Undergraduate Research

Consumers’ Responses to Virtual vs. Human Influencers: Sentiment Analysis Approach

Authors: Choco Nguyen (University of Minnesota) , Hyunjoo Im (University of Minnesota) , Sarah Hank (University of Minnesota) , Maxwell Quinlan (University of Minnesota) , Tatum Olson (University of Minnesota)

Abstract

Virtual influencers (VIs) recently gained popularity becausethey are particularly effective in reaching new audiences, increasing awarenessand sales, positive publicity, and willingness to engage (Thomas & Fowler,2021). However, Source Credibility Theory suggests that consumers would questiontheir trustworthiness (Kuzminov, 2023) and find the VIs less similar and attractivethan human influencers. Through a text analysis of consumer responses to YouTubevideos of human influencers and a VI, we found evidence that VI videos receivedmore negative comments and that consumer sentiment was more negative in VIvideos than human influencer videos. The negativity towards VIs stems fromconfusion and anger at the “unreal” nature of VIs. However, the number of viewsand comments per video seems to be higher for VI videos, proving their valuefor increasing engagement. It is recommended that future research analyze alarge number of videos from a wider range of influencers. 

Keywords: Virtual influencers, Sentiment analysis, Text analysis, Influencer Marketing

How to Cite: Nguyen, C. , Im, H. , Hank, S. , Quinlan, M. & Olson, T. (2024) “Consumers’ Responses to Virtual vs. Human Influencers: Sentiment Analysis Approach”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings. 80(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.17126