One size doesn’t fit all: a uses and gratifications analysis of social media platforms

Abstract

Purpose

This research study aims to investigate consumer usage motivations for three of the top social media platforms today: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Additionally, through understanding various platform distinctions, firms can understand which social media platforms consumers prefer to use to co-create with brands online.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory qualitative study is first conducted to understand consumer motivations for using different social media platforms. The main study tests five hypotheses related to consumer usage intentions and social media co-creation behavior across three social media platforms. A survey is conducted with 1,050 social media users with a comparison of mean responses using multivariate analysis of covariance.

Findings

Results support significant differences between platforms in terms of use and co-creation behaviors. For informational purposes, consumers gravitate toward Twitter. For social purposes, Twitter and Instagram are preferred. Instagram is the primary platform for entertainment motivation as well as co-creating with brands via social media. Surprisingly, Facebook shows the lowest usage intentions and co-creation despite being the largest platform and network most widely used by marketers.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to take a multi-platform approach to understanding consumer social media use and co-creation with brands. The results highlight that marketing academics and practitioners must segment the various social media platforms as each offers unique value propositions to consumers.