title: Performance in a digital world
title: Navigating commercial drama in WeChat blogs
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Bai, Yuxin
Publisher: name: Lancaster University
Year: 2025
Subjects: Performance theory
WeChat official accounts
Influencer marketing
Dark side of social media marketing

description: Drawing upon performance theory, this study investigates the dynamics of
 commercially driven blogs created by WeChat influencers. It examines three
 of the most critical yet still unanswered questions in our understandings
 of influencer marketing: How WeChat influencers captivate both readers and
 advertisers, generating commercially driven digital performance that meet
 the expectations of both sides? How marketers analyse criteria when
 selecting influencers and assess their cooperation to acquire valuable
 information that may enhance their digital performance? What challenges
 and negative aspects of influencer marketing manifest as dark side of
 performance and what barriers and hazards to the sector? In this study,
 the WeChat official account platform is conceptualized as a stage, where
 influencers assume the roles of both playwrights and directors, while
 brands act as sponsors and readers as the audience.
 
 
 In addressing these important issues, I first explore the strategies used
 by WeChat influencers in their digital performances. Then, I investigate
 the processes used by marketers in their selection of WeChat influencers.
 Lastly, I examine the dark side of the process that may arise from the
 performance and the strategies used in sustaining commercial success.
 Moving beyond one-sided narratives, I focus on the intricate interplay of
 influencers, brands, and audiences on the WeChat official account
 platform. Employing a netnographic approach, this dissertation reveals
 that celebrity influencers enhance persuasiveness, excitement, and reader
 engagement through different techniques of digital performance. They adopt
 the strategies of role-playing, emotional expression, and interactions
 with audience to create successful digital performance with commercial
 purposes. They use digital impression management to sustain
 
 an audience as well as attract marketers. The findings have important
 implications for marketers when selecting influencers and highlight three
 evaluation criteria: engagement metrics (reading rate; conversion rate;
 fan growth rate); AISAS model (attention-interestsearch-action-sharing);
 and the subjective approach (such as anecdotal feedback, qualitative
 impressions, or subjective assessments). Lastly, it uncovers the negative
 repercussions of
 
 marketing on WeChat official accounts, shedding light on the dark side’s
 impact on influencers, brands, audiences, and broader society. The dark
 side of influencer marketing stems from the numerous pressures on
 influencers, including mental, physical, and financial strains. Negative
 impacts extend to brands, facing risks from setbacks and financial losses
 due to lack of transparency in fees and other detrimental practices.
 Heightened competition
 
 among brands may lead to increased marketing expenses, with brands
 essentially operating as conduits for influencers. Additionally, adverse
 effects on readers and society such as economic losses, misleading
 erroneous values, fostering negative social norms, and giving rise to
 unhealthy psychological issues which can lead to societal anxiety and
 conflicts. In addition, this research extends performance theory to the
 online realm and explores theoretical issues beyond self-presentation
 within a commercial context. It offers practical
 
 insights for researchers exploring marketing-related fields within the
 Chinese market, providing a comprehensive understanding of WeChat
 commercial blogs and the integration of performance theory.