“Don't pretend to be my friend!” When an informal brand communication style backfires on social media |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute for Management Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands;2. Department of Marketing, University of Liege, HEC Management School, Belgium;1. University of Iowa, 21 E. Market St., Iowa City, IA 52242, United States;2. University of Wisconsin–Madison, 975 University Ave., Madison, WI 53706, United States;3. University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, 800 W. Main St., Whitewater, WI 53190, United States;1. Hang Seng Management College, Hong Kong;2. Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong;3. Baptist University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong;1. Marketing Area, LUISS University, Viale Romania, 32, 00197 Rome, Italy;2. LUISS University, Viale Romania, 32, 00197 Rome, Italy;3. University of Bari, Via Lago Maggiore Angola Via Ancona, 74121 Taranto, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Social media are now essential platforms for marketing communications, and the volume of consumer-brand interactions on these platforms is exploding. Even so, it remains unclear how brands should communicate with consumers to foster relationships and, in particular, to gain their trust. A fundamental decision in this regard is the choice of a communication style, specifically, whether an informal or a formal style should be used in social media communications. In this paper, we investigate how adopting an informal (vs. formal) communication style affects brand trust and demonstrate that using an informal style can either have a positive or negative effect on brand trust, depending on whether consumers are familiar with the brand or not. We further show that these effects occur because consumers expect brands to behave according to social norms, such that the use of an informal style is perceived to be appropriate for familiar brands and inappropriate for unfamiliar ones. |
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