Does a Virtual like Cause Actual Liking? How following a Brand's Facebook Updates Enhances Brand Evaluations and Purchase Intention
通过实验对比现有粉丝、新粉丝和非粉丝在一个月内的品牌评价变化，发现关注品牌Facebook更新能显著提升新粉丝的品牌评价，且该效应由感知的对话性人声中介。
Studies have shown positive associations between liking a Facebook brand page and brand evaluations, but causal evidence is lacking. This online pre–post-measure experiment compared brand evaluations of ‘current followers’ of a target brand's Facebook page, with ‘new followers’ instructed to ‘like’ the page, and ‘non-followers’ over one month. Results showed a significant positive increase for new followers on brand evaluations, whereas non-followers showed no change. Current followers were most positive in evaluations overall, but showed no change over time. This provides evidence that following a brand's Facebook updates can cause positive changes in brand evaluations. The effects were explained by perceived conversational human voice, indicating the importance of brand interactivity. Implications for brands’ social media presence are discussed.