Emotion, Ease, Identity: The Formula for Social Sharing

We’ve all heard the phrase: “stop the scroll.” But what really makes someone pause and even better, hit the share button?

Picture yourself scrolling through your feed.

• One post says: “Our product is scientifically proven to improve performance by 25%.” 
• Another says: “Don’t miss out, sign up now and save!” 
• And then there’s one that says: “Thanks for helping us reach 100k followers, you’re the best!” 

Which one would you be most likely to share?

For most people, it’s the third. And this is exactly what the study “The Impact of Influence Tactics on Brand Message Sharing” by Guowei Huang, Heiner Evanschitzky, and Hai-Anh Tran proves: when content feels warm, grateful, and human, it’s far more likely to spread.

The Three Influence Tactics

The researchers wanted to understand how framing of brand messages influences whether people share them. Beyond that, they looked at two often-overlooked factors:

• How consistent (or varied) a brand’s messaging is across multiple posts.
• Whether the gender “feel” of a brand’s name, masculine or feminine, changes the effectiveness of certain message styles.

In short, they weren’t just asking “What kind of posts get shared?”, they wanted to know “How can brands systematically design their messaging so it spreads further?”

To answer this, the study examined three common persuasion styles that brands use:

• Internalization: sharing objective facts, information, or recommendations.
• Compliance: using direct prompts, promises, or calls to action.
• Ingratiation: expressing emotions, gratitude, or praise to build connection.

While all three play a role, the real test was to see which of these tactics actually gets people to hit the share button.

How They Tested It

The scale of the study was massive. The team analyzed 893,054 tweets from 122 S&P 500 brands spanning from 2007 to 2021. To sort through this mountain of data, they built a custom machine learning model (BERT) that could recognize and classify the different influence tactics in each post.

From there, they used advanced statistical modeling (negative binomial regression, for the data nerds) to measure the impact of each tactic, while accounting for things like post length, hashtags, images/videos, emotional tone, and even certain words.

What Really Drives People to Share?

1. Emotion outperforms logic: The study found that posts using ingratiation, messages of gratitude, warmth, or praise, were shared far more often than those filled with facts (internalization) or hard calls to action (compliance). Why? Because emotion is easy for the brain to process and rewarding to pass along. When someone shares an emotional post, they’re not just promoting the brand, they’re also sending a message about themselves: “I’m supportive, positive, and connected.”

2. Consistency and variety both work. Avoid the middle: The way posts are sequenced also matters. Researchers uncovered a U-shaped pattern:

• High consistency works. Repeating the same style of messaging reinforces memory and builds familiarity. Example: A fitness brand posts three weeks of content all using ingratiation (warmth and gratitude).

  • “Thanks to our amazing community for showing up every day. You inspire us.”

  • “We’re proud of every single one of you crushing your workouts this week!”

  • “Our 10k followers milestone is YOUR achievement. Thank you for being part of our family.”

• High variation works too. Boldly switching tactics keeps content fresh and engaging. This works as long as the rotation feels intentional and structured (e.g., following a recognizable weekly cycle of tactics). Example: A coffee company rotates through different tactics across three posts.

  • Internalization: “Did you know cold brew has 67% less acidity than hot coffee? That’s why it’s easier on your stomach.”

  • Compliance: “Show us your morning coffee routine and tag us, we’ll feature our favorites!”

  • Ingratiation: “You’re the reason we get to do what we love every day. Cheers to our coffee family.”

• The middle ground doesn’t work. When brands mix tactics without a clear pattern (neither strong repetition nor high, structured rotation), the content feels scattered. The audience doesn’t know what to expect, and message effectiveness drops. Example: A skincare brand mixes styles inconsistently without a clear direction.

  • Post 1: “Our serum is clinically proven to reduce fine lines by 25%.” (internalization)

  • Post 2: “Limited time only, buy now before it’s gone!” (compliance)

  • Post 3: “We’re so grateful for your support, thank you!” (ingratiation)

The lesson: Pick a lane. Either reinforce with repetition or surprise with variety, but don’t get stuck halfway.

• Brand personality shapes results: The effectiveness of a tactic also depends on how the brand feels to consumers. Even the gender cues in a brand’s name can influence which approach works best:

  • Feminine names (soft, warm, approachable) performed best with ingratiation.

  • Masculine names (strong, bold, confident) performed best with compliance.

  • Internalization (sharing expertise and facts) worked well across both.

The lesson: This means people also interpret messages through the personality they already associate with the brand.

What It Means for Marketers

So how can you apply this to your own social media strategy?

1. Lean into emotion
   If you want your posts to spread, don’t just throw out stats or shout for action. Share gratitude. Celebrate milestones. Praise your community. People are more likely to amplify messages that feel human and uplifting.
2. Plan your sequences like stories
   Don’t think of posts as standalones. Think in arcs:

• Either repeat a tactic to reinforce it in people’s memory,
• Or introduce variation that feels fresh and surprising.
• Both approaches grab attention, but half-hearted mixing falls flat.

1. Match your tactic to your brand’s identity

• Is your brand name or personality more warm and friendly? Integration is your best bet. 
• Does your brand feel strong and authoritative? Compliance-style calls to action will resonate more.
• If you’re not sure, default to internalization. Facts and expertise are always safe ground.

People share posts that make them feel something, that fit into a larger, memorable sequence, and that align with the personality they already associate with your brand. As this study shows, it’s less about shouting louder and more about connecting smarter.