Media Richness Theory and Social Media Influencers: How the Selection and Role of Influencers Impacts Small Business Marketing — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Media Richness Theory and Social Media Influencers: How the Selection and Role of Influencers Impacts Small Business Marketing

Name: Jaclyn Lindquist
Major: Public Relations and Communication
Hometown: Rockford, IL
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors: Dr. Lynn Brownson
Type of research: Senior thesis

Abstract

Social media has become a leading channel for businesses to maximize their reach to their desired publics. One tool that is growing in popularity is the use of social media influencers. Past research shows expressing your message to the right influencers can promote brands through testimonials which will build brand credibility (Weiss, 2014). In fact, younger generations will trust advice from a stranger of their peer network over a marketing professional (Gillin, 2007). A key theory used in this study is media richness theory (Dennis & Kinney, 1998) which discusses the importance of medium selection to fit the desired task or mission of a business. Incorporating nonverbal communication, timely feedback, varying languages, and creating a personal focus are all components to consider while rating the strength of a medium (Dennis & Kinney, 1998). This study will include detailed research on the history of social media influencers as well as a content analysis of select influencers in large and small business marketing. Quantitative methods are used to uncover the quantity of businesses utilizing social media influencers and their effects on sales and driving the intended publics to the products being sold.

Poster file