Conspicuous political brand interactions on social network sites

• Purpose Acquiring Likes for a political party or candidate's Facebook pages is important for political marketers. For consumers, these Likes are conspicuous, making their political affiliation visible to their network. This paper aims to examine the roles of the undesired social-self and visibility (conspicuous vs inconspicuous) in predicting consumers' intention to Like political brands. The authors extend knowledge on the undesired social-self and transference of theory from general marketing to a political domain and provide practical advice for political marketers engaging social network sites. Design/methodology/approach The authors gather data from two surveys run with Facebook using electorates in the run up to the UK 2015 and US 2016 elections (n = 1,205) on their intention to Like political brands under different visibility conditions. Findings Data support the theorized relationship of the undesired social-self with social anxiety intention to Like when Liking is conspicuous. However, data also indicate that all users - irrespective of proximity to the undesired social-self - prefer to Like inconspicuously. Research limitations/implications The research is limited by the generalizability of the specific context and the use of self-report measures. Practical implications Political marketers should reconsider promoting conspicuous consumption for that which is more inconspicuous. Originality/value The authors provide the first examination of the undesired social-self in driving behavior under different visibility conditions. Furthermore, the authors challenge the extension of existing knowledge of the self-concept within political marketing, based on the norm for consumers' to avoid disclosing political views publically.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

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