Lifestyle Eco-Influencers Advertising: Is Engagement Driven by Content or Fandom?

Bárbara Castillo-Abdul; Luis Miguel Romero-Rodríguez; Carlos Fernández-Rodríguez

doi:10.17231/comsoc.45(2024).5629

Authors

Bárbara Castillo-Abdul Universidad de Diseño, Innovación y Tecnología (UDIT), Madrid, Spain/ESAI Business School, Universidad Espíritu Santo, Guayaquil, Ecuador https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3711-1519
Luis Miguel Romero-Rodríguez Departamento de Ciencias de la Comunicación y Sociología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3924-1517
Carlos Fernández-Rodríguez Universidad del Atlántico Medio, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5270-5772

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.45(2024).5629

Keywords:

social media, advertising, eco-influencers, environment, influencers

Abstract

This research examines the main common characteristics among the contents of five eco-influencer accounts from different Western countries. A quantitative content analysis was performed on 187 Instagram posts published by eco-influencers from the United Kingdom, United States, Belgium, Spain, and Peru. The topics that eco-influencers deal with the most are promoting veganism, spirituality, environmental and political claims, product advertising (their own and third-party), and personal life, generating the most interactions in the accounts. Carousels win on engagement for eco-influencers on Instagram despite videos being sponsors’ favorite format. Both sponsored content and sponsors themselves are well-received, with over half of all posts featuring them. It seems evident that the social capital of influencers encourages environmental commitment, although there is a particular bias to appreciate the person more than their activist message. In light of the results, this research contributes to the social capital theory of influencers by demonstrating that influencers show personal content and emotional appeals, such as activities with their families, personal reflections, and political statements that give them a high sense of authenticity, but which, blurs the barriers between the public and private spheres.

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Author Biographies

Bárbara Castillo-Abdul, Universidad de Diseño, Innovación y Tecnología (UDIT), Madrid, Spain/ESAI Business School, Universidad Espíritu Santo, Guayaquil, Ecuador

Bárbara Castillo-Abdul, PhD, is a senior researcher at the Universidad de Diseño, Innovación y Tecnología (UDIT; Madrid, Spain) and a visiting professor at ESAI Business School, Espiritu Santo University (Guayaquil, Ecuador). She has a PhD in Social and Legal Sciences from the Rey Juan Carlos University (Madrid, Spain) and a PhD in Communications from the University of Huelva (Spain).

Luis Miguel Romero-Rodríguez, Departamento de Ciencias de la Comunicación y Sociología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain

Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez, PhD, is an associate professor at the Department of Communication Sciences and Sociology at the Rey Juan Carlos University (Madrid, Spain). He holds a PhD in Communication from the universities of Huelva, Seville, Malaga, and Cadiz (Spain) and a Master of Arts in Social Communication from the University of Almeria (Spain).

Carlos Fernández-Rodríguez, Universidad del Atlántico Medio, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain

Carlos Fernández-Rodríguez is an assistant professor at the Universidad del Atlántico Medio (Spain). He graduated from the School of Cinema and Audiovisuals of the Community of Madrid and holds a degree in Audiovisual Communication from the University of Seville (Spain). He holds a master’s in Audiovisual Communication and Education from the University of Huelva and the International University of Andalusia. He has a PhD in Social and Legal Sciences from the Rey Juan Carlos University (Madrid, Spain).

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