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Social media influencers and youth identity in Africa: Marketing implications in a disruptive era
Gbadamosi, Ayantunji Al-Abdulrazak, Rula Abdulraheem, Issa
Gbadamosi, Ayantunji
Al-Abdulrazak, Rula
Abdulraheem, Issa
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2026-05-23
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Abstract
The rapid rise of social media influencers has changed the way youth interact with brands, culture, and identity in digitally expanding, socioeconomically dense African settings. The current body of research on influencer marketing is largely Western and behaviour-oriented, offering little information on the role of engagement with influencers in youth identity formation and its downstream marketing implications. This theoretical paper develops a complex, multifaceted model of influencer engagement in shaping youth identity development in Africa, with perceived relatability, aspirational appeal, authenticity, trustworthiness, and
interaction frequency as key elements explaining this process. The paper reconceptualises influencers as identity architects within platform economies rather than promotional intermediaries, drawing on social identity theory, platform affordance theory, and civic engagement perspectives. The formation of youth identity, operationalised as identity congruence, aspirational self-alignment, identity salience, and perceived social belonging, is theorised to mediate the relationship between influencer engagement and consumer outcomes, including purchase intention, brand association, lifestyle adoption, and advocacy behaviours. Conditioning attributes are suggested to be platform characteristics and socio-cultural setting. The framework driving the theory proposes contextual moderators that are normally ignored in hegemonic Western models and frames identity formation as a dynamic, socially situated process rather than a fixed stage of development. A set of propositions is formulated in a clearly defined manner to be used in future testing. The research has implications for marketing strategy, policy and regulation, and interventions targeting youth in African digital ecosystems.
Citation
Sani, K.F., Gbadamosi, A., Al-Abdulrazak, R., Abdulraheem, I. (2026) Social media influencers and youth identity in Africa: Marketing implications in a disruptive era, in Confidence in Africa's Future: the 26th Academy of African Business and Development (AABD) conference proceedings, Prof. Richard Shambare (ed.), Academy of African Business and Development. pp. 449-460.
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Conference contribution
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en
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This is an author's accepted manuscript of a paper delivered at the 26th Academy of African Business and Development (AABD), 19th-23rd May, 2026. Tunis, Tunisia.
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9798998742019