A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Brands’ Owned Social Media on Social Media Engagement and Sales

Abstract

What are the effects of a brand's owned social media? This meta-analysis examines the impact of owned social media on social media engagement and sales. Whereas the findings support some current beliefs (e.g., owned social media are more effective to boost sales for new [vs. mature] products), it highlights several novel insights. Contrary to popular beliefs that owned social media mainly drive engagement and hardly affect sales, the results show the opposite, with an average elasticity of .137 for social media engagement and .353 for sales. In addition, the results suggest ways to better adapt owned social media content to communication goals. To create engagement, content needs to focus on emotional needs and steer away from deals, which are the least effective content type. To stimulate sales, content should be more functional, rather than emotional, in nature and communicate product benefits. Surprisingly, the authors find that growing a large social media community is not essential for boosting sales, as owned social media are more effective for brands with fewer followers. Furthermore, while using one global social media strategy is tempting, owned social media are more effective in countries with high power distance, calling for a less uniform approach.