scholarly journals Digital Buddies: Parasocial Interactions and Relationships in Social Media Communities

Author(s):  
Mujde Yuksel
2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seonjeong Ally Lee ◽  
Minwoo Lee

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate different types of customer relationships on customers’ interaction with the brand, based on prior social media and relationship marketing research. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional, self-administered online survey was conducted to investigate the role of different types of relationships on customers’ brand-relevant responses in the context of hotel social media platforms. Findings Results identified customers’ relationships with services and brands, and how other customers influenced their parasocial interactions (PSIs). Customers’ PSIs then positively influenced their self-brand connection and their brand usage intention. Originality/value This study was the first attempt to propose a conceptual framework to explain different types of customer relationships on customers’ interactions with the brand in the context of hotel social media platforms.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mujde Yuksel ◽  
Lauren I. Labrecque

Purpose This paper aims to focus its inquiries on the parasocial interactions (PSI) and relationships (PSR) consumers form with personae in online social media communities. The authors extend the marketing literature on parasocial interaction/relationship beyond brands by focusing on personal social media accounts (public student-athletes). Design/methodology/approach The authors adopt a grounded theory methodology (Glaser and Strauss, 2009) triangulating observational netnographic data (Kozinets, 2010) of 49 public student-athlete accounts on Twitter (34,500 tweets) with in-depth interviews. The findings emphasize that PSI/PSR occur not only from interactions with brands but also through personal accounts on social media platforms. Findings The investigation reveals that through such social media platforms, PSI/PSR influence consumers cognitively, affectively and behaviorally. In terms of cognition, the data suggest that PSI/PSR can influence opinion, interests, attention allocation and construction of relations, specifically through the availability of in-depth knowledge about the social media persona. Additionally, the research findings indicate that affect-laden messages from persona can alter emotion and mood, induce empathetic reactions and trigger inspiration, especially in relation to the shared interest of the online community of the social media account. Behaviorally, the findings suggest that personas’ messages can direct and inspire both online and offline actions through endorsed behavioral parasocial interactions. Research limitations/implications This research focused on one specific social media platform, Twitter. Twitter was specifically chosen, because it is a popular social media platform and allows non-reciprocal relationships. Although the authors feel that the findings would hold for other social media platforms, future research may be conducted to see if there are differences in PSI/PSR development on different types of networks. Additionally, the authors focused on a specific type of personal account, student-athletes. Future research may wish to extend beyond this population to other personal social media accounts, such as fashion bloggers, diy bloggers and others. Originality/value This research reveals that PSI/PSR can occur not only from interactions with brands but also through personal accounts on social media platforms. The findings give support for the value of brand spokespersons and brand ambassadors and suggest that brands should take careful consideration into who is chosen to represent the brand.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 460-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Boehmer

Social media have been said to rival traditional media in the realm of sports. Actual evidence for a change in consumption patterns, though, remains scarce. This study investigates college students’ use of multiple distribution systems in the context of sports. More specifically, the relative importance of Twitter in relation to television is assessed. In addition, variables potentially predicting a greater reliance on Twitter are analyzed. Results indicate that television remains the primary distribution system for sports and that the importance of Twitter might have been overstated. The use of social media does not diminish the consumption of traditional sports broadcasts but is positively correlated. Finally, results of a regression analysis find that a subset of individuals is more likely to rely on Twitter depending on their tendency to engage in parasocial interactions, their Twitter use patterns, and their perceived expertise in sports.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (7) ◽  
pp. 895-908
Author(s):  
Eugene Cheng-Xi Aw ◽  
Lauren I. Labrecque

Purpose As celebrity endorsements have extended from traditional media to social media, the role of celebrities has been amplified and celebrities have been able to establish unprecedentedly close relationships through interacting with consumers. This study, grounded in the theory of parasocial interactions and celebrity endorsement, aims to propose a framework of antecedents and outcomes of parasocial interactions with celebrities on social media. Design/methodology/approach Using an experimental survey-based approach, this study collected 270 usable responses, and data were analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling. Findings The study found that parasocial interactions fully mediate the relationship between social media interaction and celebrity attachment, celebrity attachment influences purchase intention directly and indirectly through both cognitive (brand credibility) and affective (brand attractiveness) elements, the need to belong moderates the relationship between social media interaction and parasocial interactions and the need to belong moderates the relationship between celebrity attachment and brand attractiveness. An exploratory analysis uncovers whether different types of social platforms may be more conducive to establishing parasocial interactions. Originality/value This study explores the mechanisms by which celebrity interactions on social media can impact the brands they endorse and the role that parasocial interactions and the need to belong play in these interactions and outcomes.


Author(s):  
Kiều Anh Tài ◽  
Lê Minh Duy ◽  
Nguyễn Thế Khải

The advances of Internet and social media offer customers nowadays more opportunities to inform their decisions with product information – not only that promoted by the company but also content shared by micro-influencers. This study aims to investigate the impact of online micro-influencers on the customer’s behavioural intentions. A survey was conducted using convenience sampling with customers in Ho Chi Minh City who have bought or intended to buy smartphones upon viewing online product reviews. Data, upon having been collected and screened, included 371 usable responses and were analysed using PLS–SEM. Results show that the customer’s perceptions of opinion leadership of micro-influencers and their parasocial interactions with micro-influencers positively influence the customer’s behavioural intentions (intention to follow the advice and intention to recommend) through message quality. Managerial implications are also discussed in the paper.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lauren Louise Giwa-Amu

This research focuses on the social-media driven convention of advertising in order to analyze the parasocial interactions between athlete endorsers and audiences on Facebook. Wardell Stephen Curry II will be the focus of this study due to his placement on Forbes list of The NBA Endorsement All Stars in 2016. A content analysis including posts and comments from Curry's verified Facebook page during the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 regular NBA seasons will be used to analyze the type of advertising messages and the effectiveness of the athlete/audience interactions. The goal of this study is to establish whether parasocial interaction can serve as an effective advertising tool. The results of this study could imply that advertisers will benefit from encouraging their endorsers to interact with audiences, or use parasocial techniques to foster a sense of personalization in communication about the brand on social media in order to enhance sales and the overall success of the brand. Keywords: Parasocial Relationships, Social Penetration Theory, Content Analysis, Endorsements, Advertising. Athletic


ASHA Leader ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicki Clarke
Keyword(s):  

ASHA Leader ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Enders
Keyword(s):  

ASHA Leader ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  

As professionals who recognize and value the power and important of communications, audiologists and speech-language pathologists are perfectly positioned to leverage social media for public relations.


2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Jane Anderson
Keyword(s):  

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