China’s real estate agents’ persuasion realizations on WeChat Moments

Jianyou He and Dengshan Xia
Beijing Foreign Studies University | Hanjiang Normal University

Abstract

Persuasion is a well-documented language phenomenon in the fields of rhetoric, communication, and sociopsychology. However, there is still a need for further research into persuasion on social media from a pragmatic perspective. The current research contributes to the existing literature on persuasion, particularly in virtual environments, by examining the tactics of online persuasion with a dataset of 409 excerpts from WeChat Moments. It examines the frequency and percentage of persuasive strategies deployed by fourteen Chinese real estate agents. Additionally, a qualitative analysis of each tactic is conducted, supported by specific examples. The findings indicate that, in increasing order of frequency, persuasion attempts on the participants’ WeChat Moments are primarily realized through rational, ethos, and emotional appeals. The determinants of this strategic inclination are examined with respect to the anonymity afforded by the Internet, media effect, community of practice and Chinese cultural particulars.

Keywords:
Publication history

Date received: 27 September 2022

Date accepted: 23 January 2024

Published online: 22 July 2024

Table of contents

Persuasion is a ubiquitous language phenomenon in social interactions, and it is estimated that an average person can encounter a maximum of 500 persuasive messages within an hour (Guadagno and Cialdini 2009). Notwithstanding its pervasiveness, persuasion has consistently faced severe criticism, which characterizes it as “a manipulative activity” (Simons 1976, 35) or “an area of limited, secondary import” (Miller and Burgoon 1978, 29). According to Seiter and Gass (2011, 7), the study of persuasion is a science that has “a rich past, a promising future, and widespread contemporary interest”.

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