Quem influência quem? A construção de relacionamentos entre influenciadores e seguidores periféricos nas redes sociais

Abstract

This dissertation investigates how relationships between peripheral influencers and peripheral followers are formed and sustained on social media, especially Instagram and TikTok, and how these relationships shape the interpretation of endorsements and brand recommendations. The objective was to understand the relational dynamics of influence in contexts marked by inequality, in which belonging, visibility, recognition, and trust are negotiated over time. The study adopted a qualitative, exploratory, and interpretive approach, based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with peripheral influencers (n = 9) and peripheral followers (n = 5), selected through snowball sampling and direct referrals. The data were transcribed and analyzed through thematic Content Analysis. The literature review allowed the formulation of analytical propositions that guided the inter-corpus analysis, mobilizing discussions on Homophily and Heterophily, parasocial relationships, Social Exchange Theory, and perceived Authenticity. The findings indicate that the bond does not develop as a linear sequence of increasing adhesion, but rather as a continuous process of proof, in which signs from the lived world, such as language, aesthetics, routine, commuting, consumption, and everyday materiality, participate in the construction of trust and legitimacy. Platforms play different roles in the progression of the relationship: TikTok favors discovery, recurrence, and familiarity without formal following, while Instagram tends to concentrate more intentional following, backstage access, predictability, and bond densification. Reciprocity is not expressed only through visible public interactions, but may also take silent forms, such as private sharing, direct messages, saved content, and the practical incorporation of content into everyday life. Authenticity emerges as a relational judgment continuously produced by the audience and tends to be reinforced when there is coherence between trajectory, language, everyday life as displayed, and recommendations made, or weakened when monetization is perceived as a rupture of that alignment. Endorsements are better received when they appear compatible with the influencer’s trajectory, with the audience’s possible life, and with the codes of legitimacy built in the relationship; when they “look like advertising,” interrupt the everyday flow, or seem incompatible with the represented world, they tend to increase skepticism and strain the bond. The study contributes to qualifying the understanding of digital influence as a relational, situated, and platform-mediated phenomenon in peripheral contexts.