A team from the University of Basel in Switzerland released a paper in 2012 discussing research they had conducted on the impact of firm-created word of mouth communications versus user-generated social media content. The objective was to determine which type of content has the greater effect on consumers’ attitude towards brands and purchase intent. In other words, what’s driving your sales? The content that you create or the content that consumers create?

The research was based on 20 best-selling brands from the tourism, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals industries and also considered the role of traditional advertising such as television.