HOW DOES AN ENTERPRISE USE SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS TO ACQUIRE ONLINE SOCIAL CAPITAL? A MEASUREMENT PERSPECTIVE BASED ON WECHAT USERS’ DIGITAL FOOTPRINTS

ABSTRACT The popularity of social network sites provides enterprises with innovative opportunities to build online social capital with customers. However, little is known about how to measure and facilitate the online social capital of a company in the context of social media. This study examined the antecedents of enterprises’ online social capital based on the specific characteristics of their messages posted on social media. Drawing upon the social capital theory, this study first proposed a measurement system of online social capital with users’ digital footprints. By assigning WeChat posts’ characteristics into outer and inner layer features, the empirical findings with 968 WeChat posts show the features of the outer layer, including title vividness and the sequences of posts, have positive effects on acquiring online bridging social capital; other features that consist of content type, content vividness, and customers’ testimonials embedded in a post significantly promote the acquisition of bonding social capital. Further, this study provides guidelines for effective messaging strategies that business executives can use to gain online social capital via social media posts.