Brand competition on social media: investigating direct and indirect effects of FGC on sales

We empirically estimate the direct and indirect effects of firm-generated content (FGC) on sales accounting for the effects of user-generated content (UGC), marketing mix, competitor strategies, and situational variables. This is the first study that employs FGC and UGC from multiple social media platforms in a competitive marketplace. We calibrate a VAR model with exogenous variables (VARX). The full dynamic VARX model accounts for interrelations, feedback effects, direct and indirect effects between three sets of variables: (1) traditional marketing mix, (2) multiple dimensions of UGC and (3) brand sales. We use a unique dataset covering 13 brands in 3 FMCG categories in the Italian market spanning over 3 years.