User Engagement on Facebook: Examining the Role of Visual and Verbal Politeness Cues

Nonprofit organizations have eagerly embraced Facebook as a strategic tool to reach large audiences and promote their advocacy. While there are numerous means to motivate users to engage with Facebook posts, previous studies have indicated that the use of politeness strategies may be particularly effective in increasing the number of likes, comments, and shares. A great deal of research has focused on the role of verbal politeness cues (e.g. indirect requests); however, little is known about visual politeness cues. To address this gap, we identify a set of features through which images convey politeness: i.e. direct gaze, frontal angles, eye- and high-level angles, and close-up shots. The results of a content analysis of 1,379 Facebook posts by U.S. health charities support the relevance of politeness cues, suggesting that user engagement is significantly higher when posts include indirect verbal requests and photos depicting people who gaze into the camera, who are positioned parallel to the viewer, and who are portrayed from above or at eye level. Unexpected findings are obtained for close-up shots. The paper concludes by discussing theoretical and practical implications for organizational social media communication.