Matching moods between image and text: an investigation of the interplay of emotional valence in NPOs’ social media posts

This study examines the potential for nonprofit organizations to enhance engagement on social media by manipulating the emotional valence of images and text in Instagram posts. Given the pivotal role of social media in raising awareness and attracting donors, it is crucial to comprehend the interplay between text and image emotional tones to enhance the effectiveness of social media posts. This research aims to explore the impact of emotional valence matched and mismatched between images and accompanying text on viewer engagement. Additionally, it investigates the effectiveness of overlaying captions on images compared to the standard format, where the caption is positioned below the image to complement the post. A between-subject experimental design has been conducted. The results suggest that social media posts with emotional valence mismatch between text and image, as well as posts where the text is placed below the image rather than overlaying it, achieve higher levels of engagement.