Using Socialization and Personalization Strategies to Mitigate Intrusiveness of Social Network Advertising

As the rapid expansion of social network advertising (SNA), advertising intrusiveness becomes a constant challenge to marketers, platforms and users. Normally, socialization (i.e., anthropomorphism cues, reference group cues and social endorsement cues) and personalization advertising strategies are employed to minimize SNA intrusiveness. However, limited theoretical insights have been provided by prior research. Hence, this study aims to shed light on the influence of socialization and personalization from a information processing perspective. A 4 × 2 experiment was designed and conducted on the self-developed system. By doing these, this study significantly advances the literature on socialization and personalization in the context of SNA, and provides theoretical and managerial insight

Effect of Social Media Characteristics on Perceptions of Alcohol-Branded Social Media Content

Background: Alcohol advertising has recently expanded onto social networking sites (SNSs), which allows users to interact with alcohol ads through user engagement features (e.g. Likes or Shares) and user-generated comments. Few studies have evaluated alcohol advertising on SNSs or investigated how ad interactivity may influence ad perceptions. Two inter-related studies were conducted to answer these questions. Methods: In Study 1, alcohol advertising posted on Facebook by Budweiser and Bud Light were evaluated for compliance with a self-regulated alcohol advertising code and for thematic content. User-generated comments written in response to these ads were also evaluated. The results of this study were used to inform Study 2, a 2(within) x 2(between) x 2(between) factorial randomized trial. Participants (n=120) viewed four pre-selected Facebook ads, of which two were compliant and two were non-compliant with a self-regulated alcohol advertising code. Participants also viewed real-world high or low user engagement values and real-world pro- or anti-drinking user-generated comments. Ad appeal, drinking intentions, and individual user engagement were measured after viewing each ad. The results were analyzed using hierarchical linear models. Results: In Study 1, 82% of the ads contained 1 or more violations of a self-regulated alcohol advertising code, and 78% of the ads contained one or more content areas previously associated with code violations. Forty-seven percent of the user-generated comments were positive towards the product or drinking. In Study 2, ads non-compliant with a self-regulated alcohol advertising code scored higher on emotional appeal (p=0.004) while compliant ads scored higher on informational (p\u3c0.001) and source appeal (p=0.034). Pro-drinking user-generated comments significantly increased drinking intentions and individual user engagement. Discussion: Self-regulation has failed to prevent potentially harmful content from appearing in Budweiser and Bud Light advertising posted on Facebook. Non-compliance with existing self-regulated alcohol advertising codes was associated with increased emotional appeal, which may result in the ads being remembered more often and recalled more swiftly. Pro-drinking user-generated comments were associated with increased drinking intentions and increased individual user engagement, both of which are associated with increased alcohol consumption. New regulations may be needed to limit alcohol ad content and the influence of user-generated comments

Exploring social gambling: scoping, classification and evidence review

The aim of this report is to speculate on the level of concern we might have regarding consumer risk in relation to ‘social gambling.’ In doing so, this report is intended to help form the basis to initiate debate around a new and under-researched social issue; assist in setting a scientific research agenda; and, where appropriate, highlight concerns about any potential areas that need to be considered in terms of precautionary regulation. This report does not present a set of empirical research findings regarding ‘social gambling’ but rather gathers information to improve stakeholder understanding

Who Says What about Whom: Cue-taking Dynamics in the Impression Formation Processes on Facebook

Social and Behavioral Sciences; Social Work; Law: 3rd Place (The Ohio State University Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum)Social information processing theory claims that computer-mediated communication users form impressions of others they encounter on the Web by taking heuristic cues available in the environment. As social media offer various cues from the sides of both the target and unknown others, however, the way people utilize cues on the Web also has become more complex. This study explored which among these multiple cues primarily influenced CMC users in their impression formation processes in the context of a political candidate's Facebook profile. Based on social identification model of deindividuation, we particularly examined if and how the shared group identities in terms of age and sex influenced the cue-taking dynamics. Participants (N=544) were randomly assigned into one of the 16 conditions (2: positive vs. negative valence of others' comments on the candidate by 2: younger vs. older commenters' age by 2: candidate's age by 2: candidate's sex) and exposed to a Facebook profile with a fictitious candidate's photo and two comments with the commenters' photos before responding to a questionnaire measuring their impressions of the candidate (i.e., attractiveness and competence of the candidate, and participants' feelings toward the candidate). The results showed that others' comments were the most influential cues for all three dimensions of the impression, and that age or gender similarity between the candidate and the participants influenced mainly the perceived attractiveness the candidate. The 3-way and 4-way interactions indicated how complex the cue-taking dynamics on social media could become and prompted further research on the underlying mechanism.A five-year embargo was granted for this item

The Effect of Social EWOM on Consumers’ Behaviour Patterns in the Fashion Sector

The study described in this chapter aimed to enhance knowledge on the influence of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on consumer’s decision-making processes. eWOM emerged as a key driver in consumers’ decision-making processes given its greater impact on purchasing decisions compared to other communication channels. Specifically, the study focused on the reviews of fashion products on social networks (SNs) and built on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model in order to identify the determinants of social eWOM adoption and intention to buy the reviewed product. The survey method was used to gather data from 230 Italian consumers. Structural equation modelling was used to estimate the model proposed. Results revealed that when consumers seek information on fashion products, the user-friendliness of SNs and social cues (homophily and normative social influence) positively impact social eWOM (opinion-seeking), which in turn influences the intention to purchase the reviewed products. The study contributes both theoretically and empirically to the understanding of the role of social eWOM in influencing consumer behaviour. At the theoretical level, it supports the adequacy of the S-O-R model for explaining the consumer decision-making process in the context of social eWOM. From a managerial perspective, the findings highlight the importance of taking into consideration both structural (accessibility) and social relationship variables while developing social media marketing strategies

The role of well-being in consumer's responses to personalized advertising on social media

In two studies, this paper examines how perceived personalization in advertisements on social media affects brand engagement and ad avoidance. Using a preregistered between-subjects cross-sectional survey (n = 794), we tested four different moderated mediation models with perceived creepiness and perceived relevance as competing mediating variables, and hedonic and eudaimonic well-being as moderating variables. Perceived relevance explains the positive effect of perceived personalization on brand engagement and the negative effect on ad avoidance. Moreover, perceived creepiness explains the negative effect of perceived personalization on ad avoidance. Contrary to our hypotheses, we find positive effects of perceived personalization via perceived creepiness on brand engagement and ad avoidance. Then, a qualitative think-aloud survey (n = 36) shows that participants are accustomed to personalized advertisements and scroll to avoid them unless there is relevant or useful content. Independent of their well-being, participants are not creeped out because of personalized advertising; however, it does raise their privacy concerns. Finally, the findings of our two studies indicate that advertisers and social media need to particularly consider consumers' negative affective well-being to effectively deliver personalized advertisements due to the increase in creepiness and/or privacy concerns.</p

Exploring Satisfaction with and Trust in Social Networking Sites through the Lens of Fan Pages: Uncertainty Reduction and General Systems Theory Perspective

The purpose of this study is to examine social networking sites (SNS) users’ overall satisfaction with and trust in SNS, as related to their activities of visiting fan pages. We employ two theories—uncertainty reduction theory (URT) and general systems theory (GST)—to examine antecedents affecting overall satisfaction with and trust in SNS. Using a web-based survey, we analyzed 200 SNS users who follow at least one company’s fan page, and utilized seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) models to empirically test our hypotheses. Our findings indicate that uncertainty reduction strategies supported by URT are significantly associated with perceived usefulness of companies’ posts in their fan pages. In turn, perceived usefulness of those posts promotes more visits to the fan page. Finally, users’ perceived usefulness of fan page posts eventually accounts for the overall satisfaction with and trust in SNS. The implications and limitations are discussed at the end of this study

“Everything under control?”: Privacy control salience influences both critical processing and perceived persuasiveness of targeted advertising among adolescents

Given that adolescents continuously interact with the user interface of a social networking site, it might be a strategic place to address privacy-related issues. This study investigates whether and how privacy control features embedded in Facebook’s user interface could serve as a cue to influence adolescents in their critical processing and perceived persuasiveness of targeted advertisements. To test this, an experimental study among 178 adolescents aged 14-16 years was conducted. Results reveal that increasing privacy control salience by means of user interface elements leads to more critical processing of targeted advertising; at the same time, when adolescents perceive a higher privacy control, they also evaluate a targeted ad as more effective, convincing and reliable (i.e., increase in perceived persuasiveness). The study further identifies two underlying mechanisms by which these effects operate: perceived control and self-efficacy. Based on these findings, theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed to optimize advertising campaigns on social networking sites in a responsible and privacy-protective way