Abstract:
The escalating number of entrepreneurs are making use of social media to improve the online presence of their companies. They play the role of influencer by promoting their business and assemble a community of their followers. Extant studies have recognized the importance of online influencers in boosting brands and customer relationships. However, the attitude of followers towards the credibility of the entrepreneurs' social media content is sparsely investigated. This study aimed to uncover the antecedents of the following intention of entrepreneur followers and further investigate the impact of trust and credibility on the social media contents of the entrepreneurs. A conceptual framework was developed based on the elaboration likelihood model. It investigated the attitude of followers towards the acceptance of entrepreneur social media activities. The study was conducted with the use of an online questionnaire that was answered by 230 Malaysians. The findings validated that linguistic style, emotion, physical attractiveness, content value were the main factors for the consumers to follow the entrepreneurs. However, the expertise level of the entrepreneurs was not significant. These antecedents were also exerted their influence on the trust and credibility of the entrepreneurs' social media content. Therefore, the conceptual understanding derived from this study is useful in explaining entrepreneurs' use of social media within influencer marketing literature.
