Effectiveness of Instagram spokespersons for rural hotels: gender roles and popularity in digital engagement and reservations

Carlos Fernando Osorio Andrade; Carlos Alberto Arango Pastrana; Augusto Rodriguez Orejuela

doi:10.14198/INTURI.30082

Autores/as

Carlos Fernando Osorio Andrade Universidad del Valle, INTEP, Colombia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5095-4991
Carlos Alberto Arango Pastrana Universidad del Valle , Colombia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7314-816X
Augusto Rodriguez Orejuela Universidad del Valle , Colombia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2865-1748

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14198/INTURI.30082

Palabras clave:

Spokesperson, celebrity endorsement, digital consumer engagement, social media, Instagram, gender

Resumen

This study examines how the gender and popularity of spokespeople in Instagram posts influence consumer digital engagement and bookings in the rural hotel sector. Based on a content analysis of 1,017 posts from 14 rural hotels in Colombia and applying negative binomial regression models, the proposed hypotheses were evaluated. The results reveal that, contrary to expectations, the use of non-celebrity spokespeople reduces both "likes" and bookings. However, this relationship is moderated by gender and popularity. Celebrity endorsement positively impacts all metrics studied: bookings, "likes," and comments. Specifically, female spokespeople enhance bookings and "likes," while male spokespeople only increase "likes". These findings offer strategic implications for rural hotel managers, emphasizing that the selection of a spokesperson should be a calculated decision. Popularity and an appropriate gender match with the target audience are crucial factors for optimizing the effectiveness of social media campaigns, driving both interaction and commercial conversion.

Citas

Abu-Akel, A., Spitz, A., & West, R. (2021). The effect of spokesperson attribution on public health message sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLOS ONE, 16(2), e0245100. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245100

Ahn, J. J., Choi, E. K. C., & Joung, H. W. (2022). Promoting hotel upselling: The effect of message appeal and delivery setting on consumer attitude and purchase intention. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 52, 295–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2022.06.012

Akaike, H. (1974). A new look at the statistical model identification. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 19(6), 716–723. https://doi.org/10.1109/TAC.1974.1100705

Andrade, C. F. O., Zorrilla, C. P. M., y Orejuela, A. R. (2021). Efecto del uso de modelos en publicaciones online sobre la generación de Electronic Word-of-Mouth. Kepes, 18(23), 375–400.

Anubha, Jain, A., & Hooda, M. (2019). Consumer engagement towards travel websites and purchase intentions. Journal of Advanced Research in Dynamical and Control Systems, 11(8), 2788–2794.

Arshad, S., Ikram, M., Yahya, M., & Nisar, Q. A. (2017). Does celebrity endorsement influence corporate loyalty: Mediating role of corporate credibility? International Journal of Social Sciences, Humanities and Education, 1(4), 308–319. http://www.ijsshe.com/index.php/ijsshe/article/view/50

Ashley, C., & Tuten, T. (2015). Creative strategies in social media marketing: An exploratory study of branded social content and consumer engagement. Psychology & Marketing, 32(1), 15–27. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20761

Bapna, A. (2017). Ranveer Singh is the first Indian ambassador for Switzerland Tourism. Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ranveer-singh-is-the-first-indian-ambassador-for-switzerland-tourism/articleshow/57750871.cms

Barattin, M., & Latusi, S. (2025). The role of tone of voice in tourism destination brands’ social media communication. Tourism Review. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-09-2024-0800

Becerra, N., & Vela, F. (2011). A comparison of Poisson and negative binomial models with Stata: A didactic exercise. In 3rd Encuentro de Usuarios de Stata (pp. 1–23). México, D.F.

Bilro, R. G., & Loureiro, S. M. C. (2020). Exploring consumer-brand engagement in online environments designed for tourism. In Management Tourism Culture: Studies and reflections on tourism management.

Bowden, J. L. (2009). The process of customer engagement: A conceptual framework. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 17(1), 63–74. https://doi.org/10.2753/MTP1069-6679170105

Breuer, R., & Brettel, M. (2012). Short-and long-term effects of online advertising: Differences between new and existing customers. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26(3), 155–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2011.12.001

Brodie, R. J., Hollebeek, L. D., Jurić, B., & Ilić, A. (2011). Customer engagement: Conceptual domain, fundamental propositions, and implications for research. Journal of Service Research, 14(3), 252–271. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670511411703

Cameron, C., & Trivedi, P. (2013). Regression analysis of count data (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139013567

Chen, S., Han, X., Bilgihan, A., & Okumus, F. (2021). Customer engagement research in hospitality and tourism: A systematic review. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 30(7), 871–904. https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2021.1903644

Chen, X., Guo, S., & Han, S. (2024). The role of gender-identity congruity in cross-gender endorsement in the context of live streaming. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 18(6), 1001–1016. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-05-2023-0167

Daradinanti, S. C., & Kuswati, R. (2025). Is truly trustworthiness of celebrity endorsement effect on online purchase intention: A study on online travel agency customers. Indonesian Interdisciplinary Journal of Sharia Economics, 8(2), 2697–2717.

Dutta, T., Roy, S., Sarkar, S., & Nag, S. (2024). Spokesperson effectiveness in B2B advertising: Spokesperson characteristics and posture using eye-tracking. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 39(12), 2699–2715. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-06-2023-0344

Elango, S., & Suryakumar, M. (2022). Entrepreneurial celebrity endorsement and its influences on purchase behaviour. International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13198-022-01734-x

Espinal, E. A., Andrade, C. F. O., & Pastrana, C. A. A. (2025). Marketing de contenidos en Instagram y su impacto en el eWOM en el turismo sostenible amazónico. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 28, e240178. https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-7849rac2024240178.en

Ferreira, A. G., Crespo, C. F., & Mendes, C. (2022a). Effects of athletic performance and marketable lifestyle on consumers' engagement with sport celebrity's social media and their endorsements. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 23(2), 259–277. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-12-2020-0211

Ferreira, S., Santos, S., & Santo, P. E. (2022b). How creativity and celebrity trust promotes intention to visit a destination. In Springer Series in Design and Innovation (Vol. 19, pp. 689–700). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89735-2_56

Frank, P., & Baack, D. (2024). Connection? Conspiracy theories and influencer marketing: An analysis using core marketing spokesperson characteristics. The Midwest Quarterly, 66(1), 102–V.

Hernández-Méndez, J., Baute-Díaz, N., & Gutiérrez-Taño, D. (2024). The effectiveness of virtual versus human influencer marketing for tourism destinations. Journal of Vacation Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1177/13567667241276212

Herrington, J. D., & Dempsey, W. A. (2005). Comparing the current effects and carryover of national-, regional-, and local-sponsor advertising. Journal of Advertising Research, 45(1), 60–72. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021849905050063

Hovland, C. I., & Weiss, W. (1951). The influence of source credibility on communication effectiveness. Public Opinion Quarterly, 15(4), 635–650. https://doi.org/10.1086/266350

Islam, J., Rahman, Z., & Hollebeek, L. (2017). Personality factors as predictors of online consumer engagement: An empirical investigation. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 35(4), 510–528. https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-10-2016-0193

Iswanto, D., Handriana, T., Rony, A. H. N., & Sangadji, S. S. (2024). Influencers in tourism digital marketing: A comprehensive literature review. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 19(2), 739–749. https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.190231

Jeong, H., Cho, S., Lee, M., & Sputra, E. (2014). Race of athlete-spokesperson and implicit and explicit responses to advertising. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 42(4), 655–671. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2014.42.4.655

Jun, M., Han, J., Zhou, Z., & Eisingerich, A. B. (2023). When is celebrity endorsement effective? Exploring the role of celebrity endorsers in enhancing key brand associations. Journal of Business Research, 164, 113951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113951

Kim, J., Lee, J., & Chung, Y. J. (2017). Product type and spokespersons in native advertising–The role of congruency and acceptance. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 17(2), 109–123. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2017.1399838

Kong, H., & Fang, H. (2024). Research on the effectiveness of virtual endorsers: A study based on the match-up hypothesis and source credibility model. Sustainability, 16(5), 1761. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16051761

Krippendorff, K. (2018). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (4th ed.). Sage Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071878781

Lee, S., & Jeong, E. L. (2023). An integrative approach to examining the celebrity endorsement process in shaping affective destination image: A K-pop culture perspectives. Tourism Management Perspectives, 48, 101150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2023.101150

Lien, N.-H., Chou, H.-Y., & Chang, C.-H. (2012). Efficacy of advertising and the matching hypothesis: Examination of the sex of the spokesperson, the type of appeal and the product image. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 33(2), 282–300. https://doi.org/10.1080/10641734.2012.700809

Liu, F., Wei, H., Sun, Z., Zhu, Z., & Chen, H. A. (2024). The influence of spokesperson choice and product newness on consumer purchase intention. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-11-2023-0268

Macheka, T., Quaye, E. S., & Ligaraba, N. (2024). The effect of online customer reviews and celebrity endorsement on young female consumers’ purchase intentions. Young Consumers, 25(4), 462–482. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-05-2023-1749

Marbach, J., Lages, C., Nunan, D., & Ekinci, Y. (2019). Consumer engagement in online brand communities: The moderating role of personal values. European Journal of Marketing, 53(9), 1671–1700. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-10-2017-0721

Marques, I.-R., Casais, B., & Camilleri, M. A. (2021). The effect of macrocelebrity and microinfluencer endorsements on consumer-brand engagement in Instagram. In Strategic Corporate Communication in the Digital Age (pp. 131–143). https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80071-264-520211008

McCartney, G., & Pao Cheng Pek, R. (2018). An examination of Sina Weibo travel blogs’ influence on sentiment towards hotel accommodation in Macao. Journal of China Tourism Research, 14(2), 146–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388160.2018.1455614

Menon, R. V., Sigurdsson, V., Larsen, N. M., Fagerstrøm, A., Sørensen, H., Marteinsdottir, H. G., & Foxall, G. R. (2019). How to grow brand post engagement on Facebook and Twitter for airlines? An empirical investigation of design and content factors. Journal of Air Transport Management, 79, 101678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2019.05.002

Navarro, A., Utzet, F., Puig, P., Caminal, J., & Martín, M. (2001). La distribución binomial negativa frente a la de Poisson en el análisis de fenómenos recurrentes. Gaceta Sanitaria, 15(5), 447–452. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0213-9111(01)71599-3

Paintsil, A., & Kim, H. (2022). Sharing personal experiences and online consumer engagement: A case study of Glossier. Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 13(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/20932685.2021.1947150

Perelló-Oliver, S. (2018). Brand personification in radio advertising. Analysis of the presence and use of the figure of the spokesperson. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 73, 1301. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2018-1301en

Polat, E., Çelik, F., Ibrahim, B., & Gursoy, D. (2024). Past, present, and future scene of influencer marketing in hospitality and tourism management. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 41(3), 322–343. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2024.2317741

Pradhan, D., Kapoor, V., Moharana, T., & Ranjan. (2017). One step deeper: Gender and congruity in celebrity endorsement. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 35(6), 774–788. https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-02-2017-0034

Pradhan, D., Moharana, T., & Malik, G. (2023). Influence of celebrity, destination and tourist personality on destination attachment and revisit intention: Moderating roles of endorsement embeddedness, destination crowding and gender. Journal of Destination Marketing and Management, 27, 100754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2022.100754

Putri, M. A., Hendriyani, C., & Rochmah, T. S. (2023). Analysis of social media engagement for archipelago tourists in West Java Province. The International Journal of Business Review (The Jobs Review), 6(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.17509/tjr.v6i2.59375

Pütter, M. (2017). The impact of social media on consumer buying intentions. Journal of Marketing, 3(1), 7–13. https://doi.org/10.18775/jibrm.1849-8558.2015.31.3001

Qiu, L., Chen, X., & Lee, T. J. (2021). How can the celebrity endorsement effect help consumer engagement? A case of promoting tourism products through live streaming. Sustainability, 13(15), 8655. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158655

Roy, S., Dryl, W., & de Araujo Gil, L. (2021). Celebrity endorsements in destination marketing: A three country investigation. Tourism Management, 83, 104213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104213

Schimmelpfennig, C. (2018). Who is the celebrity endorser? A content analysis of celebrity endorsements. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 30(4), 220–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/08961530.2018.1446679

Schwarz, G. (1978). Estimating the dimension of a model. Annals of Statistics, 6(2), 461–464. https://doi.org/10.1214/aos/1176344136

Şenyapar, H. N. D. (2024). A comprehensive analysis of influencer types in digital marketing. International Journal of Management and Administration, 8(15), 75–100. https://doi.org/10.29064/ijma.1417291

Shabbir, H., Bennett, R., Kottasz, R., Vijaygopal, R., Gardasz, B., Adams, J., & Kendall, P. (2024). Poverty porn as humanitarian business: The effects of framing, affect intensity, and spokesperson characteristics. Business & Society, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00076503241275762

Srivastava, R. (2021). Effectiveness of films, sport, celebrity or mascot to content in the advertising–A dilemma for global brands. Journal of Promotion Management, 27(5), 716–739. https://doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2021.1880518

Stojanovic, I., Andreu, L., & Curras, R. (2018). Effects of the intensity of use of social media on brand equity: An empirical study in a tourist destination. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 27(1), 83–100. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJMBE-11-2017-0049

Sun, X. (2018). The effect of brand spokesperson on consumers’ brand gender perceptions (Doctoral dissertation, Concordia University). https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/id/eprint/983607/

Tanaltay, A., Ozturkcan, S., & Kasap, N. (2024). Decoding digital engagement: A comparative analysis of English and Turkish brand post popularity dynamics on platform X. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-10-2023-0368

Teng, H., & Chen, C. (2020). Enhancing celebrity fan-destination relationship in film-induced tourism: The effect of authenticity. Tourism Management Perspectives, 33, 100605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2019.100605

Tešin, A., Kovačić, S., Bratić, M., & Obradović Strålman, S. (2025). Toward destination competitiveness: Exploring the power of attributes in shaping memorable experiences and its effect on tourist satisfaction and loyalty. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/15256480.2025.2521783

Tran, P. D., Le, T. D., Nguyen, N. P., & Nguyen, U. T. (2024). The impact of source characteristics and parasocial relationship on electronic word-of-mouth influence: The moderating role of brand credibility. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 36(11), 2813–2830. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-02-2024-0170

Vander Schee, B. A., Peltier, J., & Dahl, A. J. (2020). Antecedent consumer factors, consequential branding outcomes and measures of online consumer engagement: Current research and future directions. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 14(2), 239–268. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-01-2020-0010

Velotta, R. (2016, September 13). New $2.7 Parisian resort to open Tuesday in Macau. Las Vegas Review-Journal. https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/new-2-7-parisian-resort-to-open-tuesday-in-macau/

Ver Hoef, J., & Boveng, P. (2007). Quasi‐Poisson vs. negative binomial regression: How should we model overdispersed count data? Ecology, 88(11), 2766–2772. https://doi.org/10.1890/07-0043.1

Vrontis, D., Christofi, M., Giacosa, E., & Serravalle, F. (2022). Sustainable development in tourism: A stakeholder analysis of the Langhe Region. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 46(5), 846–878. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348020982353

Wang, L., & Dong, M. (2022). Does “male beauty” really work: The impact of male endorsements on female consumers’ evaluation of female-gender-imaged product. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 54(2), 192–204. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1041.2022.00192

Wang, R., & Chan-Olmsted, S. (2024). Brand communication through social media influencers: Trust building and trust transfer mechanisms. International Journal of Business Communication. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/23294884241255911

Wang, S. W., & Scheinbaum, A. C. (2018). Enhancing brand credibility via celebrity endorsement: Trustworthiness trumps attractiveness and expertise. Journal of Advertising Research, 58(1), 16–32. https://doi.org/10.2501/JAR-2017-042

Wymer, W., & Drollinger, T. (2015). Charity appeals using celebrity endorsers: Celebrity attributes most predictive of audience donation intentions. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 26, 2694–2717. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-014-9546-y

Yang, W., Zhang, L., Wei, W., Yoo, M., & Rathjens, B. (2024). Do we love celebrity endorsers? The joint impacts of consumers’ need for status, celebrity’s star power and image congruence on celebrity endorsement effectiveness. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 7(4), 2183–2198. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-05-2023-0313

Ye, B. H., He, J., Fong, L. H. N., Li, Z., & Yan, Y. Q. (2023). How does cuteness become the cue? Investigating the impact of cute destination spokespersons on tourist travel intention. Journal of Destination Marketing and Management, 27, 100758. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2022.100758

Zhang, S., Huang, C., Li, X., & Ren, A. (2022). Characteristics and roles of streamers in e-commerce live streaming. The Service Industries Journal, 42(13–14), 1001–1029. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2022.2068530

Zhou, Y., Li, Y. Q., Ruan, W. Q., Zhang, S. N., & Yang, T. T. (2024). Who should the spotlight be on? The interactive effects of celebrity endorser type and destination personality. Tourism Management, 105, 104957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2023.104957