What makes user-generated content more helpful on social media platforms? Insights from creator interactivity perspective

Abstract

A growing number of enterprises begin to utilize user-generated content (UGC) to help build brand awareness and loyalty on social media platforms. Thus, it is important to investigate what makes UGC more helpful under the new social media environment. This study attempts to identify the influence mechanism of UGC helpfulness by examining the systematic impacts of argument quality and source reliability, especially considering the effects of creator interactivity. Using a dataset of product-related UGC in a popular social media app, our empirical study finds that the detailedness, readability, and objectivity of the content, as well as the social recognition and popularity of the creator, all have a significant impact on UGC helpfulness. Furthermore, the results indicate that creator interactivity plays a vital role in building UGC helpfulness by moderating other factors. This study contributes to both UGC and social media literature by proposing a comprehensive model to better understand UGC helpfulness. It also provides several practical insights for content creators to improve their online performances.