Effectiveness of B2B social media marketing: The effect of message source and message content on social media engagement

Social media message strategy is critical in determining how customers will engage with B2B firms on social media platforms. The present study examined the role of message source (i.e., firm-generated vs. employeegenerated) and message content (i.e., emojis and objective information) in determining social media engagement. Four experiments were conducted to test the proposed relationships. The study findings revealed that employee-generated content leads to higher social media engagement (i.e., intentions and behaviors) than firmgenerated content. Content-based trust and engagement-based trust were found to be the underlying mechanisms by which message source impacts social media engagement. Furthermore, we observed that, for an employeegenerated message, including emojis has a greater impact on customer engagement than when they are included in a firm-generated message. Finally, no evidence was found concerning the effectiveness of incorporating objective information in social media messages on customer engagement. These findings have marked implications for B2B marketers in developing effective social media message strategies.

Automated summary

Social media message strategy plays a critical role in customer engagement with B2B firms on social media platforms. This study examined the impact of message source (firm-generated vs. employee-generated) and message content (emojis and objective information) on social media engagement. Four experiments were conducted to test the proposed relationships. The findings revealed that employee-generated content leads to higher social media engagement than firm-generated content. Content-based trust and engagement-based trust were identified as underlying mechanisms for the impact of message source on social media engagement. Additionally, including emojis in employee-generated messages had a greater impact on customer engagement compared to firm-generated messages, while the effectiveness of incorporating objective information was not supported. These findings have significant implications for B2B marketers in developing effective social media message strategies.