Reviewer's communication style in YouTube product-review videos: does it affect channel loyalty?

Product-review videos can be a promising marketing method. The popularity of using videos as a medium for product reviews is evidenced by the number of channels that are used to provide product reviews on multiple platforms. Reviewers can use various strategies to attract wider audiences and make these audiences loyal to their channels. This study analyzes the effect of the reviewer's communication style on the audience's loyalty to the channels that provide product reviews, especially on the YouTube platform. Communication-style analysis is associated with hedonic and utilitarian motivation theory, which can be used to explain communication style effect on channel loyalty. This study uses a quantitative approach using questionnaire to obtain data. The data in this study are analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling in AMOS 21.0. The results show that communication styles (social-oriented and task-oriented), perceived transparency, perceived enjoyment, credibility, and channel engagement affect channel loyalty. Meanwhile, the informativeness factor does not affect channel loyalty. This paper will also discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the study.