Abstract
Facebook provides a way of connecting with friends online that increases the effectiveness of Internet advertising. This study investigates what factors influence the impact of consumers sharing advertisement (peer-to-peer) on communication effectiveness. The conceptual framework relies on social capital and communication theory, including tie strength, type of message, and advertising literacy. To test the research hypotheses, the study carries out two experiments involving 346 participants. The results show that interactive advertising gains greater consumer attitude toward the ad and higher message-sharing intention than non-interactive advertising does. The social tie is an important factor in moderating the effects of the message format and advertising literacy on communication effectiveness. This research advances the social capital and communication literature by explaining the effectiveness of consumers sharing advertising based on Internet-mediated communication. Research findings provide managerial implication for companies to better plan online marketing strategies in this social-networking era.
1. Introduction
With Internet applications like instant messaging and social networking sites, people can easily establish friendships without the constraints of geographic borders or time zones (Zhou, 2011). Nowadays, people have more channels through which to link up (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Line). Past research confirms that the Internet does not only help people to maintain social relationships with distant relatives or friends but also to create extensive relationships online (e.g., Lewis, Kaufman, Gonzalez, Wimmer, & Christakis, 2008). Online social network communities bring people together; thus, companies can more effectively communicate to target consumer groups in social network communities than in other types of media. Online communities with larger member bases are good channels through which companies can advertise their products.
5.3. Limitations and future research
Although this study explains the factors affecting advertising effectiveness of online peer-to-peer marketing, the results may not necessarily apply to users sharing advertising and their comments because how they expound on the advertising may affect recipients' attitude. Future research can address situations in which advertising includes users' comments.
