"Om inlägget är sponsrat tänker jag inte gilla" : En undersökning om interaktionen på sponsrade och icke-sponsrade inlägg från influencers följare

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study is to investigate the motives of young women choosing to interact with Swedish female influencers on Instagram, and these young womens, the followers, attitudes to sponsored material. The theories chosen as relevant for this study are “parasocial theory” as well as “perceived interconnectedness”. Both theories subject the relationship between a media personality and their fans. A content analysis was chosen to look at the difference in likes and comments on influencers sponsored as well as non-sponsored posts on Instagram. Furthermore, to increase the understanding, a survey was sent out to a collection of the followers who had commented on the relevant posts. This provided knowledge regarding followers' attitudes towards sponsored as well as non-sponsored posts. This empirical material was then analyzed using the method of content analysis. The main results of the study showed that the non-sponsored posts uploaded by the influencers were more appreciated by their followers, since 1 these non-sponsored posts generated more likes and comments from the followers. Furthermore, the respondents to the survey replied that they were often supportive of the influencers, and followed them as well as commented on their posts when they were inspired by them, wanted to support them, wanted to make their own opinions heard, or when the posts felt genuine and personal. The results are important as well as relevant for future studies, as well as for both influencers and companies willing to use influencers for marketing.