Is our perception of Social Media Influencers tricking us on our understanding of influenceability?

Social media influencers (SMIs) and marketers have recognized the increased use of social networks and user generated content, which changed the sender-receiver-structures and decision-making-mechanism of modern society. This has led lately to a recognition of the business model and research potential of SMIs. Although numerous studies suggest that social networks are heavily used, especially by millennials, the focus of research concerning their influenceability (through necessary/sufficient conditions) by SMIs is not profoundly researched – especially within tourism decisions. In the author’s previous research efforts, influencers were segmented based on various characteristics and operationalizations and a processual model of influencing was established. The underlying poster drafts experimental settings to test different parts of this model. Therefore, the presented experiment will focus on the impacts of “number of followers”, “influencer perception”, “perceived persuasion”, and the reaction (“purchase intention”) within tourism contexts and if they differ from behavioral outcomes of others sectors.