Colleges and Universities are increasingly establishing campus food pantries and other emergency food assistance programs to serve students, faculty, and staff facing food insecurity. Previous research focuses on the prevalence of food insecurity on college campuses and students' experiences with campus food pantries. Few studies have examined the role of social media in promoting college food pantries. Social media marketing research suggests social media can be used to increase intention to buy products and services. When campus food pantries post on social media, it is important to consider images used in addition to content. This research explored social media marketing of food pantries and the relationship between post manipulations and participants' intention to visit a food pantry. Specifically, this research utilized a 2 (social vs. non-social image) x 2 (informational vs. conversational caption) experimental study using a national sample (n= 130). Findings showed that images on social media can influence consumer responses and patronage intentions.
Increasing Intention to Visit the Food Pantry through Social Images
Category
Business 2