Comparative analysis of user engagement discursive strategies in social media: a case study of Russian and Chinese alcohol brands

This study examines user engagement discursive strategies in social media. The research is relevant due to fundamental transformations in digital communication that significantly alter brand-consumer interactions. The research object is the user engagement discourse created by "Russian Standard" and "Wuliangye" brands on VKontakte and Weibo platforms during January-December 2024. The subject focuses on culture-specific features of interactive discourse formation in different linguocultural environments. The article analyzes communicative strategies of both brands, identifying their structural components and functional characteristics. It explores linguistic structures, rhetorical techniques, and multimodal elements implementing consumer engagement strategies, while examining cultural specificities in Russian and Chinese brand discursive practices. The methodology integrates critical discourse analysis, functional linguistics, and multimodal semiotics through systematic examination of verbal and non-verbal components, audience interaction mechanisms, and semiotic resource integration in meaning construction. The scientific novelty lies in revealing multi-component architectonics of discursive strategies and multi-level user engagement gradation, introducing systematic comparison of communicative practices in Russian and Chinese social media environments. The author proposes an integrative model combining linguistic, semiotic, and sociocultural aspects of digital communication. The analysis reveals distinct implementation patterns across cultural contexts: the Russian brand emphasizes procedural regulation and individual expression, while the Chinese brand prioritizes value coherence and collective identity. The research establishes significant differences in emotional construction and social connectivity modes, demonstrating that culturally determined communicative practices maintain substantial significance in social media despite digital marketing globalization.

social media, user engagement, brand communication, multimodality, cross-cultural analysis, digital marketing, discourse analysis, linguoculture, brand discourse, digital communications