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

TLDR

Past research suggests brands should maintain a fresh, frequent social presence across channels and include incentives for consumer participation. The study conducted a content analysis of creative strategies in social media posts from leading brands. The analysis shows that top brands use a variety of channels and creative appeals, with frequent updates and participation incentives driving engagement, and that experiential, image, and exclusivity messages are linked to higher consumer engagement, yet most content remains functional.

Abstract

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.