Platform Variation and Content Variation on Social Media: A Dual-Route Model of Cognitive and Experiential Effects

The present study examined the effects of platform selection (cross-platform vs. single-platform) and content strategy (varied ads vs. repeated ads) on purchase intention via two mediating routes: cognitive and experiential routes. The results from a 2 × 2 online experimental study found that content variation outperformed content repetition in terms of eliciting more positive ad-related thoughts, increasing ad credibility, and enhancing experiential pleasure, resulting in an increase in purchase intention, suggesting a dual-route model of variation effects. The difference between cross-platform and single-platform was in experiential pleasure such that participants experienced more pleasure when exposed to multiple social media.