Global Social Media Influencer Research Lab

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Introduction

The Global Social Media Influencer Research Lab (GSMI) consists of BGSU School of Media and Communication faculty, alumni of the BGSU graduate program who are either faculty members or doctoral students, and current graduate students who have interest in research on social media influencer research from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives.   The Lab aims to contribute to cross-national comparative research on the persuasive effects of social media influencers in marketing communications, social and political issues, their positive and negative roles in society and international relations,  and how social media platform affordances were utilized to achieve their opinion leadership.  The lab members came from 13 countries: Bangladesh, China (including Hong Kong), Ghana, India, Iran, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uganda, and the United States. 

Dr. Louisa Ha Book Awards

Louisa Ha, Ph.D.

  • Position: Founder, G.S.M.I

Dr. Louisa Ha (Ph.D. Michigan State University) is Professor of Research Excellence in the School of Media and Communication, Bowling Green State University, U.S.A. She is currently the Founding Editor-in-Chief of Online Media and Global Communication and the former Editor-in-Chief of Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly. Her research interests are audience research, misinformation, media technology, social media influencers, mobile media, and online advertising.

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Ilyoung Ju, Ph.D.

Dr. Ilyoung Ju (PhD, University of Florida) is Assistant Professor in the School of Media and Communication, Bowling Green State University, U.S.A. His research interests are social media influencers and nostalgic advertising.

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Yanqin Lu, Ph.D.

Dr. Yanqin Lu (PhD, Indiana University) is an Associate Professor in the School of Media and Communication, Bowling Green State University, U.S.A. His research interests include political communication, social media studies, and media effects. Dr. Lu is currently serving on the editorial board of Mass Communication & Society, Online Information Review, Chinese Journal of Communication, and The Social Science Journal.

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Mohammad Abuljadail, Ph.D.

Dr. Mohammad Abuljadail (PhD, Bowling Green State University) is an Associate Professor of Marketing Communication in the Faculty of Communication and Media, King Abdulaziz University, K.S.A. He is currently the Marketing Director of Patents at the Center of Knowledge Economy and Technology Transfer at King Abdulaziz University. He worked in the industry with international companies as marketing manager, as well as marketing consultant. He is a Certified Digital Marketing Professional from the Digital Marketing Institute. His research interests are social media marketing, international advertising, digital marketing, and social network analysis.

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Md Enamul Kabir, Ph.D.

Dr. Md Enamul Kabir (PhD, Bowling Green State University) is a Research Associate for the Social Media Listening Center at Clemson University, USA. His research interests include hate speech, racial identity, social media analytics and misinformation.

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Amonia Tolofari, Ph.D.

Dr. Amonia Tolofari (Ph.D., Bowling Green State University) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Media and Communication, University of Southern Mississippi, USA. She is currently in the Strategic Communication and Public Relations program. Her research interests are in feminist considerations in social media influences, black women rise in digital marketing and advertising, and the evolution of feminist movement on social media platforms.

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Yang Yang, Ph.D.

Dr. Yang Yang (PhD, Bowling Green State University) is assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Media, University of Southern Indiana, U.S.A. Her research interests are audience research, consumer behavior and psychology research, social media influencer, social media use, and advertising effect of brand collaboration.

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Xiaoqun Zhang, Ph.D.

Dr. Xiaoqun Zhang (Ph.D. Bowling Green State University) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media Arts at University of North Texas, Texas, USA. He received the first Ph.D. in management science & engineering from Tsinghua University and the second Ph.D. in communication studies from Bowling Green State University. His research interests are media management and economics, media technology and policy, media reputation of corporations, and audience research.

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Chinwendu Akalonu, M.A.

Chinwendu Akalonu (M.A. Bowling Green State University) is a Ph.D. student of Mass Communication at the University of South Carolina. Her research centers on social media, content moderation, emerging technologies, health, and international communication. Her four years of experience in digital media strongly influence her research interests. Chinwendu obtained her master’s degree in media and communication from Bowling Green State University.

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Felicity Sena Dogbatse, M.A.

Felicity Sena Dogbatse (MA, Bowling Green State University) is currently pursuing a PhD program at the University of Maryland. Her research are feminist studies, social media and advocacy and gender research.

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Michael Ofori, M.A.

Michael Ofori (MA. Bowling Green State University) is a first-year Ph.D. student at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota. His passion lies in Political Communication and cutting-edge new media research. His research delves into media effects studies. He specifically focuses on the art of media framing and its influence on shaping people’s political attitudes.

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Cole Highhouse, M.A.

Cole Highhouse (MA, Bowling Green State University) is an instructor in the School of Journalism and Communication, Shanghai International Studies University, China. His research interests include social media, popular culture and soft power, popular music, and online communities

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Halima Ali, M.A.

Halima Ali (M.A. United State International University-Africa) is a Graduate Student, Pursuing PhD in Media, and Communication at Bowling Green State University. She has a focus in media and women, social media, and crisis communication. She aims to contribute to the advancement of media studies and inspire positive change in Africa and the whole world.

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Azade Asadi, M.A.

Azade Asadi (M.B.A. University of Tehran) a PhD student of Media and Communication at Bowling Green State University. Her emphasis is Media Audiences and Processes. Her research interest include online reviews, audience research, persuasion, leadership, influencers, media technology, and mobile media and applications.

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Hyacinth Balediata Bangero, M.A

Hyacinth Balediata Bangero (M.A. West Visayas State University, Phillippines) is a PhD student in Media and Communication, Bowling Green State University, a Fulbright Fellow from the Philippines and an Assistant Professor at the University of San Agustin, Iloilo City, Philippines. Her research interests include government and political communication, social media, branding, and marketing/advertising.

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Madison Clatt, M.A.

Madison Clatt (M.A., Arizona State University) is a Ph.D. student in the School of Media and Communication at Bowling Green State University, U.S.A. Her research interests are interpersonal communication, family units as social media influencers, and persuasion.

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Jisha Jacob, M.A.

Jisha Jacob (M.A. University of Delhi) is currently a Doctoral student in the School of Media and Communication, Bowling Green State University, U.S.A. Her research interest is in Gender and Media.

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Faiswal Kasirye, M.A.

Faiswal Kasirye (M.A. International Islamic University, Malaysia) is a PhD student at the School of Media and Communication, Bowling green State university (BGSU). He got his master’s degree at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), in Human Science in Communication specializing in new media and organizational communication. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU). His research interests are in Media effects, Political Communication, Public Relations, and New Media (SNS). He used to be a journalist with the Nation Media Group, the leading media conglomerate in East Africa.

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Man Luo, M.A.

Man Luo (M.A., Murray State University) is a current Ph.D. student in the School of Media and Communication at Bowling Green State University. Her research interests are media studies, audience research, and she also enjoys comparing the differences between Chinese media content and American media content.

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Ali Raza, M.Phil.

Ali Raza (M.Phil., University of the Punjab, Pakistan) is a Ph.D. student at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in the U.S.A. His research interests encompass Social Media Effects, Media Psychology, Misinformation, and Fake News, as well as Political Communication. I'm passionate about unraveling the intricate dynamics of social media's influence on society and delving into the psychology behind media consumption, complexities of misinformation and fake news dissemination, as well as understanding the subtle nuances of political communication in the digital age.

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Shudipta Sharma, M.Phil.

Shudipta Sharma (M.Phil., Jahangirnagar University) is a doctoral student in the School of Media and Communication at Bowling Green State University, USA. He is currently on a leave from the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh where he holds an Assistant Professor position at the Department of Communication and Journalism. His research interests include digital politics, artificial intelligence, political microtargeting, activism, media audiences, digital journalism, and media sociology.

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Kelsey Zook, M.A.

Kelsey Zook (M.A. Western Michigan University) is a PhD student at Bowling Green State University. Her past research focus was on virtual organizational communication efficiency and has skills in both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Additionally, She acted as the Personal Relationship Representative for the Graduate College Organization. Her bachelor’s degree was in Organizational Communications with a minor in Management. She is passionate about education, personal development, and volunteering. She has been working to develop skills pertaining to research, data collection, leadership, team building, academic professionalism, job efficiency, and organizational development. She plans to expand and explore multiple research concepts within the realm of online mass communication and AI communication.

Bi, Nicky Chang, Fiouna Ruonan Zhang and Louisa Ha (2018).  “The Government’s Public Health Crisis Response Strategies and Online Opinion Leaders in China: A Case Study of the 2016 Illegal Expired Vaccine Scandal.”  China Media Research 14(2), 16-28.

Ha, Louisa, Ke Guo, Peiqin Chen and Nan Lyu (2022). How Weibo Influencers and Ordinary Posters Responded to the U.S.-China Trade War.  In Louisa Ha and Lars Willnat (Eds.)(2022):  The US-China Trade War: Global News Framing and Public Opinion in the Digital Age.  Lansing, MI:  Michigan State University Press,  pp. 195-214.

Ha, Louisa, Rik Ray, Frankline Matanji, and Yang Yang (2022). “How News Media Content and Fake New about the Trade War Are Shared on Twitter:  A Topic Modeling and Content Analysis.” In Louisa Ha and Lars Willnat (Eds.) (2022):  The US-China Trade War: Global News Framing and Public Opinion in the Digital Age.  Lansing, MI:  Michigan State University Press, pp. 125-144

Ha, Louisa and Yang Yang (2023). "Research about Persuasive Effects of Social Media Influencers as Online Opinion Leaders 1990-2020: A Review," International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising 18(2/3), 220-     241.  DOI: 10.1504/IJIMA.2022.10043104

Ju, I., & Lou, C. (2022). Does Influencer–Follower Relationship Matter? Exploring How Relationship Norms and Influencer– Product Congruence Affect Advertising Effectiveness across Product Categories. Journal of Interactive Advertising. 22(2), 157-177.

Yang, Yang and Louisa Ha (2021).  “Why People Use TikTok (Douyin) and How Their Purchase Intentions Are Affected by Social Media Influencers in China: A Uses and Gratifications and Parasocial Relationship Perspective,” Journal of Interactive Advertising, 21(3), 297-305. DOI:10.1080/15252019.2021.1995544.

Yang, Yang. "TikTok/Douyin Use and Its Influencer Video Use: A Cross-Cultural Comparison   Between Chinese and US Users" Online Media and Global Communication 1, no. 2 (2022): 339-368. https://doi.org/10.1515/omgc-2022-0016

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Updated: 04/16/2024 06:32AM