Purpose

Two studies investigate how different structural properties of images – symmetry (vertical and horizontal) and image contrast – affect social media marketing outcomes of consumer liking and engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

In Study 1’s experiment, 361 participants responded to social media marketing images that varied in vertical or horizontal symmetry and level of image contrast. Study 2 analyzes field data on 610 Instagram posts.

Findings

Study 1 demonstrates that vertical or horizontal symmetry and high image contrast increase consumer liking of social media marketing images, and that processing fluency and aesthetic response mediate these relationships. Study 2 reveals that symmetry and high image contrast improve consumer engagement on social media (number of “likes” and comments).

Research limitations/implications

These studies extend theory regarding processing fluency’s and aesthetic response’s roles in consumer outcomes within social media marketing. Image posts’ structural properties affect processing fluency and aesthetic response without altering brand information or advertising content.

Practical implications

Because consumer liking of marketing communications (e.g. social media posts) predicts persuasion and sales, results should help marketers design more effective posts and achieve brand-building and behavioral objectives. Based on the results, marketers are urged to consider the processing fluency and aesthetic response associated with any image developed for social media marketing.

Originality/value

Addressing the lack of empirical investigations in the existing literature, the reported studies demonstrate that effects of symmetry and image contrast in generating liking are driven by processing fluency and aesthetic response. Additionally, these studies establish novel effects of images’ structural properties on consumer engagement with brand-based social media marketing communications.

中文翻译：

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完美的社交媒体图片帖子：对称性和对比度影响消费者反应

目的

两项研究调查了图像的不同结构特性——对称性（垂直和水平）和图像对比度——如何影响消费者喜欢和参与的社交媒体营销结果。

设计/方法/方法

在研究 1 的实验中，361 名参与者对垂直或水平对称性和图像对比度水平各不相同的社交媒体营销图像做出反应。研究 2 分析了 610 个 Instagram 帖子的现场数据。

发现

研究 1 表明，垂直或水平对称以及高图像对比度会增加消费者对社交媒体营销图像的喜爱，并且处理流畅性和审美反应会调节这些关系。研究 2 表明，对称性和高图像对比度提高了消费者在社交媒体上的参与度（“喜欢”和评论的数量）。

研究限制/影响

这些研究扩展了关于处理流畅性和审美反应在社交媒体营销中消费者结果中的作用的理论。图片帖子的结构特性会影响处理流畅性和审美反应，而不会改变品牌信息或广告内容。

实际影响

由于消费者对营销传播（例如社交媒体帖子）的喜好可以预测说服和销售，因此结果应该有助于营销人员设计更有效的帖子并实现品牌建设和行为目标。根据结果​​，敦促营销人员考虑与为社交媒体营销开发的任何图像相关的处理流畅性和审美反应。

原创性/价值

针对现有文献中缺乏实证研究的问题，报告的研究表明，对称性和图像对比度在产生喜欢方面的影响是由处理流畅性和审美反应驱动的。此外，这些研究建立了图像结构特性对消费者参与基于品牌的社交媒体营销传播的新影响。