Influencer marketing has become big business. But while influencers have the potential to spread marketing messages and drive purchase, some posts get lots of engagement and boost sales, while others do not. What makes some posts more impactful? This work examines how sensory language (e.g., words like “crumble” and “juicy” that engage the senses) shapes consumer responses to influencer-sponsored content. A multimethod investigation, combining controlled experiments with automated text, image, and video analysis of thousands of sponsored social media posts, demonstrates that sensory language increases engagement and willingness to buy the sponsored product. Furthermore, the studies illustrate that these effects are driven by perceived authenticity. Sensory language leads consumers to infer that influencers actually use the product they are endorsing, which increases perceived authenticity, and thus engagement and purchase. These findings shed light on how language shapes responses to influencer-sponsored content, deepen understanding of the drivers of authenticity, and suggest how to develop more impactful social media campaigns.

How Sensory Language Shapes Influencer’s Impact / Cascio Rizzo, Giovanni Luca; Berge, Jonah; De Angelis, Matteo; Pozharliev, Rumen Ivaylov. - In: THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH. - ISSN 0093-5301. - 50:4(2023), pp. 810-825. [10.1093/jcr/ucad017]

How Sensory Language Shapes Influencer’s Impact

Giovanni Luca Cascio Rizzo
;
Matteo De Angelis;Rumen Pozharliev
2023

Abstract

Influencer marketing has become big business. But while influencers have the potential to spread marketing messages and drive purchase, some posts get lots of engagement and boost sales, while others do not. What makes some posts more impactful? This work examines how sensory language (e.g., words like “crumble” and “juicy” that engage the senses) shapes consumer responses to influencer-sponsored content. A multimethod investigation, combining controlled experiments with automated text, image, and video analysis of thousands of sponsored social media posts, demonstrates that sensory language increases engagement and willingness to buy the sponsored product. Furthermore, the studies illustrate that these effects are driven by perceived authenticity. Sensory language leads consumers to infer that influencers actually use the product they are endorsing, which increases perceived authenticity, and thus engagement and purchase. These findings shed light on how language shapes responses to influencer-sponsored content, deepen understanding of the drivers of authenticity, and suggest how to develop more impactful social media campaigns.
2023
influencer marketing, sensory language, authenticity, product use, engagement
How Sensory Language Shapes Influencer’s Impact / Cascio Rizzo, Giovanni Luca; Berge, Jonah; De Angelis, Matteo; Pozharliev, Rumen Ivaylov. - In: THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH. - ISSN 0093-5301. - 50:4(2023), pp. 810-825. [10.1093/jcr/ucad017]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11385/231558
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