自我提升类APP广告中的秘密场景对用户下载意愿的影响——社会存在感的中介作用

The Impact of Secret Scenes in Self-Improvement App Advertisements on Users’ Download Intention—Mediating Role of Social Presence

摘要: 在自我提升消费领域，低调行动需求日益凸显，秘密营销成为重要议题。然而，既有研究多集中于食品、日用产品等传统类别，且场景限于亲密关系，尚未系统探讨自我提升类产品中广告秘密性对用户行为的影响机制。为此，本研究基于社会影响理论，以自我提升类APP广告为对象，考察秘密场景(vs. 非秘密场景)对用户下载意愿的作用路径，并引入社会存在感作为中介变量。通过两项情景实验(N₁ = 180, N₂ = 190)，分别以英语学习与健身APP为材料进行检验。研究发现：首先，秘密场景能显著提升用户的下载意愿；其次，社会存在感在秘密场景与下载意愿之间起部分中介作用，即秘密场景由于激发了用户对被他人注意与被评论的心理感知，增强了社交回避动机，进而促进了下载意愿，此路径在不同产品类型中均成立。本研究拓展了秘密消费的理论边界至自我提升与社交媒体场景，并确立了“秘密情境–社会存在感–下载意愿”的解释路径，为自我提升类产品利用社交平台实施精准营销提供了策略依据。

Abstract: In the realm of self-improvement consumption, the growing demand for low-profile engagement has brought secret marketing to the forefront as a significant topic. However, existing research has largely focused on traditional categories such as food and daily-use products, with scenarios confined to intimate relationships, leaving the mechanism by which the secrecy of advertisements influences user behavior in self-improvement products unexplored. To address this gap, this study draws on social influence theory to examine the impact of secret versus non-secret scenarios in self-improvement app advertisements on users’ download intention, with social presence introduced as a mediating variable. Through two scenario-based experiments (N₁ = 180, N₂ = 190) involving English learning and fitness apps, the study yielded the following findings: First, secret scenarios significantly enhance users’ download intention. Second, social presence partially mediates the relationship between secret scenarios and download intention—that is, secret cues activate users’ psychological perception of being noticed and evaluated, thereby strengthening their motivation for social avoidance and subsequently promoting usage intention. This mediating pathway remains consistent across different product types. Theoretically, this study extends the boundaries of secret consumption research to self-improvement and social media contexts, establishing an explanatory framework of “secret scenario → social presence → behavioral intention”. Practically, it offers strategic insights for self-improvement products to implement precise content marketing on social platforms.