Understanding the user generated content and interactions on a Facebook brand page

Abstract

Social networks provide the technological platform for individuals to connect, produce and share content online. As such, they are becoming an additional marketing channel that could be integrated with the traditional ones as a part of the marketing mix. In order to contribute to the companies' understanding of utilisation of social networks as a marketing platform, our study approaches the problem from the perspective of understanding the user generated content and the interactions. First we analyse the topics, intentions for participation and emotions shared by the users on a Facebook brand page. Second, we analyse the activities and interactions, in terms of their evolution over time and dependency on the community size. Finally, we discuss the implications of the obtained results for social media marketing.