Social Media Analytics in Event Marketing: Engaging Marathon Fans in Facebook Communities

Abstract

This research is to examine the effects of attributes related to designing post content in Facebook marathon community pages on enhancing levels of engagement. Marketer- and user-generated content of 3,142 posts published on three Facebook pages for the Boston, Chicago, and New York City marathons were collected. Social media analytics were used to discover major topics and engagement trends on the pages. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to examine how publisher type, content type, event case, time, and interactions among these factors affected the engagement levels of Facebook users. Results show that main and interaction effects significantly increase engagement among Facebook users. In particular, content generated by marketers was more effective in engaging users than content generated by users. Posting photos and videos enhanced engagement more than status posts. The effects of inserting hyperlinks varied depending on the marathon page. This exemplary study extends the social media marketing literature in event marketing and provides useful information on how social media marketing strategies can be made more effective through engaging social media users. Findings will be of benefit to both researchers and marketers.