The Effects of Social Information Cues Featured in SNS Ads on Unfamiliar Product Adoption

Abstract

This study tests the effects of social information cues on ad responses and consumer decision making processes in the domain of unfamiliar product adoption. The findings show that participants having a huge size of the social network are particularly responsive to social information cues featured in the ads, showing an inverted U-shape pattern of purchasing intentions as the number of prior product purchasers increased. Findings suggest targeting and marketing strategies on social network service platforms.

Keywords:

• social information cue
• social influence
• bandwagon effect
• critical mass