Impact Of Social Media Influencers On Social Brand Communication For Kenyan Tech Brands On Instagram

More than half of the world’s population now uses the Internet, making it an integral part of our everyday life. For this reason, Internet growth continues to accelerate around the world with user numbers increasing by the day. A 2017 study by ‘We are Social’ and ‘Hootsuite’ on the use of the Internet, social media and mobile throughout Africa reveals that visiting social network sites remains the most performed online activity on the Internet all over the world (Kemp, 2017). According to Kemp (2017), up to 2.8 billion people worldwide are now using social media at least once every month with more than 91% accessing social media via their mobile devices. 

There is no doubt therefore that social media use has become a big part of our everyday life and for this reason, it emerges as a destination for brands to bring not only their products closer to their potential online customers but also leverage engagement with these consumers. Companies have as a result become more interested in engaging consumers in spreading information about their products through the use of SMIs, an emerging community of heavy social media users with a large following and persuasive power to influence masses online. Social media influencers have gained so much attention and brands have discovered their impact and growth potential and are increasingly forging alliances with them to not only promote their products but also to communicate brand messages as well (Veirman, Cauberghe, & Hudders, 2017). 

This study, therefore, seeks to investigate the impact that these SMIs have on brand communication for Kenyan brands on the Instagram platform.