The roles of message appeals and orientation on social media brand communication effectiveness

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of brand communication activities on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram among major Indonesian brands by assessing the message appeals, orientation, and consumer responses. Design/methodology/approach A content analysis of 10,752 social media posts was conducted from the official Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts of 43 leading brands in Indonesia during a six-month period between July and December 2016. The data collected from each individual social media post generated by those brands were coded and analysed in terms of their message appeal, orientation, and responses. Findings Interactive brand posts were responded more frequently than informative message content. Twitter was more effective for informative appeal, Facebook worked better for interactive entertainment posts, and Instagram was more suitable for interactive content combining informative–entertainment appeals. Interactive brand post with mixed appeals received the most responses in Facebook and Instagram, while self-oriented message with informative appeal obtained the least. Research limitations/implications The findings expand the marketing literature about new media for marketing communication and suggest marketing practitioners the importance of different creative brand communication strategies to enhance social media marketing effectiveness when using multiple platforms. Originality/value This is among the first studies to compare the effectiveness of creative message strategy on multiple social media platforms as well as to present insightful findings on social media marketing practices in Indonesia.