Understanding Social Media: The Effect of Belief Type and Product Type on Consumers’ Social Media Use

This study advances the knowledge of social media by examining brand-related user-generated content (UGC) on three social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Using content analysis of posts from these sites, the authors show important differences between utilitarian and hedonic products with regard to the type of brand belief (functional, experiential, and symbolic) as well as sentiment (positive and negative) included in UGC. The results provide managers with insights on how to identify content that is likely to make a real impact on consumers on each platform, as well as how to allocate resources across platforms, depending on product type.