• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.21 no.12
• /
• pp.238-249
• /
• 2021

This research aims to present effective influencer marketing strategies against a heavy blow in Korean influencer marketing industry because of the paid advertisement controversy and the reinforcement of regulations for online advertisement. By investigating the effects of influencer reputation, which is composed of communication skills, influence, authenticity and professionalism on marketing effect, as well as the mediating effect of parasocial relationship, the study provides some implications for influencer selecting. The effect of economic interests is examined under 4 experimental conditions of paid advertisements, brand collaboration, brand gifts and organic review to figure out how to arrange an appropriate sponsorship plan. According to results of PLS structural equation analysis, it shows that the influence and authenticity of an influencer have a significant positive effect on marketing effect and the mediating effect of parasocial relationship is partially proved. It seems that the effect of influencer reputation on marketing effect is significantly differentiated in different contexts, which confirms the moderating effect of economic interest. Distinguish from previous studies, this study focuses on types of economic interest rather than a simple comparison between sponsorship disclosure versus no disclosure and makes contributions to expanding reputation research. Meanwhile, findings of this study could give some practical implications for marketing practitioners in planning influencer marketing.