Social media celebrities' influence on youths' diet behaviors: a gender study based on the AIDA marketing communication model

Abstract

PurposeSocial media celebrities are getting popular in promotions, and more people have experienced social media to receive information on diet and health tips. This research presents a study showing how social media can influence young people's diet behavior through collaboration with social media celebrities.Design/methodology/approachThrough recruiting on various social media and online education forums, this research recruited 196 young Hongkongers to participate in an online survey developed based on the AIDA (Action, Interest, Desire, Attention) marketing communication model on how youths access diet information from social media celebrities in Hong Kong.FindingsHong Kong youths consume diet information from social media celebrities through instant messaging systems, social networking sites and online videos, and, in particular, information on food calories and nutrition. However, sponsorship from vendors would decrease their desire to agree with the messages from social media celebrities. After receiving this information, some participants would follow tips and guides from social media celebrities. However, they seldom share such information. Interestingly, males are more willing to follow these tips and guides.Originality/valueFirst, this study fills the gap of prior research, which did not study much on how social media celebrities contribute to diet promotion to youths in Asia. Second, through the AIDA Model, this study shows how social media can affect the awareness and accessibility of diet information by young Hongkongers, followed by initiating their interest in this topic and retrieving more relevant information. Furthermore, the authors further understand their desire to follow and improve their behavior as promoted by social media influencers and how they practice such behavior. Based on these findings, health-related brands could consider using social media influencers helping to promote their products and services, and these brands could further use social media to secure customer engagement.

Virtual idols vs online influencers vs traditional celebrities: how young consumers respond to their endorsement advertising

“…Jin (2021) also analyzed the effectiveness of advertising with both traditional celebrities and online influencers as endorsers and suggested that traditional celebrities scored better than online influencers on the factors of trustworthiness, expertise and having an appealing appearance. A survey study by Wong et al (2023) of 196 young people in Hong Kong confirmed that young consumers show less trust in online influencers' endorsements. The reasons for the different outcomes may be related to cultural differences, as well as the contexts or social platforms chosen by these studies.…”

Editorial: Advances in information and knowledge management

“…People have changed their information habits to digital, particularly for the newer generation (Cheung et al ., 2023; Dai and Chiu, 2023; Guo et al ., 2022; Nguyen and Le, 2021; Leung et al ., 2022; Li et al ., 2021; Lu et al ., 2023; Soroya and Faiola, 2023; Sung and Chiu, 2022; Yi and Chiu, 2023; Yu et al ., 2022; Wong and Chiu, 2023c; Wong et al ., 2023b; Wu and Zhang, 2022). Further, digitalization technology enables libraries and scholars to share links and content on social media to attract users (Banshal et al ., 2022; Lo et al ., 2019; Ocran and Afful-Arthur, 2022; Pianzola et al ., 2022; Yang et al ., 2020; Wu et al ., 2022a; Wu, 2022; Xu and Du, 2022).…”

Editorial: Special selections on contemporary social media and social network research

“…Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has seriously affected many cultural organizations, including educational institutions, libraries and museums (Fasae et al , 2021; Huang et al , 2021, 2022; 2023; Guo et al , 2021; Meng et al , 2023; Yu et al , 2023), though we are now ready for reopening (Abbass et al , 2022; Suh and Alhaery, 2022; Kumar et al , 2021). Wide-spread and high-quality online information services have provided alternative sources during the lockdown (Ding et al , 2021; Hsieh et al , 2023; Lo and Chiu, 2015; Lo et al , 2015, 2017; Suen et al , 2020; Dong et al , 2021; Sun et al , 2022; Wang et al , 2016; Wong and Chiu, 2023; Fan and Liu, 2022; Zuo et al , 2023; Cheng et al , 2022; Cheng, 2022; Wang et al , 2022; Wong et al , 2023) and people have further changed their information and learning habits to digital, particularly for the newer generation (Chan et al , 2022; Chan et al , 2020; Dai and Chiu, 2023; Guo et al , 2022; Shahzad and Khan, 2022; Soroya and Faiola, 2023; Sung and Chiu, 2022; Yi and Chiu, 2023; Wai et al , 2018; Wong and Chiu, 2023; Yu et al , 2022; Zhang et al , 2021). Moreover, the pandemic has accelerated service transformation (Chan et al , 2022; Cheng et al , 2022; Chin and Chiu, 2023; Khan and Ayesha, 2022; Khan et al , 2022; Li et al , 2023; Li et al , 2023; Lin et al , 2022; Lo et al ., 2020; Noh, 2022; Nwagwu and Matobako, 2022; Tseng and Chiu, 2022; Tse et al , 2022; Yao et al , 2023; Wong and Chiu, 2023; Wu et al , 2022b, 2023; Xue et al , 2023), especially supported by ubiquitous mobile Internet services, social media, apps and devices (Dukic et al , 2015; Ezeamuzie et al , 2022; Fan et al , 2020; Fung et al , 2016; Gong et al , 2017; Hui et al , 2023;…”

“…Information organizations, such as libraries and museums, have gradually adopted social media to maintain a social presence for building social capital besides being widely adopted for promotion and learning aids (Chung et al , 2020; Fong et al , 2020; Ho et al , 2018; Nabi et al , 2023; Lam et al , 2019; 2023; Lei et al , 2021; Leung et al , 2023; Liu et al , 2023a, b; Li et al ., 2023; Lo et al , 2014; Jiang et al ., 2023; Mak et al , 2022; Xie, Chiu, and Ho, 2023; Xie et al , 2023a, b; Wong et al , 2023; Wang et al , 2021; Yang et al , 2022; Wójcik, 2022a; Wu and Yang, 2022), especially during the COVID-19 outbreak. Particularly, digitalization technology enables libraries to share links and content on social media to attract users (Banshal et al , 2022; Lo et al , 2019; Ocran and Afful-Arthur, 2022; Wu et al , 2022a; Xu and Du, 2022).…”