It matters who shares and who reads: persuasive outcomes of location check-ins on Facebook

Abstract

Despite an emerging trend of location check-ins as a means of mobile communication amongst Facebook users, little attention has been devoted to the value of location check-ins as marketing potential. In particular, little is known about how mobile users process and assess location information shared by their friends on Facebook. Undergirded by persuasion knowledge and elaboration likelihood models, a self-instructed online survey with 255 undergraduate students found that friendship tie strength was positively correlated with students’ attitudes towards and perceived credibility of the location information shared by their Facebook friends. However, this relationship was true of those who reported a high level of mobile phone competence rather than those with low mobile phone competence. Prior experience with location sharing on Facebook was also positively correlated with students’ evaluations of the location information. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.