真實與虛擬的距離——探討社群媒體廣告中虛擬影響者代言人、產品績效風險及感官線索對廣告效果之影響

Abstract

虛擬影響者作為新興的社群媒體影響者類型，吸引了行銷行業的注意力，虛擬影響者行銷在近年來也參與到社群媒體廣告中，並逐漸展現出其在品牌推廣和消費者互動中的潛力。然而虛擬影響者與消費者之間的真實性和信任感依然是虛擬影響者行銷以及其所參與的社群廣告之行銷成效的重要挑戰。本研究希望藉由實驗，探討社群影響者行銷和社群媒體廣告中，對於虛擬影響者提高消費者廣告效果的最佳方式，並進一步理解虛擬影響者在不同情境下的適用性。本研究選用社群媒體平台「小紅書」作為實驗背景，並且採用實驗法 2（影響者類型：虛擬影響者/真人影響者）x2（產品績效風險：高/低）x2（感官線索：高/低）多因子組間實驗設計，依變項則包括：「廣告態度」、「購買意願」、「分享意願」，並將代言人可信度作為中介變項，討論其對自變項（影響者類型、產品績效風險、感官線索）與依變項（廣告態度、購買意願、分享意願）之間的中介效果。研究結果顯示，（1）虛擬影響者相較於真人影響者更能引發消費者較佳之分享意願；（2）高感官線索廣告內容較低感官線索廣告內容有更正面的廣告效果；（3）虛擬影響者代言低產品績效風險之產品較高產品績效風險之產品有更正面的廣告效果；（4）虛擬影響者廣告中，高感官線索廣告內容較低感官線索廣告內容具有更正面的廣告態度；（5）代言人可信度在影響者類型、產品績效風險、感官線索與廣告態度之間存在中介作。

Virtual influencers, as an emerging category of social media influencers, have garnered significant attention within the marketing industry. In recent years, virtual influencers have increasingly participated in social media advertising, gradually demonstrating their potential in brand promotion and consumer engagement. However, challenges persist regarding the authenticity and trust between virtual influencers and consumers, which remain critical factors influencing the effectiveness of virtual influencer marketing and the social advertisements they endorse. This study aims to explore strategies to enhance the effectiveness of consumer advertising in social media marketing and advertising through virtual influencers while further examining their applicability in varying contexts.The social media Xiaohongshu served as the experimental setting for this study. A multi-factorial experimental design was employed, comprising a 2 (influencer type: virtual influencer vs. real influencer) × 2 (product performance risk: high vs. low) × 2 (sensory cues: high vs. low) between-subjects framework. The dependent variables included advertising attitude, purchase intention, and sharing intention, while endorser credibility was examined as a mediating variable to analyze its mediating effects on the relationships between the independent variables (influencer type, product performance risk, and sensory cues) and the dependent variables.The study results showed that (1) Virtual influencers are more likely to evoke higher sharing intentions compared to real influencers; (2) Advertisements with high sensory cues generate more favorable advertising effects than those with low sensory cues; (3) Virtual influencers produce more positive advertising effects when endorsing products with low product performance risk compared to those with high product performance risk; (4) High sensory cues in virtual influencer advertisements result in more favorable advertising attitudes compared to low sensory cues; (5) Endorser credibility mediates the relationships between influencer type, product performance risk, sensory cues, and advertising attitudes.