Summary: Influencers who disable comments on social media are perceived as less convincing and less likeable. The study highlights that even negative comments can boost an influencer’s credibility.
Disabling comments signals a disregard for audience comments, compromising the influencer’s connection with their followers. This study suggests that influencers must strike a balance between protecting their mental health and maintaining audience engagement.
Highlights:
- Influencers who disable comments are perceived as less sincere and less convincing.
- Negative comments can always boost an influencer’s credibility.
- Disabling comments signals a disregard for the public’s opinions.
Source: OR
Researchers from the University of Alabama and Vanderbilt University have published a new study. Marketing Review study that examines the negative consequences celebrities and influencers experience when they mute comments on social media.
The study, to be published in the Marketing Journal, is called “No Comments (From You): Understanding the Interpersonal and Professional Consequences of Disabling Comments on Social Media” and is written by Michelle Daniels and Freeman Wu.
Celebrities and influencers like Addison Rae, Hailey Bieber, Justin Timberlake, and even Oprah have repeatedly disabled access to their social media comments in response to negative sentiment. Is it a mistake ?
The answer is yes, according to a new study published in the Marketing Review. The study finds that influencers who disable comments on social media are less convincing and less likeable than those who don’t, even when the comments posted are mostly negative in content.
In the digital age, celebrities and influencers are more than just public figures. They often serve as a bridge between brands and consumers by integrating their personal stories into sponsored branded content.
Despite their popularity, influencers receive a lot of criticism and often turn off comments on social media as a first line of defense against negative comments. However, this behavior can negatively impact how consumers judge influencers and respond to their promotional content.
Online influencers have the ability to interact with their followers in a relatively intimate and informal way, making them seem sincere and approachable.
Such positive reviews are often the result of how influencers interact with their viewers or followers, including addressing them directly in their posts and treating them more like friends than consumers.
While these behaviors can significantly increase consumer engagement, this level of accessibility can also come at a cost.
As consumers become accustomed to the accessibility of influencers, they may feel encouraged to share crucial feedback. The constant stream of follower comments can be overwhelming and even detrimental to influencers’ mental health.
As a result, many influencers have chosen to deactivate their comment sections at different times, likely to avoid unwanted comments. This research reveals the negative downstream consequences of this seemingly well-intentioned behavior.
The cost of disengagement
As Daniels explains, “We find that when influencers turn off comments, they are seen as less receptive to consumer feedback, or what we call the ‘voice of the consumer.’
“Therefore, they are judged less sincere and ultimately incur both interpersonal and professional consequences. In other words, turning off comments can harm a key asset of the influencer, their perceived receptiveness to the consumer voice and their ability to connect and interact with their followers.
In fact, disabling comments costs more to an influencer’s reputation than leaving them enabled, even when the comments displayed are mostly negative in nature, like those you might find in an apology post.
This effect occurs because influencers who leave their comments on appear interested in hearing from the audience and learning from their actions, while those who turn them off signal their disdain for the opinions of others.
In some situations, consumers understand an influencer’s decision to disable comments. If, for example, an influencer is seen as taking reasonable steps to protect themselves during times of emotional turmoil and distress (e.g., bereavement and mental health issues), the response against invalidating comments is weakened.
“However, it is critical to note that it is consumers, rather than influencers, who decide what is considered a reasonable form of self-protection,” says Wu.
So while consumers may understand an influencer’s decision to mute comments if their beloved pet has recently passed away, they may be less empathetic toward influencers who mute comments to avoid negative comments after posting. be excused from a transgression.
Lessons for Influencers and Brands
These findings highlight the importance of understanding the delicate balance between setting personal boundaries and managing public expectations.
While it is necessary for influencers to protect their mental health, how they decide to communicate this desire and manage their interactions on social media plays an important role in shaping relationships with their audiences.
Global spending on influencer marketing campaigns reached $34.1 billion in 2023 and is expected to exceed $47.8 billion by the end of 2027. Therefore, seemingly innocuous online activities could have Significant professional ramifications for influencers’ brand partnerships.
The decision to disable comments on social media can reduce the persuasive power of influencers, highlighting the importance of ensuring communication between brands and influencers to optimize their strategic partnerships.
The study encourages careful thought about how best to manage one’s online interactions and highlights the need to clearly communicate a legitimate reason for disabling comments to avoid sending the wrong signals to viewers.
About this psychology research news
Author: Marilyn Pierre
Source: OR
Contact: Marilyn Stone – AMA
Picture: Image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: Closed access.
“No Comments (From You): Understanding the Interpersonal and Professional Consequences of Disabling Comments on Social Media” by Michelle Daniels et al. Marketing Review
Abstract
No comments (from you): Understanding the interpersonal and professional consequences of disabling comments on social media
Presumably in an effort to reduce cyberbullying and promote mental health, online influencers often limit viewers’ ability to post comments.
In this research, we find that influencers experience significant interpersonal and professional repercussions for doing so.
Across a Twitter dataset and six experiments using both consequential and hypothetical dependent measures, we find that consumers have more negative impressions of and are less convinced by influencers who mute comments on social media.
These findings are driven by the perception that the influencer is less receptive to consumer voice (e.g., consumer thoughts, opinions, and suggestions) and, therefore, less sincere.
However, we find that this effect is attenuated in situations where consumers believe it is reasonable for influencers to prioritize self-protection.