ABSTRACT
The steady increase in the number of social media users encourages entrepreneurs to set up corporate profiles on social networking sites. However, the reach achieved this way is often insufficient to effectively promote their products and services. That is why companies collaborate with influencers to achieve better brand recognition and increased brand trust, hoping to reach bigger audiences and build a stronger brand position in the market. Influencer marketing is a relatively new trend in online marketing. This study focuses on collaboration between companies and influencers and examines the influencers’ impact on the perception of promoted brands. The research objectives were:
identifying the social media most frequently used to observe influencers;
defining the concept of an influencer and identifying the reasons why they are followed;
identifying the main determinants of the influencers’ impact on the perception of the brand, in particular the high level of trust they have with their community;
determining the factors encouraging and discouraging respondents from purchasing products promoted by an influencer.
The study involved desk research and a diagnostic survey using an internet-based questionnaire. The studied sample consisted of people who follow influencers.
