Nanoinfluencers som inflytelserika opinionsledare : En kvalitativ studie om hur ett företags Brand Equity påverkas vid samarbeten med nanoinfluencers

Sammanfattning: Due to the dramatical change in society coming from digitization, marketing changed from a traditional approach to a digital scene. A phenomenon that appeared as a result of this is marketing through influencers, also seen as opinion leaders in online communities. As a growing industry where both companies and influencers could earn large sums on campaigns influencers risk being exploited. New aspirants on becoming influencers with fewer followers are appearing as an alternative to the rather expensive more established influencers. This category, nanoinfluencers, appeared as a potential marketing channel for companies seeking a cost efficient alternative to influencers. Despite this, businesses choosing this way of marketing are choosing a rather new, unexplored path with no previous research made on how this might affect their Brand Equity. Thus, the aim of this study is to, from a business perspective, identify which effects collaborations with nanoinfluencers have on companies/businesses Brand Equity. Through a qualitative cross sectional study, based on a deductive approach, four semi structured interviews were conducted with marketeers from companies using Influencer Marketing as part of their marketing strategy. The results were compared using a theoretical frame of reference based on communication theories, Brand Equity and trust theories. Results indicated that using marketing through nanoinfluencers could lead to several benefits in terms of trustworthiness and engagement for companies (seeking alternatives to larger influencers). However, the results also showed that collaborations with nanoinfluencers are more difficult to control because it does not contain any monetary compensation or precise instructions as to the content creation. However, the companies in the study opine that their strong brand awareness protected their brand from this potential negative impact.