Consumers interact with brands on social media for a variety of reasons—offering advice, sharing compliments, venting frustrations, or filing complaints. This study investigates how firms can use their responses to shape and enhance user sentiment in these conversations. Based on social media activity of four large US banks across 10 years, the findings reveal the power of topic matching and linguistic style matching as tools for improving sentiment, particularly when addressing negative user posts.

When faced with negative sentiment, firms should focus on staying on topic, displaying empathy, and moving the conversation to private channels through direct messaging. These techniques are crucial for moving negative sentiment in a positive direction.

However, firms often overlook the opportunity to build on neutral or positive sentiment, which makes up the majority of social media posts in our data. For these scenarios, firms should use authentic and personal responses to deepen user engagement. Authenticity, characterized by the use of genuine, transparent, and personal language, is especially effective in amplifying positive sentiment. For example, signing posts with a first name (rather than initials or nothing) adds a personal touch that lifts user sentiment further.

This study offers a roadmap for firms to steer online conversations in a favorable direction, whether managing complaints or reinforcing positive engagement. By aligning their responses with user sentiment and incorporating empathy, authenticity, and personalization, firms can build stronger, more positive relationships with their audience.