Abstract：In today's digital landscape, organizations like to encourage employees to participate in employee advocacy by posting organizational content on their personal social media accounts. While engagement on official brand pages is often limited, content posted directly by employees typically generates stronger resonance with social media users. Employee advocacy thus involves a two-step process: Before content can reach and engage social media users, employees-acting as "gatekeepers"-must first post it within their own networks. Through two studies, this research explores how various visual-centric post characteristics influence both employees' posting behavior and subsequent social media user engagement. Study 1 explores these effects within employee advocacy platforms, where organizations provide premade messages for employees to post, analyzing how different visual characteristics impact employee postings and social media user clicks. Study 2 focuses on LinkedIn, where content posted by employees may originate from the organization or be independently created. Using negative binomial regressions, both studies analyze which visual characteristics-such as format or image type-drive employee postings (Study 1 and 2), social media user clicks (Study 1), and social media user reactions (Study 2). The findings highlight key similarities and differences in preferences, offering actionable insights for optimizing employee advocacy strategies.

主要发现：员工倡导需要同时优化“员工愿不愿意发”和“用户愿不愿意点”，视觉特征会影响这两个阶段。

Abstract：Brand-generated content has become one of the most popular marketing strategies for brands to influence consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions. Faced with intense competition on social media, brands must understand how to design posts to maximize engagement. In particular, fashion brands are highly active on social media platforms to communicate with audiences and drive more web traffic. In this research, the authors analyze Instagram posts from major fashion brands to measure the effects of post design variables on the number of likes. They extract design features of posts using machine learning techniques and use Poisson regression to measure the impacts of these features on user engagement. Among the findings is that inserting URLs in Instagram posts is unattractive to users, but adding more images in the same post is generally effective. Meanwhile, the findings show distinct effects between luxury and mass-market brands. For instance, luxury brand audiences prefer posts that focus on products without distractions such as influencers and conspicuous backgrounds. In contrast, mass-market brand audiences engage more with posts featuring celebrity influencers and appealing backdrops. This research contributes to the growing social media literature by adding a practical methodology to measure the effects of Instagram design variables on user engagement.

主要发现：品牌内容设计不能一刀切；奢侈品牌更适合突出产品，大众品牌更适合借助人物和场景吸引互动。

Abstract：Brands regularly attempt to stimulate consumer engagement by posting messages on social media platforms (e.g., Facebook), but their messages are often ignored. How can managers write social media messages that engage consumers? The present research sheds light on how the language of brand messages influences consumer engagement. Text analyses of brand messages posted on Facebook and Twitter shows that brand messages that include words that express certainty (e.g., always, everything, forever) are associated with higher levels of consumer engagement (e.g., likes, comments, shares/retweets). The results of two controlled experiments demonstrate that messages expressing certainty increase engagement by influencing how consumers perceive brands. Specifically, expressing certainty makes brands seem more powerful, and perceptions of power exert a positive effect on engagement. In addition, the indirect effect of certainty on consumer engagement is stronger (weaker) among consumers with higher (lower) power distance beliefs. These results assist marketing managers by demonstrating how language influences consumer engagement on social media. (C) 2020 Direct Marketing Educational Foundation, Inc. dba Marketing EDGE. All rights reserved.

主要发现：确定性语言会提升品牌力量感知，从而提高点赞、评论和分享等参与行为。

Abstract：Facial emojis have increasingly permeated electronic word of mouth (eWOM), but the persuasive consequences of this phenomenon remain unclear. Drawing on emotions as social information (EASI) theory, this research reveals that facial emojis influence persuasion (e.g., product choice) by affecting emotional arousal and perceived ambiguity. While the effect through emotional arousal is generally positive, the effect through ambiguity depends on the emojis' function in eWOM: facial emojis that replace a verbal expression increase ambiguity and therefore reduce persuasion, whereas those that reiterate a verbal expression decrease ambiguity and therefore enhance persuasion. Both the emotional-arousal and ambiguity pathways determine the net persuasive effect. This research also explores two situations (high verbal context richness and eWOM from strong ties) where replacing facial emojis can increase persuasion. Finally, the authors show that facial emojis' persuasive power is generalizable to online brand communications, influencing key management outcomes such as click-through rates for digital ads.

主要发现：表情符号不是越多越好；重复文字含义时更能提升说服，替代文字时可能制造模糊性。

Abstract：Word-of-mouth (WOM) remains one of the most influential drivers of brand success, but its nature and impact have evolved significantly with the evolution of digital platforms and influencers. In the online context, Trusov et al. (2009) explored the effect of non-incentivized, or free WOM on brand performance, finding it to be a powerful and enduring force. However, it lacked the dynamics of paid WOM and the dichotomy between online and offline WOM so prevalent in today's context. This paper revisits the foundational insights from 2009 to address two critical questions: How does free WOM compare to paid WOM in terms of trust, reach, and impact? And how do online and offline WOM differ in their effectiveness across various product categories? By integrating 15 years of research and data, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of these dynamics and suggest areas for future research. To offer actionable insights for practitioners, we suggest a simplified framework that examines the interplay between free and paid WOM, as well as online and offline channels. We combine this conceptual framework with seven urgent practical questions: who, why, which, when, metrics, methods, and magnitude. We highlight how different forms of WOM are suited to specific conditions, balancing authenticity and reach while leveraging category-specific strategies. Artificial intelligence and virtual environments open new frontiers in WOM practice and study. This paper not only extends the theoretical understanding of WOM but also equips marketers with practical tools to navigate the complex landscape of free and paid WOM in physical, digital, and augmented reality environments.

主要发现：口碑管理需要区分免费/付费、线上/线下及品类差异，在真实性和触达之间做策略平衡。