Exploring the factors influencing consumer engagement behavior regarding short-form video advertising: A big data perspective

Short-form video has attracted users’ attention and been widely adopted for entertainment. Recently, short-form video has also been used for advertising. However, how short-form video for advertisement influences consumer engagement behavior remains unclear. This study aims to explore key features of short-form video advertisements that influence consumer engagement behavior. Through analyzing data obtained from social media platform TikTok, we discovered that four key features of short-form video—performance expectancy, entertainment, tie strength, and sales approach—are significantly related to consumer engagement behavior. In addition, the results showed that product type moderated the relationship of these effects on consumer engagement behavior. This study is one of the first to investigate the influence of short-form video advertisement features on consumer engagement behavior; thus, it contributes to the social media advertisement literature. It extends consumer engagement behavior research by applying a combination of uses and gratifications theory and signal theory. It also highlights the significance of product type in advertising literature. The use of big data and text analysis contributes from a methodological perspective to social media research. This study also provides practical and managerial implications for sellers and marketers on how to attract consumers to engage in videos and how to make data-driven decisions.