The role of influencer marketing in relationship between brand trust and brand preference: A research on e-commerce brands

Technological advancements and digitalization have led to significant transformations in marketing, as they have in various other fields. This transformation has directed brands toward digital marketing practices for product promotions and brand communications. Influencer marketing, a digital marketing practice, has garnered considerable attention today within the scope of product promotion and brand communication. Additionally, these developments have increased competition, making concepts such as brand trust and brand preference more important than ever before. In this context, the study aims to investigate whether influencer marketing has a mediating effect on the relationship between brand trust and brand preference. The research was conducted on e-commerce brands operating in Turkey. The sample of the study is the people who use social media, follow at least one influencer and shop at least once from the e-commerce brands of Turkey. Within this framework, an online survey form consisting of four parts has been created. The survey includes questions aimed at determining the demographic characteristics of the participants and statements related to the scales of "Brand Trust," "Brand Preference," and "Influencer Marketing." The survey form was distributed to individuals via social media platforms using the convenience sampling method, and data were collected from 477 participants. The collected data were analyzed using statistical analysis programs. According to the results of the research, brand trust has a significant impact on brand preference, brand confidence has an eloquent effect on influencer marketing care, influencer marketing has a meaningful effect on brand preference and brand reliance and brand preference relationship between influencer marketing and sub -dimensions (empathy and ego, Message reliability) partial intermediary effect has been determined.