SMM3 - Persuasive intent & social influencers (keyterms, mp + scenario questions)

What are the 3 unique characteristics of SMM?

1. Innovation 2. Social 3. Relevance

Why does SMM work better than traditional advertising?

It lowers/removes ad resistance by being entertaining and enjoyable, and persuasive intent is less clear — making it harder for consumers to activate their advertising radar

What is persuasive intent?

An explicit desire to influence — marketers often avoid making this intent explicit because it can either increase or decrease the persuasiveness of a message

What is persuasion knowledge (Friestad & Wright, 1994)?

Personal knowledge about the tactics used in persuasion attempts — helps consumers identify how, when, and why marketers try to influence them

How do consumers use persuasion knowledge?

To offer resistance to persuasion attempts — it gives a sense of control and "hovers in readiness," activating when a persuasion attempt is recognized

What are the 3 types of knowledge in the Persuasion Knowledge Model?

1. Topic knowledge (what the consumer knows about the subject) 2. Persuasion knowledge (knowledge about persuasion tactics) 3. Agent knowledge (what the consumer knows about the source/company)

What is agent knowledge? Give an example

What the consumer knows about the company or person trying to persuade them — e.g. recognizing the Burger King logo activates agent knowledge

What is change-of-meaning in the context of PK?

The shift in how a consumer interprets a message once they recognize it as a persuasion attempt — the message loses its intended effect

What is detachment in persuasion knowledge?

When the target disengages from the context of the persuasion attempt — marketers try to suppress this response

From what age do people develop persuasion knowledge, and how?

From about age 7, through a socialization process — via own experiences with persuasion attempts and exposure to social media; PK is continuously developing

What is a social influencer?

An opinion leader in social communities — a content creator with a substantial following who appears authentic, transparent, and relevant; has a 'human brand'

How do social influencers differ from traditional celebrities?

Influencers generally have smaller reach but more engagement; they appear as "ordinary" people which leads to reduced perceived persuasive intent and higher trust

Why is persuasion knowledge lower for influencer posts than brand posts?

Influencers present themselves as ordinary, approachable people — this reduces perceived persuasive intent and increases trust, leading to more positive SMM effects

What is a parasocial interaction?

A one-sided emotional relationship where a follower feels they know an influencer personally — this identification drives trust and reduces skepticism toward sponsored content

What are the 4 motives for following social influencers (Croes & Bartels, 2021)?

1. It's cool/new trend 2. Relaxation 3. Boredom 4. Information seeking — all mediated through social identification with the influencer

What is a virtual influencer (VI)?

A CGI or AI-based avatar with form and behavioral realism, trying to display real expressions — often used by luxury brands

What are 3 motives for following virtual influencers?

1. Curiosity 2. Intrigue 3. Perceived similarity (plus interest in general life-related events)

What are 3 similarities between virtual and human influencers?

Both have celebrity status, generate social influence, develop specific personas, trigger parasocial responses, and form effective brand partnerships

What are 3 key differences between virtual and human influencers?

VIs have no offline presence; audiences feel VIs are more distant (agencies involved); VIs are AI-based and always available; VIs are less trusted; VIs require more resources in development; no authenticity skepticism about VIs

What did Lee et al. (2025) find about virtual influencer authenticity?

Virtual influencers are perceived as MORE authentic than human influencers; perceived authenticity → trust in influencer → purchase intention

What are the dark side effects of influencer marketing?

SMI posts can trigger negative emotions (anxiety, anger); VIs can portray unrealistic beauty standards; upward social comparison diminishes follower wellbeing; influencers can promote harmful products (e.g. vaping)

What did Vassey et al. (2025) find about Instagram vs TikTok for vaping promotion?

Instagram = cohesive, dense network (influencers follow each other back); TikTok = fragmented, algorithm-driven (For You Page). A few super-influencers form the core — removing them would collapse the network

What is the COBRA framework?

Consumers' Online Brand-Related Activities — classifies consumer engagement in 3 levels: 1. Consumption (passive) 2. Contribution (sharing, liking) 3. Creation (producing new brand content)

What are the 2 most powerful motivations driving COBRAs across all platforms?

Empowerment and remuneration — far more influential than traditional psychological needs like entertainment or personal identity

What is empowerment as a COBRA motivation?

The drive to influence brand decisions or others' perceptions by sharing opinions and demanding improvements

What is remuneration as a COBRA motivation?

The goal-oriented motive to obtain future external rewards such as discount codes or economic incentives

What distinguishes profile-based from content-based platforms (COBRA study)?

Profile-based (Facebook, Instagram): personal profile and connections are central — empowerment strongly drives contribution. Content-based (Reddit, YouTube): content/topic is central — information seeking drives consumption

Explain why social interaction motivation can negatively affect brand content creation on personalized platforms

On platforms like Facebook/Reddit, users focus on personal friendships and may see intensive brand content creation as time-consuming or a social risk — social interaction motive actually reduces creation

What did the TikTok U&G study find about passive vs active use?

74.1% of TikTok use is passive consumption, driven primarily by entertainment. Pre-adolescents (11-12) are more active and creative than older adolescents (13-16)

What motivates adolescents to create content on TikTok?

Self-expression, showcasing talent, identity-creation, fame-seeking, and relationship building — making videos is a way to elicit recognition from the network

What are the 4 TikTok user segments?

1. Pre-adolescent all-rounders (heavy users of all features) 2. New social network focused (13-14, making friends) 3. Celebrity/fame-seekers (15-16, building identity) 4. Shy addicts (oldest, purely passive consumers)

What did the social media advertising trust study find about information motivation?

Users with an information motivation have significantly lower trust in social media ads compared to users with social or entertainment motivations

Explain the paradox of ad congruency for entertainment-motivated users

When entertainment-motivated users see an ad that perfectly matches their content, it triggers the fear of being monitored — this increases privacy concerns and reduces trust. Incongruent ads are actually trusted MORE

How does ad congruency affect trust for information-motivated users?

The opposite: a congruent ad (matching the user's search need) increases trust. Incongruent ads cause distraction, raise privacy concerns, and lower trust

What role do privacy concerns and involvement play in the ad trust model?

They are the mediators: for information motivation, incongruent ads increase cognitive involvement and privacy concerns → lower trust. For entertainment, congruent ads trigger surveillance fear → privacy concerns → lower trust