PURCHASING BEHAVIOR INFLUENCED BY SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS: A CASE STUDY OF INSTAGRAM

Abstract

This research aims to study the factors of social media influencers on Instagram that affect the purchasing decisions of consumers in Thailand. The sample group consisted of 400 Thai consumers who had previously made purchases based on recommendations from influencers on Instagram, selected using purposive sampling. A questionnaire was used as the research instrument for data collection, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The results showed that the factors significantly influencing purchasing decisions at the 0.05 level included trustworthiness, expertise, similarity to the target audience, as well as content presentation formats in the form of articles and images or videos. These findings indicate that consumers place greater importance on the authenticity, credibility, and personal relevance of influencers rather than their appearance or image-based popularity alone. Therefore, marketers should emphasize selecting influencers who possess real expertise and can deliver valuable and relevant content that aligns with the target audience in order to effectively stimulate purchasing behavior.