IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/mktlet/v35y2024i4d10.1007_s11002-023-09707-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Online communication styles of narcissistic content and low versus high social media engagement: evidence from Instagram

Author

Listed:
  • Jana Gross

    (Kedge Business School Campus Bordeaux)

  • Renaud Lunardo

    (Kedge Business School Campus Bordeaux)

Abstract

Given their need for social recognition, narcissists often engage in activities that are valued on social media. While communicating about such socially rewarding activities on social media—what we refer to as narcissistic content—has become common, little is known about how narcissists communicate and how this communication affects social media engagement. Using the hashtag #workout and a combination of application programming interface and human coders to generate a unique dataset of 1096 Instagram posts, we show that online communication style varies with the degree of narcissism and that such communication deeply shapes audiences’ engagement with narcissistic content. Further, we show that using more hashtags significantly increases low-level engagement, while using more emojis significantly increases high-level engagement when posted by a profile with a higher degree of narcissism. By shedding light on these overlooked aspects, we aim to guide both research and practice toward a more holistic understanding of narcissistic communication and its effects on social media.

Suggested Citation

  • Jana Gross & Renaud Lunardo, 2024. "Online communication styles of narcissistic content and low versus high social media engagement: evidence from Instagram," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 547-560, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:mktlet:v:35:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s11002-023-09707-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s11002-023-09707-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11002-023-09707-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11002-023-09707-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. de Bellis, Emanuel & Sprott, David E. & Herrmann, Andreas & Bierhoff, Hans-Werner & Rohmann, Elke, 2016. "The Influence of Trait and State Narcissism on the Uniqueness of Mass-Customized Products," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 162-172.
    2. Ganga S. Urumutta Hewage & Yue Liu & Ze Wang & Huifang Mao, 2021. "Consumer responses toward symmetric versus asymmetric facial expression emojis," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 219-230, June.
    3. Hudson, Simon & Huang, Li & Roth, Martin S. & Madden, Thomas J., 2016. "The influence of social media interactions on consumer–brand relationships: A three-country study of brand perceptions and marketing behaviors," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 27-41.
    4. Hollebeek, Linda D. & Glynn, Mark S. & Brodie, Roderick J., 2014. "Consumer Brand Engagement in Social Media: Conceptualization, Scale Development and Validation," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 149-165.
    5. Kunal Swani & Lauren I. Labrecque, 2020. "Like, Comment, or Share? Self-presentation vs. brand relationships as drivers of social media engagement choices," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 279-298, September.
    6. Linda D. Hollebeek & Rajendra K. Srivastava & Tom Chen, 2019. "Correction to: S-D logic–informed customer engagement: integrative framework, revised fundamental propositions, and application to CRM," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 186-186, January.
    7. Aner Sela & S. Christian Wheeler & Gülen Sarial-Abi, 2012. "We Are Not the Same as You and I: Causal Effects of Minor Language Variations on Consumers' Attitudes toward Brands," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 39(3), pages 644-661.
    8. Ho, Jason Y.C. & Dempsey, Melanie, 2010. "Viral marketing: Motivations to forward online content," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(9-10), pages 1000-1006, September.
    9. Linda D. Hollebeek & Rajendra K. Srivastava & Tom Chen, 2019. "S-D logic–informed customer engagement: integrative framework, revised fundamental propositions, and application to CRM," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 161-185, January.
    10. de Vries, Lisette & Gensler, Sonja & Leeflang, Peter S.H., 2012. "Popularity of Brand Posts on Brand Fan Pages: An Investigation of the Effects of Social Media Marketing," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 83-91.
    11. V. Kumar & Bharath Rajan & Shaphali Gupta & Ilaria Dalla Pozza, 2019. "Customer engagement in service," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 138-160, January.
    12. Brodie, Roderick J. & Ilic, Ana & Juric, Biljana & Hollebeek, Linda, 2013. "Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: An exploratory analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 105-114.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hollebeek, Linda D. & Clark, Moira K. & Andreassen, Tor W. & Sigurdsson, Valdimar & Smith, Dale, 2020. "Virtual reality through the customer journey: Framework and propositions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    2. Hollebeek, Linda D. & Belk, Russell, 2021. "Consumers’ technology-facilitated brand engagement and wellbeing: Positivist TAM/PERMA- vs. Consumer Culture Theory perspectives," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 387-401.
    3. Liguo Lou & Yongbing Jiao & Joon Koh, 2021. "Determinants of Fan Engagement in Social Media-Based Brand Communities: A Brand Relationship Quality Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, May.
    4. Kulikovskaja, Viktorija & Hubert, Marco & Grunert, Klaus G. & Zhao, Hong, 2023. "Driving marketing outcomes through social media-based customer engagement," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    5. Gandhi, Mohina & Kar, Arpan Kumar, 2022. "How do Fortune firms build a social presence on social media platforms? Insights from multi-modal analytics," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    6. Roma, Paolo & Aloini, Davide, 2019. "How does brand-related user-generated content differ across social media? Evidence reloaded," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 322-339.
    7. Eigenraam, Anniek W. & Eelen, Jiska & van Lin, Arjen & Verlegh, Peeter W.J., 2018. "A Consumer-based Taxonomy of Digital Customer Engagement Practices," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 102-121.
    8. Linda D. Hollebeek & Moira K. Clark & Wafa Hammedi & René Arvola, 2021. "Cocreated brand value: theoretical model and propositions," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(4), pages 413-428, July.
    9. Machado, Joana César & Vacas-de-Carvalho, Leonor & Azar, Salim L. & André, Ana Raquel & dos Santos, Barbara Pires, 2019. "Brand gender and consumer-based brand equity on Facebook: The mediating role of consumer-brand engagement and brand love," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 376-385.
    10. Simon, Françoise & Tossan, Vesselina, 2018. "Does brand-consumer social sharing matter? A relational framework of customer engagement to brand-hosted social media," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 175-184.
    11. Morgan-Thomas, Anna & Dessart, Laurence & Veloutsou, Cleopatra, 2020. "Digital ecosystem and consumer engagement: A socio-technical perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 713-723.
    12. Clark, Moira K. & Lages, Cristiana Raquel & Hollebeek, Linda D., 2020. "Friend or foe? Customer engagement’s value-based effects on fellow customers and the firm," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 549-556.
    13. Eberhardt, Wiebke & Brüggen, Elisabeth & Post, Thomas & Hoet, Chantal, 2021. "Engagement behavior and financial well-being: The effect of message framing in online pension communication," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 448-471.
    14. Ndhlovu, Thinkwell & Maree, Tania, 2022. "Consumer brand engagement: Refined measurement scales for product and service contexts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 228-240.
    15. Behnam, Mohsen & Hollebeek, Linda D. & Clark, Moira K. & Farabi, Reza, 2021. "Exploring customer engagement in the product vs. service context," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    16. Fletcher-Brown, Judith & Turnbull, Sarah & Viglia, Giampaolo & Chen, Tom & Pereira, Vijay, 2021. "Vulnerable consumer engagement: How corporate social media can facilitate the replenishment of depleted resources," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 518-529.
    17. Lim, Weng Marc & Rasul, Tareq & Kumar, Satish & Ala, Mamun, 2022. "Past, present, and future of customer engagement," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 439-458.
    18. Mariapina Trunfio & Simona Rossi, 2021. "Conceptualising and measuring social media engagement: A systematic literature review," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2021(3), pages 267-292, September.
    19. Abbasi, Amir Zaib & Tsiotsou, Rodoula H. & Hussain, Khalil & Rather, Raouf Ahmad & Ting, Ding Hooi, 2023. "Investigating the impact of social media images’ value, consumer engagement, and involvement on eWOM of a tourism destination: A transmittal mediation approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    20. Xiaoxia Chen & Xiaofeng Su & Wenhe Lin & Anxin Xu & Jianhong Chen & Qiujin Zheng, 2022. "The Effect of Omnichannel Integration on Fresh Food Customer Engagement from the Viewpoint of Flow Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-20, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:mktlet:v:35:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s11002-023-09707-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.