Social Media Influencers and Their Marketing Outcomes in Tourism and Hospitality Research: Applying BERTopic Analysis and Meta-Analysis Approaches

Abstract

As social media influencers (SMIs) have been embedded in tourism marketing, a comprehensive understanding of their marketing outcomes is crucial for both academia and industry practitioners. Grounded in social influence theory, this study develops a theoretical framework of SMIs’ three-dimensional characteristics to scrutinize prior research. Employing a mixed-method approach integrating meta-analysis with BERTopic analysis, this study synthesizes findings from 62 empirical studies to elucidate the effectiveness of social media influencer marketing strategies. The results indicate that SMIs’ characteristics can be categorized into three dimensions (i.e., informational, normative, and value-expressive influence characteristics), which shape tourists’ behavioral intentions and destination-related dissemination effects through the sequential psychological mechanism of identification and internalization. Additionally, message content, education, and cultural background moderate these effects. These findings not only extend the academic understanding of SMIs and their marketing outcomes in the tourism and hospitality industry, but also offer practical guidance for designing effective marketing strategies.