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Unlike traditional media, our interactions with political parties via social media are generally public, subject to scrutiny by others and, consequently, a self-presentation concern. This paper contributes to theory on impression management within social network sites (SNSs) by providing an understanding of the effect of visible affiliation on page 'Liking' behavior in the context of political parties; specifically, the possible association with social anxiety and the use of protective impression management. We predict that while users may be motivated to 'Like' a political party, some may feel socially anxious about the impressions their friends may derive from this action, and so ultimately choose to refrain from 'Liking' the party. Furthermore, we propose a new function of 'Secret Likes' (i.e. 'Likes' that others cannot see) as a means to increase gateway interactions. A survey of eligible voters (n = 225) was conducted in the month prior to the 2015 UK general election, examining behavior associated with the Facebook pages of the two largest political parties. Results support that conspicuous affiliation with political parties indeed hinders intention to 'Like' political pages and is associated with social anxiety. 'Secret Likes' were found to be a successful method to increase gateway interactions. In addition to the theoretical contribution, implications for political party communications and site designers are considered.

Purpose Acquiring 'Likes' for a political party or candidate's Facebook pages is important for political marketers. For consumers these 'Likes' are conspicuous, making their political affiliation visible to their network. Our study examines the roles of the undesired social-self and visibility (conspicuous vs. inconspicuous) in predicting consumers' intention to 'Like' political brands. We extend knowledge on the undesired social-self, transference of theory from general marketing to a political domain and provide practical advice for political marketers engaging social network sites. Design/methodology/approach We gather data from two surveys run with Facebook using electorates in the run up to the UK 2015 and US 2016 elections (n = 1,205) on their intention to 'Like' political brands under different visibility conditions. Findings Data supports the theorized relationship of the undesired social-self with social anxiety intention to 'Like' when 'Liking' is conspicuous. However also indicates that all users - irrespective of proximity to the undesired social-self - prefer to 'Like' inconspicuously. Research limitations/implication The research is limited by the generalizability of the specific context and the use of self-report measures. Practical implications Political marketers should reconsider promoting conspicuous consumption for that which is more inconspicuous. Originality We provide the first examination of the undesired social-self in driving behavior under different visibility conditions. Furthermore we challenge the extension of existing knowledge of the self-concept within political marketing, based on the 'norm' for consumers' to avoid disclosing political views publically.

With millions of videos with different messages uploaded per year, companies are increasingly looking for means of making their messages stand against competitors. A theory of viral marketing is used to analyze and understand the spread of—and reactions to—a controversial political mega‐viral video, Kony 2012. Through this analysis, policy makers and marketers could gain a better understanding of how they can use mediums such as YouTube to extend their messages. Kony 2012 concerns the highly publicized leader of a Ugandan guerrilla group, Joseph Kony. The video was a call to action and an attempt to educate the world about the atrocities committed in Sudan. The video was made by an organization called the Invisible Children and created by filmmaker Jason Russell. Following the extraordinary success of Kony 2012, Jason Russell was infamously arrested in San Diego for indecent exposure. The story and video of Russell's arrest and breakdown similarly went viral. The framework that follows analyzes the virality of a political video and the downfall of its creator. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.