The Effect of Incentives on Facilitating User Engagement with Succulent Retailers’ Social Media Pages

Abstract

Social media are an important approach for florists to reach consumers, and many florists have set incentives to encourage users to engage with their social media pages. However, various subjects can serve as rewards, but what is more effective for encouraging users to engage with the florists’ social media pages remains unknown. This study is intended to address this deficiency. The objectives of this study are as follows: (1) to explore the typology of the incentives used by succulent retailers to promote user engagement; (2) to compare the difference across various types of incentives in regard to the effect on promoting user engagement with succulent retailers’ social media pages. Data were gained from the succulent retailers’ empirical practices on their Facebook brand pages. As a result, 2602 Facebook posts were downloaded and analyzed via content analysis to explore the typology of the incentives applied by succulent retailers. The number of clicks on likes, comments, shares, and emojis by users was recorded as the index of user engagement with the post. The effect of various incentives on user engagement with the succulent retailers’ FB pages was analyzed via the statistical approach of MANOVA. The study results showed that the incentives applied by succulent retailers can be classified into three categories: economic incentives; social incentives; mixed incentives, which contain both economic and social values. The economic incentives included discounts, gifts, sweepstakes, and bidding, while social incentives included gratitude to customers, leaving a question mark, and inviting users to respond. The statistical results revealed that economic incentives are more likely to encourage users’ emotional engagement, while social incentives in the form of inviting users to react are more significant for encouraging users’ behavioral engagement in terms of leaving comments on posts.