Softening the Blow: The Power of Rhetorical Frames Used by Social Media Influencers with Sponsorship Disclosure

Abstract

This study explores how social media influencers’ (SMIs) endorsements preceding commercials can increase positive response, even when sponsorship is disclosed. We employed three rhetorical frames—transparency, co-orientation, and downplaying—in a real-world test scenario involving TV commercials for two energy corporations with problematic reputations. A national survey with 644 respondents revealed that each rhetorical frame significantly bolstered positive attitudes toward the featured corporations. These attitude shifts were mediated by reductions in persuasion knowledge and increases in message credibility. Our findings not only support but also extend existing theories on endorsement effectiveness by integrating the insights from rhetorical theory. It shows that understanding the nuances of ‘how’ a message is delivered, through rhetorical framing, can be as crucial as ‘what’ is being said.

Keywords:

• Rhetorical framing
• social media influencers
• sponsorship disclosure
• persuasion knowledge
• message credibility
• corporate reputation

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical Statement

This study was approved by University of Missouri’s IRB Committee (IRB Project Number: 2016082).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Novak Leadership Institute at the University of Missouri.

Notes on contributors

Eunjin (Anna) Kim

Eunjin (Anna) Kim (PhD, University of Missouri) is an Assistant Professor, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California.

Esther Thorson

Esther Thorson (PhD, University of Minnesota) is Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, College of Communication Art and Sciences, Michigan State University.

Margaret Duffy

Margaret Duffy (PhD, University of Iowa) is a Professor, Missouri School of Journalism, University of Missouri.

Heather Shoenberger

Heather Shoenberger (PhD, University of Missouri) is an Assistant Professor, Donald P. Bellisario College of Communication, Penn State University.