Dapko, Jennifer L.Boyer, StefanieHarris, Eric G.2022-07-222022-07-222021Dapko, J. L., Boyer, S., & Harris, E. (2021). The importance of timely social media responsiveness. Journal of Digital and Social Media Marketing, 8(4), 358-364.http://hdl.handle.net/11416/676Social media marketing has become a very popular way for brands to attract and interact with consumers. To realise the benefits of social media marketing, companies should understand and apply best practices. Using an experimental (A/B) design, this research compares what happens when brands respond to consumer posts and enquiries within one day and when they do not. This is a very practical scenario. When being asked to do more with less, marketing managers and small business owners oftentimes do not have the bandwidth to stay on top of social media every single day. This study examines the consequences for brands that are unable to respond promptly to enquiries made via social media. This research measures and highlights the fact that Facebook page visitors pay attention to a brand’s responsiveness, and that delay has negative consequences. In particular, the results from this experiment show that responding to posts and enquiries within one day results in significantly higher outcomes for consumer engagement behaviour intentions compared with not responding to posts and enquiries within one day.en-USSocial mediaCommunication in marketingConsumer behaviorArticle