Variables of Twitter´s brand activity that influence audience spreading behaviour of branded content

Abstract

This paper investigates spreading behavior of branded content, within an online brand community. A total of 41.392 pieces of content were gathered to analyze the activity of 45 Twitter brands, in the Spanish food industry, during one-year period. The study uses an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to reveal the structure of that spreading behavior, addressing two key constructs: propagation and sharing. In addition, multiple regression analysis is conducted to identity the influence of the independent variables controlled by the company, which predict that spreading action on the proposed structural model. Findings indicate the significant effect of variables such as: mentions made by the brand, posting time or volume of tweets, in predicting audience spreading behavior. Controversially, results suggest that brand use of the retweet function generates a negative influence on audience response. The research also innovates exploring the impact of sentiment expressions used by the brand on audience spreading behavior.