Social Presence on LinkedIn: Perceived Credibility and Interpersonal Attractiveness Based on User Profile Picture

Chad Edwards ^{1 *}, Brett Stoll ¹, Natalie Faculak ¹, Sandi Karman ¹

Abstract

LinkedIn is a social networking site dedicated to making business connections for the purposes of building a professional network and sharing employment opportunities. Social networking sites (SNS) have allowed more content to be user-generated, making it increasingly difficult for users to assess credibility of information regarding source, message, and medium. Like other social media sites, LinkedIn provides information about a user that viewers can use to make judgments about the source, such as their credibility and attractiveness. With the use of Sundar’s MAIN model, the present study investigated the importance of social presence in the form of a profile picture when individuals are judging credibility of a LinkedIn user’s profile. Findings demonstrated significant differences between social presence (picture/no picture) conditions and social attraction and competence. Results indicated that users who post a profile picture along with their LinkedIn profile are perceived as more socially attractive and more competent than users who do not post a picture.

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