Framing social media communication: Investigating the effects of brand post appeals on user interaction

• Published in: European management journal 2017-10, Vol.35 (5), p.606-616
• Main Authors: Wagner, Timm F., Baccarella, Christian V., Voigt, Kai-Ingo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brands; Communication; Facebook brand page; Frame analysis; Marketing; Mass media; Networking; Post appeal; Social media; Social media optimization; Social networking sites; Social networks; User interaction
• ISSN: 0263-2373; 1873-5681
• DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2017.05.002

Social networking sites (SNS) play an increasingly important role in the mix of brands’ marketing communication. A key question for marketing departments, therefore, is how brand posts can be best framed to provoke positive user reactions and interactions. In order to better understand the determinants of communication success on SNS, we propose a theoretical framework of how users process posts on SNS. Its logic suggests that the overall theme of a post (“post appeal”) is a main antecedent of communication success. Thus, we empirically examine the effects of post appeals on user interaction by profoundly analysing a sample of 1948 Facebook posts. Results show that some post appeals have positive and others have negative impact on user interaction. Interestingly, some of the appeals with positive impact are rarely used by brands, while some of the appeals with negative impact are used quite frequently, indicating that brands currently do not grasp the full potential of post appeal strategy. This article concludes by discussing theoretical and managerial implications. •To advance communication success on SNS, we propose a theoretical framework of how users process posts on SNS.•We empirically examine the effects of post appeals on user interaction by analysing a sample of 1948 Facebook posts.•Results show that some post appeals have positive while others have negative impact on user interaction.•Currently, brands do not grasp their full potential in terms of appeal usage on SNS.