Relationship between trustworthy museum instagram posts cues and museum brand attitudes: a focus on users in their 20s

Abstract

Instagram serves as a primary marketing tool for non-profit organizations such as museums. To understand the factors influencing marketing through Instagram and its effects, it is necessary to investigate Instagram cues from posts uploaded by the museum, as well as user attitudes towards the brand and the trustworthiness of the posts. However, in the museum context, most research estimates the impact of social media marketing effect based on the number of likes and comments, lacking theoretical background. Therefore, in this study, the Cue Utilization Theory is employed to examine the relationship between Instagram post cues (post attractiveness, post popularity, and the quality of argument), attitudes toward the brand, and the trustworthiness of the posts. The study also aims to verify whether there are moderating effects based on users' prior awareness of the museum and prior brand attitude scores. The analysis targeted three museums and Instagram users in their 20s. Analyzing the results through structural equation modeling, it was found that the three Instagram post cues significantly impacted post trust and brand attitude. The degree of significance varied slightly depending on the three museums. Through this research, museum stakeholders can develop marketing strategies based on the purpose of social media utilization. The study contributes by applying the Cue Utilization Theory, which has been predominantly used in for-profit organizations, to non-profit organizations such as museums.