The Power of a Smile: The Use of Smiles and Adjectives in Crowdfunding Social Media

Abstract

In the last decade, crowdfunding has emerged as a novel, yet prevailing way for new ventures to acquire capital. Successful crowdfunding campaigns are often accompanied by entrepreneurs’ social networking activities. However, our understanding of an entrepreneur’s ability to convey trustworthiness and generate investment interest through first impressions on online social networking sites is incomplete. Hence, we explore how entrepreneurs can use impression management tactics online to increase perceptions of trustworthiness and investor interest. Using an experimental vignette design, we examine whether the use of smiling versus non-smiling pictures and adjective enhanced headlines versus unadorned headlines on the LinkedIn platform influence both perceptions of trustworthiness and investment interest by crowdfunding investors. The results suggest that LinkedIn profile pictures with a smile (versus no smile) increase perceptions of trustworthiness and investment interest. This study contributes to a better understanding of how impression management on social networking sites can affect online crowdfunding success.