Crafting Influence in Social Media Advertising: How Creative Appeals and Message Strategies Shape Consumer Behavior
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Advertising research highlights the crucial role of creative strategy in shaping consumer behavior. Yet, limited attention has been paid to how creative appeal and message strategy jointly influence persuasion in social media contexts. This study examines the interactive effects of informational versus transformational appeals and personal versus social-experience message strategies on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions. A 2 (creative appeal) × 2 (message strategy) experimental design was implemented using Facebook post advertisements for a fictitious beer brand. Data was collected from 231 participants randomly assigned to one of four ad conditions. Results show that informational appeals outperform transformational appeals in generating immediate purchase intentions. Attitudes toward the ad and attitude toward the brand mediated these effects, consistent with the Dual Mediation Hypothesis. Moreover, in accordance with the Construal Level Theory, message strategy moderates the relationship: informational appeals were most effective when paired with personal strategies but lost persuasive power under social-experience strategies. These findings advance the theoretical understanding of digital advertising persuasion by explicating how creative appeal and message strategy jointly shape both attitudinal and behavioral responses. Practically, the results suggest that advertisers seeking short-term conversions should combine informational appeals with personal strategies.
Authors: Ofrit Kol, Dorit Zimand-Sheiner, Shalom Levy
Institution: Ariel University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,207
OpenAlex ID: W7117826503