Influencer Marketing Practices and Brand Performance of Selected Smart Phone Firms in South-South Nigeria
The study examined the effect of influencer marketing practices on brand performance of selected smart phone firms in the South-South Nigeria. The general objective of the study is to examine the effect of influencer marketing practices on brand performance of selected smart phone firms in south-south Nigeria. The specific objectives are to: ascertain the effects of story telling on brand performance of selected smart phone firms in South-South Nigeria, assess the effect of customer engagement on brand performance of selected smart phone firms in SouthSouth Nigeria and determine the effect of brand advocacy on brand performance of selected smart phone firms in South-South Nigeria. The study adopted the survey research design method specifically, a cross-sectional survey design. The population of the study consists of 551 persons to whom the research was generalized. From the population, a workable sample size of 231 was derived. The study adopted the stratified simple random sampling technique. The study used structured questionnaire as instruments of data collection. To establish the reliability of the instrument, a test-retest method was used. The descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data collected. The data collected was analyzed by using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software version 25.0. Finding showed that story telling (β =0.134, p=0.005< 0.05), customer engagement (β =0.198, p=0.002< 0.05), and brand advocacy (β =0.143, p=0.004< 0.05), have significant positive effect on brand performance. Findings showed that influencer marketing practices was responsible for 53% of the changes in brand performance. The study concluded that influencer marketing practices has significant and positive effects on brand performance in the Nigerian smart phone industry. The study recommended amongst others that when making decisions on influencer selection, marketers should take into account multiple data factors. These include the influencer's area of expertise within the sector, the extent of their audience engagement, the platform they operate on, and the overall reach they possess. The study demonstrated that how the brand is mentioned verbally by reputable personality creates brand image.