Firm-level perspectives on social media engagement: an exploratory study
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to develop a richer, more complete understanding of how firms define and consider customer engagement on social networks. The research builds from the theoretical backdrop of customer engagement. The research then uses a qualitative interview approach to understand the firm perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative data were collected using in-depth interviews with employees at a variety of companies including Facebook, Google, another leading social networking site, a higher education institution and a start-up company.
Findings
Companies view engagement with social media as measureable metrics of consumer interactions with the platform. These metrics could include growth and interaction on the platform, number of users, subscribers to the site or page views. Propositions are developed around how customer engagement is defined, the breadth and depth of social media and when social media is used as a push or a pull strategy.
Research limitations/implications
Findings from this research are limited by the sample size and convenience of sampling. However, results from this grounded theory approach enabled propositions that can focus on larger datasets and testing.
Practical implications
Engagement indicates meaningful information that can propel a company’s position forward. To companies, this meaningful information is in terms of metrics that can be used as information and evidence for future decision-making.
Social implications
This research suggests that firms need to better define what engagement means and to assess the best platforms for creating an ecosystem of engagement with customers.
Originality/value
Many researchers are exploring engagement within the context of social media networks. This research, however, is one of the first to explore this from a firm level perspective.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work is based on the Honors Thesis of the first author, which was completed under the supervision of the second author. The authors appreciate the funding provided by the Paul F. Green Telecommunications Research Grant.
Citation
Hallock, W., Roggeveen, A.L. and Crittenden, V. (2019), "Firm-level perspectives on social media engagement: an exploratory study", Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 217-226. https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-01-2017-0025
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited