How to motivate opinion leaders to spread e-WoM on social media: monetary vs non-monetary incentives

Abstract

PurposeOpinion leaders are increasingly important as a source of information, with consumers judging them to be more credible than other media and more influential than other consumers. Thus, companies have an interest in engaging opinion leaders to post about products and brands, and the authors analyse different incentives for encouraging them to spread the word on social media (via electronic word-of-mouth [e-WoM]).Design/methodology/approachA 2 × 3 between-subjects experimental design was developed in which 359 technological opinion leaders (bloggers) participated. The authors manipulated the monetary incentive (money vs no money) and non-monetary incentives (information only vs return product vs keep product) offered in exchange for a brand post.FindingsVarious techniques for approaching opinion leaders are effective, but to differing degrees. Providing a product free of charge increases the likelihood that opinion leaders will post about it, and the highest intention to post is observed when they are allowed to keep the product. In contrast, giving money to opinion leaders could have an indirect negative impact on their intention to post through the expected negative reaction of followers.Originality/valueIt remains unclear how opinion leaders can best be encouraged to spread e-WoM, as incentives used for consumers may work differently for opinion leaders, who have followers that they want to maintain. The main contribution of this paper lies in its explanation of why opinion leaders react differently to monetary versus non-monetary incentives.

How Do Anchors' Characteristics Influence Consumers' Behavioural Intention in Livestream Shopping? A Moderated Chain-Mediation Explanatory Model

“…Compared to traditional celebrity endorsements by movie or athletic stars with a higher social status, many livestream shopping anchors are ordinary people, also known as "grassroots" celebrities (Wang, 2021). They usually have a high level of product knowledge and experience (López et al, 2021) and are more close to the life of an average consumer and therefore capable of becoming more interactive with followers and potential consumers (Al-Emadi and Yahia, 2020). During social media interactions, followers also may respond to the anchors, thus establishing a social relationship between them (Delbaere et al, 2020).…”

Enhancing consumer online reviews: the role of moral identity

“…Others have delved deeper into ways of improving the quality of eWOM and have examined the impact of incentives, product experience, emotions and interpersonal relationships on review likelihood, helpfulness and effectiveness. For instance, López et al (2021) found that opinion leaders were more likely to provide reviews if they were offered free products compared to monetary incentives. Jia et al (2021) showed that the effectiveness of length of a review depended on product type (think vs feel).…”

Money matters? Effect of reward types on customers' review behaviors

“…Additionally, monetary rewards can shift consumer motivation from intrinsic to extrinsic factors, such as discounts, as demonstrated by Vilnai-Yavetz and Levina (2018). Social pressure also plays a role, with financial rewards potentially reducing the intention to post reviews due to anticipated negative reactions from followers (Lopez et al , 2021).…”