Social Media Analytics: The Effectiveness of Promotional Events on Brand User Base in Social Media

This paper studies a pioneering social media venture and seeks to understand the effectiveness of promotional events in social media platforms by evaluating their impact on participating brands. We employ a promising research approach, based on the event study methodology, and use a rich database consisting of all the promotional events on Twitter by American Express Company and its participating partners. Based on the results of the presented econometric analysis and focusing on the long-term business value of this novel use of social media, we find that promotional events combined with implicit or explicit advocacy on social media platforms result in significant abnormal returns for the participating brand, in terms of fan base and new followers on the social media platform. Finally, we both contribute to the related literature, discovering new rich findings, and provide actionable insights with major implications for brands, marketers, and social media platforms.