User generated content presenting brands on social media increases young adults’ purchase intention

On Facebook, companies not only actively spread branded content themselves, they also encourage users to do so. Hence, persuasive messages blend into the stream of content, making it increasingly difficult for users to identify and cope with this covert advertising content. In an experimental study, we confronted users to disclosed advertisements; brand; and user-generated posts allowing us to discern effects on persuasion knowledge, affective...