E-cigarette brands and social media influencers on Instagram: a social network analysis

TLDR

Exposure to visual e‑cigarette posts on Instagram is linked to higher use among US adolescents, making Instagram the main platform for e‑cigarette marketing through influencers such as bloggers and brand ambassadors. The study examined the Instagram network of e‑cigarette brands and influencers to identify the most central players in social media marketing. Using social network analysis of 2020 Instagram posts from influencers with over 1,000 followers and 1–25% engagement, the authors mapped a highly interconnected network of 55 influencers linked to more than 600 e‑cigarette brands and evaluated youth follower counts and age‑verification practices. The analysis revealed that Asian and US influencers had five to six times more teenage followers than European ones, 75% of influencers did not restrict youth access, and brands such as Voopotech, Innokin, Geekvape, Lost Vape, Smok, and Vaporesso partnered with the most influencers (average 20 per brand).

Abstract

Exposure to visual posts featuring e-cigarette products on social media is associated with increased e-cigarette use among US adolescents. Instagram is the largest source of e-cigarette social media marketing, where influencers-for example, bloggers, brand ambassadors-post promotional materials. This study analysed the network of e-cigarette brands and influencers on Instagram, characterising the most central players in e-cigarette social media marketing.We tracked influencers with public profiles on Instagram who posted promotional e-cigarette content in 2020, had over 1000 followers and high user engagement rate (ratio of likes and comments to followers) of 1%-25% per post. By conducting a social network analysis, we identified the most central (highly involved in promotional activities) influencers and e-cigarette brands. The number of the influencers' followers aged 13-17 years old and the age verification practices restricting youth access were also assessed.There is a highly interconnected network of engaging e-cigarette influencers (n=55) worldwide who collaborated with over 600 e-cigarette brands in 2020. The Asian and US influencers had five to six times more teenage followers compared with the European influencers. 75% of the influencers did not restrict youth access to their promotional content on Instagram. The brands Voopotech, Innokin, Geekvape, Lost Vape, Smok and Vaporesso collaborated with the largest number of influencers (mean n=20).It is important to understand associations among influencers and e-cigarette use behaviours, especially youth, to inform effective public health communication and potential policies that could regulate social media marketing sponsored by e-cigarette companies.