The Impact of Social Media Influencers as Brand Ambassadors on Customer Retention: A Case of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe

Abstract

This work examines the determinants of the success of social media influencer (SMI) brand ambassadors‘ persuasive power on customer retention due to the fastest growing social network and the evolving of the influence marketing as a marketing strategy in the business world. It analyses the impact of social media influencers‘ characteristics on their followers ‗and how it influences customer retention. It also investigates the impact of social media influencer characteristics like authenticity, credibility, trustworthy and their generated content has on customer retention. The social influence theory describes how SMIs characteristics endorse and how consumer behaviour of their followers is affected or influenced by them on a social network. A survey of the respondents that uses social media and follow influencers showed that influencer credibility, authenticity, trustworthy, generated content and influencer demographics plays an important role in customer retention since their opinions are valued by their followers. The study used a sample of 100 respondents‘ and suggestions were made to advance the understanding of this novel phenomenon.