Instagram stories: how ephemerality affects consumers’ responses toward Instagram content and advertising

Ephemerality is a key characteristic of modern social media features such as Instagram Stories. The aim of this article is twofold: first it aims to understand whether ephemerality impacts processing (in terms of involvement, avoidance, and attention) of media content; second, it aims to understand whether these processing variables subsequently impact advertising effectiveness. Results show that in an ephemeral media context (Stories) versus in a persistent media context (feed), respondents (i) indicate worse processing of content (lower involvement, higher avoidance, and lower attention), (ii) recall fewer of the advertised brands, and (iii) express lower ad liking. A follow-up study validated the manipulation of ephemerality and highlighted that Instagram Stories and Instagram Feed differ on other media characteristics, too (pacing, perceived control, perceived time pressure, and perceived autonomy). These media context characteristics together form two unique contexts: Instagram Stories and Instagram Feed. The results opens up for both practical and scholarly debate on how to develop and apply research on ephemerality.