How vloggers embrace their viewers: Focusing on the roles of para-social interactions and flow experience

•Identifying online vloggers’ impact on PSI and sense of belonging.•The effects of PSI and sense of belonging on flow experience is showed.•The impact of flow experience on behavioral responses is revealed.•The mediating effect of flow experience is confirmed. Social media allow marketers to directly influence consumers through a diverse set of tools. The characteristics of individual platforms enable the development of creative and innovative strategies for social media marketing. This study aims at examining para-social interactions (PSI), their antecedents (i.e., attitude homophily and physical attractiveness), and their consequences (i.e., consumers’ sense of belonging, flow experience, urge to purchase, addiction, and impulse purchase). The mediating role of flow experience is also examined in this study. Findings, implications, and directions for further research are also presented in this study.