The Assessment of persuasive language in WhatsApp status for customer acquisition

Abstract

The rapid growth of mobile-mediated communication has transformed WhatsApp into a significant platform for personal, commercial, and social persuasion. This led the researcher to examine persuasive language used in WhatsApp status updates for customer acquisition. The study uses the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), which explains how people process persuasive messages through central and peripheral routes. Mixed-Methods Research was employed to combine quantitative and qualitative approaches, leveraging both strengths. Stratified sampling was used to select 167 specific respondents who are marketers, business owners, and customers using WhatsApp status to interact. Data analysis was conducted using both descriptive statistics and thematic analysis to address both quantitative and qualitative data. The findings show the presence of six dominant persuasive language techniques used in WhatsApp status: the highest score was pictures (33%), second was words (26%), third was colours (21%), fourth was signs (14%), fifth was style (4%), and the last was statistics (2%). Additionally, the results show that persuasive language has four major functions: attracting attention, assurance, stimulation, and evoking emotional responses. This indicates that marketers and business owners carefully select, arrange, and tactically use different words, pictures, signals, colours, and styles to facilitate different roles. The study contributes to both verbal and visual persuasive techniques to enhance customer engagement.  The study enriches the practical world by utilizing social media advertising fully. Conclusively, WhatsApp’s persuasive language directly influences customer acquisition. The study recommends more investment in persuasive language techniques to acquire potential customers. Future research should focus on how persuasive language is used in other digital platforms.