Content and sharing · Facebook post-link placement experiment
Social Media Marketing for Businesses: Organic Promotions of Web-Links on Facebook
Chawla, Y., & Chodak, G. (2021). Journal of Business Research, 135, 49–65.
Plain-English take
The experiment reports that placing the web link in the comments rather than the caption was more lucrative in the studied campaign. For your marketing: This is a concrete example of testing small post-format decisions against business outcomes.
How much weight to give this
3.5/5 Useful evidence with meaningful caveats
The 1–5 evidence-check score is a practical reading aid, not a formal peer review or a probability that a conclusion is true. It combines design strength (2 points), sample reporting (1), comparison/control clarity (1), and how much of the paper could be checked (1). Access affects how confidently this directory can assess a study, not the study's underlying quality. Blinding is reported separately because it is not relevant to every design.
An experiment is useful for causal evidence, but the accessible profile does not establish random assignment.
A usable sample size is not stated in the profile's accessible source.
Experimental comparison is described; randomization or control details need checking in the paper.
This profile could be checked against an abstract or metadata, not the full paper.
Double-blind? Blinding is not reported in the source reviewed; that does not establish whether blinding was or was not used.
Research question
What the authors investigated
How does the placement of a web link in an organic Facebook post affect marketing outcomes?
Design
The authors designed and conducted a Facebook experiment comparing web-link placement in the post caption with placement in the comments and analyzed post and sales outcomes.
Sample and setting
Facebook organic posts and linked content in the study's business setting; the accessible abstract does not provide a full sample count.
Reported result
What the study found
The experiment reports that placing the web link in the comments rather than the caption was more lucrative in the studied campaign.
This is a paraphrase of the source. Check the original paper for definitions, estimates, statistical uncertainty and analysis details.
Scope and transfer
Limitations to keep in view
A platform-specific experiment from 2021; Facebook distribution and link behavior change over time. The result should not be assumed to hold across social networks, post types or technical-founder audiences.
Possible founder application
A concrete example of testing small post-format decisions against business outcomes. Re-run the comparison on your current platform and audience before adopting it.
Evidence access
Publisher abstract
Journal of Business Research abstract and publisher record; the profile uses only the experiment and link-placement result visible in the abstract.
If only an abstract or metadata was available, the profile is limited to claims supported there. A paper's paywall does not change its evidentiary status, but it limits what we can substantiate from accessible text.