Do high engagement Instagram images influence presidential candidate evaluation? The moderating effect of familiarity

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how exposure to a presidential candidate's high engagement Instagram images influences a citizen's candidate evaluations.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected via Amazon MTurk. A 3 × 2 experimental design was employed to test the persuasive effect of exposure of the “most liked” and “most commented on” images of the top four 2016 US presidential primary candidates on a US citizen's candidate evaluation.

Findings

Results reveal that highly engaging Instagram images of unfamiliar presidential candidates positively influenced candidate evaluations. However, the same was not true for more well-known presidential candidates.

Research limitations/implications

This study was not conducted during a live campaign and only examined four of the top 2016 presidential primary candidates.

Practical implications

The research includes implications for marketers seeking to increase engagement and reach in Instagram marketing campaigns. This study shows that even brief exposure to a highly engaged post involving an unfamiliar person/product on social media can significantly alter evaluations of that person or product.

Originality/value

To the authors' knowledge, no experimental designs have addressed how Instagram posts influence users' political attitudes and behaviors within the political marketing and communications literature.

Citation

Munoz, C.L. and Towner, T. (2022), "Do high engagement Instagram images influence presidential candidate evaluation? The moderating effect of familiarity", Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 514-533. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-01-2021-0003