Engagement with Social Media and Social Media Advertising: The Differentiating Role of Platform Type

Abstract

This study examines how consumers’ engagement with social media platforms drives engagement with advertising embedded in these platforms and, subsequently, evaluations of this advertising. Our survey (N = 1,346, aged 13 and older) maps social media users’ engagement experiences with Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat and their experiences with and evaluations of advertising on these platforms. Our findings show that engagement is highly context specific; it comprises various types of experiences on each social media platform such that each is experienced in a unique way. Moreover, on each platform, a different set of experiences is related to advertising evaluations. It is further shown that engagement with social media advertising itself is key in explaining how social media engagement is related to advertising evaluations. The general conclusion is that there is no such thing as “social media.”

NOTE

Notes

1. The current study asked whether participants used a laptop/PC, tablet, or smartphone during their recent social media consumption moment, and preliminary analyses showed some differences. The focus of the current article does not allow us to discuss these differences, but details are available from the authors upon request.

Additional information

Funding

Foundation for Fundamental Research on Commercial Communication (SWOCC)