Os Influenciadores Digitais e a liderança de opinião

Abstract

Digital influencers play a crucial role in forming opinions and building close relationships with their followers through social media platforms, being considered new opinion leaders who take advantage of the opportunities of the digital environment. In this context, this paper addressed the research question about the characteristics necessary for a digital influencer to build opinion leadership among their followers. The objectives included the identification of the main characteristics of the followers, the valorization of these characteristics in the construction of opinion leadership, the analysis of changes over time and the identification of the most used digital platforms. The theoretical framework covered topics such as influencer marketing, social media marketing, digital influencers, follower behavior, opinion leadership, interpersonal communication and engagement. The methodology was quantitative, descriptive, with 304 participants as a sample, using a structured questionnaire and the chi-square method for statistical analysis. The results revealed predominant characteristics in followers, highlighting the importance of authenticity, knowledge, empathy and quality of content. Changes in preferences over time were noticed by nearly half of the participants, with Instagram as the most popular platform, providing valuable insights for influencers and marketers on social media.