Content marketing · Empirical observational analysis linking transaction data to the firm's Facebook posts; posts are classified as informative or persuasive, with informative posts split into standard-product-feature (ISP) and customizable-product-feature (ICP) posts.
Linking Firm-Generated Social Media Content to Sales and Returns
Management Science · 2026
Summary
ISP posts are associated with increases in sales and returns, whereas ICP posts are associated with decreases in both. ISP associations with sales and returns are weaker when persuasive content accompanies them; persuasive content attenuates the ICP relationship with returns but not the ICP relationship with sales.
For your marketing
Possible founder application
Use it as a B2B mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Reported result
What the study found
ISP posts are associated with increases in sales and returns, whereas ICP posts are associated with decreases in both. ISP associations with sales and returns are weaker when persuasive content accompanies them; persuasive content attenuates the ICP relationship with returns but not the ICP relationship with sales.
Research question
What the authors investigated
How does firm-generated Facebook content, particularly informative content about standard versus customizable product features and persuasive content, relate to product sales and returns?
Design
Empirical observational analysis linking transaction data to the firm's Facebook posts; posts are classified as informative or persuasive, with informative posts split into standard-product-feature (ISP) and customizable-product-feature (ICP) posts. The publisher reports robustness across alternative model specifications and estimation methods.
Sample and setting
Online-channel transaction data from a luxury fashion accessory manufacturer, augmented with that firm's Facebook posts and product-feature/content classifications.
Scope and transfer
Limitations to keep in view
Limitations are not explicitly stated on the fetched publisher page beyond the single-firm/online-channel context; generalizability beyond this luxury fashion accessory manufacturer and channel is therefore not established by that page.
Research sources
The publisher abstract says the study uses Facebook and transactional data from the online channel of a luxury fashion accessory manufacturer and reports the opposite sales/returns associations for ISP and ICP posts, with moderation by persuasive content. Direct publisher-page retrieval was recorded on 2026-10-09; profile summarizes the accessible record and does not claim independent review of inaccessible full text.