IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v154y2023ics0148296322007627.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effect of image richness on customer engagement: Evidence from Sina Weibo

Author

Listed:
  • Zhao, Lu
  • Zhang, Mingli
  • Ming, Yaxin
  • Niu, Tao
  • Wang, Yu

Abstract

Despite the dominant role of images on social platforms, the research on evaluating visual content is limited in marketing literature. We innovatively proposed using image richness to measure the visual contents by adopting a deep learning algorithm. We collected images embedded in posts by influencers from Sina Weibo and investigated how image richness affects customer engagement. Results show that image richness is positively related with emotional engagement and behavioral engagement, while negatively connected with cognitive engagement. Further, we find that the effect of image richness on customer engagement is more pronounced for experience goods and posters with greater social influence. However, the relationship is weakened by posts' text length, especially for emotional and cognitive engagement. Our paper enriches the literature on the effectiveness of visual content and advances the understanding of customer engagement on social media platforms. These results also shed light on implementing social marketing strategies with images.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhao, Lu & Zhang, Mingli & Ming, Yaxin & Niu, Tao & Wang, Yu, 2023. "The effect of image richness on customer engagement: Evidence from Sina Weibo," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:154:y:2023:i:c:s0148296322007627
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113307
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296322007627
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113307?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhu, Jiang & Jiang, Lan & Dou, Wenyu & Liang, Liang, 2019. "Post, Eat, Change: The Effects of Posting Food Photos on Consumers' Dining Experiences and Brand Evaluation," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 101-112.
    2. Kevin L. Sample & Henrik Hagtvedt & S. Adam Brasel, 2020. "Components of visual perception in marketing contexts: a conceptual framework and review," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 405-421, May.
    3. Liye Ma & Baohong Sun & Sunder Kekre, 2015. "The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease—An Empirical Analysis of Customer Voice and Firm Intervention on Twitter," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(5), pages 627-645, September.
    4. Nelson, Phillip, 1970. "Information and Consumer Behavior," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(2), pages 311-329, March-Apr.
    5. Petty, Richard E & Cacioppo, John T & Schumann, David, 1983. "Central and Peripheral Routes to Advertising Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Involvement," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 10(2), pages 135-146, September.
    6. Hall-Phillips, Adrienne & Park, Joohyung & Chung, Te-Lin & Anaza, Nwamaka A. & Rathod, Sandra R., 2016. "I (heart) social ventures: Identification and social media engagement," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 484-491.
    7. Mitchell, Andrew A, 1986. "The Effect of Verbal and Visual Components of Advertisements on Brand Attitudes and Attitude toward the Advertisement," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 13(1), pages 12-24, June.
    8. Behnam, Mohsen & Hollebeek, Linda D. & Clark, Moira K. & Farabi, Reza, 2021. "Exploring customer engagement in the product vs. service context," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    9. Qingliang Wang & Fred Miao & Giri Kumar Tayi & En Xie, 2019. "What makes online content viral? The contingent effects of hub users versus non–hub users on social media platforms," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 1005-1026, November.
    10. Wu, Kewen & Vassileva, Julita & Zhao, Yuxiang & Noorian, Zeinab & Waldner, Wesley & Adaji, Ifeoma, 2016. "Complexity or simplicity? Designing product pictures for advertising in online marketplaces," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 17-27.
    11. Param Vir Singh & Nachiketa Sahoo & Tridas Mukhopadhyay, 2014. "How to Attract and Retain Readers in Enterprise Blogging?," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 25(1), pages 35-52, March.
    12. Rietveld, Robert & van Dolen, Willemijn & Mazloom, Masoud & Worring, Marcel, 2020. "What You Feel, Is What You Like Influence of Message Appeals on Customer Engagement on Instagram," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 20-53.
    13. Mochen Yang & Yuqing Ren & Gediminas Adomavicius, 2019. "Understanding User-Generated Content and Customer Engagement on Facebook Business Pages," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 30(3), pages 839-855, September.
    14. Klostermann, Jan & Plumeyer, Anja & Böger, Daniel & Decker, Reinhold, 2018. "Extracting brand information from social networks: Integrating image, text, and social tagging data," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 538-556.
    15. de Vries, Lisette & Gensler, Sonja & Leeflang, Peter S.H., 2012. "Popularity of Brand Posts on Brand Fan Pages: An Investigation of the Effects of Social Media Marketing," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 83-91.
    16. Huang, Jin & Sena, Vania & Li, Jun & Ozdemir, Sena, 2021. "Message framing in P2P lending relationships," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 761-773.
    17. Li, Dongmei & Han, Xiaoyun, 2021. "Assessing the influence of goal pursuit and emotional attachment on customer engagement behaviors," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    18. Sam Ransbotham & Nicholas H. Lurie & Hongju Liu, 2019. "Creation and Consumption of Mobile Word of Mouth: How Are Mobile Reviews Different?," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(5), pages 773-792, September.
    19. Srivastava, Vartika & Kalro, Arti D., 2019. "Enhancing the Helpfulness of Online Consumer Reviews: The Role of Latent (Content) Factors," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 33-50.
    20. Dokyun Lee & Kartik Hosanagar & Harikesh S. Nair, 2018. "Advertising Content and Consumer Engagement on Social Media: Evidence from Facebook," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(11), pages 5105-5131, November.
    21. Ma, Jenny Weichen & Yang, Yusheng & Wilson, Jonathan A.J., 2017. "A window to the ideal self: A study of UK Twitter and Chinese Sina Weibo selfie-takers and the implications for marketers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 139-142.
    22. Blasco-Arcas, Lorena & Alexander, Matthew & Sörhammar, David & Jonas, Julia M. & Raithel, Sascha & Chen, Tom, 2020. "Organizing actor Engagement: A platform perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 74-85.
    23. Hollebeek, Linda D. & Glynn, Mark S. & Brodie, Roderick J., 2014. "Consumer Brand Engagement in Social Media: Conceptualization, Scale Development and Validation," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 149-165.
    24. Busalim, Abdelsalam H. & Ghabban, Fahad & Hussin, Ab Razak Che, 2021. "Customer engagement behaviour on social commerce platforms: An empirical study," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    25. Matthew Alexander & Elina Jaakkola & Linda Hollebeek, 2018. "Zooming out: actor engagement beyond the dyadic," Post-Print hal-02008939, HAL.
    26. Liu Liu & Daria Dzyabura & Natalie Mizik, 2020. "Visual Listening In: Extracting Brand Image Portrayed on Social Media," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(4), pages 669-686, July.
    27. Brodie, Roderick J. & Ilic, Ana & Juric, Biljana & Hollebeek, Linda, 2013. "Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: An exploratory analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 105-114.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. María Rocío Bonilla Quijada & José Luis Del Olmo Arriaga & David Andreu Domingo, 2021. "Insights into user engagement on social media. Findings from two fashion retailers," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 31(1), pages 125-137, March.
    2. Raed S. Algharabat & Nripendra P. Rana, 0. "Social Commerce in Emerging Markets and its Impact on Online Community Engagement," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-22.
    3. Kulikovskaja, Viktorija & Hubert, Marco & Grunert, Klaus G. & Zhao, Hong, 2023. "Driving marketing outcomes through social media-based customer engagement," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Shahbaznezhad, Hamidreza & Dolan, Rebecca & Rashidirad, Mona, 2021. "The Role of Social Media Content Format and Platform in Users' Engagement Behavior," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 47-65.
    5. Annamalai, Balamurugan & Yoshida, Masayuki & Varshney, Sanjeev & Pathak, Atul Arun & Venugopal, Pingali, 2021. "Social media content strategy for sport clubs to drive fan engagement," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    6. Xiao, Lin & Li, Xiaofeng & Zhang, Yucheng, 2023. "Exploring the factors influencing consumer engagement behavior regarding short-form video advertising: A big data perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    7. Schaefers, Tobias & Falk, Tomas & Kumar, Ashish & Schamari, Julia, 2021. "More of the same? Effects of volume and variety of social media brand engagement behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 282-294.
    8. Syrdal, Holly A. & Myers, Susan & Sen, Sandipan & Woodroof, Parker J. & McDowell, William C., 2023. "Influencer marketing and the growth of affiliates: The effects of language features on engagement behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    9. Ngai, Eric W.T. & Wu, Yuanyuan, 2022. "Machine learning in marketing: A literature review, conceptual framework, and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 35-48.
    10. María Bonilla-Quijada & Juan Tugores-Ques & Josep Lluís Olmo Arriaga, 2021. "Promotion of urban tourism: insights into user engagement on social media," Information Technology & Tourism, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 611-632, December.
    11. Eigenraam, Anniek W. & Eelen, Jiska & van Lin, Arjen & Verlegh, Peeter W.J., 2018. "A Consumer-based Taxonomy of Digital Customer Engagement Practices," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 102-121.
    12. Blanca I. Hernández-Ortega & Michael A. Stanko & Rishika Rishika & Francisco-Jose Molina-Castillo & José Franco, 2022. "Brand-generated social media content and its differential impact on loyalty program members," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(5), pages 1071-1090, September.
    13. Zhao, Lu & Zhang, Mingli & Tu, Jianbo & Li, Jialing & Zhang, Yan, 2023. "Can users embed their user experience in user-generated images? Evidence from JD.com," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    14. Lim, Weng Marc & Rasul, Tareq & Kumar, Satish & Ala, Mamun, 2022. "Past, present, and future of customer engagement," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 439-458.
    15. Raed S. Algharabat & Nripendra P. Rana, 2021. "Social Commerce in Emerging Markets and its Impact on Online Community Engagement," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 1499-1520, December.
    16. Osei-Frimpong, Kofi & McLean, Graeme & Islam, Nazrul & Appiah Otoo, Brigid, 2022. "What drives me there? The interplay of socio-psychological gratification and consumer values in social media brand engagement," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 288-307.
    17. Bruneau, Virginie & Swaen, Valérie & Zidda, Pietro, 2018. "Are loyalty program members really engaged? Measuring customer engagement with loyalty programs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 144-158.
    18. Myoung-Jin Chae, 2021. "Driving Consumer Engagement through Diverse Calls to Action in Corporate Social Responsibility Messages on Social Media," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-22, March.
    19. Zheng Shen, 2024. "Shall brands create their own virtual influencers? A comprehensive study of 33 virtual influencers on Instagram," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    20. Lim, Weng Marc & Rasul, Tareq, 2022. "Customer engagement and social media: Revisiting the past to inform the future," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 325-342.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:154:y:2023:i:c:s0148296322007627. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.