In the digital age, social media platforms play a crucial role in shaping consumer-brand interactions. Among these platforms, Facebook remains a dominant space for businesses, including travel agencies, to engage with their audience. One of the key indicators of consumer engagement on Facebook is the extent to which users comment on brand posts. Unlike simpler “likes,” comments reflect a deeper level of involvement, as they require users to actively express their thoughts, ask questions, or share experiences.

For travel agencies, consumer engagement on Facebook is particularly significant, given the experiential nature of tourism services. Travelers often seek inspiration, recommendations, and reassurance before making booking decisions, and brand interactions on social media can influence their perceptions and choices. Comments on Facebook posts serve as a public forum where potential customers interact not only with brands but also with other consumers, shaping trust and brand perception in the process.

This article examines the frequency and patterns of comments that appear on Facebook posts made by travel agency brands. By analyzing these interactions, we can assess whether these interactions imply meaningful consumer engagement. The findings will contribute to a broader understanding of social media engagement in the travel industry.

The primary objective of this article is to explore how Facebook posts serve as a tool for building engagement with the travel agency community, considering the top ten travel agency companies in Poland. The specific objectives are:

• to determine the frequency of comments on Facebook posts made by travel agency brands to assess the level of consumer engagement,
• to analyze the frequency of comments by post type.
• to categorize the content of the comments as positive, neutral or negative.
• to evaluate the relationship between comments and other engagement metrics (such as likes and shares).

2. Literature review

Brand building refers to the process of creating and enhancing a brand’s identity, value and reputation over time (Ghodeswar, 2008). It involves consistently delivering a strong brand message, building trust and creating positive brand associations. Social media is characterized by dynamic content, consumer-generated content (UGC) and online communities (Haile, 2023). The dominant social media outlets are social networks such as Facebook, where brands and consumers interact with each other. On social media sites, many companies make use of so-called brand pages, where consumers co-create the content of these pages (Poyry et al., 2013). These platforms allow brands to interact directly with their audiences, share content and participate in conversations. They change the traditional model of marketing communications, in which the role of consumers is not just to passively receive brand information, but also to co-create brand content (Okazaki and Tylor, 2013).

One of the most important goals of companies’ social media presence is to gain more consumer attention and engagement (Hanna et al., 2011). An important part of this process is publishing interesting content in the form of posts on the brand’s Facebook page. Brand posts can be diversified in terms of the role they play in brand promotion. They can be classified into different groups, such as the following (Luarn et al., 2015):

• informational posts – which contain information about the product, brand, company,
• reward posts – which present limited and special offers, samples, coupons,
• social posts – which function to encourage consumers to discuss and actively participate in the conversation,
• entertainment posts – which are not directly related to the brand and company, but offer fun and humor.

According to the concept of content marketing, the content of brand posts should convey to audiences what they are curious about and want, while maintaining the aesthetic quality of the message (Bakalarska-Stankiewicz, 2020). Post content is an important part of brand storytelling, as well as engaging consumers so that they interact with the brand and other consumers. A brand story is a cohesive narrative that incorporates a brand’s purpose, values and unique identity. It emotionally and intellectually connects the brand to its consumers, helping them understand what the brand is and why it exists (Da Costa, 2019). Social media makes the brand story more and more influenced by consumers themselves because, what they say is absorbed into the brand narrative (Lund et al., 2018). The brand story is also dynamic and takes place in real time. This helps brands participate in conversations about topics that are gaining popularity and adjust their narrative to be in line with topics that are important to consumers at the time.

Social media helps companies achieve consumer engagement. It is essential for brand building, as it enables the creation of relationships with the audience. Consumer engagement is defined as a mental state that is created through a customer’s interactive and co-creative experience with an object (such as a brand) (Hollebeek et al., 2014). Although positive brand evaluation may precede consumer engagement with brand pages and posts, consumer engagement with brand content has a positive impact on brand evaluation and consumer purchase intentions (Beukeboom et al., 2015). Engaged consumers show greater brand loyalty and satisfaction (Jayasingh, 2019). They are also more willing to contribute to product development of products and services (Kumar et al., 2010). Consumer engagement refers to the level of interaction, participation and emotional connection a consumer has with a brand. The behavioral dimension of brand engagement on social media includes activities such as viewing content, liking, commenting, sharing or creating brand-related content (Dessart et al., 2015).

High levels of engagement often lead to the creation of brand communities – groups of consumers who actively engage with the brand and each other, creating a collective identity around the brand. Engaged consumers contribute to discussions, share experiences and participate in brand activities. Companies’ social media activities help brands create engaged communities centered around the brand (Stopczynska, 2015). The motivations that make consumers want to engage in brand communities are varied and include, for example, a sense of belonging, emotional attachment to the brand, the search for knowledge, and the opportunity for self-expression and the need for recognition (Skorek, 2017). Sites such as Facebook allow companies to build online communities. Through communities, companies have the opportunity to engage consumers, listen to their opinions and respond to their inquiries and problems in an authentic way which helps to earn consumers’ trust and loyalty to the brand (Caslao et al., 2007). By involving customers in the brand community, companies can maintain regular interaction with them, which makes consumers pay more attention to the brand. When consumers feel part of a community they are more likely to trust the brand and remain loyal to it. Brands that actively engage in dialogue with their audience through comments, likes and taking part in the conversation with them build a stronger relationship with their audience. By doing so, they show that the brand cares about its consumers by increasing their trust.

There are three main levels that correspond to the path of gradual engagement with brand-related content on social media: consuming, contributing and creating (Muntinga et al., 2011). The consuming level represents minimal engagement. It involves reading and viewing content thematically related to the brand. Contribution means active participation in brand interactions in the form of likes, reactions, comments and sharing of brand-related content with other consumers. The co-creation level, on the other hand, means actively publishing brand-related content such as brand-related video, photos, videos, audio and writing articles. Dolan et al. (2016) propose a typology based on the intensity of engagement (active and passive engagement) and on consumers’ attitudes toward the brand (positive and negative engagement). Passive engagement involves viewing content without actively participating in the online community. Active engagement is characterized by active participation in online community activities by creating content and participating in dialogue with community members. Positive engagement occurs when consumers interact with a brand in a way that demonstrates satisfaction and loyalty. This type of engagement means that consumers have a positive opinion of the brand and are motivated to participate in brand-related activities or discussions. Negative engagement, on the other hand, occurs when consumers interact with the brand in a way that expresses dissatisfaction, frustration or negative feelings. Negative engagement often signals problems in consumers’ experience with a brand, but still reflects a level of engagement because consumers want to actively share their opinions or complaints.

From a branding perspective, consumer comments play a key role in shaping community perceptions of a company. The frequency, tone and content of comments provide valuable feedback for brands, allowing them to gauge how well messages resonate with their audiences. Comment analysis can give companies deeper insight into the overall mood of a brand’s online community. Sentiment analysis is the process of analyzing comments to determine if the emotional tone of the message is positive, neutral or negative. Positive comments indicate a satisfied and engaged audience, while negative comments may signal areas for improvement. Tracking these sentiments over time allows companies to understand how their brand is perceived and how they can improve their products, services or communication strategies.

Positive comments express satisfaction, appreciation or praise for a brand, its products, services or customer service. They contribute to a positive perception of the brand and often serve as informal recommendations or testimonials. Positive comments act as social proof, enhancing a brand’s reputation and encouraging new customers to trust the brand. Neutral comments, in turn, are usually factual, unbiased or informative. They do not express strong approval or disapproval and usually include questions, suggestions or general comments about the brand or its products. Neutral comments allow brands to interact directly with consumers, answering questions or acknowledging suggestions to build relationships and trust. Negative comments, by contrast, express dissatisfaction, complaints or criticism of a brand, its products, services or activities. They can range from mild concern to harsh criticism and can affect a brand’s reputation if not properly managed. Companies’ indifference to negative comments can damage a brand’s reputation and discourage potential customers.

3. Research methodology

This study analyzed the Facebook pages of selected travel agencies, to explore how posts serve as a tool for building engagement with the travel agency community. The primary research method employed was quantitative content analysis, which is a systematic and objective technique for analyzing the characteristics of communication content (Neuendorf, 2002). This method allows for the numerical measurement of various aspects of Facebook posts and user interactions, ensuring replicability and minimizing researcher bias.

Quantitative content analysis was used in this study to assess the frequency and patterns of consumer engagement in the form of comments on travel agency posts. The analysis focused on measurable attributes such as the number of comments per post, the types of posts generating the comments, and the nature of consumer interactions within the comment sections. By systematically categorizing and quantifying these elements, the study aimed to provide empirical insights into the role of comments as a manifestation of consumer engagement.

The stages of the study included:

• preliminary observation of the Facebook pages of travel agency websites;
• selection of variables for the study;
• selection of the research sample;
• conducting a proper content analysis of the Facebook pages of travel agencies.

Initially, a preliminary observation of travel agencies’ Facebook pages was conducted, in order to learn about the activity of travel agencies in publishing posts and engaging in interactions with consumers, especially in terms of the use of comments on posts. The selection of the sample was purposive. The 10 largest travel agencies in Poland in terms of revenue value and number of clients according to the 2024 ranking of the major Polish daily Rzeczpospolita were selected (Frydrykiewicz, 2024). Table 1 lists the travel agencies studied, their revenues, their number of customers and the addresses of their Facebook pages.

Based on the initial observation of the Facebook pages, variables were selected (shown in Table 2), which were next subjected to coding and counting in the content analysis process.

As shown in Table 2, a variety of variables were used in the study, falling into several different categories. During the initial observation, it was noted that the posts differed in terms of their purpose. Some of them were aimed at promoting the company’s offerings and were therefore categorized as promotional posts, while other posts were intended to engage consumers in a different way than by presenting the company’s offer, and therefore these posts were categorized as engaging posts. Some posts were also observed that aimed to provide consumers with relevant information about travel and tourism destinations in the form of, for example, videos and referencing articles. These posts were categorized as educational posts. Another category of variables included the number of likes, number of comments and number of shares for the posts studied.

The variables for the type of comments were categorized in terms of favorable or unfavorable impact on the brand. There were three types of comments: positive comments (KP), whose content was positive towards the brand and the company’s offerings, neutral comments, which were indifferent towards the product, brand and company or the post published, and negative comments, which expressed consumer dissatisfaction that could harm the brand.

Another category closely related to comments was the number of responses in the comments of the post. The number of responses in the comments section indicates that a dialogue is taking place in which the company and consumers are involved or consumers themselves are having a discussion in relation to the post. A high proportion of responses may indicate that the company is succeeding in engaging consumers in conversation and discussion in relation to the posts.

The actual content analysis study, which consisted of coding the occurrences of the variables on the surveyed travel agency Facebook pages, was performed in the month of July 2024. The 10 most recently published posts for each travel agency were coded, along with their comments. However, any posts published on the same day as the coding took place were excluded, on the grounds that consumers may not yet have had time to write comments on them, which would have distorted the results of the analysis. A total of 100 posts were analyzed.

4. Results

The content analysis study observed that the construction of posts overwhelmingly consisted of two basic elements, namely text or image. The image in the post was most often represented by a poster created on the basis of a photo of the facility being promoted, often accompanied by an advertising slogan or travel agency logo. Less frequently, the main image of the post was a video. The majority of posts contained links to specific offers and these were usually included in the text of the post or in a comment on the post, or the promotional poster often served as a link. Figure 1 presents the frequency of likes, comments, replies to comments and shares occurring in the sample of 100 posts.

As shown in Figure 1, the number of likes for the surveyed travel agency posts was the highest, at 8894 likes, which corresponded to an average of approximately 89 likes per post. Given that comments represent a higher level of consumer engagement than likes, the number of comments on the surveyed posts, at 2433, should also be seen as relatively high, meaning that on average there were approximately 24 comments per surveyed post. The number of responses that were included in the group of comments was 999. Thus, responses to comments accounted for approximately 41% of the total number of comments surveyed, with an average of approximately 10 responses per post.

The posts analyzed varied in terms of the purpose of the content presented. Of the 100 posts analyzed, 68 (68%) were classified as promotional posts, 18 (18%) as engaging posts and 14 (14%) as educational posts. The three identified groups of posts were characterized by varying average values of likes, comments and shares, as shown in Figure 2.

The data presented in Figure 2 indicate that, due to the type of posts, there is a large variation in terms of consumer reactions to them. The highest average number of likes characterizes promotional posts. On the other hand, the highest average number of comments is seen for posts that aim to engage consumers through content other than advertising the services offered. The average number of responses to comments is also higher for posts classified as engagement posts. The average number of shares is highest for promotional posts, whereas educational posts generated higher levels of shares than engaging posts.

The companies surveyed varied in terms of the number of comments generated by their posts. In some cases, smaller travel agencies performed better in this respect than their larger competitors in terms of customer numbers and revenue.

The comments were also analyzed in terms of their potential impact on the brand. In particular, this analysis was carried out for the group of promotional posts due to the fact that comments on these posts have a direct reference to the brand compared to other types of posts. For the sample of 68 promotional posts, there were 939 comments. Figure 3 presents the share of the three types of comments on promotional posts.

Figure 3 shows that the large majority of comments on promotional posts were positive from a brand impact perspective. Neutral comments were also common under the posts. Negative comments occurred infrequently. Observation of negative comments from consumers and the reaction to them by travel agencies revealed that the agencies most often tried to respond to them in a very tactful manner. Such behavior may in effect offset the potentially negative impact of negative comments on the brand and, as a result, may lead the brand to be perceived more favorably by consumers.

5. Conclusions

Social media has become a critical branding tool for businesses, with tourism companies being among the most active users for promotional purposes. Among the various social media platforms, Facebook remains a key channel for travel agencies to engage consumers, strengthen relationships, and build brand identity. Content shared on this platform facilitates both passive engagement (content consumption) and active engagement, such as liking, commenting, and sharing posts.

The findings of this study, based on an analysis of recent Facebook posts from ten of Poland’s largest travel agencies, indicate that these posts serve as a significant instrument for consumer engagement. The analyzed posts generated a substantial number of likes, comments, and shares, with differences in engagement levels across different companies. Interestingly, in some cases, smaller travel agencies outperformed their larger competitors in terms of comment engagement, suggesting that factors beyond company size and revenue influence consumer interactions.

The study identified a certain pattern of variation in engagement based on post type. Promotional posts, primarily aimed at advertising travel agency offerings, attracted the highest number of likes. In contrast, posts explicitly designed to encourage interaction and conversation (classified as “engaging” posts) elicited a significantly higher number of comments. Given that commenting requires a greater level of consumer involvement than liking a post, these findings suggest that engaging posts hold strong potential for fostering meaningful consumer-brand relationships and community-building.

An analysis of comment sentiment revealed that the majority of comments on promotional posts were positive, with neutral comments also being common, while negative comments were relatively infrequent. Importantly, travel agencies typically responded to negative feedback in a timely and tactful manner, mitigating potential reputational risks. This underscores the role of effective social media management in maintaining brand perception and consumer trust.

Based on the study’s findings, several recommendations can be made for travel agencies seeking to optimize their social media engagement strategies. While promotional posts generate high levels of less active engagement (likes), agencies should strive to increase the use of engaging posts to foster deeper consumer interaction and discussion. Creating content that invites comments, such as open-ended questions, polls, or interactive discussions, can help build a stronger brand-centered community. Proactive and tactful responses to consumer comments, especially negative ones, can enhance brand credibility and trust. Understanding consumer sentiment within comments can provide valuable insights into consumer perceptions and inform brand communication strategies.

Despite the insights gained, this study has certain limitations. The analysis was conducted on a relatively small sample of 10 posts per travel agency, resulting in a total of 100 posts. While this provides a certain overview of engagement trends, a larger dataset covering a more extended period could offer more comprehensive insights. Additionally, the study focused solely on quantitative metrics, such as the number of likes, comments, and shares, without an in-depth qualitative analysis of comment content beyond sentiment classification. Future studies could expand upon these findings by analyzing a larger dataset over an extended period to capture seasonal variations in consumer engagement. It may also be of interest to conduct qualitative analysis of comments to better understand the themes and consumer motivations behind engagement.

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The Internet is an information environment that is constantly evolving and subject to change. Since its inception, the World Wide Web has been known for its unique characteristics of information capacity, interactivity, hypertextuality and multimedia. With the development of the Internet, these features take on new importance as they enable innovative communication methods to emerge. These methods are also being implemented by companies that, when competing in the marketplace for customers, need to use communication tools that ensure they attract the attention of buyers and build consumer loyalty to the brand. The increasing ease of publishing information online makes companies want to use this opportunity to compete in the marketplace. Interesting content attracts internet users to places on the internet that allow consumers to get closer to the company’s products and to the brand. A manifestation of the use of content for this purpose is the growing role of content marketing. It involves a company using interesting content to draw consumers’ attention to the products on offer and to build brand loyalty. Companies can use various websites in the implementation of content marketing. Particularly popular in this respect are social media, which allow content to be easily published and shared among consumers. Also of great importance in this respect is the company website, which is an important element of marketing communication and whose design concept is constantly evolving. Companies have the opportunity to post interesting content on their own websites, thereby winning over potential product buyers. With the growth of social media, new demands are being placed on company websites. Websites, similar to social media, should meet the challenges of content marketing and, at the same time, support a two-way communication model based on the company’s dialogue with the consumer.

Literature Review

A large proportion of online marketing communication takes place on company websites. Their role is constantly growing due to the fact that the number of Internet users is increasing worldwide, as well as the average time per Internet user. At the beginning of the third decade of the 21st century, the Internet is already a common good worldwide. However, this network is constantly developing and evolving. It can be looked at not as a single innovation, but rather as a collection of innovations of an informational nature (Amour, 2012). The technical parameters of internet infrastructure and access devices are improving, making it easier and more convenient to use the Internet (Naughton, 2016). Nowadays, it is not necessary to have an expensive and large personal computer to access the Internet, as all that is necessary is a relatively cheaper smartphone, whose owners can access the Internet from wherever they are. A number of new business models are emerging on the Internet, whose offerings are helping to better meet consumer needs (Amit & Zott, 2001). More and more websites are emerging that are dominated by information published by internet users, such as social media, which allow consumers to publish, share and react to information. There have been many innovations in social media related to enabling consumers to create information and publish and share it with other users. This phenomenon has been called user-generated content (UGC). UGC is an essential component of Web 2.0, which is an online environment characterised by openness, participation and sharing of content by users (Kim, Jin, Kim, & Shin, 2012). The UGC mechanisms popularised in social media have begun to migrate rapidly to other websites, including corporate websites. As a result, there is an increase in individual UGC, which can assume various forms, e.g. blogs, photos, images, videos, comments, reviews and social bookmarking (Papathanassis & Knolle, 2011). The changes that websites and their content are undergoing are influenced by changing consumer behaviour. The new consumers, largely represented by the millennial generation, are consumers who seek to make purchasing decisions based on objective information. They view advertising messages from companies more critically and are more influenced by other consumers’ opinions on products (Chatzopoulou & Kiewiet, 2021). Commercial websites come in various forms. The main types of company-owned websites include (Maciorowski, 2013) the following:

• The corporate website-it contains information about the company and its product offerings. The recipients of the message are not only consumers but also other groups of people and institutions interested in the company’s operation, such as investors, distributors, the local community and even the company’s own employees.
• Product website-it is designed to showcase a specific product or brand.
  Its purpose is to build the brand by engaging with consumers.
• Sales website (also known as an online shop)-this is the website through which a company sells products.

The majority of medium-sized companies in the food industry mainly operate websites in which they present information about themselves and their product offerings, and thus the object of study in this article is the first type mentioned, i.e. company websites.
The quality of content plays a dominant role in the design concepts of corporate websites (Beaird & George, 2014). It influences visitor retention and makes them more likely to return to the website. The importance of high-quality content published by companies online is also evidenced by the increasing importance of content marketing as a growing marketing strategy. According to the Content Marketing Institute (2022), content marketing can be defined as a strategic marketing approach focussed on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a defined audience. The implementation of content marketing is largely taking place on the Internet, so that companies have ceased to be just providers of products, but also play the roles of producers, discoverers and distributors of information (Jutkowitz, 2014). With content marketing, companies become content publishers and can decide for themselves what information messages to publish and communicate to potential buyers. The emphasis in published content, however, should be more on promoting the idea of the product category rather than on advertising the products the company is selling. In the content they create, companies should provide their audiences with what they are curious about and what they want, while maintaining the quality of the message (Bakalarska-Stankiewicz, 2020). The constant work of developing streams of new information is a major challenge for many companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, as it requires time and the ability to create interesting content. However, the companies have a great deal of expertise in the product categories they manufacture, the technologies used, product opportunities, market trends and fashions. This wealth of knowledge can be shared with buyers thereby enhancing their perception of the company.

Hosting interesting content on the company’s website results in attracting consumers to company’s brand and products.

The implementation of content marketing can make use of e.g. e-books, articles, demonstration videos, reports, detailed descriptions of the products offered, case studies, company blogs, social media posts, newsletters, infographics, presentations, information videos, frequently asked questions (FAQs) and webinars (Pikuła-Małachowska, 2017). In creating content, it is important to focus on the potential needs and problems that the target audience may encounter. It is also important to regularly refresh the content published on the company’s website so that consumers begin to perceive the website as a valuable source of information (Świeczak, 2012). It is also important to make it easy for content readers to make purchases offered by the company. In content marketing, a very important role is played by the website, which, in addition to interesting content, should be clearly designed to make it easy for internet users to find information. For this purpose, personalisation (Wong & Yazdanifard, 2015) and content segmentation on the website (Muscat, 2013) are used. Content marketing on the company website is one of the main types of content marketing and its use allows consumers to engage with the products and the brand, and at the same time improves the search engine positioning results of the website (Baker, 2022). In turn, social media are particularly useful for content distribution, where content serves as the basis for eWOM (electronic word of mouth) (Vinerean, 2017). It is also important to bear in mind that an important form of content delivery is through images in the form of photos, graphics, videos and infographics. They carry a lot of information that can be difficult to convey through text (Song, Han, Lee, & Kim, 2018).

The food market, similar to other product markets, is subject to various influences and conditions of a social, technological and economic nature. Consumers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by such characteristics of food products as the health and environmental impact of food products, animal welfare, organic production methods, local origin of products, and traditional production methods of products (Dąbrowska, 2018). Consumers are also increasingly looking for unusual and exotic food products from the culinary arts and traditions of other countries.

There are many scientific studies in the literature on content analysis of marketing communication on company websites. Initially, content analysis was used as a means to research support for, a company’s marketing communication elements on a website (Perry & Bodkin, 2000). Over time, more specialised studies aimed at narrower audiences have emerged, e.g. in marketing communications used in food industry company websites and aimed at children (Cheyne, Dorfman, Bukofzer, & Harris, 2013). The growth of social media has led researchers to increasingly use this method to study messages posted on social media, including in the area of content marketing (Plessis, 2017). However, there is a lack of research in the academic literature on evaluating the implementation of content marketing on company websites. It should also be noted that the conclusions of such type of studies could only be industry-specific, as different industries need to have different solutions for website design and content posting.

Research Methodology

The main objective of the article is to determine the scope and implementation of content marketing as they apply to the websites of dairy cooperatives. The intermediate objective is to evaluate the content on the surveyed websites from the perspective of the application of content marketing and the potential for its development.

Using the content analysis method, the content elements of the surveyed websites were identified and subjected to coding and counting. This method can be defined as a systematic, objective and quantitative analysis of content characteristics (Neuendorf, 2002). The stages of this study include: observation of websites, selection of variables for the study (representing the different content categories), coding of the occurrences of content elements on the analysed pages, and quantitative analysis of the coded data.

The selection of dairy cooperatives for the study was made at random from the list of dairy cooperatives affiliated to the National Union of Dairy Cooperatives in Warsaw (KZSM). The cooperatives selected for the study are presented in Table 1.

Selections were made at random from a list of 60 dairy cooperatives posted on the KZSM website (at https://mleczarstwopolskie.pl/ o-kzsm/czlonkowie-kzsm). The sample size of 15 cooperatives was determined with an assumed 99% confidence level and a 30% margin of error. The website analysis was conducted in September 2022. The way the sample was selected makes this research representative only of the dairy cooperatives affiliated to KZSM, and thus it is not representative of the larger group of food industry companies.

Findings

During the study, the main content features were identified and their occurrence on the cooperatives’ websites was analysed. Table 2 presents these features together with the frequency of their occurrence on the websites. The values in brackets next to the content indicate the frequency of occurrence among the surveyed websites in percentage terms. Due to the odd number of the sample, the percentages given in the table could not assume the value of 50%; and accordingly, e.g. for seven cooperative websites the percentage value was 47% and for eight it was 53%. For a clearer presentation of the results, the percentages were rounded to whole numbers.

As can be seen from the data in Table 2, the most frequently occurring content elements on company websites were ‘Company information’, ‘Product presentation’, ‘Contact us’, ‘RODO/Privacy policy’ and ‘Certificates and awards’, which were present on all surveyed websites (frequency of occurrence 100%). Under these names, however, there is some variation in the content elements. In the category ‘Company information’, some companies additionally included tabs such as ‘Company mission’ or ‘Company history’, for example, while others described the company in brief. The content element ‘Presentation of products’ refers to product catalogues, which also varied between the analysed sites. The majority of companies used extensive product descriptions (60%) within the analysed sites, while short product descriptions consisting of one to a few sentences were less common (40%). All of the surveyed companies provided nutritional values in the descriptions of the food products presented on the website. Promotional messages of a rational nature predominated in the product descriptions; promotional messages of an emotional nature in the product descriptions occurred sporadically and alongside the rational ones. The cooperatives cared about the quality and aesthetics of the product photos in the catalogue. In most cases, product photos could be enlarged. The second category ‘Contact us’ also varied in terms of content, as some of the companies enriched it with contact details of the company’s various departments and branches, as well as the addresses of the company’s stationary outlets. Some of the surveyed companies in this category included a map integrated with Google Maps, as well as a contact form where Internet users could enter queries to the company. The ‘RODO/privacy policy’ element was usually located in the bottom footer of the surveyed websites, adjacent to the ‘Contact us’ element. In the case of the ‘Certifications and awards’ category, it mainly appeared on the surveyed websites as a separate tab of the main menu; however, in some cases, it appeared in the ‘Company information’ section. Three of the surveyed companies included information about certificates and awards in the ‘News’ category.

From the information in Table 2, it can be seen that the frequently occurring content categories on the surveyed company websites were: ‘News’ and ‘Recipes’. The ‘News’ category is a type of company blog, where companies publish up-to-date information on company events. Such blogs prevailed on the analysed sites. Another type of company blog is one dedicated to the sharing expert knowledge about the food products quality, which are gaining increasing acceptance and popularity due to the specificity of food products, especially those that are considered novelty foods, and the fashion for healthy eating. Such blogs were less common on the surveyed sites, at 20% of the sites. A common content element on the surveyed sites was recipes, which companies were willing to share with Internet users. Most of these recipes were based on products offered by the surveyed dairy cooperatives. A frequent content element was information on EU (European Union) funding for cooperatives’ investments. By indicating the information on their website that it is through EU funding that they are receiving an important source of their sustenance, cooperatives primarily aim to target business partners and the local community for potential business opportunities.

Some of the cooperatives surveyed also included a section for suppliers on their website, which contained information and documents needed by farmers in their cooperation with the cooperatives. In some cases, access to these documents was password protected.

More than half of the cooperatives surveyed also posted information on their website about one or more competitions being held for consumers. This information was placed in different categories on the websites. Often they could be found, e.g. in ‘News’, or some companies used a separate tab in the main menu called ‘Competition’, intended to announce that they run competitions.

Almost half of the companies included information on CSR (corporate social responsibility) on their websites. This category on the sites appeared under the names of either ‘CSR’ or ‘Sustainability’. During coding, cooperatives’ activities aimed at developing sport in the local community were also included in CSR activities. This information is simultaneously directed at consumers and the wider corporate environment, such as the local community and business partners.

On some of the websites, it was also possible to find a section aimed at potential employees, discussing employment opportunities in the cooperative and the prospects they provided. As shown in Table 2, a similar incidence can be found in the case of the HoReCa category (a popular term for the hotel, restaurants and catering sector), which is a separate tab on the main menu. In this category, cooperatives presented their offerings aimed at the hotel, restaurant and catering sectors. Products in this offer were characterised by larger sizes, and larger packaging was used than for consumer products (e.g. yoghurt in packages of several litres). Some of the surveyed websites also provided information about tenders announced by the cooperatives.

Table 3 presents the feature categories of content that support the promotional message, integrate the site with social media and direct the site’s promotional message to foreign markets.

The use of infographics enhances the aesthetic value of the website, makes it clearer and makes it easier to browse through its content. Infographics were used on more than half of the analysed sites. Their role was primarily to present the company’s strengths and the advantages of its products.

Integration with social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram was also common on the websites of the cooperatives surveyed. Referencing the cooperative’s Facebook profile was the most popular type of social-media link on the pages. Almost half of the pages referred to their YouTube channel. Some of the cooperatives surveyed also posted advertising videos from YouTube. The advertising videos posted carried an emotional message, which contributes to brand building. Occasionally, there were references to Instagram on the pages, where cooperatives posted attractive photos of products and of company life; in the former case, the pictures posted carried a substantial coherence or semblance with the overall type of product advertising used by the enterprise.

More than half of the websites surveyed had an English-language version. This is a good feature of company websites, as it increases the company’s international visibility and thus, at low cost, increases the reach of the company website’s promotional message to foreign markets.

During the analysis of the websites of the studied cooperatives, it was possible to observe some features that were not subject to coding. It was observed that, for the most part, the pages were mainly directed towards consumers. In some cases, the design of the website showed that the main recipients of the content were the next levels of the distribution channel, such as wholesalers or retail shops.

In their promotional messages, the surveyed cooperatives on their websites often emphasised compliance with nature, ecology and traditional production methods. They often pointed to the advantage of their geographical location in a region with a clean environment and advantageous natural values.

The majority of the cooperatives surveyed cared about the clarity and aesthetics of the website. They tried to include graphics representing the products on the homepage. Often there was a graphic element in the shape of a large billboard under the main menu, which influenced the aesthetics of the website. This took a variety of forms. On most pages it was a static image, whereas on some it took the form of a scrolling image bar. In one case, it was in the form of a video that showcased the cooperative.

Several of the cooperatives surveyed simultaneously ran separate product websites dedicated to the product brands on offer. These were exclusively consumer-oriented websites and were characterised by an attractive and engaging design. This demonstrates strong support for the brands offered. An example is the Spomlek cooperative, which runs separate product websites for the Serenada and Skarby Serowara brands. Separate Facebook social profiles are also maintained for these brands.

One of the cooperatives surveyed had a ‘For the media’ tab in the main menu. Through this section, various traditional and electronic publishers were able to download graphic files of this cooperative. Some other cooperatives also included the possibility to download graphic files, but they but they named this section by a different name way, e.g. as ‘Graphic downloads’.

Some of the websites surveyed also featured online product shops through which the cooperatives reached consumers directly with their products.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The surveyed dairy cooperatives approached the implementation of content marketing on the company website in different ways. This is evidenced by the different frequencies of content categories posted on the pages. The basic ones were: ‘About the company’, ‘Product presentation’, ‘Contact us’ and ‘Certificates and awards’. Of these four categories, product presentation is particularly important for the implementation of content marketing, as it is the place on the Internet where companies have the opportunity to communicate interesting information about the products they offer. In the detailed descriptions, they can include a lot of information on the product technology, as well as hints on the possible use of the products. On most of the sites surveyed, these aspects were described in detail, with particular emphasis on the advantages of the products offered. Cooperatives could further improve this element by indicating possible uses of the product, e.g. by combining the product description with links to recipes that are compatible with the particular food product marketed. The cooperatives surveyed placed great emphasis on the quality of the photos in the product catalogue, which is also an important feature for the implementation of effective content marketing.

‘News’ and ‘Recipes’ were also frequent content categories. In the ‘News’ category, relevant information from the life of the company was posted on the surveyed websites. This category plays an important role as a company blog. In many cases, cooperatives post company-related events in ‘News’, which might involve a difficult task for medium-sized companies when it comes to providing an adequate stream of interesting and frequent posts. This category has great potential for the development of content marketing on the company website and should rather be treated by the cooperatives as a company blog with more thematically diverse posts. The posts should emerge from company employees and be thematically directed towards interesting content related to the consumption and qualities of dairy products in the broadest sense. This was the case in a small number of the analysed sites. It is likely that the posts could have been enriched with the name of the post’s author and the possibility for visitors to post comments. This would be an element that would engage internet users and build brand loyalty.

The ‘Recipes’ category is also an important element from the perspective of content marketing implementation. This is a place on the website where the company shares culinary ideas with consumers, related to the possibility of using the products it offers. In many cases, however, this category could be expanded to include other recipes related to dairy products not necessarily offered by the company, so that it becomes a valued place for internet users for obtaining culinary inspiration. It could also include a mechanism for consumer comments and ratings. This could ensure that more people visit the company website and thus have a better relationship with the brand.

The analysis of the content of the surveyed websites showed that cooperatives operate company websites with not only consumers in mind, but also other groups of people and organisations interested in the operation of the company. This is a good approach and typical of company websites. However, in line with the trends of personalisation and segmentation of content on websites, cooperatives should consider separating content for different audiences, so that, e.g. consumers do not have to come across information that is aimed at distributors or suppliers. The use of segmentation in the main menu with a division into, e.g. consumers and business, could circumvent this problem. This solution could be particularly beneficial for companies that do not run separate product pages at the same time.

The cooperatives surveyed mostly have their profile pages on social media, especially Facebook. It is there that they usually implement twoway communication based on dialogue with buyers. On social media, companies have a number of easy-to-use mechanisms for publishing and sharing content. From their company websites, companies direct Internet users to their profiles on social media through links in the form of an icon symbolising a social-media portal. Some of the cooperatives also post content from social media on the company website, as evidenced, e.g. by YouTube advertising videos. However, cooperatives should consider implementing UGC mechanisms to a greater extent, also on the company website (e.g. the possibility to comment on company blog posts).

In content marketing, information conveyed in visual form (image, photos, graphics, video, inforgraphics) is of great importance. The cooperatives surveyed usually take care of this side of content delivery. Some, however, should make more use of infographics, which contribute to the clarity of the website and make it easier for Internet users to find information.

In summary, it can be concluded that the companies surveyed recognise the increasing role of content marketing and the opportunities introduced by its implementation on the company website. However, there is great potential for food industry companies to increase their activities in this area, particularly in creating more content of interest for consumers and developing UGC techniques on the company website. This means that companies must continually improve their websites and use innovative solutions to communicate content attractively. This is part of the battle for customers.

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