonal relationships between the influencer and the followers. The study also delved into finding if parasocial relationships mediate and foster a link between disclosure styles and purchase intentions. And, the result showed that there was partial mediation between the disclosure styles and purchase intentions. Given how much the youth consumes social media nowadays, brands can surely benefit from this study by building marketing partnerships with social media influencers. Influencers can especially seek leverage from this study by understanding the impact that intimate self-disclosure has on their following and reach. This ultimately influences customer purchase intentions as influencers will know better ways to build strong relationships with their followers. Furthermore, future studies in the same field could broaden the horizons of the study and move the research to a national or international level. Also, the impact of disclosure styles can be studied on other industries and this can give marketers a closer look into how these variables behave with one another. All in all, this study is the perfect foundation for the field of influencer marketing and how beneficial it can truly be to stakeholders.
