Purpose/Rationale
The study examines how consumers look at sponsorship messaging embedded within Instagram images on the International Volleyball Federation’s official beach volleyball account, investigating how social media consumers dedicate visual attention to the photographs.
Design
The study followed an experimental design using eye-tracking technology with a within-subjects protocol. Researchers recorded the gaze behavior of participants (n = 41) on social media images (n = 18) featuring beach volleyball athletes who played on the 2023 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite16.
Findings
The study’s results revealed that consumers dedicated most of their visual attention to the athletes in the images compared to the sponsorship messaging. In addition, participants were less likely to look at sponsors when the athletes were in defensive positions compared to offensive positions or posed positions.
Practical implications
The lack of visual attention to sponsorship messaging reinforces the need for social media marketers to be strategic in how they select images for Instagram and incorporate sponsors into their social media feeds.
