I’m a believer! Believability of social media marketing

Rory Mulcahy; Aimee Riedel; Amanda Beatson; Byron W Keating; Shane Mathews

doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2023.102730

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I’m a believer! Believability of social media marketing

Journal article

Peer reviewed

I’m a believer! Believability of social media marketing

Rory Mulcahy, Aimee Riedel, Amanda Beatson, Byron W Keating and Shane Mathews

International Journal of Information Management, Vol.75, pp.1-13

2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2023.102730

Abstract

social media marketing

message framing

believability

construal level theory

prospect theory

social media engagement

Many firms use social media marketing and implement different message frames as a strategy to persuade consumers, enhance engagement, and to purchase their products. How firms frame social media content to be more believable, however, is not well understood. The main aim of this paper is to understand how social media content can be framed to enhance believability, and how this ultimately leads to improved social media outcomes. Drawing on Prospect Theory and Construal Level Theory and utilizing data from the field in the form of social media posts (n = 1756), and four experimental studies (n = 1141 total participants), and a critical incident study (n = 263 participants) the current research shows that self-gain frame combinations contribute to significantly higher levels of believability. Furthermore, believability was found to mediate the impact of social media message framing on purchase intentions and social media engagement. The practical implications of these findings and exciting new avenues for research are also discussed.

Details

Title: I’m a believer! Believability of social media marketing
Authors: Rory Mulcahy (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative Industries
Aimee Riedel (Author) - Griffith University
Amanda Beatson (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Byron W Keating (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Shane Mathews (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Publication details: International Journal of Information Management, Vol.75, pp.1-13
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2023.102730
ISSN: 1873-4707
Organisation Unit: School of Business and Creative Industries
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99982895102621
Output Type: Journal article