Beyond the scroll: A study on the effects and influence of social media brand communication elements on perceived brand credibility and consumer purchase intentions

This quantitative research paper covers a gap in the literature by concentrating on the use of three brand communication elements on Instagram and the effect on two dependent variables. Therefore, this study focuses uncovering the answer to the following central question: To what extent do celebrity endorsements, factual claims, and emotional appeals influence consumers in establishing brand credibility and driving their purchase intentions within the context of brand communication on Instagram? This research is built on the theoretical frameworks of the credibility theory and the dual coding theory. Furthermore, the study is aimed at understanding the dynamic interplay between celebrity endorsements, factual claims and emotional appeals, and the impact they can have, whether on their own or combined, on the perceived brand credibility and consumer purchase intentions on social media platforms, particularly on one – Instagram. Moreover, the data is collected through an online survey, whose experimental research design is meant to test the impact of the mentioned elements in the context of brand communication on Instagram. This experiment involves randomly assigning participants into eight different groups, each group being shown a different Instagram post that features either only one element or a combination of the elements. Also, there is a control group which is exposed to none of the elements. In this context, the results are meant to help both marketers and academics, providing valuable insights into the brand-consumer interactions and influence on Instagram. Additionally, the research can help marketers design more efficient and targeted brand communication strategies on Instagram, which overall helps brands foster a more enhanced consumer engagement and purchase behaviour. While the hypotheses proposed were rejected based on the data collected and analyses conducted, however, it still provides useful insights for further research and points of improvement, for both academia and marketing professionals.