Athletes as advocates: the role of parasocial interaction and fictional involvement in social media advocacy

Abstract

Research Question: Athletes increasingly use social media to voice opinions. Little is known about how athletes can effectively craft advocacy messages to enhance audience engagement. This study aims to answer the following questions: How do message features in athlete advocacy (specifically narrative voice and storytelling format) influence audience engagement, and what roles do parasocial interaction and fictional involvement play in this process? Research Methods: This study employs two experiments to investigate audience responses to athlete advocacy messages on social media. Experiment 1 examines the impact of first-person (vs. third-person) narratives and the mediating role of parasocial interaction in shaping audience attitudes and engagement. Experiment 2 explores the effect of storytelling (vs. non-narrative) formats, focusing on fictional involvement as a mediator. Results and Findings: Parasocial interaction significantly influenced attitudes toward the athlete and retweet intention, but it did not mediate the relationship between narrative voice and audience responses. Storytelling narratives increased fictional involvement, which in turn enhanced attitudes toward the athlete and intentions to share the message. Implications: This study contributes to the sport management and athlete advocacy literature by identifying key message features that enhance audience engagement. While first-person narratives alone may not drive stronger engagement, storytelling effectively fosters emotional involvement, leading to greater audience support and message sharing. By showing how these features operate across distinct and realistic advocacy contexts, the study offers evidence-based guidance for athletes and communication professionals to design more impactful social media advocacy.