LOL! Can textual paralanguage be useful in marketing?

LOL! Can textual paralanguage be useful in marketing?

Textual Paralanguage (TPL) is widely used in marketing practice. However, there is no consensus on its effectiveness. Since mimicry is a good proxy for communication effectiveness, we set out to determine if TPL is in fact being mimicked (in spoken or written form: "hm," "aaaa," "lol" which are exemplars of the TPL), and consequently, whether TPL is an effective tool in marketing communication. In three studies, participants took part in interviews and were randomly assigned to two condition groups. In the experimental group, the experimenter incorporated elements of TPL in the conversation. The control group had no exposure to TPL. We used several measures of the tendency to mimic TPL. The experiments were run at a university in Poznań (Poland), at the turn of 2017 and 2018. We found that TPL, often used in marketing communication, was not mimicked at all, and thus may not be beneficial to the agent using it. The findings of this paper contradict the everyday practice of marketing communication. The results are consistent across all three experiments. In light of the reported experiments, people do not imitate TPL in communication, which may signify that the expected benefits are lacking.

Tekstualny parajęzyk (TPL) jest powszechnie stosowany w praktyce marketingowej, lecz nie ma pewności czy jest skuteczny. Ponieważ mimikra jest dobrym wskaźnikiem skutecznej komunikacji, autorzy artykułu postawili sobie za cel zbadanie, czy TPL jest naturalnie naśladowany (w mowie lub piśmie: „hm”, „aaaa”, „lol”), a w konsekwencji czy jest skutecznym narzędziem w komunikacji marketingowej. Uczestnicy trzech opisanych w artykule badań brali udział w wywiadach, gdzie byli losowo przydzielani do jednego z dwóch warunków. W warunkach eksperymentalnych eksperymentator włączał do rozmowy elementy TPL. Warunki kontrolne były wolne od tych ekspozycji. W badaniach mierzono skłonność uczestników do naśladowania TPL. Eksperymenty przeprowadzono na jednej z poznańskich uczelni wyższych na przełomie 2017 i 2018 roku. Uzyskane wyniki są spójne we wszystkich trzech eksperymentach. Stwierdzono, że TPL nie był naśladowany, w związku z czym może nie być korzystny dla osoby stosującej ten element podczas komunikacji. Wnioski przedstawione w artykule zaprzeczają codziennej praktyce komunikacji marketingowej. W świetle raportowanych eksperymentów ludzie nie naśladują TPL, co może świadczyć o braku oczekiwanych korzyści.

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