Attractiveness, expertise and closeness: The effect of source credibility of the first lady as political endorser on social media in China

Abstract

This study examines the strategies of political impression management adopted by the Weibo account Liyuan Fan Club from a source credibility perspective, investigating the capacity of each strategy in encouraging online political participation through measuring consumer’s online brand-related activities (i.e. consuming, contributing, and creating). In addition to traditional dimensions of source credibility (i.e. expertise and attractiveness), a new dimension, namely “closeness,” is added in based on previous studies in political branding and celebrity studies. A content analysis of 790 posts is conducted, in which the study finds that emphasis on Peng’s attractiveness and closeness have positive effects on participatory behaviors on social media, while emphasis on Peng’s expertise show no effect. Further analysis indicates that individual contributions of attractiveness and closeness on three levels of participatory behaviors are different, among which attractiveness is more effective in activating low-level participation, while closeness has more positive effect in encouraging high-level participation.