Benjamin Johnson, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Advertising assistant professor, is the co-author of “Credible Influencers: Sponsored YouTube Personalities and Effects of Warranting Cues” published in the online Journal of Media Psychology on Aug. 26.

Johnson, Amanda Bradshaw, PhD. 2021, and CJC students Julia Davis, Vanessa Diegue, Lily Frost, Jonathan Hinds, Tracy Lin, Cassidy Mizell, and Deanna Quintana designed influencer videos to test how production techniques, personal self-disclosure, and sponsorship all affect perceptions of an influencer and a sponsoring brand.

According to the authors, “We were interested in how ‘authentic’ influencers might need to balance their expertise with their trustworthiness, and how fewer production elements and more personal self-disclosure might boost trust.”

Results indicate that higher-quality productions improved perceived expertise but didn’t affect trust in the influencer. Self-disclosure (telling a vulnerable personal story) was detrimental to trust.

They add, “The findings suggest that consumers of influencer media use different cues–in combination–to assess influencer credibility, and that expertise and trust do work in distinct ways from each other. The findings also show that these influencer perceptions can ultimately affect brand perceptions.”

This article is an example of an innovative new publishing format called “Registered Reports” where peer review occurs both before and after data are collected, in contrast to traditional peer review that only happens after data collection. This new format is considered an especially rigorous and transparent form of scientific research.

Posted: August 29, 2021
Category: Alumni News, College News, Student News
Tagged as: Amanda Bradshaw, Benjamin Johsnon, Social Media Influencers