Designing Social Media Fundraising Messages: An Experimental Approach to Understanding How Message Concreteness and Framing Influence Donation Intentions

This experiment examined the effects of fundraising message characteristics on donation intentions through a simulated social media campaign. A 2 (abstract vs. concrete message) × 2 (gain vs. loss framing) between-subjects experiment ( n = 213) revealed that a message with detailed fundraising outcomes elicited a greater intention to donate through heightened perceived message credibility, perceived transparency, cognitive elaboration, and empathy. Gain and loss framing, however, did not result in significant differences in donation intentions. Theoretically, this study uncovered the psychological mechanisms through which message concreteness increases donation intentions. Practically, results of this study provided implications for drafting effective fundraising messages that can be disseminated on social media.