Browsing by Subject "opinion leader"

Social media influencers are called the opinion leaders of our time, as they have a lot of power over what peo- ple think and consume. Various sustainability actors expect that influencers take a strong role in the transfor- mation towards sustainability. In my thesis I examine, how do the reactions of the influencers’ followers and the perceived sense of responsibility and power of the influencer affect the way influencers share content on sustainability. In my research I also consider how different influencers receive differing responses to content related to sustainability. My analysis consists of interviews with six Finnish social media influencers. I conducted 5 semi-structured in- terviews, and received one written answer to the interview questions. I used thematic analysis as the analysis method in my research. The themes that arose from the interview data and from previous research are relation- ality between the influencer and their followers, connection between followers’ reactions and influencers’ sus- tainability content and the perceived sense of power and responsibility of the influencer. Three influencer profiles were created based on the interview data. The profiles describe different types of in- fluencers with different, specific audiences. The profiles demonstrate how different audiences respond to con- tent related to sustainability in different ways, how different influencers share sustainability content in different ways, and how influencers perceive their responsibility in different ways. My research shows that both the reac- tions of the followers and the perceived sense of responsibility of the influencer affect how an influencer shares content on sustainability. According to my research, the influencer's perceived power does not affect content shared on sustainability. This study contributes to the understanding of the issues that affect influencers’ behavior in sharing sustainabil- ity-related content. With this knowledge, it is possible to move closer to understanding whether influencers can be part of the change towards a more sustainable future. shared on sustainability. This study contributes to the understanding of the issues that affect influencers’ behavior in sharing sustainabil- ity-related content. With this knowledge, it is possible to move closer to understanding whether influencers can be part of the change towards a more sustainable future.