The Effectiveness of Fashion Influencers in Influencing the Purchase Interest of Millennial Generation Consumers in Indonesia

Abstract

The widespread acceptance of social media encourages marketers to use social media for brand promotion. Promotions through social media generally target millennials and Z generations who are more technology literate than their predecessors are. One of the social media promotion techniques is influencer marketing. Most research on the effectiveness of social media influencers only emphasizes the characteristics of influencers, while the match between the influencer's image and the brand being promoted and the ideal self-image of followers also shape consumer attitudes and purchase intentions. However, there are not many studies that integrate these characteristics to explain their influence on brand attitudes and purchase intentions. This study aims to analyze the effect of social media influencer characteristics, influencer-brand congruence, and self-influencer congruence on purchase intention through attitudes towards brands in the millennial generation. Data were collected from 250 respondents selected by purposive sampling technique. Data were analyzed using PLS-SEM. Of the three characteristics of personal influencers, only expertise and attractiveness are proven to influence consumer attitudes towards brands. Self-influencer congruence has a positive influence on brand attitudes. Meanwhile, the influence of influencer-brand congruence on consumer attitudes towards the advertised brand is not significant. This study also found that attitude toward a brand has a positive effect on consumer purchase intention.