Cogent Social Sciences

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/oass20

Customer engagement on Instagram for luxury

fashion brands: An empirical comparative analysis

María Bonilla-Quijada, Josep Lluís Del Olmo, David Andreu & Joan Ripoll

To cite this article: María Bonilla-Quijada, Josep Lluís Del Olmo, David Andreu &
Joan Ripoll (2023) Customer engagement on Instagram for luxury fashion brands:
An empirical comparative analysis, Cogent Social Sciences, 9:1, 2235169, DOI:
10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa

UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis
Group.

Published online: 16 Jul 2023.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 161

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=oass20
Bonilla-Quijada et al., Cogent Social Sciences (2023), 9: 2235169
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

MEDIA & COMMUNICATION STUDIES | RESEARCH ARTICLE

Customer engagement on Instagram for luxury
fashion brands: An empirical comparative
analysis
Received: 17 May 2023 María Bonilla-Quijada1*, Josep Lluís Del Olmo1, David Andreu1 and Joan Ripoll1
Accepted: 06 July 2023
Abstract: This study explores the engagement generated by the posts that luxury
*Corresponding author: María Bonilla-
Quijada, Business and Economics brands publish on Instagram, based on the different types of content, communica­
department Universitat Abat Oliba tion strategies and other aspects of those posts. Its main intention is to clarify
CEU Carrer Bellesguard, 30 08022
Barcelona Spain which items lead to a greater engagement of luxury fashion brands with their
E-mail: [email protected]
Instagram audience. A content analysis method was applied to analyse a random
Reviewing editor: sample of 598 Instagram posts published by two of the world’s most important
Guangchao Charles Feng, School of
Communication, Hong Kong Baptist luxury brands, Dior and Chanel. The analysed period was one year with the intention
University, Hong Kong
of having both a large sample and overriding seasonal effects. The results reveal
Additional information is available at which items studied generate more engagement, and which generate less. It is
the end of the article
empirically confirmed that posts displaying products generate more engagement,
especially if the products are fashion accessories. Moreover, content related to
social responsibility also increases engagement. Finally, and as a highly relevant
factor, we observe that posts in video format generate only limited engagement
among followers. The results help companies gain a clearer idea of the potential
applications of social media platforms, thus improving their understanding of the
impact of social media. These findings are of interest to researchers and, especially,
marketing and social media professionals, as they provide insights into what to
publish in order to gain higher engagement rates.

Subjects: Mass Communication; Marketing; Strategic Management

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Mar’ía Bonilla-Quijada Professor of economics in the Department of Business and Economics at the
Abat Oliba CEU University, Barcelona (Spain). Her research area focuses on engagement in social
networks applied to various sectors such as fashion companies, tourism and university marketing.
Josep Llu’ís del OlmoHe is a professor of Marketing in the Department of Business and Economics at
the Universitat Abat Oliba CEU, Barcelona (Spain). His interest as a researcher is focused on the study
of Social Networks and their impact on the textile and fashion sector.
David Andreu Professor of advertising and public relations in the Department of Communication at the
Abat Oliba CEU University, Barcelona (Spain). His research activity is currently focused on fashion
marketing through social networks.
Joan Ripoll Professor of international economics in the Department of Business and Economics at the
Abat Oliba CEU University, Barcelona (Spain). His research areas focus on engagement on several
Social Networks for brand champions companies as well as on insertion of hidden champions com­
panies in Global Value Chains (GVC).

© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribu­
tion, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on
which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in
a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.

Page 1 of 14
Bonilla-Quijada et al., Cogent Social Sciences (2023), 9: 2235169
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

Keywords: social media; engagement; interactions; customer experience; fashion; Dior;

Chanel; luxury; Instagram

1. Introduction
Today, the Internet is an essential part of organizations’ communication strategies and brand
management (Felix et al., 2017; Lorenzo-Romero et al., 2021; Vermesan et al., 2022). Brands need
to expand their brand presence and online services to offer their consumers more experiences (Cho
et al., 2018). Now traditional marketing tools coexist with digital platforms through the use of
social networks (Guercini et al., 2018).

Consumers value information provided by other consumers, such as reviews and recommenda­
tions, more highly than corporate information (Hussain et al., 2018). Therefore, these interactions
can influence consumption intention (García Medina et al., 2018) and contribute to building brand
identity. As consumer interactions are less controlled and can spread rapidly, these interactions
pose challenges that must be constantly monitored (Yadav & Pavlou, 2014).

This monitoring process provides information on the interaction with consumers (Beverungen
et al., 2019), and brands tend to use posts that generate the most interaction (Wagner et al.,
2017).

Numerous studies have addressed the analysis of various social networks (Hsiao et al., 2019;
Kouokam & Dirik, 2019; Kursuncu et al., 2019; Na & Kim, 2019). In contrast, academic research
examining the role of social media in the luxury sector remains largely unexplored (Arrigo, 2018).

Among the different social networks, Instagram is gaining more followers every day among
consumers interested in the world of fashion and luxury. As of January 2022 it boasted more than
1,478 million active users per month (Statista, 2022).

In view of this reality, this study analyses the levels of engagement generated by the luxury
brands Dior and Chanel on Instagram based on the presence of certain variables in their posts.
These two brands were selected according to the data from the latest Interbrand ranking (2022),
which ranks them as two benchmark brands in the luxury sector. The data was collected by
monitoring the activity of these brands on Instagram, the characteristics of their posts and the
interactions received.

2. Theoretical background

2.1. Social networks in the fashion sector

Clothing and fashion accessories constitute a powerful social symbol that is used to communicate
personal and group identities (Sörum & Gianneschi, 2022). Individuals express themselves through
consumption in many ways, and in this context, the product and brands have the ability to convey
messages to others (Son et al., 2022). Being able to decide what information to share and with
whom conditions consumers’ social identity (Wolny & Mueller, 2013).

Social networks allow fashion brands to facilitate their recognition and share trends with users
dynamically and directly. Currently, most fashion brands are present on social networks and use
them to communicate with their followers (Lim, 2020; Nash, 2019). They frequently use these
channels to follow and share trends. Their impact on society is so great that it allows the
individuals making up that society to be segmented based on their use.

This symbiosis between consumers’ engagement with fashion and the interaction with brands
on social networks provides the ideal conditions for the analysis of these interactions, providing

Page 2 of 14
Bonilla-Quijada et al., Cogent Social Sciences (2023), 9: 2235169
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

information that is relevant for the digital strategy of brands on the social networks on which they
are present (Schultz, 2016).

2.2. The specific case of luxury brands

In recent years, global markets such as India, China, Brazil and South Africa have experienced
rapid growth driven by accelerated industrialization through potent production and marketing
strategies, an influx of direct foreign investment overseen by liberal government policies, techno­
logical innovations, the development of affordable and accessible telecommunications, infrastruc­
ture expansion and improved global connectivity that facilitates international trade (Cavusgil,
2021; Srivastava et al., 2020). This accelerated growth has led to an increase in living standards
that is reflected in the consumption of luxury brands (Shahid & Paul, 2021; Singh et al., 2022).

The luxury market has witnessed a profound resurgence following the gloomy period of the
pandemic, with the United States, China, Europe and South Korea showing strong momentum,
with a greater focus on growing trends such as social media, the metaverse and sustainability
initiatives .

The so-called relationship equity expresses the tendency of customers to maintain a relationship
with a brand, going beyond its objective and subjective evaluations. Marketing activities of luxury
fashion brands on social media have been shown to be positively correlated with purchase intent
(Kim & Ko, 2012). This also affects the willingness to pay a premium price for brand loyalty.

Luxury is often centred on rarity, scarcity, and discretion. However, the easy availability of and
accessibility to the contents of the digital environment seem to contrast with the exclusivity of
luxury brands (Schmitt et al., 2022). However, with the convergence of digital apps and new media,
such as mobile technology, luxury companies have realised the inevitability of developing an
online presence (Arrigo, 2018). Platforms like Instagram have made it easy for luxury brand
engagement due to its visual storytelling, which complements the aesthetic standards of many
of the most sought-after brands (Bachmann et al., 2018; Dahlhoff, 2016) and have demonstrated
that these marketing activities positively correlate with purchasing intent (Kim & Ko, 2012) and
a willingness to pay a higher price for brand loyalty (Khan,).

2.3. User engagement on fashion social networks

User engagement is one of the benefits of the presence of brands on social networks, which
various authors have made reference to. According to Helme-Guizon and Magnoni (2019), con­
sumer engagement is the key element to generating brand loyalty. Although some authors have
described this engagement as a multidimensional construct consisting of three dimensions (cog­
nitive, affective, and behavioural), others have chosen to maintain two dimensions: one-
dimensional and two-dimensional. There are also those who have added the social dimension to
the latter when talking about engagement in the social context (Michael, 2022).

Engagement encompasses various activities, including interacting with a brand and searching
for and sharing brand information. In today’s consumer-centric market, brand engagement helps
consumers make informed purchasing decisions (Cheung et al., 2021). Therefore, marketers strive
to engage consumers through advertising on social media, including on Instagram, in order to
strengthen the relationship between the two and to ultimately increase commercial profitability
(Cuevas-Molano et al., 2021).

Tools that monitor social networks measure engagement levels based on the various types of
follower interaction (likes, comments and shares). These interactions make it possible to quantify
user engagement and establish comparisons between different social networks.

Although multimedia content is relevant on all social networks, it is even more so on Instagram,
since it is the main element of Instagram posts and, therefore, has a decisive impact on the

Page 3 of 14
Bonilla-Quijada et al., Cogent Social Sciences (2023), 9: 2235169
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

engagement of brands with users. Relevant studies have addressed this issue, including those by
Akram et al. (2022), Na and Kim (2019), and D. Lee et al. (2018) or Swinyard and Smith (2003), who
observed that the amount of time dedicated to searching for information online positively influ­
ences the actual online purchasing behaviour. Others have shown that actions such as likes,
positive comments or following the brand reflect consumer interest in the product, service or
brand (J. Lee & Hong, 2016), while others have analysed the content published by fashion brands
to study their marketing strategies (Chen & Luo, 2017), and others have referred to the attrac­
tiveness of a post generated through media richness (for example, the inclusion of images or
videos) to obtain a positive effect on user behaviour (Schreiner et al., 2019). Ha et al. (2017)
analyse the framing of images in posts (for example, selfies, body snaps, etc.) and their relation­
ship with Instagram users’ perceptions. Along this line, a study by Kusumasondjaja (2019) explores
the role of visual aesthetics and the communication of luxury fashion brands on Instagram.

Regarding the presence of people in the posts, Yan et al. (2022) highlight that the face
generates a greater degree of reaction; in contrast, Hu et al. (2014) point out that images that
include only the product are less favourable for the Instagram audience. Another study by
Valentini states that when the product appears in the foreground of the image, the audience is
more engaged, while less interaction is generated when the product is in the background.

Based on these findings, the present study aims to answer the following question: what infor­
mation can be obtained by studying the interactions between consumers and luxury fashion
brands? This invites us to analyse not only the content of the posts but also to study how this
content influences the engagement generated, being able to also compare it between the two
brands analysed.

3. Objectives and hypotheses

The research framework aims to analyse interaction based on post contents, the communication
strategy used and, finally, product elements and other formal aspects of the posts.

3.1. Variables referring to the contents of posts

Çukul (2015) defines eight categories to analyse the contents of posts: product, promotion,
advertising, special days, social responsibility, workplace/workers, public relations and content
provided by the consumer. Considering the Çukul system of categories, we can formulate the
following hypothesis:

H1. The presence of content variables in posts affects the engagement generated.

3.2. Communication strategy variables

Another issue that should be analysed is the ability of the different communication strategies
established by Goor (2012) to generate engagement, who proposes six categories: persuasion,
emotion, relationship, sales response, self-efficacy and symbolism (Figure 1).

This system of categories has been used before to analyse fashion brands on Instagram. The
analysis of these strategies and their ability to generate engagement on luxury fashion brand
Instagram accounts allows us to formulate the following hypothesis:

H2. Different communication strategies generate different levels of engagement.

3.3. Variables referring to the product and formal elements of the post
In addition to the category systems of Çukul (2015) and Goor (2012), the set of posts analysed
were categorized based on the authors’ own model, with 16 variables defining aspects of the
product presented, as well as other formal elements of the post: people, no product/evocative, text

Page 4 of 14
Bonilla-Quijada et al., Cogent Social Sciences (2023), 9: 2235169
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

in image, people’s faces, studio, location, username mentioned, series of images, video, series of
posts, Insta shopping, celebrities, clothes, make-up, accessories and perfumes. This system of
categories was developed to be faithful to the required values of completeness, objectivity, mutual
exclusion, fidelity and relevance (Krippendorff, 2004).

Considering the product elements and the formal elements of the post defined in this model, the
following hypotheses are proposed:

H3. The format of the posts affects their ability to generate engagement.

H4. The presence of product variables in the posts affects the generation of engagement.

H5a. The engagement achieved by luxury fashion brands translates into a greater number of likes.

H5b. The engagement achieved by luxury fashion brands translates into a greater number of
comments.

Figure 2 summarizes the research model.

4. Method
The design of this study is exploratory, non-experimental and cross-cutting. Data from the official
accounts of Dior and Chanel on Instagram were used. Saunders et al. (2007) propose this case study
technique when carrying out exploratory work. Similarly, studies on the fashion sector prioritize the
use of content analysis. Therefore, in order to achieve the proposed objectives, this study employed

Figure 1. Example of a Dior post

on the occasion of a corporate
social responsibility event,
showing an emotions strategy.

Page 5 of 14
Bonilla-Quijada et al., Cogent Social Sciences (2023), 9: 2235169
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

Figure 2. Proposed research

model.

a quantitative methodology and, specifically, content analysis, which consisted of tracking and
drawing conclusions from the data collected qualitatively (Easterby-Smith et al., 2015).

For the evaluation of the behavioural engagement (Bråten et al., 2022) of the followers of these
brands, the reactions to each post published by the companies on Instagram were recorded. The
field work was carried out during the period of one calendar year, but the data collection was
carried out six months after this period in order to ensure that all posts achieved a maximum
degree of reaction. We then analysed a daily post among all the posts published by each brand
and carried out a random systematic sampling among the posts of the day. With this sampling, we
aimed to analyse a complete year, making sure at the same time that the time or order the post
was published during the day did not influence the observed values. In the end, and given that
some days the brands did not publish any posts, a total of 598 posts were analysed. Each was
categorized based on the 31 categories, and the number of reactions that the post generated was
counted both in terms of likes and comments. Regarding the comments, these were counted
numerically without carrying out a sentiment analysis of them.

In order to ensure rigorous and unbiased data coding, three external coders were trained who
were not part of the research team. The reliability of the coded data was verified, followed by an
inter-coder analysis to evaluate the agreement of the obtained results. Scott’s Pi and Cohen’s
Kappa coefficients were used to measure this agreement, establishing the relationship between
the coded data and the values that would be obtained by chance. The inter-coder analysis was
conducted on a sample of 50 elements, and it was found that in all cases the values exceeded
0.80, with most cases having a value of 1. This latter value is expected in descriptive categories
where subjectivity does not play a role.

For data processing and analysis, R version 3.5.1 was employed. Statistical decisions were
made with a significance level of 0.05. Three levels were established for these decisions: 1)

Page 6 of 14
Bonilla-Quijada et al., Cogent Social Sciences (2023), 9: 2235169
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

a highly strict level with a p-value <0.001 (represented as ***p); 2) an intermediate level with
a p-value <0.05 (indicated as **p); and 3) a more lenient but still relevant level with a p-value
<0.1 (designated *p). Frequency tables were generated, including both relative and absolute
frequencies for qualitative variables. Additionally, summary statistic tables were obtained,
providing measures such as sample size (N), median, and quartiles for quantitative variables.
Bivariate tests were conducted for each variable, employing the chi-squared test for qualitative
variables and the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test for quantitative variables. Bivariate tests
were also performed to examine the relationship between the response variables (comments
and likes) and each of the explanatory variables, using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test
or the Kruskal-Wallis test. For modelling the data, a multiple linear regression model was fitted
for each response variable. Furthermore, the variables were transformed using logarithms.
Therefore, the observed comments variable is defined as OCt = ln Ct, and the observed likes
variable is defined as OLt = ln Lt.

All the initial explanatory variables that had a p-value less than 0.1 in the bivariate analysis
were included in the analysis. The final model was obtained by eliminating all non-significant
variables.

5. Results
With the aim of achieving the greatest solidity in our conclusions, the data was initially processed
through a bivariate analysis on the impact generated by each of the variables in terms of
comments and likes of the three models proposed; the data was then processed again through
a multivariate analysis, thus achieving the maximum information from the coded data in order to
be able to answer the research questions with the greatest soundness.

5.1. Results of the bivariate analysis

With the reference data, Chanel received a higher number of interactions for the three models
than Dior for both response variables (comments and likes) (Table 1).

For the Çukul (2015) model, it is significant that for both brands the Advertising variable had
a negative impact on likes, with a high statistical significance in the case of Chanel and inter­
mediate in the case of Dior. Posts whose format and/or intention was of an advertising nature
generated fewer likes; however, there was no notable statistical significance in the generation of
comments. The presence of the Product variable had a positive impact on comments for both
brands, again with a greater significance in the case of Chanel. The presence of the product in the
post generates an engagement that could be said to be more far-reaching if we consider that the
comments require greater involvement and more time spent on them (John et al., 2017). No data
for the Social responsibility variable was obtained for Chanel; in the case of Dior, however, posts
with this variable were observed, having a positive impact on both response variables, though with
a greater statistical significance for the comments than for the likes. Regarding this absence, it
should be evaluated whether this represents a deliberate strategy on the part of Chanel.

Table 1. Dior, Chanel comparative results, Çukul model (Çukul, 2015)

Category Dior Chanel

Comments Likes Comments Likes

Product p=0.0733 p=0.1010 p= 0.0012 p=0.0143
Advertising p=0.6898 p=0.0059 p= 0.4591 p<0.001
Social responsibility p=0.0238 p=0.0795
Special days p=0.3294 p=0.0724 p= 0.4751 p= 0.9019
Workplace/Workers p=0.4629 p=0.4318 p= 0.4844 p= 0.2429
PR p=0.6913 p=0.4088 p= 0.1163 p= 0.1336

Page 7 of 14
Bonilla-Quijada et al., Cogent Social Sciences (2023), 9: 2235169
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

Table 2. Dior, Chanel comparative results, Goor (2012)

Variable Dior Chanel

Comments Likes Comments Likes

Emotions p=0.2342 p=0.4898 p= 0.0211 p<0.001
Persuasion p=0.5295 p=0.1965 p=0.2811 p= 0.0208
Relationship p=0.7567 p=0.6292 p= 0.0237 p= 0.043
Self-efficacy p=0.0688 p=0.0121 p= 0.0689 p= 0.0017
Sales response p=0.0154 p=0.0051 p= 0.4662 p= 0.0719
Symbolism p=0.3848 p=0.5900 p= 0.1200 p= 0.0625

The study of the coded data following the application of the Goor (2012) model yielded results
that, as a whole, were somewhat more relevant in number and statistical significance in this initial
bivariate analysis, as can be seen in Table 2. It is notable how in this model, which analyses the
impact of different post strategies, those posts that reflect the Emotions variable have a negative
impact for both brands, both in terms of comments and likes, although in the case of Dior, no
statistical significance was observed, whilst for Chanel, we obtained a high significance for likes
and an intermediate level of significance for comments. The presence of the Self-efficacy variable
also did not have a positive impact on the response variables; indeed, it generated a negative
impact of relevant statistical significance, especially for Chanel. Similarly, the presence of the Sales
Response variable for both brands had a negative impact on both comments and likes, in this case
with a higher level of statistical significance for Dior than for Chanel. In contrast to this set of
negative results, it is worth contrasting the positive impacts of the Relationship variable, especially
for Chanel and Chanel likes, with posts that contain the Persuasion variable (not extrapolated to
Dior). These two items –Relationship and Persuasion– highlight the potential of subjective elements
that try to link the brand with the user or potential client.

Table 3. Dior, Chanel comparative results, model 3

Variable Dior Chanel

Comments Likes Comments Likes

People p=0.1385 p=0.7021 p=0.7749 p=0.0087
Only product p=0.9498 p=0.5545 p=0.274 p= 0.1634
No product/ p=0.1156 p=0.1197 p= 0.0203 p= 0.0013
evocative
Text in image p=0.0019 p<0.001 p<0.001 p<0.001
People’s faces p=0.9417 p=0.3020 p=0.2135 p=0.0014
Studio p=0.5607 p=0.5231 p=0.6700 p=0.0090
Location p=0.3227 p=0.2952 p=0.6771 p=0.0095
Username p=0.1723 p=0.2195 p=0.8855 p=0.0143
mentioned
Series of images p=0.4086 p=0.8748 p=0.6704 p=0.3310
Video p<0.001 p<0.001 p<0.001 p<0.001
Series of posts p=0.0879 p=0.1298 p=0.0565 p=0.2222
Celebrities p=0.1310 p=0.2790 p=0.4527 p=0.1791
Clothes p=0.1808 p=0.0016 p=0.0424 p<0.001
Make-up p=0.7112 p=0.4578 p=0.2632 p=0.0112
Accessories p=0.35333 p=0.3989 p=0.0026 p=0.0106
Perfumes p=0.9101 p=0.3594 p=0.2539 p=0.1585

Page 8 of 14
Bonilla-Quijada et al., Cogent Social Sciences (2023), 9: 2235169
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

Using the coded data, model 3 addresses aspects related to the format and elements present in
the posts. The analysis highlights two variables –Text in image and Video– that have the same
negative impact of high statistical significance on both likes and comments (Table 3). In addition
to this result, some of the variables introduced into model 3 generate results with both positive
and negative statistical significance. Among the positive ones, the only thing common to Dior and
Chanel is the positive effect of the presence of the Clothes variable in generating more likes,
although this impact is not seen for the comments. For Dior, the only other variable with a positive
statistical significance in terms of generating comments is the use of Series of posts, a variable
that, as will be seen later, is reinforced by the result of its impact in the multivariate analysis. For
Chanel, the analysis yields better results, including the positive effect on both comments and likes
of the presence of Accessories. The other variable that has significant effects on comments, in this
case negative, is the presence of No product/evocative. Among the variables that have a positive
impact on Chanel likes are People and People’s faces (with a high level of significance that does not
occur for Dior), and the presence of Location and Username mentioned, while the variables Studio
and Make-up generate fewer likes.

5.2. Results of multivariate analysis

The multivariate approach modulates some of the already mentioned results of the bivariate
analysis. In the case of Dior, the positive impacts of model 1 variables such as Product and
Social responsibility are confirmed. The latter variable is even reinforced both for its positive
impacts on comments and likes and for its level of significance. The negative effects of the
presence of the Sales response variable and Video are also confirmed, as well as the positive
effects on comments of the variable Series of posts and on likes of the presence of the Clothes
variable. In the case of Chanel, the presence of Product is positive for comments, with Accessories
being the only variable that has a positive impact on both comments and likes. The Series of posts
variable has a negative impact on comments for Chanel (in contrast to Dior), while comments for
Chanel are negatively affected by some variables already noted in the bivariate analysis, such as
No product/evocative, Studio and Text in image, this latter variable also being negative for Chanel
comments. Similarly, the negative effect of Emotions on Chanel likes is confirmed, with a high level
of significance, while the role of Relationship in Chanel comments is weakened (Table 4).

The analysis of the data through the multivariate model for the likes response variable corro­
borates all the results from the bivariate analysis. In the case of Dior, the four variables with
statistical significance in the multivariate modelling have the same positive or negative impact as
in the bivariate analysis. For the variable Video, the results are confirmed with the same high level
of statistical significance and clearly show a negative impact of the presence of this variable on the
generation of likes. The positive impact of both the presence of the variables Clothes and Social

Table 4. Results of the multivariate analysis with the three models integrated: Comments
Brand Variable Estimate Std. Error t value Pr (>|t|)
Dior Product 0.4113 0.1286 3.20 0.0015
R2= 4.6%
Sales response −0.1823 0.0810 −2.25 0.0252
Social 1.1884 0.3265 3.64 0.0003
responsibility
Video −0.2934 0.0774 −3.79 0.0002
Series of posts 1.7654 0.7112 −3.79 0.0135
Chanel Product 0.4189 0.1496 2.80 0.0055
R2= 13.1%
Relationship −0.3266 0.1604 −2.04 0.0428
Text in image −0.3612 0.0806 −4.48 0.0000
Series of posts −0.4931 0.2518 −1.96 0.0513
Accessories 0.1410 0.0811 1.74 0.0834

Page 9 of 14
Bonilla-Quijada et al., Cogent Social Sciences (2023), 9: 2235169
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

Table 5. Results of the multivariate analysis with the three models integrated: Likes
Brand Variable Estimate Std. Error t value Pr (>|t|)
Dior Social 0.8668 0.2532 3.42 0.0007
R2= 30.5% responsibility
Sales response −0.1167 0.0661 −1.76 0.0785
Video −0.6943 0.0614 −11.30 0.0000
Clothes 0.1146 0.0654 1.75 0.0804
Chanel Emotions −0.1630 0.0564 −2.89 0.0042
R2= 46%
No product/ −0.3110 0.1619 −1.92 0.0559
Evocative
Text in image −0.2453 0.0764 −3.21 0.0015
Studio −0.1481 0.0521 −2.84 0.0049
Video −0.4700 0.0725 −6.48 0.0000
Accessories 0.1544 0.0530 2.91 0.0039

responsibility on likes is confirmed. The same occurs for Chanel, with the results previously
obtained in the bivariate analysis being confirmed. All the variables that emerge as significant in
the multivariate modelling have the same impact (i.e. positive or negative) as in the previous
bivariate analysis, in all cases with significant levels of statistical significance, with the Video
variable drawing special attention, as its presence has a strong negative effect on the generation
of likes (Table 5). “The fact that a video generates less engagement than a photo on Instagram
may be due to various factors: a photo requires less attention and time to look at, as Instagram
users tend to scroll quickly through their feed, dedicating limited time to each post. As such,
photos are quicker to consume and capture attention more immediately, while videos require
more time and engagement to be viewed in their entirety. Moreover, photos tend to capture
specific moments, while videos can be longer and more narrative. In an environment in which
attention is fleeting, it is possible that users prefer to interact with content that can be consumed
quickly and that allows them to scroll easily to the next post. Another factor driving higher
engagement with photo posts is the sound barrier, in the sense that videos often have audio
components, which may limit their consumption.”

Table 6 shows a summary of the modelling results for both brands, both for comments and likes.

6. Discussion
The general aim of this study was to examine the relationships between the content, the elements
present in the images, the communication strategies, the formats of the posts and the categories

Table 6. Summary of the modelling results for comments and likes of both brands
Brand Comments Likes

+ Comments -- Comments + Likes - Likes

Dior Product** Sales response*** Social People’s faces**
Video*** responsibility** Location*
Social
Series of posts** Clothes*
responsibility***
Chanel Product** Relationship** Accessories** Emotions**
Text in image*** No product/
Accessories*
Series of posts* Evocative*
Text in image**
Studio**
Video***

Page 10 of 14
Bonilla-Quijada et al., Cogent Social Sciences (2023), 9: 2235169
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

of the products presented in Instagram posts and their impact on the generation of engagement.
A total of 598 posts were analysed, concentrating on two luxury fashion brands and thus avoiding
potential industry-specific biases. This study contributes to a broader understanding of engage­
ment on Instagram in the context of the luxury sector by analysing an unusually large number of
variables. Our results contribute both to previous literature and to clarifying important aspects in
this emerging field of research. The findings are relevant since, according to the reviewed litera­
ture, most brands use Instagram for marketing purposes (Bug & Heene, 2020). However, only 33%
of marketers make Instagram a high priority. This low use is possibly due to a lack of sufficient
knowledge on how to translate its features into higher brand value (Digital Marketing Institute,
2018).

Of all the social networks, Instagram is the most effective in generating user participation (Eslami
et al., 2022). For fashion companies, marketing through social media is taking a leading role, forcing
them to take care of their messages on the networks in order to achieve engagement with their users.

The results reveal that posts attract different levels of engagement and in different ways
(positive/negative) depending on the variables present in the posts. Our findings strongly show
that, for both brands, the presence of the product in the posts can generate a higher volume of
comments. Similarly, the presence of Social responsibility has a strong positive effect on the
generation of both comments and likes, but in this case only for Dior. This variable is not present
in Chanel posts, so we need to evaluate whether this responds to a specific strategy by Chanel;
however, the results highlight this variable in the generation of engagement in terms of both likes
and comments. Along the lines suggested by previous studies regarding consumer rejection of
advertisements (Wei, 2022), our study shows that when the posts include the Sales response
strategy, thereby seeking immediate sale, the impact on both comments and likes is negative.
This strategy should therefore be avoided if user engagement is the intended outcome.

Contrary to expectations, the low impact on the engagement achieved through the variables
People and People’s faces is striking, since intuition would lead us to think that their presence
humanizes the posts and generates user identification. Although the positive impact generated is
of low statistical significance, in this regard, it should be noted that this result coincides with
Lindell (2019), for whom photos that show faces attract more likes, and Yan et al. (2022), who
conclude that photos with a face are more likely to receive likes.

Finally, our results also strongly show, due to its statistical significance and to the fact that it
occurs for both brands, that posts in video format generate fewer likes.
7. Implications

7.1. Theoretical
This study contributes to the development of literature on marketing communication, specifically
on social networks, by proposing a framework for studying the engagement generated by the
posts of fashion brands on Instagram. This research framework integrates into a single investiga­
tion the study of the content of posts, the communication strategies, the elements present in the
images and different formal elements of the posts, and the relationship of all these aspects with
the engagement generated.

Our research framework integrates the category systems of Çukul (2015)and Goor (2012), to
which we added our own category system that was specifically developed for the study of
Instagram in the luxury fashion sector. This study is thus based on the analysis of posts on social
networks based on soft and hard criteria.

This combination can be useful to replicate this framework in future research for these or other
brands, and can even, with minor adaptations, be applied to other sectors or industries.

Page 11 of 14
Bonilla-Quijada et al., Cogent Social Sciences (2023), 9: 2235169
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

7.2. Managerial
There are various implications that may be of interest to social media marketing professionals in the
luxury fashion sector. The findings obtained in this study should be taken into account in the manage­
ment of Instagram posts for luxury brands in order to improve the engagement they generate.

The most significant finding is the low interaction that posts in video format generate. It would
be speculative to pronounce on the reasons behind this, but its analysis would be an important
subject of study for further research. It is equally notable that the presence of the product in posts
increases engagement, particularly in terms of comments. Since comments are a type of engage­
ment that requires more effort on behalf of the user, the fact that the presence of the product in
the image increases the number of comments has significant implications. These results are
therefore an invitation to the managers of luxury brand Instagram accounts to publish with
greater focus on the product. And, as a complementary consideration, the fact that the displayed
product is an accessory also generates greater engagement in terms of comments and likes, at
least in the case of Chanel. This is also something to take into account for the communication of
a sector with a large aspirational component and in which this product category is more affordable
than, for example, dresses.

“Therefore, marketing managers can leverage CSR-related content, as this not only generates
greater engagement but also helps construct a positive brand image. In addition, although videos
are a popular content form on Instagram, they generate limited engagement among followers,
something that marketing managers should take into account.

The results of this study can help businesses to have a clearer idea of the potential applications
of Instagram, which could improve their understanding of their brand’s impact on this social
network.”

Regarding the communication strategy, it is evident that when it is based on communicating

social responsibility actions, engagement increases significantly. We have been able to verify this
in the case of Dior, although we did not observe any post that used this strategy in the case of
Chanel. This result is an invitation to use this type of communication strategy if greater engage­
ment with users is the intended outcome.

8. Limitations and directions for future research

Despite the time span of this study and the sampling base, the results obtained are still partial
within the luxury fashion sector. It is difficult to extrapolate these results to other brand categories
or other sectors.

Regardless, we have shown that the method applied is valid for obtaining wide-ranging results in
variables of differing natures. The door is therefore open to extend this study to other time periods
or other brands or sectors to broaden or compare the conclusions.

Based on the findings obtained here, in future the elements that bring about these behaviours
could be investigated with a more user-focused type of research.

Author details Citation information

María Bonilla-Quijada1 Cite this article as: Customer engagement on Instagram
E-mail: [email protected] for luxury fashion brands: An empirical comparative
ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6580-2421 analysis, María Bonilla-Quijada, Josep Lluís Del Olmo,
Josep Lluís Del Olmo1 David Andreu & Joan Ripoll, Cogent Social Sciences (2023),
David Andreu1 9: 2235169.
Joan Ripoll1
1
Business and Economics department, Universitat Abat References
Oliba CEU, Barcelona, Spain. Akram, M. S., Malhotra, N., Goraya, M. A. S., Shareef, M. A.,
Malik, A., & Lal, B. (2022). User engagement on global
Disclosure statement social networks: Examining the roles of perceived
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). brand globalness, identification and global identity.

Page 12 of 14
Bonilla-Quijada et al., Cogent Social Sciences (2023), 9: 2235169
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 181, Marcas de lujo frente a marcas low-cost. Cuadernos
121771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022. Info, 42(42), 55–70. https://doi.org/10.7764/cdi.42.
121771 1349
Arrigo, E. (2018). Social media marketing in luxury brands. Goor, M. (2012), Instagram: A content analysis into mar­
Management Research Review, 41(6), 657–679. keting on Instagram. [Unpublished Master’s thesis].
https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-04-2017-0134 University of Amsterdam, Department of
Bachmann, F., Walsh, G., & Hammes, E. (2018). Consumer Communications,
perceptions of luxury brands: An owner-based Guercini, S., Mir, P., & Prentice, C. (2018). New marketing
perspective. European Management Journal, 37(3), in fashion e-commerce. Journal of Global Fashion
287–298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2018.06.010 Marketing, 9(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/
Beverungen, D., Müller, O., Matzner, M., Mendling, J., & 20932685.2018.1407018
Vom Brocke, J. (2019). Conceptualizing smart service Ha, Y. I., Kwon, S., Cha, M., & Joo, J. (2017), Fashion
systems. Electronic Markets, 29(1), 7–18. https://doi. conversation data on Instagram. Proceedings of the
org/10.1007/s12525-017-0270-5 Eleventh International AAAI Conference on Web and
Bråten, I., Latini, N., & Haverkamp, Y. E. (2022). Predictors Social Media, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
and outcomes of behavioral engagement in the Helme-Guizon, A., & Magnoni, F. (2019). Consumer brand
context of text comprehension: When quantity engagement and its social side on brand-hosted
means quality. Reading and Writing, 35(3), 687–711. social media: How do they contribute to brand loy­
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-021-10205-x alty?. Journal of Marketing Management, 35(7–8),
Bug, P., & Heene, M. T. (2020). “Instagram fashion videos”, 716–741.
fashion and film. Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/ Hsiao, S. H., Wang, Y. Y., Wang, T., & Kao, T. W. (2019).
10.1007/978-981-13-9542-0_6 How social media shapes the fashion industry: The
Cavusgil, S. T. (2021). Advancing knowledge on emerging spillover effects between private labels and national
markets: Past and future research in perspective. brands. Industrial Marketing Management, 86, 40–51.
International Business Review, 30(2), 101796. https:// https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2019.02.022
doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2021.101796 Hu, Y., Manikonda, L., & Kambhampati, S. (2014). What we
Chen, K. T., & Luo, J. (2017). When fashion meets big data: Instagram: A first analysis of Instagram photo con­
Discriminative mining of best selling clothing fea­ tent and user types. ICWSM, 8(1), 595–598. https://
tures. Proceedings of the 26th international confer­ doi.org/10.1609/icwsm.v8i1.14578
ence on world wide web companion (pp. 15–22). Hussain, S., Guangju, W., Jafar, R. M. S., Ilyas, Z.,
Republic and Canton of GenevaSwitzerland Mustafa, G., & Jianzhou, Y. (2018). Consumers’ online
Cheung, M. L., Pires, G. D., & Rosenberger, P. J., III. (2021). information adoption behavior: Motives and antece­
Exploring consumer-brand engagement: A holistic dents of electronic word of mouth communications.
framework. European Business Review, 33(1). https:// Computers in Human Behavior, 80, 22–32. https://doi.
doi.org/10.1108/EBR-10-2019-0256 org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.09.019
Cho, E., Fiore, A. M., & Yu, U. J. (2018). Impact of fashion John, L., Emrich, O., Gupta, S., & Norton, M. (2017 1). Does
innovativeness on consumer-based brand equity. “Liking” Lead to Loving? The Impact of Joining
Journal of Consumer Marketing, 35(3), 340–350. a Brand’s Social Network on Marketing Outcomes.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-01-2017-2066 Journal of Marketing Research, 54(1), 144–155.
Cuevas-Molano, E., Matosas-López, L., & Bernal-Bravo, C. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.14.0237
(2021). Factors increasing consumer engagement of Kim, A. J., & Ko, E. (2012). Do social media marketing
branded content in Instagram. IEEE Access, 9, activities enhance customer equity? An empirical
143531–143548. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS. study of luxury fashion brand. Journal of Business
2021.3121186 Research, 65(10), 1480–1486. https://doi.org/10.
Çukul, D. (2015). “Fashion marketing in social media: Using 1016/j.jbusres.2011.10.014
Instagram for fashion branding” (No. 2304324). Kouokam, E. K., & Dirik, A. E. (2019). PRNU-based source
International Institute of Social and Economic device attribution for YouTube videos. Digital
Sciences. Investigation, 29, 91–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
Dahlhoff, D. (2016). The challenge for luxury retailers: diin.2019.03.005
Figuring out digital opportunities. Online luxury Krippendorff, K. (2004). Reliability in content analysis.
retailing: Leveraging digital opportunities: Research, Human communication research, 30(3), 411–433.
industry practice, and open questions. Wharton https://doi.org/10.1093/hcr/30.3.411
School. Kursuncu, U., Gaur, M., Lokala, U., Thirunarayan, K.,
Digital Marketing Institute. (2018), Content marketing Sheth, A., & Arpinar, I. B. (2019). Predictive analysis
trends to watch out for in 2018. Retrieved from on Twitter: Techniques and applications. In Emerging
https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/content- Research Challenges and Opportunities,
marketing-trends-to-watch-for-in-2018 Computational Social Network Analysis and Mining
Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R., & Jackson, R. (2015). (pp. 67–104). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-
Management & business research (5th ed.). SAGE. 3-319-94105-9_4
Eslami, S. P., Ghasemaghaei, M., & Hassanein, K. (2022). Kusumasondjaja, S. (2019). Exploring the role of visual
Understanding consumer engagement in social aesthetics and presentation modality in luxury fash­
media: The role of product lifecycle. Decision Support ion brand communication on Instagram. Journal of
Systems, 162, 113707. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss. Fashion Marketing and Management: An International
2021.113707 Journal, 24(1), 15–31. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-
Felix, R., Rauschnabel, P. A., & Hinsch, C. (2017). Elements 02-2019-0019
of strategic social media marketing: A holistic Lee, J., & Hong, I. B. (2016). Predicting positive user
framework. Journal of Business Research, 70, responses to social media advertising: The roles of
118–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.05. emotional appeal, informativeness, and creativity.
001 International Journal of Information Management, 36
García Medina, I., Miquel-Segarra, S., & Navarro-Beltrá, M. (3), 360–373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.
(2018). El uso de Twitter en las marcas de moda. 2016.01.001

Page 13 of 14
Bonilla-Quijada et al., Cogent Social Sciences (2023), 9: 2235169
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2235169

Lee, D., Hosanagar, K., & Nair, H. S. (2018). Advertising con­ Son, J., Nam, C., & Diddi, S. (2022). Emotion or
tent and consumer engagement on social media: Information: What Makes Consumers Communicate
Evidence from Facebook. Management Science, 64(11), about Sustainable Apparel Products on Social Media?.
5105–5131. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2902 Sustainability, 14(5), 2849. https://doi.org/10.3390/
Lim, J. S., Pham, P., & Heinrichs, J. H. (2020). Impact of su14052849
social media activity outcomes on brand equity. Sörum, N., & Gianneschi, M. (2022). The role of
Journal of Product & Brand Management, 29(7), 927– access-based apparel in processes of consumer
937. identity construction. Journal of Fashion Marketing
Lindell, A. K. (2019). Left cheek poses garner more likes: and Management: An International Journal, 27(1),
the effect of pose orientation on Instagram 61–79. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-03-2021-0062
engagement. Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain Srivastava, S., Singh, S., & Dhir, S. (2020). Culture and
and Cognition, 24(5), 600–613. https://doi.org/10. International business research: A review and
1080/1357650X.2018.1556278 research agenda. International Business Review, 29
Lorenzo-Romero, C., Andrés-Martínez, M. E., Cordente- (4), 101709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.
Rodríguez, M., & Gómez-Borja, M. Á. (2021). Active 101709
Participation of E-Consumer: A Qualitative Analysis Statista. (2022), Most popular social networks worldwide
From Fashion Retailer Perspective. SAGE Open, 11(1), as of January 2022, ranked by number of monthly
2158244020979169. https://doi.org/10.1177/ active users. Retrieved from https://www.statista.
2158244020979169 com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-
Michael, J. (2022). The philosophy and psychology of ranked-by-number-of-users/
commitment. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10. Swinyard, W. R., & Smith, S. M. (2003). Why people (don’t)
4324/9781315111308 shop online: A lifestyle study of the internet consu­
Na, Y., & Kim, J. (2019). Sensibility and response keywords mer. Psychology & Marketing, 20(7), 567–597. https://
of users according to posting types of fashion doi.org/10.1002/mar.10087
Instagram: Focused on Koreans’ fashion brands. Vermesan, O., Friess, P., Guillemin, P., Sundmaeker, H.,
International Journal of Clothing Science and Eisenhauer, M., Moessner, K., Le Gall, F., & Cousin, P.
Technology, 32(1), 23–36. https://doi.org/10.1108/ (2022). Internet of things strategic research and
IJCST-03-2018-0032 innovation agenda. In Internet of things (pp. 7–151).
Nash, J. (2019). Exploring how social media platforms River Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1201/
influence fashion consumer decisions in the UK retail 9781003338659-2
sector. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Wagner, T., Baccarella, C., & Voigt, K. (2017). Framing
Management: An International Journal, 23(1), social media communication: Investigating the
82–103. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-01-2018-0012 effects of brand post appeals on user interaction.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2007). Research European Management Journal, 35(5), 606–616.
methods for business students’ (4th ed.). Prentice- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2017.05.002
Hall. Wei, W. (2022, February), Research on Interactive Data
Schmitt, R., Rossi, A., & Bensoussan, A. (2022). Cautious of Intelligent Visual Communication of Print
steps towards digital. In Omni-personal luxury (pp. Advertising Under Cluster Cloud Platform.
35–50). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/ Proceedings of the 2022 Second International
978-3-030-85769-1_3 Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Smart
Schreiner, M., Fischer, T., & Riedl, R. (2019). Impact of content Energy (ICAIS), Coimbatore, India (pp. 1169–1172).
characteristics and emotion on behavioral engagement IEEE.
in social media: literature review and research agenda. Wolny, J., & Mueller, C. (2013). Analysis of fashion con­
Electronic Commerce Research, 21(2), 329–345. https:// sumers’ motives to engage in electronic word of
doi.org/10.1007/s10660-019-09353-8 mouth communication through social media plat­
Schultz, C. D. (2016). Insights from consumer interactions forms. Journal of Marketing Management, 29(5–6),
on a social networking site: Findings from six apparel 562–583. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2013.
retail brands. Electronic Markets, 26, 203–217. 778324
Shahid, S., & Paul, J. (2021). Intrinsic motivation of luxury Yadav, M. S., & Pavlou, P. A. (2014). Marketing in
consumers in an emerging market. Journal of computer-mediated environments: Research synth­
Retailing and Consumer Services, 61, 102531. https:// esis and new directions. Journal of Marketing, 78(1),
doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102531 20–40. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.12.0020
Singh, J., Shukla, P., & Schlegelmilch, B. B. (2022). Desire, Yan, K., Salmon, J., & Aubrey, J. S. (2022). A sexy post
need, and obligation: Examining commitment to a day brings the “likes” your way: A content analytic
luxury brands in emerging markets. International investigation of sexualization in fraternity Instagram
Business Review, 31(3), 101947. https://doi.org/10. posts. Sexuality & Culture, 26(2), 685–706. https://doi.
1016/j.ibusrev.2021.101947 org/10.1007/s12119-021-09915-9

Page 14 of 14