Temporary or permanent social media post? The impact of product type

Abstract

Consumers share various content about material and experiential products on social media for short-term via temporary posts or long-term via permanent posts. Based on memory protection and hedonic adaptation theories, this study investigates whether product type determines how long consumers display their products on social media. We suggest experiential products elicit more proactive nostalgia-the desire to have a permanent record of a current episode to remember and relive it in the future-than material products do encouraging long-term product displays on social media. We conducted five experiments. Results demonstrate the following:(a) consumers are more likely to share experiential (vs. material) products via permanent (vs. temporary) posts on social media (Study 1 and 2); (b) consumers tend to share permanent posts when products are (externally or internally) framed as experiential versus material (Study 3 and 4); and (c) proactive nostalgia (for oneself and about others) mediates the relationship between product type and product display duration on social media (Study 4 and 5). Findings elucidate how product type and proactive nostalgia influence product engagement on social media and suggest managers can utilize product display duration as a product valuation metric and proactive nostalgia as a facilitator of long-term word-of-mouth.

Is travel bragging in the eye of the beholder? Bragger and audience perspectives

“…This echoes Anlamlier and Ulu (2022), who found that consumers prefer to share experiential consumption permanently on social media due to proactive nostalgia.…”

“…I think on Instagram specifically, I'm more interested in sharing it so that I can look at it later in an organized way. (B14)This echoesAnlamlier and Ulu (2022), who found that consumers prefer to share experiential consumption permanently on social media due to proactive nostalgia.Lastly, extrinsic motivations constituted another major motivator of travel bragging. Extrinsic motivations are driven by separable outcomes such as external rewards or punishments(Ryan & Deci, 2000).…”

Circular or angular? How nostalgia affects product shape preference

“…As a commonly experienced emotion, nostalgia can be triggered by a number of factors such as feelings of distress (Routledge et al, 2013), experiential gifts (Puente‐Díaz & Cavazos‐Arroyo, 2021) as well as products (Anlamlier & Ulu, 2022), and loneliness (Wildschut et al, 2006). Recent studies suggest that aversive and threatening events such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) severity (Xia et al, 2021) and disease threat (Barauskaitė et al, 2022) can also evoke feelings of nostalgia, which are effective in coping with threats such as stress, anxiety, and loneliness.…”