The power of engagement: Understanding active social media engagement and the impact on sales in the hospitality industry

This study seeks to understand the most important features of active social media engagement among followers of a food and beverage sales organization, and the impact of social media engagement rate on sales of new products. The study provides empirical evidence that highly engaged social media posts drive firm performance through increased sales. Additionally, the study provides a formula for success by using text mining strategies to uncover most effective use of the social media channels. The text mining methods reveal the best date/time, type of posting, hashtag to use and social media channel that provides the highest engagement level.