The Facebook Effect: The Effectiveness of Social Proof Heuristic-Based Appeals on SNSs

Abstract

Users’motivation and psychology is unique in social media sites (SNSs). The current study is based on the social motivation in SNSs and predicts that the desire to conform to others’ opinion is amplified in this context. Thus, it is hypothesized and empirically demonstrated that advertising appeals based on social proof heuristics are likely to increase consumers’preference when exposed on SNSs than other online media. The moderated mediation analysis showed that the heightened level of consideration for others under SNS drives the favorable attitude to social approval messages. Managerial implications and future research directions are discussed.