Explicating the ‘like’ on Facebook brand pages: The effect of intensity of Facebook use, number of overall ‘likes’, and number of friends' ‘likes’ on consumers' brand outcomes

Advertising for Brands and Society: The Role of Perceived Authenticity in Corporate Transgender Advocacy Advertising Campaigns

While organizations have increasingly engaged in corporate social advocacy (CSA) for sexual and gender diverse populations, transgender people have often been overlooked in LGBTQ advocacy campaigns. Among the different strategic communication tactics that can be used in CSA, advertising is an important channel for organizations to send their prosocial messages as well as to publicly demonstrate their support of particular causes and populations. Given the tension between growing social acceptance of gender diverse populations and anti-transgender political landscape in the USA, only a handful of organizations have recently shown transgender advocacy advertising campaigns. This study explores corporate transgender advocacy advertising campaigns as one contemporary CSA program, attending to the role of authenticity in CSA effectiveness. Findings show cisgender people perceive authenticity from transgender advocacy advertising campaigns regardless of their gender, which in turn, mitigates consumer skepticism and increases the willingness to engage with the campaign on social media and, further, to engage with other transgender advocacy campaigns. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

#Sponseredathlete: the marketing of image and performance enhancing drugs on Facebook and Instagram

This article sets out to investigate the marketing of image and performance enhancing drugs (IPEDs) on the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram. Drawing upon a 'connective' ethnographic exploration of IPED use and supply, the paper first outlines a supplier typology on these platforms, before shedding light on the marketing strategies employed by sellers in order to overcome the inherent distrust of online sales and build a trustworthy brand. Techniques identified include athlete sponsorship, the sharing of bodybuilding fitspiration content, self-objectification, posting images showcasing transformation photos and customer feedback, and seasonal sales and promotions. Analysis encompasses the centrality of product branding, the overlaps between licit and illicit market advertising strategies, and the affordances of the platforms under study. Finally, conclusions relating to the implications of these findings to scholarship, policy, and regulation are offered.

The Effects of Website Traits and Medical Skepticism on Patients' Willingness to Follow Web-Based Medical Advice: Web-Based Experiment

Background

As people increasingly turn to web-based sources for medical information, we offer some insight into what website traits influence patients’ credibility assessment. Specifically, we control for brand and content length, while manipulating three website traits: authorship, format, and tone. Furthermore, we focus on medical skepticism to understand how patients with high levels of medical skepticism may react to web-based medical information differently. Medical skepticism is related to a patient’s doubts about the value of conventional medical care; therefore, skeptics may have different practices and criteria when conducting their own web-based medical searches.

Objective

The aim of this study is to evaluate how website traits affect the likelihood that patients follow web-based medical advice and how this varies among patients with differing levels of medical skepticism.

Methods

This web-based experiment presented participants with a hypothetical medical situation about leg cramps and offered a website with treatment advice. We varied the websites the participants observed across three traits: authorship (patient or physician), format (article or discussion forum), and tone (objective or experience-based). The 2305 participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 8 possible conditions and then asked the extent to which they would follow the advice. Health care patterns and coverage, demographics, and the participants’ level of medical skepticism were captured.

Results

Our participants were selected to be demographically representative of the population of internet users in the United States. The 2305 complete responses were analyzed with ordinary least squares regression. Our analysis reveals that people are more likely to accept web-based medical advice authored by a physician (P<.001) and presented with an objective tone (P=.006), but these preferences erode as the levels of medical skepticism increase. Medical skepticism was measured by means of a previously established index on a 0 to 4 scale, and the average score was 2.26 (SD 0.84). Individuals with higher levels of medical skepticism were more likely to follow web-based medical advice in our experiment (P<.001). Individuals with low levels of medical skepticism found the discussion forum format more credible, whereas those with high levels of medical skepticism preferred the article format (P=.03). We discuss the interactions between medical skepticism and all 3 website traits manipulated in the experiment.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that, generally, physician authorship and an objective tone create more persuasive web-based medical advice. However, there are differences in how patients with high levels of medical skepticism react to web-based medical resources. Medical skeptics are less discerning regarding the author’s credentials and the presentation tone of the information. Furthermore, patients with higher levels of medical skepticism prefer article format presentations, whereas those with lower levels of medical skepticism prefer discussion forum–style formatting.

Social Media Marketing Strategies of Football Clubs

Sports organisations, including football clubs, are using social media to connect with spectators. The aim of this study is to examine whether social influence on social media can increase attendance at matches. In particular, it aims to examine the effect of negative comments on consumer behaviour and how social influence differs across fans of varying levels of fandom. 89 respondents were randomly allocated to 3 groups. Respondents in the Control Group were exposed to a Facebook page of a football club without any comments while respondents in Experimental Group 1 and 2 were exposed to the same Facebook page but with additional positive and negative comments respectively. A one-way between-groups analysis of variance showed no statistical difference between the three groups on perception of quality of the players and the coaches, and intention to watch future matches. While earlier studies have shown that social influence on social media can affect consumer behaviour, this study found that social influence may be limited in affecting spectator perceptions and behaviour.

Promoting HPV vaccination on social media: interactive effects of threat, efficacy and social cues

BACKGROUND

Women are currently facing a tremendous threat of cervical cancer globally. Social media health campaigns have the potential to shape public health behaviors. This study explores the effects of cervical-cancer-related fear appeal messages with social cues on social media using the extended parallel processing model (EPPM).

METHOD

We use a 2 (threat: present vs. absent) × 2 (efficacy: present vs. absent) × 2 (social cues: high vs. low) factorial experimental design to examine the effects of fear appeal messages with social cues on behavioral intention to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination.

RESULTS

There was a significant main effect of threat on the intention to receive HPV vaccination. Additionally, a significant three-way interactive effect among threat, efficacy, and social cues was detected.

CONCLUSION

Women exposed to threat messages had a higher intention of HPV vaccination compared to those who were exposed to non-threat messages. Furthermore, with the low number of likes, women who were exposed to messages containing both threat and efficacy tended to have the highest intention of HPV vaccination.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

When conducting fear appeal campaigns on social media, the side effects of number of likes should be recognized. For vaccination promotion campaigns, the efficacy information should be more specific and audience-centered.

WITHDRAWN: Sports and sportsmen as role models - or otherwise - in the COVID-19 era

This article has been withdrawn at the request of the author(s) and/or editor. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal.

Online availability of fish antibiotics and documented intent for self-medication

Self-medication and antibiotic utilization without healthcare oversight may lead to delayed appropriate treatment, transmission of communicable infections, untoward adverse events, and contribute to antimicrobial resistance. Previous data suggest people obtain over-the-counter (OTC) animal antibiotics for their personal use. This study examined the availability of OTC fish antibiotics online and the documented intent for self-medication. The authors conducted a web-based cross-sectional study using Google search engine to identify vendor websites selling fish antibiotics in the United States. Vendor websites were included if product information, consumer reviews, and comments were publicly available. Nine fish antibiotics were chosen due to their possibility of having consequences to human misuse. The cost and availability of fish antibiotics was recorded. The proportion of reviews and comments related to human consumption was calculated. Consumer review traffic based on “likes” and “dislikes” received was compared between human- and non-human consumption-related reviews. Selected fish antibiotics were purchased and evaluated for physical appearance and compared to FDA-approved available equivalents. We found 24 website vendors with online ordering available for OTC fish antibiotics. Cost varied significantly by antibiotic and quantity ranging from USD $8.99 to $119.99. There were 2,288 reviews documented for the 9 selected antibiotics being sold. Among consumer reviews, 2.4% were potentially associated with human consumption. Human consumption-related reviews constituted 30.2% of all “likes” received and 37.5% of all “dislikes” received. Human consumption-related reviews received an average of 9.2 likes compared to 0.52 likes for non-human consumption-related reviews. The 8 fish antibiotics purchased were consistent with FDA-approved equivalents in physical appearance. Although infrequent, antibiotics intended for fish use are being purchased online without a prescription for self-medication to circumvent professional medical care. Reviews related to human consumption generate significant online traffic compared to reviews unrelated to human consumption.

Assessing the Credibility and Authenticity of Social Media Content for Applications in Health Communication: Scoping Review

Background

Nutrition science is currently facing issues regarding the public’s perception of its credibility, with social media (SM) influencers increasingly becoming a key source for nutrition-related information with high engagement rates. Source credibility and, to an extent, authenticity have been widely studied in marketing and communications but have not yet been considered in the context of nutrition or health communication. Thus, an investigation into the factors that impact perceived source and message credibility and authenticity is of interest to inform health communication on SM.

Objective

This study aims to explore the factors that impact message and source credibility (which includes trustworthiness and expertise) or authenticity judgments on SM platforms to better inform nutrition science SM communication best practices.

Methods

A total of 6 databases across a variety of disciplines were searched in March 2019. The inclusion criteria were experimental studies, studies focusing on microblogs, studies focusing on healthy adult populations, and studies focusing on either source credibility or authenticity. Exclusion criteria were studies involving participants aged under 18 years and clinical populations, gray literature, blogs, WeChat conversations, web-based reviews, non-English papers, and studies not involving participants’ perceptions.

Results

Overall, 22 eligible papers were included, giving a total of 25 research studies. Among these studies, Facebook and Twitter were the most common SM platforms investigated. The most effective communication style differed depending on the SM platform. Factors reported to impact credibility included language used online, expertise heuristics, and bandwagon heuristics. No papers were found that assessed authenticity.

Conclusions

Credibility and authenticity are important concepts studied extensively in the marketing and communications disciplines; however, further research is required in a health context. Instagram is a less-researched platform in comparison with Facebook and Twitter.

Marketing a health Brand on Facebook: Effects of reaction icons and user comments on brand attitude, trust, purchase intention, and eWOM intention

This study examined effects of Facebook reaction icons and user comments on brand attitude, trust, information seeking, purchase intention, and eWOM intention towards a health brand, as well as potential moderating effects of SNS use. Results of a 3 (reaction icons: positive/neutral/negative) × 3 (valence of comments: positive/neutral/negative) between-subjects experiment (N = 306) indicated that positive Facebook reaction icons significantly influenced brand attitude, trust, purchase intention, and eWOM intention, while neutral comments significantly impacted brand attitude and trust. The degree of SNS use also negatively moderated between reaction icon valence and eWOM intention. Implications for health marketing communication are discussed.

Sport team-endorsed brands on Facebook

Purpose

Applying social identity theory, the social identity-brand equity model and excitation-transfer theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine effects of game outcome (win/loss) and location (home/away) on sport fans’ brand attitude and purchase intention toward a brand endorsed by their favorite sport team on Facebook, as well as the mediating role of team identification.

Design/methodology/approach

A two (win/loss) by two (home/away) full-factorial between-subjects experiment was conducted during the US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football season over a four-month period. Participants (n=338), who were Facebook users and fans of a NCAA division I football team, completed an online questionnaire assessing brand attitude and purchase intention toward a team-endorsed brand on Facebook, during weeks after the team: won a home game, lost a home game, won an away game, or lost an away game. Results were analyzed using analysis of variance and bootstrapping mediation methods.

Findings

Results revealed a significant main effect for game outcome (win/loss), and a significant interaction effect between game outcome (win/loss) and game location (home/away). Team identification also mediated between game outcome (win/loss) and game location (home/away) to influence brand attitude, but not purchase intention.

Originality/value

Implications for use of social networking site (SNS)-based brand endorsements as an integral part of brands’ advertising strategies were discussed. Specifically, brands utilizing SNSs to advertise to sport fans should highlight team endorsements, particularly after home game wins, and also target highly identified fans, to maximize positive SNS-based brand evaluations.