Beyond a 'Like': Building Parasocial Relationships with Baby Boomers on Facebook

Authors

YunYing (Susan) Zhong, University of Central FloridaFollow
Valeriya Shapoval, University of Central FloridaFollow
James Busser, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Abstract

Baby boomers are a crucial cohort for hospitality marketing as they have more money to spend and more time on their hands than younger cohorts. However, reaching them on social media is harder. There is one social media platform popular with baby boomers: Facebook. Dr. YunYing Zhong and Dr. Valeriya Shapoval at UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management, together with their collaborator, have combined their different areas of expertise to analyze the effectiveness of social media marketing directed at baby boomers from an unusual angle: the illusionary and imaginary relationships we build with fictional characters.

Original Article

Zhong, Y., Shapoval, V. and Busser, J. (2021). The role of parasocial relationship in social media marketing: testing a model among baby boomers. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 33:5, 1870–1891. doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-08-2020-0873

Recommended Citation

Zhong, YunYing (Susan); Shapoval, Valeriya; and Busser, James (2023) "Beyond a 'Like': Building Parasocial Relationships with Baby Boomers on Facebook," Rosen Research Review: Vol. 4: Iss. 1, Article 8.
Available at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/rosen-research-review/vol4/iss1/8