Investigation of the moderating role of word of mouth communication on the effect of trust in social media influencers on purchase intention

With the widespread use of the internet and the increasing popularity of social networks, the sphere of influence of social media influencers, who are internet celebrities, is also expanding. Social media influencers express their ideas and thoughts in all areas from shopping to art, from clothing to technology via social networks and shape the behaviors of their followers. This study aims to investigate the moderating role of word of mouth in the effect of trust in social media influencers on purchase intention. WhatsApp was used to fill out the surveys created for this purpose. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the obtained data. The target audience was reached with the snowball sampling method. The population of the study consists of people living in Türkiye and exposed to influence marketing related to the Türk Telekom brand on YouTube. The sample of the study consists of 363 people. Appropriate scales obtained from different studies were used to achieve the purpose of the study. According to the findings obtained from the research, it was understood that trust in social media influencers did not have a significant effect on purchase intention. It was also determined that word-of-mouth communication has a significant effect on purchase intention. It was also determined that trust in social media influencers has a moderating role in the effect on purchase intention. Keywords: Social Media Influencer, Trust, Word of Mouth, Purchasing Behavior.