Extending the personal branding affordances typology to parasocial interaction with public figures on social media: Social presence and media multiplexity as mediators

The extent of a social media public figure's success often rests on their ability to establish a personal connection with audiences. Drawing from decades of prior research on parasocial interaction and a typology of personal branding affordances developed in our prior work, this study examined the extent to which a platform's perceived affordances might predict such parasocial interaction. Results supported this association and identified social presence and media multiplexity as independent mediators of it, consistent with prior work in interpersonal communication and technology research. Moreover, the pattern of findings validated audience involvement and locus of promotion as key dimensions delineating the personal branding affordances typology, with multiplatform participatory affordances fostering the most intimate perception of public figures by audiences (i. e., with heightened social presence, media multiplexity, and parasocial interaction).

Automated summary

The success of social media public figures depends on their ability to establish a personal connection with audiences, and certain platform affordances can predict the level of parasocial interaction. Results showed that social presence and media multiplexity mediate this interaction, with multiplatform participatory affordances enhancing the audience's intimate perception of public figures.