Many older communications theories and frameworks can be applied to modern advancements in how organizations, brands, and influential people communicate with one another. In this presentation, two theories (the Attraction, Selection, and Attrition Framework and the Psycholinguistics Theory) will be examined and subsequently applied to the recent phenomenon that is “Social Media Influencers.” This presentation aims to prove that theories that were explored before the advent of social media in the early 2000s can still be applied to these advancements in social media and communications.
2. Abstract
Many older communications theories and frameworks can be applied to
modern advancements in how organizations, brands, and influential people
communicate with one another. In this presentation, two theories (the
Attraction, Selection, and Attrition Framework and the Psycholinguistics
Theory) will be examined and subsequently applied to the recent
phenomenon that is “Social Media Influencers.” This presentation aims to
prove that theories that were explored before the advent of social media in the
early 2000s can still be applied to these advancements in social media and
communications.
3. What is a social
media
influencer?
Influencers are social media users who
have established credibility in a
specific industry. They have access to a
large audience and can influence them
with their authenticity and reach
Definition: What is a social media influencer? (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017,
from https://www.pixlee.com/definitions/definition-social-media-influencer
4. How do Influencers...influence?
• They cultivate a sense of trust with their audience.
• They cater to specific groups of people, depending on what
their own personal interests are.
• They are passionate about what they do, whether it’s fitness,
fashion, or food.
The Role Of Influencers And Brand Advocates In Social Media Marketing. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
http://ragingcreations.com/pages/the-role-of-influencers-and-brand-advocates-in-social-media-marketing.html
8. James Charles
Beauty Influencer & Covergirl
ambassador
@jamescharles
James Charles jamescharles. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
https://websta.me/n/jamescharles
9. Raye Boyce
YouTuber & Beauty Influencer
@itsmyrayeraye
Raye Boyce itsmyrayeraye. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
https://websta.me/n/itsmyrayeraye
12. The Basics
“When employees’ values and priorities match those of their organization,
they are happier and more likely to stay.”
Person–organization fit: Testing socialization and attraction–selection–attrition hypotheses. (n.d.). Retrieved February
08, 2017, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001879108001164
13. Attraction
“People are differentially attracted to careers as a function of
their own interests and personality.”
Attraction-Selection-Attrition Framework. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
https://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Levels%20of%20theories/meso/Attraction-Selection-Attrition_Framework(ASA)/
14. Selection
“Organizations select people who they think are compatible
for many different kinds of jobs.”
Attraction-Selection-Attrition Framework. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
https://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Levels%20of%20theories/meso/Attraction-Selection-Attrition_Framework(ASA)/
15. Attrition
“The opposite side of attraction. When people do not fit an
environment they tend to leave it.”
Attraction-Selection-Attrition Framework. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
https://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Levels%20of%20theories/meso/Attraction-Selection-Attrition_Framework(ASA)/
16. Influencers & the ASA Framework
For the purposes of this presentation, the SMI takes the place of the organization, and the
SMI’s audience takes the place of the employees.
• Specific people are attracted to specific SMI’s because of shared
interests.
• Specific SMI’s will also tailor their content to attract specific
people (i.e. using brands people generally like, using interest-
specific hashtags to draw in new followers)
The Role Of Influencers And Brand Advocates In Social Media Marketing. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
http://ragingcreations.com/pages/the-role-of-influencers-and-brand-advocates-in-social-media-marketing.html
17. Influencers & the ASA Framework
• Conversely, when a SMI no longer shares interests or personality
traits with specific people (i.e. if their focus changes/evolves over time),
those people will stop following them.
• Also, if a SMI stops showing “stronger levels of commitment and
authenticity,” their audience is less likely to trust their authority
and will find other SMI’s to follow.
The Role Of Influencers And Brand Advocates In Social Media Marketing. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
http://ragingcreations.com/pages/the-role-of-influencers-and-brand-advocates-in-social-media-marketing.html
20. The Basics
“Use of language has persuasive power”
Psycho-Linguistic Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
https://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20Clusters/Communication%20Processes/Psycho-Linguistic_theory/
21. Psycholinguistics Breakdown
• According to Science Daily, Psycholinguistics is the study of the
psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to
acquire, use, and understand language.
• This theory focuses on the use of cognitive processes that create
meaningful sentences, able to be understood--words, text, etc
Research Terms. (2017, February 02). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/psycholinguistics.htm
22. Influencers & Psycholinguistics
• Branded Content- “Providing the experience”
• “It’s trying to use organic content that elicits people’s interest and
makes them engage with the brand instead of having to rent eyeballs.”
• Dr. Rebecca Ortiz, Assistant Professor of Advertising at the S.I.
Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse
University.
• According to a survey for Variety last year, YouTube creators took
eight of the top 10 spots in a survey of influencers, outranking
traditional celebrities like musicians and movie stars.
Onoue, D. (2016, November). Native Advertising in the Magazine Industry and the Ethical Impact (Working paper).
Ault, S. (2015, July 23). Digital Star Popularity Grows Versus Mainstream Celebrities. Retrieved February 09, 2017,
from http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/youtubers-teen-survey-ksi-pewdiepie-1201544882/
23.
24. Instagram photo by Jessamyn • Dec 13, 2016 at 3:38pm UTC. (n.d.). Retrieved February 09, 2017, from https://www.instagram.com/p/BN9m97njis4/?taken-by=mynameisjessamyn
25. Instagram photo by Raye Boyce • Nov 28, 2016 at 12:39pm UTC. (n.d.). Retrieved February 09, 2017, from https://www.instagram.com/p/BNWqlhOjGL5/?taken-by=itsmyrayeraye
26. Instagram photo by James Charles • Feb 7, 2017 at 11:33pm UTC. (n.d.). Retrieved February 09, 2017, from https://www.instagram.com/p/BQOp4a8gyl_/?taken-by=jamescharles
27. Instagram photo by MankoFit • Jan 16, 2017 at 5:53pm UTC. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://www.instagram.com/p/BPVZfHiAw80/?taken-by=massy.arias
29. How do brands use these theories?
● Use language that appeals to their desired audience
● Consumers don’t like it when brands/businesses try to pander to their
interests, so they’ll leave/unfollow those brands (i.e. Attrition)
○ Example: @BrandsSayingBae
The Role Of Influencers And Brand Advocates In Social Media Marketing. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
http://ragingcreations.com/pages/the-role-of-influencers-and-brand-advocates-in-social-media-marketing.html
30. How do brands use these theories?
● Psycholinguistics theory can be applied here as well: the people who
run the social media accounts of different brands use very specific
language to get people interested in their product, just like SMI’s do
when they post branded content.
○ Example: the Wendy’s Twitter
Ocbazghi, E. (2017, January 03). Wendy's is roasting people on Twitter, and it's hilarious. Retrieved February 09, 2017,
from http://www.businessinsider.com/wendys-roasting-people-twitter-hilarious-mcdonalds-retail-2017-1
31. An Iconic Roast
W. (2017, January 02). @NHride You don't have to bring them into this just because
you forgot refrigerators existed for a second there. Retrieved February 09, 2017, from
https://twitter.com/Wendys/status/815973811115925504
32. References
W. (2017, January 02). @NHride You don't have to bring them into this just because you forgot refrigerators existed for a
second there. Retrieved February 09, 2017, from https://twitter.com/Wendys/status/815973811115925504
Attraction-Selection-Attrition Framework. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
https://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Levels%20of%20theories/meso/Attraction-Selection-
Attrition_Framework(ASA)/
Definition: What is a social media influencer? (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
https://www.pixlee.com/definitions/definition-social-media-influencer
Instagram photo by James Charles • Feb 7, 2017 at 11:33pm UTC. (n.d.). Retrieved February 09, 2017, from
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQOp4a8gyl_/?taken-by=jamescharles
Instagram photo by Jessamyn • Dec 13, 2016 at 3:38pm UTC. (n.d.). Retrieved February 09, 2017, from
https://www.instagram.com/p/BN9m97njis4/?taken-by=mynameisjessamyn
Instagram photo by MankoFit • Jan 16, 2017 at 5:53pm UTC. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPVZfHiAw80/?taken-by=massy.arias
33. References
Instagram photo by Raye Boyce • Nov 28, 2016 at 12:39pm UTC. (n.d.). Retrieved February 09, 2017, from
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNWqlhOjGL5/?taken-by=itsmyrayeraye
James Charles jamescharles. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://websta.me/n/jamescharles
Jessamyn mynameisjessamyn. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://websta.me/n/mynameisjessamyn
MankoFit massy.arias. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://websta.me/n/massy.arias
Ocbazghi, E. (2017, January 03). Wendy's is roasting people on Twitter, and it's hilarious. Retrieved February 09, 2017,
from http://www.businessinsider.com/wendys-roasting-people-twitter-hilarious-mcdonalds-retail-2017-1
Onoue, D. (2016, November). Native Advertising in the Magazine Industry and the Ethical Impact (Working paper).
Ault, S. (2015, July 23). Digital Star Popularity Grows Versus Mainstream Celebrities. Retrieved February 09, 2017, from
http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/youtubers-teen-survey-ksi-pewdiepie-1201544882/
Person–organization fit: Testing socialization and attraction–selection–attrition hypotheses. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08,
2017, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001879108001164
34. References
Psycho-Linguistic Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
https://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20Clusters/Communication%20Processes/Psycho-
Linguistic_theory/
Raye Boyce itsmyrayeraye. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://websta.me/n/itsmyrayeraye
Research Terms. (2017, February 02). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/psycholinguistics.htm
The Role Of Influencers And Brand Advocates In Social Media Marketing. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2017, from
http://ragingcreations.com/pages/the-role-of-influencers-and-brand-advocates-in-social-media-marketing.html
