[Air-L] Call for Proposals Submission: Global Perspectives on Social Media Influencers and Strategic Business Communication

[Nicky Chang Bi]

Call for Chapters
Global Perspectives on Social Media Influencers and Strategic Business Communication
Editors
Dr. Nicky Chang Bi, University of Nebraska at Omaha, United States
Dr. Ruonan Zhang, Rollins College, United States
Introduction
Social media influencers have become a popular source of information and thus affect consumer decisions on a global scope. They have been increasingly important for brands that want to reach a larger but precisely targeted audience, especially digital natives. The research of social media influencers has grown rapidly in recent years. Social media influencers are a group of individuals who produce high-quality content that assists their audiences to learn new skills and look for information on a particular topic. Social media influencers can make an impact on their audiences' purchasing decisions through information dissemination, product try-ons, brand endorsement, and sponsored or user-generated reviews of products and services. Social media influencers not only make a significant difference in their followers' brand loyalty and purchase intention but also help to shape cultural norms and build communities around shared interests. For instance, live streaming and off-site interaction are effective ways that influencers use to build relationships with their audience and drive sales. This calls for attention from brands who hope to reach out to influencers. Businesses and organizations should make ethical decisions in choosing influencers. It is important for them to carefully assess social media influencers and avoid working with those who have a history of engaging the audience through unethical methods.
Objective
This book was designed with two objectives. First, it will provide a comprehensive overview of the contemporary research and practices of social media influencers. It will cover a wide range of topics, including social media influencers in different industries and sectors, their impact on audiences, their motives and characteristics, and their use in business management, public relations, advertising, and strategic communication. Second, it will explore innovative methods to identify, assess, and reach out to influencers on a global scale. Overall, the book will represent a salutary addition to the current academic studies of social media influencers. The book is a valuable resource for businesses, strategic communicators, marketers, scholars, and anyone interested in learning more about social media influencers.
Recommended Topics

Social Media Influencers' Impacts on The Audience

     *   The impacts of social media influencers on brand loyalty, brand attitudes, purchase intention, etc.
     *   Social media influencers, cultural norms, and community building
     *   The differences between paid endorsement, sponsored content, and pure electronic word-of-mouth
     *   Social media influencers, live streaming, and purchase behaviors
     *   The methods of reaching out to social media influencers as a public relations or/and advertising approach
     *   The audience’s engagement with social media influencers
     *   Social media influencers and parasocial relationships/interaction
     *   The moderation effects of audiences’ personalities on the impacts of social media Influencers
     *   How influencer-product congruency shapes individuals’ attitudes and purchase behaviors
     *   Social media influencers in the fashion industry, fitness, public health, sustainability, tourism, finance, etc.
     *   Others



The Motives and Characteristics of Social Media Influencers

     *   Different generations of social media influencers
     *   The emergence of virtual influencers as the influencer communication paradigm
     *   The comparison between virtual influencers and human influencers
     *   The credibility of social media influencers
     *   Social media influencers from rural areas
     *   The differences between social media influencers and traditional celebrities
     *   Mapping influencers on social media
     *   How organizations identify, manage, and evaluate social media influencers
     *   Motivations of social media influencers in content production
     *   How social media influencers use artificial intelligence (AI) to produce content
     *   Others



The Ethics and Negative Consequences of Social Media Influencers

  *   Social media influencers and cancel culture

     *   Social media influencers in organizations’ reputation management
     *   The ethics of collaborating with social media influencers
     *   The influencers and psychological well-being
     *   social media influencers, social comparison, and materialism
     *   The ethics of using artificial intelligence (AI) in influencer communication
     *   Others
Submission Procedure
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before September 30, 2023, a chapter proposal of 1,000 to 2,000 words clearly explaining the mission and concerns of his or her proposed chapter. Authors will be notified by October 14, 2023 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by January 5, 2024, and all interested authors must consult the guidelines for manuscript submissions at https://www.igi-global.com/publish/contributor-resources/before-you-write/ <https://www.igi-global.com/publish/contributor-resources/before-you-write/> prior to submission. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project.
Note: There are no submission or acceptance fees for manuscripts submitted to this book publication, Global Perspectives on Social Media Influencers and Strategic Business Communication. All manuscripts are accepted based on a double-blind peer-review editorial process.
All proposals should be submitted through the eEditorial Discovery® online submission manager at https://www.igi-global.com/publish/call-for-papers/call-details/6636

Publisher
This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), an international academic publisher of the "Information Science Reference" (formerly Idea Group Reference), "Medical Information Science Reference," "Business Science Reference," and "Engineering Science Reference" imprints. IGI Global specializes in publishing reference books, scholarly journals, and electronic databases featuring academic research on a variety of innovative topic areas including, but not limited to, education, social science, medicine and healthcare, business and management, information science and technology, engineering, public administration, library and information science, media and communication studies, and environmental science. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit https://www.igi-global.com<https://www.igi-global.com/>. This publication is anticipated to be released in 2024.

Important Dates
September 30, 2023: Proposal Submission Deadline
October 14, 2023: Notification of Acceptance
January 5, 2024: Full Chapter Submission
March 8, 2024: Review Results Returned
April 19, 2024: Final Acceptance Notification
May 3, 2024: Final Chapter Submission

Inquiries

Dr. Nicky Chang Bi
University of Nebraska at Omaha
cbi at unomaha.edu<mailto:cbi at unomaha.edu>

Dr. Ruonan Zhang
Rollins College
rzhang at rollins.edu<mailto:rzhang at rollins.edu>