Study: Consumer Personality Influences Brand Promotion on Social Media

A team of researchers from the "Babeş-Bolyai" University (UBB) in Cluj-Napoca and the "Ludwig Maximilians" University in Munich has published a study that highlights the connection between consumer personality and their interaction with brands on social media. According to UBB, the study was based on a sociological survey and a marketing experiment, analyzing the perceptions, attitudes and reactions of Romanian consumers towards messages promoted by brands on social media. The researchers studied two types of user involvement: a passive one (viewing content without interaction) and an active one (comments, questions, shares). "The results of the study showed that both active and passive consumer involvement increases the likelihood that they will become voluntary brand ambassadors in the online environment," the UBB press release states.

• Social networks, a key factor in digital marketing

According to data provided by the analysis platform Statista, in 2023, approximately 5 billion people used social networks, with an average daily time spent on these platforms of over 150 minutes. In this context, companies have significantly increased their investments in digital marketing, from 97.5 billion dollars in 2019 to over 207 billion dollars in 2023, with an estimate of 256 billion dollars by 2028.

Romania is among the countries with the highest consumption of social media, with approximately 18 million internet users in 2024, of which over 17 million are active on social networks.

• Influence on brand promotion

Researchers found that users frequently exposed to a brand's content are more likely to encourage its promotion in their circles of friends. However, the effects vary depending on personality. "Extroverts are more likely to engage actively, through comments and shares, while introverts prefer passive consumption of social media content. However, passive consumption leads to more online recommendations from introverts, while active consumption stimulates extraverts to share information about brands," explain the UBB specialists.

• Recommendations for brands

The researchers emphasize that brands' communication strategies must be adapted to the psychographic profiles of consumers. To attract introverts, brands should create elaborate content, inspirational stories or videos that do not require immediate interaction. Conversely, to stimulate extraverts to promote a brand, strategies should include interactive campaigns, succinct posts, live video sessions or contests. Professor Ovidiu I. Moisescu, co-author of the study, emphasizes that social platform developers should create advanced user segmentation tools that take into account not only demographics and interests, but also personality traits. "This is feasible through the use of artificial intelligence and big data analysis, but transparency and respect for data confidentiality remain essential," said Moisescu.

The study was conducted by prof. univ. Ovidiu Moisescu, prof. univ. Oana Gică, drd. Flavia Herle, drd. Ioana Dan and prof. univ. Marko Sarstedt, and was published in the prestigious journal "Psychology & Marketing" by Wiley.