A grounded theory analysis of the techniques used by social media influencers and their potential for influencing the public regarding environmental awareness

There is a need for new inventive strategies to communicate to the public on particular subjects such as climate change, biodiversity loss and sustainability. Social Media Influencers (SMIs) are an emerging type of third-party endorsers who can aim to shape and influence the attitudes and perceptions of people through social media. In the field of marketing, SMIs have had great impact on customer retention and relationships. SMIs could help in engaging with the public to adopt pro-environmental behaviour. However, there is limited research related to SMIs in the field of environmental awareness. This study reports on a grounded theory analysis that explored the literature related to the characteristics of SMIs and the techniques used by SMIs that could be used by researchers for influencing the public regarding environmental awareness and pro-environmental behaviour. This paper fulfils a need for identifying strategies for engaging and influencing the public to gain insights into their pro-environmental behaviour.