Social media: communication strategies, engagement and future research directions

Purpose This study aims to use social media data to identify brand communication strategies on Facebook. The analysis uncovers trends and statistics regarding engagement rates. This research leads to the development of a future research agenda for social media and engagement research. Design/methodology/approach The Facebook Insights data of 12 wine brands over a 12-month period informed this study. Descriptive analysis was undertaken to examine the social media communication strategies of these brands. The impact of these strategies on engagement metrics is also examined. Findings The findings demonstrate a low rate of engagement among the users of the wine brand Facebook pages. A majority of Facebook fans rarely engage with the brands. The results demonstrate that user engagement varies depending on the day of the week and hour of the day of the brand post. Practical implications Wine brands can use these findings as a guideline for effective practice and as a benchmarking tool for assessing their social media performance. The paper provides implications for marketing scholars through the development of a future research agenda related to social media, customer engagement and wine marketing. Originality/value This paper fulfils an identified need by offering practical advice to wine producers on the necessity to explore and understand social media strategy and customer engagement characteristics.