What drives influencer's impact

Word-of-mouth drives consumer attitudes and choice, but not all products and services are naturally discussed. Consequently, companies have started using influencers to generate awareness and drive purchase. But while some influencers' posts get lots of engagement and boost sales, others do not. What makes some posts more impactful? The present dissertation work leverages a multimethod approach (combining automated text, image, and video analysis of thuousands of social media posts with controlled experiments) to examine how features like the language influencers use, and the images they post, shape their impact. The first essay investigates sensory language (e.g., "tasty"), the second essay examines language arousal (e.g., "AMAZING!!"), and the third essay examines social tie presence (e.g., appearing with someone else) in photos. The findings shed light on what drives word-of-mouth, the psychology of social influence, and strategies for developing more effective social media content.