Social Media Optimization Complexity: The Counterintuitive Strength of Passive Engagement
(R2020-84290)

AUTHORS

Satadruta Mookherjee, NEOMA Business School; Sean Massey, Binghamton University SUNY

KEYWORDS

social media; passive engagement; artificial intelligence

ABSTRACT

The recent trend of digital marketing campaigns shows greater emphasis on actively engaging potential consumers with lesser focus on exposure (passive engagement). Unlike the predecessors, in this research, across three studies, we aimed to empirically evaluate the relative strength of active versus passive engagement in the context of digital media, specifically for different product types (luxury/regular) to provide actionable insights on how marketers should allocate their resources. We find that the high focus on active engagement for loyal consumers can in fact backfire while passive engagement has a positive influence, especially for who are not loyalists, and for regular products.