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The purpose of this paper is to offer a theory-driven, evidence-based approach to developing a brand’s messaging strategies on social media encompassing three messaging dimensions, namely, appeal, content, and richness.

Using longitudinal data from three Fortune 200 companies – Delta Airlines, Wal-Mart, and McDonald’s – the authors empirically investigate comprehensive strategic messaging framework. Using ANOVAs and regression analyses, the authors test a set of hypotheses regarding the relations between a brand ' s purchase involvement, its message appeal, message content, and message richness, and engagement.

Findings reveal significant relations between purchase involvement and appeal. Furthermore, the authors find that abstract content categories are best combined with richer media. Finally, both transformation appeal and richer media have a highly significant and positive effect on engagement.

The authors offer a theoretical ground and empirical validation of both a comprehensive typology of content categories and a holistic strategic messaging framework that can fill a significant void in the social media marketing literature that lacks integrative models for assessing, classifying, analyzing, and in turn, informing future social media marketing strategies.

The validated framework can help managers better understand the diversity of messaging components as well as offer an analytical tool for assessing the nature of engagement associated with each appeal and category.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper offers the first comprehensive typology of content categories and validates it in the context of a strategic messages framework using real-world data finding strong support for all hypotheses.