We Look for Social, Not Promotion: Brand Post Strategy, Consumer Emotions, and Engagement - A Case Study of the Facebook Brand Pages

Abstract

This study examines the relationships between brand post type and consumer emotions, and between consumer emotions and the behavioral consequences including engagement and WOM on Facebook. A total of 120 sample brand posts were categorized through a content analysis; pleasure and arousal were used to conceptualize emotion as its two dimensions; engagement was measured by the number of “Likes”, and WOM was measured by the number of “Comments” and the number of “Shares”. The results show that consumers are more pleased and aroused by social-type posts than promotion-type ones, and consumers who are more pleased and aroused by brand posts are more likely to be engaged. The research findings have both theoretical and managerial implications.