Title:
“We Are Glad That You Enjoyed Our Mouthwatering Food”: Achieving Brand Self-promoting Through Interpersonal Strategies on Tripadvisor

Authors:
Liangli WANG, China

Abstract:

This study investigates how Chinese restaurant brands on TripAdvisor employ interpersonal strategies to achieve self-promotion while fostering rapport with domestic Mandarin-speaking and foreign English-speaking consumers. Analyzing 200 management responses to positive and negative reviews, this study identified 1,211 instances of 12 interpersonal strategies. Consumer-caring strategies dominate in negative review responses, while brand self-promoting strategies prevail in positive ones. “Highlighting positive features,” the most frequent self-promoting strategy, ranks second overall after “Thanking”, underscoring its role in transaction-oriented communication. Qualitative analysis reveals nuanced negotiations between consumer-caring and self-promoting dimensions, with varied promotional effects achieved through creative linguistic choices. By presenting authentic examples, this study offers insights for brands to enhance their online presence and maximize the impact of public platforms.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51505/IJEBMR.2026.1201