• University of Mindanao - Main Campus (Bolton Street, Davao City)

• BUSINESS A 321

 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Background of the Study Marketing strategies were much more effective when there is uniqueness of making promotional operation which highly affects the sales and create brand awareness and play a pivotal role in marketing. Influencer marketing is one of the best social media marketing where it is the best way to expand the reach of your brand on social media. In recent years, this strategy has become predominantly centered on social media, creating opportunity for brands to market through social media influencers (Forbes, 2016). Social media has fundamentally changed the balance of the power between customers and brands. The term influencer marketing is marketing products and services of those who take action to influence the purchasing decision of the costumer. As of now, peer recommendations on social media affect purchasing decision of costumer a lot and that marketing inspired word of mouth (Wong, 2014). On the other hand, marketing field is changing simultaneously with the digital world (Isusuo, 2016). We have arrived in a new era of democratic media consumption where consumers choose what they listen to and who they trust (Kastenholz, 2020). Customer trust their friends, peers, and people who they admire more than the companies selling the product or services they buy and use. According to Baker (2021), 49% of consumers today depend on the influencer recommendation for their purchase decisions. They seek guidance from social media influencers before making buying decisions. Kastenholz (2020) states, that with the rise of the attention economy, we see a new form of exchange where brands seek and attain customer attention by producing appealing, entertaining content. This is where digital marketing’s true genius is revealed: when consumers are willing, active participants within the marketing scheme.