INCENTIVES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA USERS’ ENGAGEMENT TO DIFFERENT BRAND-RELATED CONTENT TYPES

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze social media users’ incentives for engagement with brand-related content on social media. Based on the uses and gratification theory, two types of incentives are analyzed as motivators of users’ brand engagement, i.e. communal and self-interest incentives. Users’ brand engagement is conceptualized and measured as intentions to contribute to brand-related content on social media in terms of intentions for commenting, sharing, and liking. Further, it is assumed that the effects of the two types of incentives (communal and self-interest) vary depending on the brand-related content type (commercial messages, personal opinions and lifestyle affairs). An online survey was conducted for obtaining quantitative data which were analyzed by applying structural equation modeling. The total number of effective responses is 415. The results indicate that only communal incentives motivate users to contribute to brand-related commercial messages, personal opinions and lifestyle affairs. The obtained results could be utilized by brand marketers in effectively designing brand-related content on social media.