The Effects of Brand Involvement and Messaging Strategy on User Responses

Abstract

Through examination has been conducted on the effects of messaging strategies on consumers’ online engagement, yet has neglected to assess the additional role brand characteristics play. This study employs content analysis to analyze the interaction effect of brand characteristics and messaging strategies on consumer responses. A total of 714 Facebook posts were analyzed. The results showed that: (1) High and low-involvement brands manage Facebook fan pages differently. High-involvement brands use a direct messaging strategy more than an indirect messaging strategy on their Facebook fan pages. In contract, low-involvement brands use an indirect messaging strategy more frequently; (2) High and low-involvement brands provide different types of content in their Facebook posts. The results partially are consistent with the findings from previous research that a direct messaging strategy is effective for high-involvement brands, whereas an indirect messaging strategy is effective for low-involvement brands, However, for low-involvement brands, there was no difference in user responses depending on the types of messaging strategy; (3) There is an interaction between types of messaging strategies and levels of brand involvement in the number of shares.