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Introduction
Brand-promoted messages delivered on social media sites used to be an effective means of reaching consumers. However, receivers of such messages have become increasingly irritated, often viewing them as intrusive and inauthentic (Peltier et al., 2020). Instead, consumers are relying on fellow consumers and user-generated content (UGC) for genuine brand information (Barreto, 2013; Peltier et al., 2020). A catalyst to this phenomenon is the advancement of interactive marketing on social media wherein both brands and consumers co-create value through connection, engagement, participation and interaction (Wang, 2021). Consumers not only leave comments, show support and share brand-promoted messages, but they also actively create branded posts, blurring the consumer-brand distinction. These user-generated contents are embedded into the endless stream of posts that consumers engage with in their daily lives, paving way to an organic marketing strategy (Wang, 2021). Furthermore, technological advancements, such as livestreaming, shoppable posts and swipe-up features, have given rise to social media influencers (SMIs) and influencer marketing, which has become one of the most prominent forms of marketing today – driving more than eleven times return on investment compared to other forms of digital media marketing (García-de-Frutos and Rámon, 2021; Influencer Marketing Hub, 2020; Wang, 2021).
SMIs are ordinary consumers who gradually gain a large following and notoriety for their ability to create and diffuse high quality content, as well as expertise in a specific area such as fashion, fitness or lifestyle. They are today's most influential digital opinion leaders who shape consumers' attitudes and behaviors (Freberg et al., 2011). Influencer marketing allows brands to break through the growing aversion toward conventional marketing initiatives. Referred to as product placement strategy or native advertising, in influencer marketing, the product or service of a sponsoring brand gets featured in an influencer's content. And, by partnering up with SMIs, brands are able to seamlessly expose their products to a highly involved group of consumers and also take on some of the positive image radiated by the SMI (Knoll et al., 2017). Hence, it is often regarded as a form of branded entertainment or highly credible word-of-mouth due to the interactive nature of the consumer-SMI relationship (Breves et al., 2019). That is, SMIs connect with consumers at an intimate level through interactive...