Touch, Swipe or Click? : Understanding information exchange (eWOM) on Instagram and how it can be encouraged

Sammanfattning: Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is known as one of the most influential factors impacting consumer behaviour. Yet, not all consumers are motivated to like, tag or comment on commercial posts online. Therefore, marketers need to capture consumers’ attention and encourage eWOM creation (interaction) through the content features (visual, text and audio) of their brand posts. However, currently as many as 91% of marketers lack an understanding of what content actually drives people to interact (Stelzner, 2015). Thus, this study’s aim is to explore, using a survey and an in-depth experimental study, which content forms engage and encourage users to create eWOM on Instagram. The results reveal that users seldom interact with commercial posts, which pinpoints the difficulties for brands on Instagram and thereby the need for a different content strategy. However, when posts connect to users’ intrinsic interests and display content forms that are in line with users’ characteristics, individuals find it more engaging and consequently create eWOM. Specifically, findings reveal that employees (27-29 year olds) are less negative towards commercial posts and more likely to create eWOM than students (18-26 year olds). In regards to the content forms, a post should include; short text/videos, emotion-driven emoji, maximum three hashtags, non-static and contrasting backgrounds, and verbal audio rather than music.