Interview Transcripts
- An-Ting Hsiau
- Jun 7, 2020
- 8 min read
Interview Results:
Participant 1
22 y.o , Part time employment graduated in winter, Estimated $24,000, Latina
Mentions confidence, follows fashion influencers to inspire her to be more confident
Follows small influencers, ppl who are “not just using their fans” who actually care
Doesn’t feel like she relates to all influencers but likes people who actually “try to help” similar to her own goals. Ex: one youtuber she follows helped her seek mental health
Very skeptical when influencers post sponsored content advertising products ,but also understands that influencers also need help.
Ex: bought a subscription ($80) to skincare products but after 3 months saw it was making her acne worse
Usually does her own research, usually thinks that it might not work and then looks up product to see if it works
Influencers is not just about following, they’re trying to “influence” their followers but also trying to make a living off of it
Follows influencers that are usually around her age range so like 21-27.
Also follows a lot of Latinx influencers, because they have similar cultural back grounds and that she can relate to
Sort of influencers her on day to day life sometimes because it influences the way she dresses and act differently in a positive way
Common Themes/Keywords:
Influence mindset or dress in a positive way
Advertisements, skeptical but understandable
Participant 2 - Pseudonym Brandy
22 yo, Latina female, 4th year UCI student, part time employed before pandemic, $18,000 personal income
Do you currently use Instagram?
Yes, but not a lot - stopped using it recently
How often are you on Instagram?
4 times a week for less than 15 mins each time
Do you follow any influencers on Instagram?
Couple of actors, tattoo artists
Bretman Rock
What kind of influencers are they?
Celebrity, artist, personality/humour
Do influencers you follow on Instagram promote any products through their posts/stories?
Only one noticed is Nick Jonas, Bretman Rock
Nick Jonas’ instagram story about mercury free yellowtail tuna from Costco
If yes, what is your immediate response to seeing promoted products on Instagram?
Bought the tuna from costco after looking into it more online
Mercury free appealed to her
Have you ever bought the product promoted/endorsed?
Yes, Tuna
How much do you spend per promoted product bought?
$14 for a box of 6 tuna cans
What aspects of influencers appeal to you?
Humour
How do you feel about ig influencers promoting/endorsing products?
Thinks it’s popular, common and expected now, so it’s ok
But they should be explicit about it
Suspicious of what the influencers claim because they getting paid
How do you feel about products endorsed by influencers vs. products not endorsed?
Prefer products not endorsed more
Have you noticed how these influencers influenced your day to day life? If yes, how?
Yes, ate tuna today
Also tried harmless coconut water (organic) from Bretman’s coconut water review series on his ig story
Have you followed influencers outside of Instagram? If so, where?
Youtube, Tik tok
Main Takeaways:
Doesn’t follow that many ig influencers
Bought one tuna recently for under $20 because Nick Jonas endorsed it
Values sustainability - does own research of products because still suspicious of influencers
Understand that influencers rely on ads to make living but is suspicious of them
Participant #3
How old are you?
25
With what gender do you identify?
Male
What is your current employment status?
Student & Youtuber
How often are you on social media (insert timeframe)?
Very often
Do any influencers you follow on instagram ever advertise any products through their posts?
Yes, a lot. From their sponsers.
Are you interested in fashion? [can we change this to “What industries are you interested in” because aren’t we no longer focusing on fashion. Or maybe we still are?]
Body kits(car), exhaust,smart electronics
Do you follow any instagram influencers? About how many?
Yeah, about 30 maybe.
If yes, why do you like them?
They are my friends and I really like what they share.
If yes, what are your top 3 influencers?
DDE, Logan Paul, Linus
Have you seen any products promoted by influencers?
Yes, from their sponsers
If yes, what products?
Car parts, Their own brand clothes, hats. And motherboard and all other tech stuff from Linus.
Have you clicked on a link to a product promoted by a influencer?
Yes, when I think I need them.
Have you ever bought something because of the marketing from a influencer, if so what?
Yes, I bought all parts that I can build a pc promoted by Linus.
How do you feel about influencers endorsing/promoting products?
Is ok, they are promoting what they get paid from.
How do you feel about products endorsed by influencers vs. products not endorsed?
Prefer endorsed more because at least someone can give me more details about it.
Has following these influencers influenced your day to day life?
Yeah, I upgrade my car and pc more often even I don’t really need it.
How likely are you to try an unfamiliar brand if its recommended by your favorite influencer?
Not that much, doing a bit research before any purchase.
Demographics: age, gender, race, economic background
25 Asian American, male. Part-time graduate student & part time youtuber.
Main Takeaways:
Follow many ig influencers.
Bought lots of car parts, clothes, and pc components.
Values sustainability, Prefer endorsement for more information. Done research before purchase.
Group Interview: Participant 3 (N) and Participant 4 (M)
N: 21 yo, Asian female, UCI graduate, unemployed, dependant on wealthy parents
M: 22 yo, Asian female, UCI 4th year, part time employed before pandemic, $6,700 personal income
Do you currently use Instagram?
N: yes
M: yes
How often are you on Instagram?
N: everyday
M: everyday
How much time do you spend on Instagram a day?
N: 2 hours a day on ig, uses tik tok more now
M: 5-15mins a day
Do you follow any influencers on Instagram?
N: yes, alot
M: yes, not that many
What kind of influencers are they?
N: artist, painters, models, meme pages, around 40
M: DJs (2-3), not that many
Do influencers you follow on Instagram promote any products through their posts/stories?
N: yes, if meme pages post an ad she unfollows, other influencers promote clothing (not paid)
M: yes, promote own products
If yes, what is your immediate response to seeing promoted products on Instagram?
N: unfollows meme pages, looked into stuff she likes (clothes)
M: ignores
Have you ever bought the product promoted/endorsed?
N: no, but likes to window shopping
M: no
How would you define an influencer?
N: someone who has influence over a mass audience
M: people whose purpose is to influence,
Both: people who promote themselves, their brand
What aspects of influencers appeal to you?
N: aesthetics
M: interesting, fun, curious about gossip (reads stories)
How do you feel about ig influencers promoting/endorsing products?
N: It’s fine, that's the point, but they should be transparent
M: dont care for it
How do you feel about products endorsed by fashion influencers vs. products not endorsed?
N: doesn’t trust what influencers claim, not hard to look up online for real users
M: doesn’t either, dont care
Have you noticed how these influencers influenced your day to day life? If yes, how?
N: makes her want to shop more, influenced by aesthetics and fashion (ex. Tik tok converse boots, bought right away)
M: Not really
Have you followed influencers outside of Instagram? If so, where?
N: tik tok, snapchat
M: snapchat
Main Takeaways:
N uses ig and follows more influencers, M doesn’t use ig that much and doesn’t follow many influencers
Both don’t mind promotions but don’t trust influencers too
N follows for aesthetics, fashion, makeup, has influenced her style
Survey Results: 51 participants
Age: 18-30, Average age:
63.3% female, 34.7% male, 2% non-binary
⅓ employed part-time, ⅓ employed full time, ¼ unemployed student
Income mixed, ¾ household income under $74,999
95.9% use Instagram
Mixed results
Most participants say influencers they follow promote products
45 participants follow influencer/s
61..4% (27) disregard promotions, 47.7% (21) read captions about products
62.5% have never bought endorsed products, 37.5% have
Kinds of products:
Apparel
Makeup (this stands out)
Equipments
Half spend less than 50%
Aspects of influencers appeals:
Beliefs
Talent
Aesthetics
Inspiring
Entertainment
Hobbies
Food
Lifestyle
Knowledge
Personality
How they feel about influencers promoting/endorsing products
Positive feelings: 4
- “Its good, sometimes I get to explore new products”
Ok with it: 13
- “nothing personal, just business”
Depends on product or credibility: 12
- “They need to get their money from sponsors; but I also feel that they have a responsibility to not endorse any products that can promote unhealthy things”
- “take it with a grain of salt. do my own research? if I really love the influencers i am more inclined to try a product they promote”
Negative feelings: 14
Have you noticed how these influencers influenced your day to day life?
No: 6/37, Yes: 31/37
Shopping
Aesthetics
Motivation
Food
Help mental health
Sustainability
“Occasional dissatisfaction in comparing my home to theirs”
Other platforms: Youtube, Tik Tok, Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, Snapchat, Depop, Patreon
Another Interview:
Do you currently use Instagram? - Yes
How often are you on Instagram? - Alot, everyday, multiple times a day
Do you follow any influencers on Instagram? - Yes, the participant follows over 100 influencers on instagram alone.
What kind of influencers are they? - Art Accounts, Warhammer 40K, Cosplay, Meme Accounts
Do influencers you follow on Instagram promote any products through their posts/stories? - Yes influencers do very often promote products that they create or are sponsored to promote.
If yes, what is your immediate response to seeing promoted products on Instagram? - Immediate response is usually to ignore it but sometimes for art they will look into the product being sponsored.
Have you ever bought the product promoted/endorsed? - Yes, Mostly paint related products or art
How much do you spend per promoted product bought? - Amount varies but anything over 100$ the participant considers too much.
How would you define an influencer? - The participant was very vague with their idea of an influencer. They just felt that an influencer is anybody with over 10k followers. Their reasoning is that an influencer is just a person who has a reach to alot of people. To this participant the account type, whether it be a meme account or an art account or a celebrity account doesn’t matter.
What aspects of influencers appeal to you? - They just said that if they like the posts they will follow
How do you feel about ig influencers promoting/endorsing products? -They don’t care about influencers promoting products, the participant said they understand they’re just trying to make money.
How do you feel about products endorsed by fashion influencers vs. products not endorsed? - The participant was very specific. IF the two products are the same, the participant will buy the cheaper product regardless of whether it was endorsed or not. However, If they are the same, and the same price then the the participant will purchase the endorsed product because they feel they can trust it more.
Have you noticed how these influencers influenced your day to day life? If yes, how? - They don't think that the influencers have changed their day to day life.
Have you followed influencers outside of Instagram? If so, where? - They follow influencers on, IF, Youtube, Twitter, Patreon, Twitch.
Another Interview x2:
Do you currently use Instagram? - Yes
How often are you on Instagram? - 2 hours a day.
Do you follow any influencers on Instagram? - Yes, they say they only follow one, and it is because they knew them personally.
What kind of influencers are they? - They were a health influencer.
Do influencers you follow on Instagram promote any products through their posts/stories? - Yes, they do advertise with posts. Important to note that the person does not count artists or painters as influencers.
If yes, what is your immediate response to seeing promoted products on Instagram? - They think that seeing so many ads from an influencer hurts credibility.
Have you ever bought the product promoted/endorsed? - No
How much do you spend per promoted product bought? - They claim to have never spent money on a promoted product however if they were to they wouldn't spend more than 20$.
How would you define an influencer? - They define an influencer as anybody with a large fanbase, differing them from a celebrity because they have a less solid grasp of fame. I asked if they considered a celebrity instagram and influencer account and they said no.
What is the difference between a fandom and a following? - They considered a fandom to be weaker than a following.
What aspects of influencers appeal to you? - They do not like influencers, to this person they say they feel that influencers are just artificial.
How do you feel about ig influencers promoting/endorsing products? - It depends on the product, if they feel it is a bad product their view of the influencer gets worse but if they know its a good product then it makes no difference to them.
How do you feel about products endorsed by fashion influencers vs. products not endorsed? - essentially it boils down to who promoted or endorsed the product.
Have you noticed how these influencers influenced your day to day life? If yes, how? - These influencers do not influence day to day life.
Have you followed influencers outside of Instagram? If so, where? - They only use youtube, instagram and patreon.
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