Volume 2 - Issue 3, May - June 2026

Social media has exploded in recent years, completely reshaping modern marketing. Social media influencers (SMIs) now act as powerful go-betweens, steering how people think, feel, and act as consumers. While oldschool advertising relies on slick messages and broad reach, influencer marketing feels more real. It’s relatable, interactive, and people believe it more which makes it much more convincing. This paper lays out a broad, conceptual framework to explore how SMIs drive consumer engagement. It dives into established theories like Source Credibility Theory, Parasocial Interaction Theory, Self-Determination Theory, and the Elaboration Likelihood Model. The study singles out core factors like how credible, attractive, and authentic influencers seem; the quality of their content (how informative, entertaining, or emotionally impactful it is); and social forces, including peer influence and social proof. The framework digs deeper, showing how psychological and relational processes like perceived trust, identification, intrinsic motivation, parasocial relationships, and emotional attachment turn influencer-driven messages into real, meaningful engagement. The study treats consumer engagement as a layered concept: behavioral (likes, shares, comments), cognitive (attention and information processing), and emotional (attachment and loyalty). It also brings in moderating variables, like platform features, audience demographics, and influencer type, to explain how these factors intensify or weaken the connections. By pulling together scattered research into one clear model, this study pushes theory forward and gives marketers practical tools. It clarifies what makes influencers effective and arms brands with smart strategies to boost engagement online. The framework sets the stage for future studies to test and expand these links in different cultural and technological settings (Gu & Duan, 2024; Liu & Zheng, 2024; Pradhan, 2023).

Vaivaw Kumar Singh,"A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Impact of Social Media Influencers on Consumer Engagement" International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research and Educational Development, V2(3): Page(983-996) May-June 2026. ISSN: 3107-6513. www.ijamred.com. Published by Scientific and Academic Research Publishing.