Virtual influencers versus real people: determining which carries more sway
Approximately two-thirds of marketing professionals intend to collaborate with virtual influencers this year, according to a report by the Influencer Marketing Hub. A new study, however, suggests that responses from consumers differ significantly when they realize they are being marketed to by a human-like virtual influencer (HVI) versus a real human.
Researchers conducted an experiment involving 105 students, who were shown both human and HVI-generated content and then asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding their experience. The questionnaire focused on the participants' persuasion knowledge, referring to their awareness of being sold to, and how it differs when the influencer is a virtual human-like creation compared to a typical human.
Human influencers spark a straightforward reaction in terms of persuasion knowledge: consumers recognize they are viewing an advertisement (conceptual persuasion knowledge), and this realization leads to increased skepticism towards the message (attitudinal persuasion knowledge).
In contrast, the researchers discovered that this pattern does not apply to HVIs. Firstly, consumers often find it more challenging to recognize attempted persuasion by virtual influencers since they tend to attribute fewer intentions to artificial entities.
Secondly, the actual development of persuasion knowledge towards virtual influencer ads does not necessarily lead to increased skepticism, unlike with human influencers. Instead, consumers are less likely to attribute emotions to virtual influencers, potentially mitigating the influence of such emotionally staged advertising content.
According to the researchers, these differences ultimately even out, and there appears to be no obvious advantage or disadvantage in terms of persuasiveness when using human or virtual influencers. The paper, titled "How does persuasion knowledge differ between humanlike virtual influencers and human influencers?," has been written by Lotte Willemsen, Iris Withuis, Marije Brom, and Sophie Boerman and is available for reading in full here.
The research suggests marketers should exercise caution when relying exclusively on virtual influencers to sell their goods and services. This is because the lack of emotional connection reduces their effectiveness. The study serves as a reminder that authenticity, trust, and emotional bonds still play crucial roles in persuasive marketing.
- The study findings indicate that while marketing professionals might collaborate more with virtual influencers this year, as suggested by the Influencer Marketing Hub report, it's essential for marketers to exercise caution, as consumers might respond differently to HVIs compared to human influencers, particularly in terms of emotional connection and persuasion knowledge.
- In light of the research, it seems that the use of virtual influencers in advertising, though growing in popularity as perceived by the marketing professionals, may not yield significant advantages in terms of persuasiveness due to consumers' lesser emotional connections, lack of attributing emotions, and increased skepticism towards Virtual Human-like Influencers (HVIs) compared to human influencers.
