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PurposeThe current study has drawn attention to investigating the impact of social media influencers' (SMIs) authenticity on followers buying behavior by using followers who have an ongoing relationship with an influencer and are knowledgeable about the influencer. The study further intends to reveal the mediating effect of parasocial interaction on the relationship between SMI's authenticity and followers' purchase behavior.Design/methodology/approachThe study has analyzed data from an online survey of 458 participants (Instagram followers) using structured equation modeling (CB-SEM) to investigate the relationship among authenticity attributes, parasocial interaction and followers' purchase behavior.FindingsCB-SEM results reveal that authenticity attributes positively influence followers' buying behavior. The findings from mediation analysis specify that parasocial interaction mediates the relationship between authenticity attributes (sincerity, truthful endorsement and visibility) and buying behavior excluding expertise, uniqueness attributes.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study reinforce the need to use authentic influencers by the marketers for the brand endorsements. Further, the findings of the study can benefit marketers in implementing strategic practice of social media influencer marketing.Originality/valueThe study overcomes the limitations of preceding studies by using Instagram followers who are well-informed about SMIs and have an ongoing relationship with them. This study has uniquely combined the behavioral data from real influencer campaigns with followers' assessment of an influencer's authenticity.