Social Media Influencers in Retail Marketing in Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the contributions of influencer marketing to organizational marketing efforts with focus on Jumia Nigeria as a case study. Specifically, the study sought to ascertain the extent Jumia uses influencers, the relationship between influencers and the reputation of Jumia, how viable is the technique in promoting and enhancing the visibility of Jumia brand. Status Conferral Theory and Source Credibility Theory used to explain the relationships between the two research variables. Mixed design was employed; in-depth interview served as the research method for the qualitative part while structured questionnaire was used for survey. Interviews were conducted with staff of marketing unit of Jumia Nigeria, and major influencers used by Jumia Nigeria, to collate facts and record pertinent perceptions of key players. Analyses of responses of interviewees confirmed that Jumia Nigeria uses influencers extensively in its marketing effort. Jumia confirmed that influencer marketing constitutes about 60-70% of its marketing efforts and constantly engage influencers to push products listed on Jumia website on Instagram and other social media platforms. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that influencer marketing is very viable to Jumia Nigeria. Jumia assessed and track the influencers on key deliverables such as creativity of content, number of engagements generated (likes, comments, reposts, shares attracted by each post), large followership, active followership, new leads generation and driving of sales. Lastly, the use of social media influencers by Jumia Nigeria has enhanced brand awareness and visibility for the e-commerce website. It has also connected the brand with many Gen-Z consumers and improved lead generation for products listed on Jumia's website. However, the survey revealed most online users are not swayed by the influencers, rather, they search jumia online and blogs to get details about products before buying from physical locations; reason why they do not use promo codes dispersed by influencers. Based on the data received, the study concludes influencers are veritable for brand visibility and awareness to most online shoppers, majorly comprising the GenZ, who make buying decisions based on believable product specifications and peer influences. Therefore, the study recommends influencer to embed product specifications in their promotion posts and foster comparative discourse while emphasizing USPs to engender brand acceptance.