What Drives Engagement on TikTok? An Empirical Study of Emotional and Informational Appeals in Branded Content in the Beauty Industry

Social media platforms have become an important marketing channel in the digital age.

In a highly competitive environment, brands aim to increase consumer attention and

engagement. Short-video platforms like TikTok have transformed the social media

landscape through algorithm-driven content and new opportunities for virality. The

beauty industry in particular uses social media to market its products and services, as it

relies on visual presentation, influencer recommendations, and consumer interaction. Yet,

engagement remains a challenge, as the predictors of user behavior remain unclear.

Despite the growing importance of short-video marketing, empirical research on content

strategies and their effect on engagement is limited.

This study examines how message appeal type influences engagement in branded short-

video content in the German beauty industry on TikTok. Grounded in previous research,

it investigates the effect of informational and emotional message appeals on user

engagement and analyzes whether additional content characteristics influence this

relationship.

A quantitative content analysis of branded beauty videos on TikTok was performed.

Criterion-based purposeful sampling was applied by searching relevant keywords on

TikTok. User engagement was operationalized through interaction metrics including

likes, comments, shares, saves, and impressions. Statistical analysis tested the

relationship between content characteristics and user engagement.

The study provides empirical evidence on content strategies in social media marketing

and applies content analysis to established theories such as the Elaboration Likelihood

Model. It provides practical implications for Managers of brands working with social media marketing.

Limitations include algorithmic bias in TikTok search results,

restricted sample video length, and an unbalanced creator sample. Findings may not be

generalized to other industries or cultures. Future research should examine larger datasets,

different industries, and other social media platforms to test the effect of content

characteristics on user engagement.