Social media shopping and the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion

Abstract

Social media is a quickly growing industry with a wide variety of possibilities available to all kinds of users. Whether it be personal use or for a business, social media can help form people and companies in many ways. When it comes to shopping online, social media is a new path that many businesses are learning how to use. Businesses are choosing to promote and sell their products through platforms like Instagram due to their vast pool of users. The key to using Instagram to sell products is to effectively persuade a user to make the purchase. In order for this to happen, the findings from The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion (ELM) can be used as a guide to understanding how users analyze different messages and are motivated towards a call to action. After reviewing the two options available to business to sell products through Instagram, an overview of The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion will also be provided. In addition, this report will cover an example of prior research done on The Elaboration Likelihood of Persuasion, the integration of social media shopping and ELM and the managerial application of it.