Microblogging for Engagement: Effects of Prior Company Involvement, Communication Strategy, and Emojis on Western and Chinese Users

Companies' social networking platforms can contribute to engaged stakeholder relationships, but many companies struggle to actually make that happen. An online experiment with IT companies' microblogs investigated effects of communication strategy, emoji use, and prior company involvement on the appreciation and online engagement of Western and Chinese users. The exogenous variables had strong effects. Chinese users showed more appreciation and online engagement than Western users. Prior company involvement contributed to appreciation and online engagement. The message characteristics did not have the expected effects. Action- or community-focused microblogs resulted in lower appreciation. Emojis did not affect appreciation and online engagement.