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Bachelor Thesis from the year 2023 in the subject Communications - Multimedia, Internet, New Technologies, grade: 1,3, University of applied sciences, Cologne, language: English, abstract: This thesis aims to realize how influencer marketing performs and its impact on the Cx. Therefore, the research addresses the following questions: How powerful are influencers these days? What is different about influencer marketing, and why is it a successful strategy? How do people perceive information shared by influencers, and which factors are decisive for potential customers to purchase products advertised by influencers? What impact does an influencer have on the overall Cx?
The internet has been fully integrated into people's daily lives worldwide over the past years. The percentage of the world's population with access to the internet has doubled from 32% in 2011 to 63% in 2021. 90% of people from developed countries access the internet in 2021.
At the same time, the number of social network users is increasing. These networks have the purpose of connecting with friends. In 2022, 5 billion people have access to the internet worldwide, and 4.7 billion people use social media (SM). Ultimately, 93% of those with internet access own at least one SM account, that is more than half the population worldwide. Through time, companies found new marketing strategies which reached active people on SM. These platforms are necessary to reach Generation Z, people born in the late 1990s. They are different and cannot be reached in the same way as they watch Netflix instead of TV or listen to Spotify instead of the radio, for example. Influencer marketing became a $10 billion industry in 2020.
Influencers share their lives on SM networks. Due to their high reach, they receive offers from companies for cooperation. Influencers' followers admire and trust their recommendations due to their personal and authentic representation. While advertising products, influencers show how to use them, where to buy them, and give their opinion. For higher sales, influencers often receive promo codes for a discount or free products for each order.
