THE ROLE OF VISUAL CUES IN ONLINE PERSUASION: USING POPULAR CULTURAL IMAGERY TO STAY RELEVANT

Abstract

Individuals today are exposed to an unprecedented amount of visual information, especially with the immense popularity of visual-oriented social media such as Instagram and Tiktok. With such platforms increasingly being utilised as platforms to advertise or to advocate for social change, it is essential to understand how visual content can influence end-users in persuasive communication. However, the use of visuals in online persuasion has not been extensively studied. This is especially so for cybersecurity. With the rapid integration of technology into our daily lives, users must be aware of how to defend themselves from cyberthreats and take initiative in adopting protective practices. As a response, the Singapore government runs numerous cybersecurity awareness campaigns yearly with the goal of improving citizens’ cyber hygiene. However, these campaigns have seemingly been futile. As such, this study aims to investigate how visual content can influence attitude change towards cybersecurity and password management, in accordance to the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion (ELM). Within this research, an Instagram campaign titled Get Good SG was developed to educate young Singaporean adults about the importance of cybersecurity and encourage the adoption of strong password management habits. Informed by ELM, the graphic materials created for the campaign were appealing and incorporated popular culture to increase attractiveness and relevance to the target audience. Information elaboration and attitude change in the target audience were then examined through pre- and post-campaign interviews. Findings from this study suggest that the use of popular cultural imagery led to increased motivation to elaborate on information, high recall of content and eventually led to attitudinal and behavioural changes in the target audience. Thus, the study holds significant theoretical implications for ELM. Findings also suggest that popular cultural imagery bring about opportunities for persuasive cybersecurity communication online. Thus, it is also relevant from a practical standpoint, as insights from this study can help in campaign conception, development, and design.