Paid snapshots - A quantitative study of 'snapshot' aesthetics in paid social media

Abstract: Paid advertisement continues to be an important tool to reach new customers and increase revenue for retailers. Investments in paid social media remain on the uprise and the effectiveness of reaching new customers through owned media remain questioned. Previous research has shown that choice of aesthetics can have positive effects on brand attitude and word-of-mouth intentions when used for non-sponsored posts in image based social media (Colliander and Marder, 2018) However, in the context of paid social media advertising, no research exists on the effects of using snapshot aesthetics compared to studio aesthetics. In this study, a similar theoretical framework based on source credibility and image attitude is applied to explain the mediation chain in this new context. An experimental scenario-based role-playing design was used in which participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups and exposed to a sponsored post with snapshot or studio aesthetics in a Facebook context. The study showed that respondents treated with snapshot aesthetics can result in higher brand attitudes and purchase intentions. However, potential confound effects pertaining to outfit and model in the image could not be mitigated. As a result, one must be careful when interpreting the findings of this study.