Elaboration Likelihood Model: Influences on Persuasive Appeals
Richard E. Petty and John T. Cacioppo developed the elaboration likelihood model in the 1980s, which “seeks to explore how humans process stimuli differently and how the outcomes of these processes result in changing attitudes and, consequently, behavior”.
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Elaboration is how much effort the audience member uses to process and evaluate the message. This is also related to whether or not the audience accepts or rejects the message. The central route is how important the message is; this results in the logic used to convince people that an argument is worth it. On the other hand, peripheral route processing is a low level of elaboration that uses peripheral cues to associate positivity with the message.
There are many ways where marketers can tweak marketing messages to influence consumers to purchase a product or service. If I were to run a social media campaign for a makeup brand, I could target college students who want to conceal their dark eyes, strategically create a caption, and focus on imagery that gears toward this target audience. On the other hand, this campaign could include college-aged influencers like Alix Earle to persuade the target audience to purchase the product.
Whether the marketing message stems from the comment section or an influencer, it all boils down to central and peripheral routes. Different campaign goals can relate to which route the elaboration goes to. If the campaign focuses on imagery, consumer thoughts go through peripheral cues. Having influencers means thoughts would go through the central route.
Influencers can convince people to purchase products since many want to be trendy, but some may disagree.
Do you think brands should focus more on influencer marketing? Let me know in the comment section.
