Will you be my friend?

What if you are creating a campaign featuring a virtual influencer? Marketers need to carefully consider why audiences would want to connect with something that is not even human.

For years, influencer marketing has been built on authenticity and genuine experiences – liking, sharing, communicating with the audience, and developing trust and credibility. Yet virtual influencers are challenging this logic. Their promotions are grounded in deceptive consumption, lacking lived experiences, emotions, or genuine use of the products or services they promote. The inherent synthetic property of virtual influencers makes their influence non-credible and inauthentic, eroding consumer trust. This shows that the rules governing interaction between the audience and influencers have shifted, with authenticity and influencers’ personal experiences no longer the drivers of the game.

Take the example of Lil Miquela – one of the hundreds of virtual influencers on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Lil Miquela is a female singer, performer, and fashion model who has worked with various brands, including Prada, Calvin Klein, and Samsung, and has appeared in commercials alongside human celebrities such as Bella Hadid. She does everything a human influencer does, reaching an audience of several million, even though none of her experiences is real.

Despite the novelty wearing off, the phenomenon of virtual influencers is not fading. Instead, the market for virtual influencers is growing, and new tools (such as generative artificial intelligence platforms) are becoming available, democratising the creation of virtual influencers. This makes it even more pressing to understand the audience’s psychology when engaging with them.

Our research shows that rather than focusing on authenticity, people respond to how virtual influencers behave. A virtual influencer that replies to comments, is responsive to followers’ inquiries, regularly publishes stories or streams live events, feels interactive and engaging. This creates a sense of social presence, even though the audience understands that the virtual influencer is not real. For example, followers were once caught up in a fake celebrity feud – literally and figuratively – between Lil Miquela and Bermuda after the latter allegedly hacked the former’s account. A wave of comments from both sides left followers worried, prompting them to actively engage by commenting, asking questions, and sharing concerns on Instagram.

However, virtual influencers’ interactivity can engage the audience only in the short term. Over time, followers seek a deeper connection and reassurance that virtual influencers are credible sources of information. That is why appearance and narratives that signal professionalism, relatedness, and adherence to social norms become critical.

• Professionalism is reflected in the consistency of narratives and the influencer’s identity. For example, if an influencer promotes a luxury fashion brand, everything – from narratives and appearance to advertising visuals – should align with recognised industry conventions. At the same time, the narrative should undergo fact-checking to establish the virtual influencer as a trustworthy opinion leader within the relevant industry, thereby maintaining credibility and competence.

• Relatedness refers to the ability to appear close, approachable, and genuinely caring towards followers. Sharing personal reflections, opinions on social issues, and everyday experiences, relationships, and struggles can create an intimate connection and help construct a virtual influencer’s personality that audiences can easily identify with.

• Finally, adherence to social norms positions virtual influencers as actors behaving appropriately within a given cultural context. Virtual influencers should demonstrate balanced judgement, avoid derogatory or exclusionary messages and align with widely accepted values around diversity, inclusion, equity and responsibility.

These insights suggest that marketers can leverage virtual influencers for both short-term campaigns and sustained brand engagement.

Short-term initiatives may include promoting product launches, time-limited sales, special offers, or event announcements, where interactivity plays a central role. For instance, a virtual influencer announcing the release of an exclusive product or a limited-time discount can actively engage with audiences through live chat, reposts, retweets, shares and comments, as well as through direct messaging and private replies. Posing questions that encourage interaction, such as “What do you think of this look?”, can generate excitement, foster audience participation, and create a sense of urgency.

Long-term objectives include brand building, fostering customer loyalty, and encouraging brand advocacy. For such goals, brands need to think carefully about fit and maintain a clear and consistent identity. A virtual influencer aimed at Gen Z, for instance, might use humour, memes, and informal language, while one targeting professionals would require a very different tone.

Long-term relationships require greater input, as they do not arise from isolated campaigns but from symbolic connections and psychological resonance built over continuous narratives. Therefore, designing a brand-owned mascot that anthropomorphises the brand, rather than relying on collaborations with independent virtual influencers, helps maintain consistent messaging, aesthetics, and narrative. These elements can be built up and reinforced over time to create a strong identity and personality that reflects professional qualities and aligns with social norms. This is the most effective way to ensure alignment between the virtual influencer and its intended marketing purpose.

Interested? Davlembayeva, D., Chari, S. and Papagiannidis, S., 2025. Virtual influencers in consumer behaviour: A social influence theory perspective. British Journal of Management, 36(1), pp.202-222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12839

Dr. Dinara Davlembayeva is a Lecturer in Digital Business at Newcastle University Business School. Her research focuses on the use of digital technology within organisations to develop and manage stakeholder relationships and marketing. She adopts a multi-disciplinary perspective to explore the implications of digital technology for social dynamics and relationships.

Prof. Simos Chari is Professor in Marketing Management & Strategy at Alliance Manchester Business School. Prof. Chari’s primary research interests revolve around strategic marketing issues (i.e., marketing strategy-making processes, managerial decision-making, intended and realised marketing strategies, and strategic change).

Prof. Savvas Papagiannidis is Professor of Information Systems, Digital Innovation & Transformation at Newcastle University Business School, UK. His research aims to inform our understanding of how e-business technologies affect the social and business environment, organisational strategies and business models and how these are implemented through functional innovations.