The effects of content characteristics on user engagement in health communication: evidence from WeChat

Purpose Social media has become a crucial channel for enhancing health literacy through the dissemination of health knowledge. While prior studies have examined how various content characteristics affect user engagement, how the impact of these characteristics varies across different types of health topics remains unexplored. This study aims to investigate the heterogeneous effects of content characteristics on user engagement across distinct types of health topics and propose several practical guidelines for creating more engaging health posts. Design/methodology/approach We comprehensively measured 28 multimodal characteristics across four dimensions: style, quantity, quality, and complexity using deep learning techniques. An empirical analysis was then conducted on 4,665 health-related WeChat posts spanning multiple types of health topics. Findings After distinguishing topic types, we find that the effect of Dynamic Images shifts from negative to positive under the Medical Science topic. The influence of Text sentences diminishes under Diseases topic compared to Daily Life topic. Additionally, we also find that text length moderates the relationship between professionalism and shares, such that longer texts attenuate the negative effect of professionalism on shares. Originality/value This study demonstrates that the impact of content characteristics on user engagement varies significantly across different types of health topics. Our findings highlight the need for topic-specific content strategies to effectively engage users and enhance health communication on social media platforms.