1인 미디어의 공신력 판단기준에 대한 세부요소 분석: 뷰티유튜버를 중심으로

Abstract

YouTube is the second most popular online information search service for consumers, after Google. In addition, YouTube has the characteristics of both traditional e-WOM and offline WOM, but also has its own unique characteristics. In addition, beauty YouTubers are known to have a strong influence on the appearance management and purchasing behavior of female consumers, and therefore, many cosmetics companies promote their products through these YouTubers, develop new products through collaboration with them, and promote and sell these new products through those Beauty YouTubers. Accordingly, this study aims to suggest consumer criteria of source credibility, and influences of source credibility, to their word-of-mouth effect, within the context of YouTube e-WOM. The major research findings are as follows: First, consumers had their own criteria for determining source credibility in the context of watching Beauty YouTubers: expertise, trustworthiness and attractiveness. Source credibility can be largely divided into expertise, trustworthiness and attractiveness. Viewers consider both their own and another viewers' evaluations to determine expertise; they assess a YouTuber's linguistic expressions and makeup techniques in judging that expertise, and comprehensively consider famousness and their sponsorships. Linguistic expressions refer to the terms or words that Beauty YouTubers use to describe products; all interviewees rated YouTubers highly professional when they mentioned chemical ingredients and professional or unique terms. Interviewees also felt that Beauty YouTubers have more expertise if the latter have excellent makeup techniques, with judgements based on analyses of their and other people’s appearance. The majority of the interviewers recognized the number of subscribers and views of the content as their level of famousness and judges their expertise by these. Interviewers use sponsorships as another criterion to judge Beauty YouTubers' expertise. Sponsorships serve as an element to enhance perceived expertise, but if viewers think YouTubers only advertise sponsored products, they tend to feel their expertise is low. Viewers personally evaluate a Beauty YouTuber's attitude toward products and the consistency of content uploaded. Beauty YouTubers are thought to demonstrate high trustworthiness when they show a sincere attitude toward the products they review. The reliability of Beauty YouTubers who focus solely on beauty content is, notably, higher than those who upload both beauty and other content. An appropriate numbers of subscribers (a subjective criterion) and views were also found by the majority to have a positive impact on trustworthiness, with trust increasing if the number of subscribers is reasonable according to the interviewee's judgment; otherwise, trust declined. Viewers judge Beauty YouTubers' trustworthiness by referring to comments on videos, as well as just viewing the videos themselves. When a Beauty YouTuber's assessment of products has won acclaim from those who post comments, their credibility increased, but if the video and comments are conflicting, the YouTubers are found less reliable. The sponsorships also affect viewers' trustworthiness for beauty YouTubers. Most of them answer that receiving sponsorship undermines their trust of beauty YouTubers but when beauty YouTubers mentioned both positive and negative information about sponsorship products, trustworthiness turned out to be higher. Factors affecting attractiveness were individuality, interactivity, similarity and liking. The individuality of Beauty YouTubers is sensed in a variety of ways, including appearance, voice, and personality; viewers judge Beauty YouTubers' attractiveness based on their own tastes, and become fans. For this reason, the individuality of the YouTuber serves as an important criterion for viewers selecting sources of information. Interactivity is felt through a YouTuber's attitude, voice, speech, and communication skills; the more friendly one feels, the more attractive one is judged. High attractiveness can also be judged by viewers' perception of their own similarities with Beauty YouTubers. Liking is a natural creative act, based on interactivity and similarity, as well as affection; it creates viewers' own favorite YouTubers, and thus their source of information. There is a difference in strength or function between the three important factors in assessing source credibility, leading to oral effects. Interviewees viewed trustworthiness as more important than expertise, and attractiveness has been shown to be the first factor influencing interviewees' continuous consumption of content; no matter how useful that content, it is not consumed in the first place if the viewer is not attracted to the YouTuber. Degrees of importance vary between these criteria, but in the end all three factors are added to create oral effects on the use and recommendation of Beauty YouTubers. However, purchase intention is not only influenced by the positive attitude about the product, but also by external factors - including possible access to the product - and internal factors - including similarities in consumers' economic conditions, and makeup skills. Therefore, even if oral effects exist according to the source credibility of a Beauty YouTuber, other internal and external elements are involved in the process of connecting their intention to purchase them. The results of this study suggest a few implications, the first being that Beauty YouTubers must recognize that viewers watch them due to their attractiveness, and should strive to maintain it. In addition, because they think they are getting vivid reviews and know-how from ordinary people, viewers believe in and trust the information obtained from Beauty YouTubers, and the latter should only feature sponsored products that fit their image. Channels should not become too commercialized, and if sponsored, YouTubers should address both advantages and disadvantages of products. It is also important to interact with viewers through comments on the video, as viewers communicate with each other in and judge the trustworthiness of these videos by the comments. Second, the beauty industry needs to develop effective marketing strategies. Consumers are not only responding to Beauty YouTubers' attractiveness, but also their expertise and trustworthiness. The industry can promote products through YouTubers who are similar to their target markets, since similarity plays a role in purchase intention. In addition, as consumers generally have a negative perception of sponsorships, it is necessary to change the way they sponsor YouTubers, in order to more easily reach consumers. Consumer education, with practical standards for expertise and trustworthiness, can teach viewers how to evaluate the information currently available on YouTube, and understand how this can lead to purchases. Even though they likely know there is commercial deception, consumers should still be told that they may purchase goods due to their perceptions of YouTubers. Practical standards for expertise and trustworthiness should also be provided, and reduction of excessive sponsorship or products in placement (PPL) currently within TV programs is necessary to reduce consumer damage.