Customer engagement in Facebook brand communities: A case study from automotive in the Czech Republic

Social media is a valuable medium for customer engagement, maintaining existing customers and for acquiring prospective customers. Social media platforms are increasingly adopted as strategic communication tools for building brand equity and consumer engagement. The main objective of this study is to examine the roles of company-created content on Facebook in enhancing brand visibility and interaction between brand and consumer response. In this study, four official Facebook profiles from automotive brands were collected and surveyed and then the data were analyzed in detail using content analysis. Evaluation using the uses and gratification theory and the application of correspondence analysis of content related to the consumer’s point of view brings new insights to brand communication using social media. The findings document how selected categories according to user gratification theory influence users’ engagement. Both quantitative analysis of brand communication via Facebook and a qualitative survey of the posts with top engagement show differences in the marketing strategy of automotive brands in their social media communication. The findings of best-published posts could also be used as an example for benchmarking. The research provides a theoretical and practical understanding of social media marketing that can guide managers’ decision-making when developing and improving their social media marketing activities focused on brand communities.