Produce Facebook Engagements with Pronouns

“Denise, the celebration decoration expert, offers some of her great ideas.” Gee, that seems like a fine lead sentence for a social media post by a party supplies retailer. It should nail the kind of attention which generates plenty of likes, comments, and shares.
     No, maybe, “Denise, the celebration decoration expert, offers you some great ideas,” would do a better job. Or does it really make any difference?
     It does indeed, according to studies at University of Rhode Island, Wright State University, and University of Oxford, which aimed to advise Denise and other marketers. By analyzing what happened with almost 16,000 posts by brands on Facebook, the researchers developed guidance about which pronouns to use when. Those tips are conditioned by whether what you’re marketing is a product or a service, whether consumers see the offering as primarily functional (utilitarian) or pleasure-oriented (hedonic), and whether you’re aiming mostly for likes, comments, or shares. The research findings don’t provide guidance for every combination of these. Here is a selection of what does work:

• For utilitarian goods, generate more comments by using “he/she/they” in posts. 
• For hedonic goods, avoid the word “I.” Generate more comments by using the words “you” and “we.” 
• “You” and “we” also grow the number of comments, and the number of likes, in posts from utilitarian services brands. “We” also stimulates shares of posts. Avoid using “I,” since it seems to depress comments, likes, and shares. 
• For hedonic services, including “you” stimulated comments. “We” cut down the number of likes and shares from the percentage generated in posts without those words. 

     It appears, then, Denise would be wise to go with the second alternative of the lead sentences. It includes “you.”
     The pattern of study findings is complex, with part of the explanation in the intimacy implied by the use of “we.” Researchers at University of Florida, Stanford University, and Turkey’s Koç University compared three versions of a Wells Fargo Bank ad.

• “Together, we make whatever decisions necessary to ensure your life goes uninterrupted.” 
• “Together you and Wells Fargo make whatever decisions necessary to ensure your life goes uninterrupted.” 
• “Wells Fargo makes whatever decisions necessary to ensure your life goes uninterrupted.” 

     Current customers of the bank liked the first version best since it presented the bank and customer acting as if one. Some non-customers were irritated by the first version, thinking the “we” portrayed a smarmy congeniality.

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Shape Benefits As Hedonic or Utilitarian
Open Your I’s to Customer Comfort
Moderate In Using Research Findings