Abstract:
The role of influencer credibility is increasingly becoming a major determinant of consumer engagement,
especially in the cosmetic industry which is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. The present study
aims to study, how the source credibility of Instagram influencers, including trustworthiness, expertise, and
attractiveness affects consumer engagement, and how customer experience mediates the relationship between
these two constructs in Uva Province, Sri Lankan. Quantitative, cross-sectional study design was used with the
self administered questionnaire which was validated with pilot survey. The result of the pilot test confirmed the
reliability and normality of data distribution. Data were collected from 384 cosmetic content-driven Instagram
users, using convenience sampling method. SPSS 24.0 was used to analyze the data. Correlation, regression
and Sobel tests were employed to confirm the hypotheses. The results indicated that trustworthiness, expertise,
and attractiveness substantially influence customer engagement directly. Besides that, the mediation analysis
proved that customer experience partially mediates the relationship between customer engagement and
influencer credibility. The research is useful to the marketers who need to establish customer engagement with
their brands by using Instagram influencers.
