Abstract

DU PLESSIS, Charmaine  and  WAITITU, Paul. Integrating content and influencer marketing to enhance brand engagement: quantitative insights from Kenyan marketing agencies. Communitas (Bloemfontein. Online) [online]. 2025, vol.30, pp.33-55. ISSN 2415-0525.  https://doi.org/10.38140/com.v30i.9018.

With the rise of influencer marketing, brands are searching for new ways to connect with their audiences in an increasingly crowded digital landscape. In response, this study investigates how Kenyan marketing agencies strategically integrate content and influencer marketing to increase brand engagement on social media platforms. A web-based survey and purposive sampling were used to collect data from Kenyan marketing agencies in 2023, while descriptive, correlation, and regression analyses were used for data analysis. Validity and reliability were established through a pilot test and internal consistency measures. The results, based on a realised sample of 87 responses, highlight the benefits of integrating content and influencer marketing. In particular, content marketing attributes such as relevance, authenticity, and consistency were found to be closely associated with higher levels of brand engagement in influencer marketing campaigns. Strategic partnerships and collaborations between brands and influencers further enhanced brand engagement. Interestingly, influencer marketing on its own was not a strong predictor of brand engagement. Therefore, this was a synergistic relationship that, when used together, achieved a level of effectiveness that neither could attain alone. This study addresses the paucity of research in the East African marketing context by providing culturally and geographically specific insights into how these strategies are integrated to drive brand engagement, overcome consumer scepticism, and build long-term trust. These insights have significance for marketers looking to tailor content marketing strategies to local contexts while taking advantage of the global rise of influencer marketing.

Keywords : brand engagement; content marketing; influencer marketing; Kenya; two-step flow of communication theory; social media; marketing communication; SDG 8; SDG 12.

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