본 연구에서는 마케팅 커뮤니케이션 영역에서 중요한 정보원으로 인정 받고 있는 인플루언서의 유형에 따른 설득 효과를 실증하였다. 인플루언서 유형을 연예인 인플루언서와 일반인 인플루언서로 구분하고 브랜드 태도, 구매의도, 공유의도 등의 소비자 태도의 차이를 살펴봤으며, 이 과정에서 준사회적 상호작용의 매개효과를 탐색하였다. 이를 위해 실제 업로드 된 유튜브 동영상 중 화면 구성, 내용 전개 방식 등이 유사하고 동일한 뷰티 제품에 대한 사용법 및 후기를 다룬 두 편의 영상을 실험 조작물로 선정하여 인플루언서 유형(연예인 인플루언서/ 일반인 인플루언서)을 통제한 후 집단 간 요인 실험 설계를 실시하였다. 실제 뷰티 제품의 주요 소비층으로 분류되는 20대-40대 여성을 대상으로 총 164개의 응답을 온라인 설문을 통해 수집·분석한 결과, 소비자들은 일반인 인플루언서 보다 연예인 인플루언서의 콘텐츠를 접할 때 더 높은 수준의 브랜드 태도, 구매의도, 공유의도, 준사회적 상호작용을 보였다. 또한 인플루언서 유형과 소비자 태도(브랜드 태도, 구매의도, 공유의도) 사이에서 준사회적 상호작용이 완전매개 역할을 하는 것으로 확인되었다. 본 연구의 결과는 인플루언서를 활용한 콘텐츠 제작 및 커뮤니케이션에 참고할 수 있는 유의미한 시사점을 제공한다는 점에서 의의를 갖는다.
In this study, the persuasion effect was demonstrated according to the type of influencer recognized as an important information source in the field of marketing communication. Accordingly, the influencer type was classified into celebrity influencer and general public influencer, and differences in consumer responses such as brand attitude, purchase intention, and sharing intention were examined, and the mediating effect of parasocial interaction was explored in this process. The research hypothesis and research questions established based on the above are as follows. RH 1. Consumer attitude(brand attitude, purchase intention, and sharing intention) will appear differently depending on the type of influencer(celebrity influencer/general public influencer). RH 1-1. Brand attitude will further increase when the type of influencer is a celebrity. RH 1-2. Purchase intention will increase further when the type of influencer is a celebrity. RH 1-3. When the type of influencer is a celebrity, the intention to share will increase further. RQ 2. What is the relationship between influencer type(celebrity influencer/general public influencer) and parasocial interaction? RQ 3. What is the mediating effect of quasi-social interaction between influencer type (celebrity influencer/general public influencer) and consumer attitude(brand attitude, purchase intention, and sharing intention)? In order to verify research hypotheses and solve research problems, two YouTube videos with similar screen composition and content development methods and reviews for the same beauty product were selected as experimental manipulations to control influencer types (celebrity influencer/general public influencer). A nationwide online survey was conducted for seven days for women in their 20s and 40s, who are classified as the main consumers of beauty products appearing in the experimental manipulation, and a total of 164 responses were collected. All the collected responses were used for final analysis, and SPSS 25.0 was used as a statistical program for empirical analysis. First, an independent t-test was conducted to find out the difference between consumer attitude(brand attitude, purchase intention, and sharing intention) and parasocial interaction according to influencer type, and Baron & Kenny"s three-step analysis was conducted through stepwise regression analysis to confirm whether quasi-social interaction mediates the relationship between influencer type and consumer attitude. In addition, the significance of the mediating effect was verified through the sobel test. As a result of the analysis, first of all, consumers showed a higher level of consumer attitude(brand attitude, purchase intention, and sharing intention) when encountering celebrity influencer"s content than general public influencer(RH 1. verification). It has been confirmed that groups exposed to celebrity influencers" content are more willing to convey or share favorable responses to the brand, tendency to purchase products, and contents of posts or products and brands to others than those exposed to general public influencers" content. In addition, consumers have a higher level of psychological desire to get closer to the influencer when they encounter celebrity influencer"s content than general public influencer"s content(RQ 2. solved). After controlling consumers" age and pre-brand attitudes, the mediating effect of parasocial interactions between influencer types(celebrity influencer/general public influencer) and consumer attitudes was found to play a complete mediating role between influencer types, brand attitudes, purchase intentions, and sharing attitudes. And through the sobel test, it was confirmed that all mediating effects of parasocial interaction between influencer type and consumer attitude were statistically significant(RQ 3. solved). The results of this study are significant in that it serves as the theoretical basis for future marketing communication research and provides presented implications for more effective influencer marketing.