How Social Media Impacts Brand Value: The Mediating Role of Customer Satisfaction

Abstract

The growing popularity of social media platforms has increased brand investments in social media marketing. However, it is not clear whether and how social media marketing leads to the creation of value for consumers and brands; therefore, we investigate how marketer and user-generated content on social media affects consumer and brand metrics. Based on the marketing productivity chain, we propose that customer satisfaction, a leading consumer metric, mediates the link between social media content and brand value. To test such assertions, we use a sample of 87 brands from 17 industries and collect a unique dataset that combines social media data from Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube with customer satisfaction, brand value, and advertising expenses. We find that user-generated content has a stronger effect on customer satisfaction than marketer-generated content. We also find that YouTube is the most effective platform for user generated content. Interestingly, we find that the effects of marketer-generated content depend on the brand’s corporate reputation. In other words, more reputable brands can leverage their marketer-generated content more effectively.

Por qué el índice de sentimiento neto debería ser una prioridad: un estudio de caso de la industria bancaria

“…This is aligned with the findings of Reichheld (2011), who emphasized the importance of customer-driven strategies in enhancing company value. Colicev and O'Connor (2020) argue that it is possible to differentiate the type of person making a comment depending on their relationship with the brand and calculate a direct influence. Nevertheless, our study results were conclusive without taking these distinctions into account.…”

“…An interesting proposal focuses on measuring the impact of customer satisfaction on brand value. Colicev and O'Connor (2020) explore how social media data affects brand value by monitoring customer satisfaction, corporate reputation, word-ofmouth, and awareness using Partial Least Squares Path Modelling (PLS-PM). The study explores official content and user content to estimate latent variable scores, and concludes that social media marketing has a positive impact on customer satisfaction and that brand value is a precursor of sales and shareholder value.…”

The influence of firm-Generated video on user-Generated video: Evidence from China

“…33 Satisfaction also mediated the relationship between UGC and brand value. 34 Given all the benefits mentioned above, it is logical that companies want to promote their brand image by choosing UGC. 35–37…”

“…33 Satisfaction also mediated the relationship between UGC and brand value. 34 Given all the benefits mentioned above, it is logical that companies want to promote their brand image by choosing UGC. [35][36][37] With the potential marketing benefits of UGC, many researchers have taken an interest in determining the motivations and driving factors of UGC.…”