An experiential model of consumer engagement in social media

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to propose an experiential model of consumer engagement focusing on Facebook brand pages. Building on the brand experience literature, the study synthesizes the experiential affordances of Facebook brand pages along perceptual, social, epistemic and embodied dimensions and tests their impact on consumer engagement. Design/methodology/approach The study operationalized key variables of the proposed model at the brand page level and assembled pertinent data, using systematic content analysis, on a sample of Facebook brand pages (n = 85). Poisson regression tested the proposed model. Findings The findings indicate that brands that facilitate greater number of experiential affordances on their Facebook brand pages generated higher levels of consumer engagement. For both brand post likes and brand post shares, the contributions of experiential affordances were significant and positive. Practical implications The findings offer actionable managerial insights for brands seeking to implement an experiential model of consumer engagement on their fan pages. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by proposing and testing an experiential model of consumer engagement in the context of Facebook brand pages. To date, the experiential value of Facebook brand pages has rarely, if at all, been tested in an empirical study.

A Framework for Categorizing Social Media Posts

“…), which empower consumers to voice their opinions, express their feelings and share their personal experiences of the brand. These extended opportunities for real-time user interactivity create a lively environment to co-create rich brand experiences (Tafesse, 2016;Zaglia, 2013).…”

“…Because brand posts support multiple media types (e.g. text, photo, video, website links), they are capable of communicating a variety of brand meaning and experiences (Tafesse, 2016). Among others, brand posts can be used to build brand awareness, introduce new products, deliver emotional stories, educate customers and stimulate purchases (Kim et al, 2015;Taecharungroj, 2016).…”

“…Some of these issues are focused on hands-on, everyday product applications, while others are focused on broader industry trends and developments. The ultimate thrust of educational brand posts appears to be empowering consumers to solve product-related problems or find creative ways of applying them in their daily lives (Tafesse, 2016). Educational brand posts provide consumers with ample intellectual stimulation by furnishing extended commentaries and articles on various topics.…”

“…At the heart of brand pages are brand posts-a relatively frequent, concise and (mostly) unpaid for updates created by brands and sent out to their followers on a daily basis. Brand posts are a rich form of communication that facilitate a variety of brand meaning and experiences (Tafesse, 2016). The interactive capability of brand posts coupled with their ability to support multiple media types (e.g.…”

Super-connected: How Techno Tourism Redesigns Our Lives Through Meaningful Travel

“…Here the outcomes contour in the midst of data concerning the practice of the social media facebook dais, illustrates so as to majority fans and followers approach in facebook in morning or afternoon (Karjaluoto, Karjaluoto et al, 2016). The control variable "geography" has an optimistic significance on participation, through a top scale for the valley and Centre, where several of the most active TMs (Tafesse and Tafesse, 2016) are located. In conclusion, the month of posting looks as if to have no manipulation on participation.…”