Reducing social media advertising avoidance through social cues: a construal level theory perspective

Purpose Driven by advances in social technologies, various social cues–including friend approval, peer favorability and marketer endorsement–have been integrated into social media advertising (SMA) to counter the growing trend of user avoidance. However, the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions through which these cues reduce SMA avoidance remain unclear. Drawing on construal level theory, this study investigates how social cues of varying relational distances mitigate SMA avoidance depending on product preference. Design/methodology/approach Two between-subjects factorial experiments (N = 243 and 244) were designed and conducted on a self-developed platform to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results reveal that social cues reduce user avoidance through two distinct mediating mechanisms: enhancing perceived attractiveness and mitigating perceived intrusiveness. Moreover, these indirect effects are moderated by product preference: remote cues (e.g. marketer endorsement) are more effective for low-preference products, whereas proximal cues (e.g. friend approval) are more effective for high-preference products. Practical implications The findings offer actionable implications for marketers and platforms, highlighting strategies for optimizing social cues to balance attractiveness and intrusiveness across different product preferences, thereby supporting more user-friendly SMA experiences. Originality/value This study identifies two mechanisms–attractiveness and intrusiveness–underlying SMA avoidance, systematically compares different types of social cues through the lens of social distance, and demonstrates how the match between social cues and product preference operates from a construal level theory perspective. Thus, it advances understanding of SMA avoidance and social cue effects while extending construal level theory to the context of SMA.