Influencers in Croatia: An Analysis of Influence and Popularity

Cilj diplomskog rada Influenceri u Hrvatskoj: analiza utjecaja i popularnost je uvidjeti razinu trenutne popularnosti ove profesije u hrvatskom društvu, ali i postoji li mogućnost za njen daljnji razvoj na ovim područjima. Iako je u svijetu ovaj društveni fenomen prepoznat kao posao budućnosti, čini se kako se u Hrvatskoj još uvijek vode žestoke rasprave o tome je li influencanje posao, hobi ili promocija u svrhu zarade te koje sve aktivnosti spadaju u influencerstvo. Sudeći prema komentarima na web portalima, digitalni influenceri kao društvena skupina koja ima mogućnost zarađivati samom svojom prisutnošću na društvenim medijima još uvijek nailazi na neodobravanje od strane publike. Ipak, prema rezultatima ovog istraživanja Hrvati pokazuju tendenciju praćenja digitalnih influencera te su u velikoj mjeri upućeni su u njihov posao i aktivnosti koje on kao takav uključuje. U komunikaciji s influencerima su inertni, ali pri donošenju odluka o kupnji ponekad se oslanjaju na sadržaje koje vide, čuju ili pročitaju prateći digitalne influencere. Iako na prvi pogled djeluje kako su Hrvati izrazito negativni u svojoj percepciji digitalnih influencera, čini se kako većina ovaj posao smatra jednakovrijednim bilo kojem drugom tradicionalnom zanimanju. Sudeći prema rezultatima ovog istraživanja, čini se kako je broj pratitelja jednim dijelom povezan s popularnošću i prepoznatljivošću, dok se kao mjera utjecaja više percipiraju kvaliteta sadržaja i razina komunikacije. Što se tiče samih digitalnih influencera u Hrvatskoj, od tog posla za život zarađuje tek nekolicina, dok je većini to još uvijek hobi bez obzira na relativno dugačku povijest influencerstva u Hrvatskoj. Sumirajući sve rezultate ovog istraživanja, činjenica jest da influencerstvo i influencerska scena u Hrvatskoj nisu razvijeni kao u većim zapadnijim zemljama, ali povoljni temelji za rast i budući razvoj ove profesije svakako postoje.The main purpose of the thesis titled Influencers in Croatia: An Analysis of Influence and Popularity was to get the insight into the current level of popularity of digital influencers in Croatia, but also to see if there is any possibility for its further development in Croatian society. Although this profession is recognized as a real job in many countries worldwide, it seems that it’s not the case in Croatia. According to comments on the Croatian news websites, it seems that some people still disapprove digital influencers. There is an ongoing heated debate in Croatian society about whether digital influencing is a legit job, a hobby or a new powerful marketing tool. However, according to the results of this research, it’s clear that Croatians do follow digital influencers on social media and are largely aware of their work and activities. The results show that Croatians don’t communicate with digital influencers on regular basis and don’t develop strong relationships with them, but they find their content reliable and helpful anyway. Although at first glance it seems like Croatians created extremely negative perception about digital influencers, most of the survey respondents consider this profession as worthy as any other traditional job. According to the results of this research, it seems that the number of a digital influencers followers is partly related to their popularity and recognition in society, while their influence is usually measured by the quality of their content and communication with followers. Speaking of earnings that can be made from digital influencing, Croatian digital influencers said that only several influencers in Croatia can make big money from social media. Most of them create social media content as a hobby, although Croatian has a relatively long digital influencing history starting with first blogging services. However, considering the data gathered from interviews with six Croatian influencers, as well as the results of the survey taken on the sample of 300 respondents, the influencer scene in Croatia is still not as big and developed as in the larger western countries, but it seems that it has a great potential for growth and progress