Creative Strategies in Social Media Marketing: An Exploratory Study of Branded Social Content and Consumer Engagement

ABSTRACT This study employed a content analysis of the creative strategies present in the social media content shared by a sample of top brands. The results reveal which social media channels are being used, which creative strategies/appeals are being used, and how these channels and strategies rela...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology & marketing 2015-01, Vol.32 (1), p.15-27
Main Authors: Ashley, Christy, Tuten, Tracy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Consumer behavior
Content analysis
Market strategy
Social networks
Studies
Technology adoption
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT This study employed a content analysis of the creative strategies present in the social media content shared by a sample of top brands. The results reveal which social media channels are being used, which creative strategies/appeals are being used, and how these channels and strategies relate to consumer engagement in branded social media. Past research has suggested that brands should focus on maintaining a social presence across social channels with content that is fresh and frequent and includes incentives for consumer participation (Ling et al., 2004). This study confirmed the importance of frequent updates and incentives for participation. In addition, several creative strategies were associated with customer engagement, specifically experiential, image, and exclusivity messages. Despite the value of these creative approaches, most branded social content can be categorized as functional.
ISSN:0742-6046
1520-6793
DOI:10.1002/mar.20761