Theoretical Foundations of Customer Engagement in Social Media – Implications for Businesses

Customer engagement (CE) is a conceptual approach to describing the engagement and interactions of social media users with company websites. The vast majority of empirical research is dedicated to the factors influencing CE based on selected theories. A translation of the factors into recommendations for action for companies only takes place to a limited extent. With the help of a qualitative approach in the form of a focus group, prominent theories of CE were examined. The aim was to develop a set of possible recommendations for the effective design of corporate communication on social media and to name their respective theoretical basis. The article therefore follows a practical approach, connecting theoretical frameworks to actionable insights. As a result, it is recommended to use a high level of vividness and interactivity in posts, to use means of sales promotion, to be thematically diversified, to choose a personal, benefit-oriented, emotional, and entertaining message appeal, and to engage in active community building. It was also shown that recommendations for action are usually covered by several theories. The combination of elements of media richness and uses and gratifications theory proved to be particularly promising.