Abstract:

This presentation reviews how a different form of engagement with the Air Miles Facebook page and their own social media site affects future purchase behaviors. Engagement includes a hierarchy from passively reading content, liking something, and contributing and sharing content. The test compares utilitarian and aspirational prompts. The particular form of engagement of entering a social media contest was also studied. It was found that participation increases mile accumulation behavior over a control group and after controlling for pre- contest behavior. How to estimate return on investment is illustrated. The Facebook test is currently in the field. Explanations for these findings are proposed, and their implications and applications discussed.