The effect of social media comment on Chinese consumers' attitude toward the brand

This study investigated how the valence of framed messages and consumers' familiarity with the brand impacts consumer attitudes toward the brand. An online study was conducted with a sample of 126 Chinese students who were randomly assigned to one of three groups.;Based on the prospect theory, five hypotheses were explored. This study found that: (1): positive comments in social media advertising have a positive effect on consumers' attitudes toward the brand; (2) negative comments in social media advertising have a negative effect on consumers' attitudes toward the brand; (3) negative comments have more effect than positive comments in social media advertising on consumers' attitudes toward the brand; (4) among consumers who are unfamiliar with the brand, negative comments have more effect than positive comments in social media advertising on consumers' attitudes toward the brand; (5) among consumers who are familiar with the brand, positive comments in social media advertising have no significant effect on consumers' attitudes toward the brand, but for brand familiar consumers, negative comments in social media advertising also have an effect on their attitudes toward the brand. The contribution of this study is to help Chinese companies and international companies have a better knowledge of Chinese consumers and helping them for their digital marketing campaigns.