The ongoing digitalization has not only transformed consumer behavior but also revolutionized how companies target their audiences. Particularly in the cosmetic industry, influencer marketing has become increasingly relevant. A novel development in this area is the rise of virtual influencers (VI), created using computer-generated imagery (CGI). In her master’s thesis, Julia Mergel, a student of our business psychology program, explores the effects of the visual human-likeness of VI on their perceived credibility in the cosmetic industry. The study identifies key factors for successful collaborations between companies and VI.
Research goal
The goal of this research was to understand how the visual human-likeness of VI affects their credibility ratings. The focus on credibility is especially relevant for virtual influencer, because – unlike human influencers – they are not independent entities and every post by them is usually created by a marketing team in the background. The study focuses on the cosmetic industry, where credibility plays a crucial role in consumer purchase decisions. Specifically, the research investigates whether different degrees of human-likeness in VI affect three critical factors influencing credibility: attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise. These three factors are related to each other in an interdependent relationship, collectively creating the perception of credibility of news senders (Ohanian, 1990).
Research overview
VI are CGI-created characters that actively participate in social media and are increasingly used for marketing purposes. Their application is particularly noticeable in the fashion and cosmetic industries. However, up to now the majority of studies on influencer marketing has primarily concentrated on human influencers (Why are influencers perceived as credible by social media users? – Innovation Acceptance Lab), with few focusing on virtual influencers and even fewer examining the effect of visual human-likeness on VI credibility.
The participants in the study were exposed to four different influencers: three VI with varying degrees of human-likeness and one human influencer. The study employed a within-subjects design where each participant viewed all influencers with a different post on a cosmetics product in a randomized order. The VI ranged from highly animated, cartoonish depictions to almost photorealistic, human-like virtual influencers. Participants were then asked to rate the credibility of each influencer and, in addition, to evaluate the three factors underlying credibility: attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise, which were later used as mediators in the analysis.
The study was run as an online experiment involving 119 female Instagram users, all of whom followed influencers.
Main findings
The study revealed that visual human-likeness significantly influences the perception of credibility. It was found that greater human-likeness had a positive impact on credibility ratings up to a certain point: No significant difference in perceived credibility was found between the most human-like VI and the human influencer.
The degree of human-likeness also had an effect on the underlying credibility factors:
- Trustworthiness: A higher degree of human-likeness had a significant positive influence on trustworthiness of the VI.
- Attractiveness: A higher degree of human-likeness also increased the perceived attractiveness of the VI. Attractiveness plays a central role in credibility evaluations of influencers, as this trait fosters trust among consumers, making the VI appear less „uncanny“ or artificial (Choudhry et al., 2022).
- Expertise: The perceived expertise of VI also increased with greater human-likeness. Participants perceived human-like VI as more competent compared to highly animated ones.
The parallel mediation analysis confirmed that all three factors influencing credibility—attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise—served as mediators. Overall, 72.5% of the total variance in credibility ratings was explained after including these mediators (p < .001). Trustworthiness, in particular, had the strongest effect on credibility assessments.
Scepticism toward influencer marketing
Despite the clear trends, the overall findings showed that none of the four influencers (including the human influencer!) received particularly high credibility ratings. On a seven-point scale, the highest mean score was lower than the “neutral” middle point (M = 3.71, SD = 1.32). This aligns with a survey by a digital market research institute, which found that advertising with human influencers is not necessarily perceived as more credible than traditional advertising (nextMedia. Hamburg, 2022). Thus, there may be other reasons, why influencers are so successful at the moment.
In an additional exploratory survey, reasons for and against following VI accounts were examined. Five respondents mentioned following VI out of entertainment, content interest, or curiosity. On the other hand, there were 90 negative responses. The most common reasons were that VI were seen as unrealistic, inauthentic, incapable of real experiences, and thus perceived as untrustworthy. Additionally, some found VI impersonal, and at times, even eerie or threatening. However, these descriptive results are likely influenced by the fact that VI aren’t as popular in Germany as in some American or Asian countries (Ströer Blog, 2023).
Implications
For the cosmetic industry, particularly in advertising on platforms like Instagram, companies and developers of VI should consider the following key factors to enhance the credibility of their marketing campaigns.
- Visual human-likeness: Companies should opt for VI with high visual human-likeness to increase credibility and avoid consumer discomfort.
- Factors influencing credibility: Companies should prioritize VI that are perceived as trustworthy, competent, and attractive to boost source credibility. Trustworthiness has the greatest impact on credibility, so particular attention should be paid to this factor.
- Product categories: Products such as nail polish or lipstick, which enhance aesthetic appeal, are better suited for VI advertising than products intended to correct human flaws.
Conclusion
While there remains scepticism surrounding VI, they are increasingly gaining importance in marketing, especially in the cosmetic industry. Our study shows that greater visual human-likeness positively influences the perception of attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise—key factors influencing credibility. Companies should leverage these insights to tailor their marketing strategies around VI and maximize the benefits of this innovative technology.
References
Choudhry, A., Han, J., Xu, X. & Huang, Y. (2022). „I Felt a Little Crazy Following a ‚Doll'“: Investigating Real Influence of Virtual Influencers on Their Followers. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 6(GROUP), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1145/3492862
NextMedia.Hamburg (Hrsg.). (2022). Authentisch, aber bitte unpolitisch? So standen die Befragten zu Influencer*innen. Verfügbar unter: https://www.nextmedia-hamburg.de/umfrage-zu-influencerinnen-lieberauthentisch-und-unpolitisch
Ohanian, R. (1990). Construction and Validation of a Scale to Measure Celebrity Endorsers‘ Perceived Expertise, Trustworthiness, and Attractiveness. Journal of Advertising, 19(3), 39–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.1990.10673191
