Credible Audience Communication in the Personal Branding of Sports Influencers on Instagram

Introduction: The rapid growth of social media, especially Instagram, has transformed the way personal brands are formed, presented, and developed in the field of sport. In the digital environment, personal branding has become a strategic process for managing individual image, creating distinction, and shaping audience perceptions (Labrecque et al., ۲۰۱۱). This issue is especially important in sport, as athletes and sports influencers use Instagram to present their professional identity, interact with fans, and develop commercial opportunities (Geurin-Eagleman & Burch, ۲۰۱۶). However, the success of personal branding does not depend only on visibility or the number of followers. It also depends on the quality of communication with audiences, trust, human interaction, and long-term loyalty. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the role of credible audience communication in the personal branding of sports influencers on Instagram. Methodology: This study used a qualitative research design with a phenomenological approach. The research population included Iranian sports influencers active on Instagram in areas such as coaching, sports education, sports content production, and professional athletic activity. Participants were selected through purposive sampling. In total, ۱۹ sports influencers with ۱۰,۰۰۰ to ۱ million followers participated in the study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. After transcribing the interviews, the data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. To enhance research quality and trustworthiness, the Guba and Lincoln framework, including credibility, dependability, transferability, and confirmability, was applied. Findings: The findings showed that credible audience communication is one of the main dimensions of successful personal branding among sports influencers on Instagram. Data analysis identified several key factors related to this concept: human interaction and audience loyalty, trust-building through honesty and consistency, respectful and friendly communication with followers, audience participation in the content creation process, and professional networking with coaches, athletes, and other influencers. Participants emphasized that audiences do not only pay attention to educational or promotional content; they also value the influencer's behavior, honesty, responsiveness, and personal consistency. This finding is consistent with influencer marketing literature, which emphasizes the role of trust, credibility, and meaningful audience relationships in influencer effectiveness (Khamis et al., ۲۰۱۷). In addition, professional networking and communication with credible individuals in the sports community can strengthen the personal brand credibility of sports influencers. Conclusions: Based on the findings, credible audience communication is one of the main foundations for the development and sustainability of sports influencers' personal brands on Instagram. Influencers who build their communication on honesty, human interaction, audience participation, and professional relationships are more likely to create trust, loyalty, and social capital. Therefore, successful personal branding in sport is not achieved only through producing more content or increasing the number of followers; it requires real, ethical, and sustainable communication with audiences. The findings of this study can be useful for athletes, coaches, sports marketing practitioners, and social media managers in designing effective personal branding strategies.

کلیدواژه ها:

Credible communication ، personal brand ، sports influencer ، Instagram ، sport management