From gaming to politics: The impact of political chatter by social media influencers on consumer engagement with non-political content

Abstract

Social media influencers (SMIs) have become integral to digital marketing, shaping consumer perceptions and promoting products and services. While some SMIs are dedicated to political content or develop such content occasionally, non-political SMIs may also engage in political chatter within their usual content. This study examines the effects of such chatter on consumer engagement by focusing on gaming SMIs. The main analysis is based on a dataset of 43,892 videos from 200 SMIs. The findings indicate that, overall, political chatter intensity in non-political content negatively impacts user engagement. However, this adverse effect is mitigated when SMIs express negative emotions, i.e., sadness or anger, in their content, adopt a humorous tone during their chatter, or address audiences with greater prior exposure to the SMIs’ political chatter. Conversely, the negative impact of political chatter intensity intensifies when moral incongruence between SMIs and their audiences is higher. These results offer valuable insights for both marketers and SMIs who leverage social media platforms to connect with consumers.