Abstract:
The beauty industry is increasingly using the social media channel, Instagram, to promote user engagement with brands. User engagement on social media, such as likes and comments, is a key performance indicator in social media marketing and branding. By employing a content analysis method, this study examined 1,931 visuals posted to Instagram by seven major beauty brands in the United States. Five Instagram post characteristics (i.e., post format, post content, and the usage of hashtags, tags, and emojis) were identified to predict user engagement (i.e., the numbers of likes and comments). Negative binomial multiple regression models were performed by using IMB SPSS Statistics program. The results showed that post content is a crucial factor affecting user engagement in Instagram posting strategy. Beauty brands should incorporate such elements in their post contents as close-up face, promotion, influencer, and tutorials to drive more user interactions. Post formats like video and photo contents present divergent effects on user engagement behavior. Positive emojis were found to convey positive brand identity and personality and therefore increase user engagement significantly. However, the more of hashtags uses cannot generate higher user engagement. The theoretical and practical implications were also discussed for future research.
