Story notes contributed by Dr. Mark Pelletier, Professor in Marketing at the UNCW Cameron School of Business.

Dr. Mark Pelletier, along with his co-authors Dr. Alisha Horky from Columbus State University and Dr. Alexa Fox from The University of Akron, recently published a timely social media-related paper titled “Fexit: The effect of political and promotional communication from friends and family on Facebook exiting intentions” in the Journal of Business Research, which is an A journal according the ABDC journal list.

While Facebook still enjoys massive worldwide popularity, public trust in the site is waning. Some users are exiting Facebook while others are decreasing the intensity and frequency in which they engage with the site. Many brands rely on social media, but consumers’ changing behaviors, coupled with Facebook’s algorithm changes, may force these brands to switch social media marketing strategies. The authors use the theories behind exiting behavior, social capital, and closeness to explore why Facebook users decrease or eliminate their use of the site in this new “post-trust era” of Facebook. A mixed-methods approach utilizing both qualitative and quantitative research is used across three studies.

The key takeaway is that too much unwanted brand and political content may actually drive Facebook users away. Differences in user intentions to mute connections, use Facebook less, and delete one’s Facebook account depend on whether content is from family or non-family members and whether the content posted is aligned with one’s political views.

Read the journal article here:  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296320305841?dgcid=author