Misaligned Brand Messages in Sponsored Social Media Content on User Behaviour

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of misaligned messages on users' behaviour when influencers are endorsed in sponsored posts. Previous studies have enlightened the role of influencers in perceiving messages, showing that responses vary with the number of followers and authenticity of the influencers. However, fewer studies were done on determining the mediating role of users’ overall attitude towards sponsored posts, message involvement, and repetition of ads on the relationship of influencers' endorsement with their responses and intentions. The Brand Signalling Theory was used as it signifies the signals a brand/company gives to users via current and past social media or marketing activities. A deductive approach was used on a sample size of 253 respondents comprising males and females who are social media users. The results were computed using SMART-PLS software and it was found that a significant and positive relationship exists between influencer endorsement with user engagement, intention towards sponsored posts, and forwarding intention of the sponsored post. Upon studying the mediators, attitude towards sponsored posts was found with no mediation effect while message involvement and repetition of ads had a partial mediation impact on the studied variables. This study can help organizations develop marketing practices that attract users to engage, and show positive intentions towards sponsored ads.