The importance of engagement and user content on the marketing effectiveness in Facebook

Abstract

This is a study on how engagement and user content influence the effectiveness of using Facebook as a marketing platform.

Current studies have shown that social media marketing is highly dependent on marketers’ engagement, and the value of user content. It is a common belief among marketers that high engagement levels may be able to reduce any negative effect caused by unfavourable user content. However, this study indicates that the potential of marketers’ engagement could possibly have been overestimated. The findings have shown that the effects from user content are instead more influential than the effects of marketer engagement in the marketing outcomes. For instance, with a high engagement level, the effects of negative user content were not mitigated.

The main primary findings are thus as follow: high engagement will not lead to favourable marketing effectiveness lead on social media. On the other hand, positive user content, as compared to positive with negative comments, can develop desirable attitudes and motivate immediate actions for a brand, and prompt purchase intentions for its products. The engagement levels of marketing tools (events and website link) were also explored. There is no guaranteed high or low engagement attached to any specific tool, as it depends on the strategies and objectives of marketers. Brands may find it useful to integrate a few tools that will aid them in bringing out the optimal marketing effectiveness.