Dont Invade My Personal Space: Facebooks Advertising Dilemma

Abstract

For many companies, advertising on Facebook seems like the right decision. But with decreasing click-through rates and negative consumer perceptions of Facebook advertising, some major corporations are rethinking their social media strategy. The purpose of this paper is to examine role theory, boundary theory, and role segmentation/integration as possible explanations to the negative consumer perceptions surrounding Facebook advertising. Theory suggests that Facebook users expend effort creating and maintaining boundaries around consumer and social roles. By targeting consumers in a social domain, companies advertising on Facebook may actually be exacerbating the problem.