Inspirators and Wannabes: The Impact of Persuasive Strategies Through Perceived Motivations on the Recognition of Persuasive Attempts in Visual Br-UGC

In the context of visual social media, consumers are exposed to a considerable amount of brand-related user-generated content (Br-UGC) shared by their peers, which may frequently go unnoticed as being branded. Previous research showed that these Br-UGC posts employ various persuasive strategies, and the motivations of creators for posting this content are perceived differently. This study suggests that this approach affects the recognition of persuasive attempts, which is essential for consumers to cope with persuasive messages. Specifically, this study examines the impact of different persuasive strategies (emotional vs. functional), through perceived motivations (personal branding and inspire others) on the recognition of persuasive attempts in visual Br-UGC. A between-subject experimental design revealed that functional strategies (compared vs. emotional strategies) in Br-UGC are associated with stronger perceived motivations for both personal branding and inspire others, leading to heightened recognition of persuasive attempts. Conversely, emotional strategies decrease the perceived motivation to inspire others, which contrary to expectations, leads to heightened recognition of persuasive attempts. These findings provide marketers with actionable insights regarding the strategic management and curation of Br-UGC. Moreover, our findings highlight the necessity of consumer protection measures to empower consumers to safeguard themselves from unwanted persuasive influences and provide recommendations for regulatory bodies.