Sampling and identifying the target participants for the study

The population for any study is the set of entities from which the research sample is to be drawn (Eisenhardt, 1989). For this study the population was Egyptian youth who are fans of influencers. This was a rather broad and large population given that youth constitute about 60% of the society (UNFPA Egypt, 2020). Therefore, I needed to use sampling. Gentles et al. (2015) assert that sampling within qualitative research is the choice of the data sources from which data needs to be collected so that the research meets its objectives. My sampling strategy was one which would guarantee that I reached a sample that would help me answer the research question(s).

I used two purposive non-probability sampling approaches to select participants for this study from both influencers and fans. The first approach was purposive non-probability sampling which was deemed the most suitable approach to collect the data needed. In purposive sampling participants are selected because they meet the criteria that have been preset by the researcher as key to address the research

question. Non-probability sampling is using the researchers’ judgment to select a sample (Given, 2008).

The sampling approach I chose was deemed the most appropriate for two reasons. The first, is that I had set inclusion criteria for both influencers and fans (see Sections 1.2.1 and 1.2.2. for details). The second reason was because it was utilized in similar studies. Djafarova

& Rushworth (2017) used non-probability purposive sampling to select female Instagram users to interview in order to determine the extent to which Instagram influences their buying behaviour. Westenberg

(2016) used convenience sampling (non-probability sampling) to select the YouTubers and their fans for interviews. The second sampling approach I utilized as a second stage was snowball sampling. This entailed asking participants to recommend other participants who meet the study criteria and would be willing to participate (Robinson, 2014).

I detail this further in the next sections.

1.2.1. Influencers

In terms of identifying influencer target participants, I developed inclusion criteria to ensure a diverse group of influencers will be represented in the study:

• all Egyptian;

• gender: males and females;

• genre of content: varied and mixed;

• and, having a significant fan base on social media. I split up influencers into tier 1 and tier 2 categories, which represent mega- and macro-influencers respectively (See Chapter 1, Section 2.4.1.

for definitions of mega and macro-influencers). This was

according to figures in January 2019, which was the start date of my contact with them.

My exclusion criteria included:

• influencers who were using mass media alongside social media to disseminate their content.

• non-Egyptian influencers.

To help identify the target influencers I used existing tools on social media such as looking at which videos are considered by YouTube as

‘Trending’ and checking the content creator of the video and their fan base. Trending is defined by YouTube as: “Trending helps viewers see what’s happening on YouTube and in the world. Some trends are predictable, like a new song from a popular artist or a new movie trailer. Others are surprising, like a viral video” (YouTube, 2020a).

This was relatively easy to identify as YouTube includes a ‘trending’

icon on its left-hand side. In addition, I depended on websites which rank YouTube channels and information in the form of articles or news stories about them. After accessing their YouTube channels, I extended to like their Facebook pages and followed them on Instagram, to be able to gauge their fan base(s) and also to find multiple methods to contact them. As a starting point I drew up an initial list of 15 target influencers, using purposive sampling. While conducting the

interviews and to expand the sample, I used snowball sampling whereby I asked influencers to recommend other influencers I could speak to and consolidated that list and at the same time continued to use social media to help me identify target influencers.

1.2.2. Fans

For the fans I developed inclusion criteria to ensure a variety of fans will be represented in the study:

• all Egyptian;

• youth 18-24 years of age;

• gender: males and females;

• and, diverse education and socio-economic levels represented. This will be determined through which type of education they were getting whether private or public and where they were living;

whether urban or rural areas. Although this was not a key variable in the study, but the socio-economic diversity will be beneficial to widen the scope of the results, provided that there are notable differences based on it.

My exclusion criteria for fans included:

• non-Egyptian;

• those under 18 or above 24 years of age.

To select fans, I started going through influencers’ Facebook pages to select either top fans or people who have written a recommendation for the influencer. Facebook Help Centre defines Top fans as:

People can become eligible for a top fan badge on your Page by being one of the most active people on your Page, which can include watching your Page's videos, liking or reacting to content, and commenting on or sharing posts” (Facebook Help Centre, 2020).

I then looked up each profile to try to see if the fan fitted the study's criteria, i.e. the definition of youth, I depended mainly on the

photographs and the Intro section (bio) of the profile to determine if they would fit. This was very tricky as I discovered later on that some people posted incorrect information and of course others did not use personal photographs, so it was impossible to determine any

information let alone their age from their profile photograph. On YouTube, top fans are less visible as there is no top fan badge on YouTube, but I was able to see fans who commented repeatedly on influencers videos. I then looked them up on Facebook to check if they fitted the inclusion criteria. While conducting the interviews and to expand the sample, I used snowball sampling whereby I asked fans to recommend other fans I could speak to.