Advertising in the World of Social Media-Based Brand Communities

2018 ◽  
pp. 545-556
Author(s):  
Mohammad Reza Habibi ◽  
Michel Laroche ◽  
Marie-Odile Richard
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Context ◽  
External World ◽  
Brand Community ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
Brand Communities ◽  
The World ◽  
Do So

Social media has revolutionized marketing practices and created many opportunities for smart marketers to take advantage of its unique characteristics. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the concept of Social Media-Based Brand Communities to advertisers and show how they can use these communities to work for them in creating and distributing favorable communication messages to masses of consumers. The authors underscore that consumers in a brand community can be employed as unpaid volunteer ambassadors of the brand who diligently try to create favorable impressions about the brand in the external world. Social media has also empowered them to do so through participating in brand communities based in social media. These communities, however, are different from conventional brand communities on at least five dimensions: social context, structure, scale, storytelling, and myriad affiliated communities. Therefore, marketers should treat such communities differently. This chapter provides the essentials all marketers should know before facilitating brand communities in social media.

Advertising in the World of Social Media-Based Brand Communities

2015 ◽  
pp. 160-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Reza Habibi ◽  
Michel Laroche ◽  
Marie-Odile Richard
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Context ◽  
External World ◽  
Brand Community ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
Brand Communities ◽  
The World ◽  
Do So

Social media has revolutionized marketing practices and created many opportunities for smart marketers to take advantage of its unique characteristics. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the concept of Social Media-Based Brand Communities to advertisers and show how they can use these communities to work for them in creating and distributing favorable communication messages to masses of consumers. The authors underscore that consumers in a brand community can be employed as unpaid volunteer ambassadors of the brand who diligently try to create favorable impressions about the brand in the external world. Social media has also empowered them to do so through participating in brand communities based in social media. These communities, however, are different from conventional brand communities on at least five dimensions: social context, structure, scale, storytelling, and myriad affiliated communities. Therefore, marketers should treat such communities differently. This chapter provides the essentials all marketers should know before facilitating brand communities in social media.

scholarly journals Masters of Wine on Twitter: presence, activity, impact and community structure

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-88
Author(s):  
Enrique Orduña-Malea ◽  
Cristina I. Font-Julian ◽  
José Antonio Ontalba-Ruipérez ◽  
Raúl Compés-López
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
International Trade ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Wine Industry ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The World ◽  
Credible Information ◽  
Do So ◽  
The Way

Globalisation, the Internet and social media have changed the kind of actors with influence in the wine industry and the way these actors create signals to communicate credible information about experience and trust attributes. Among the most prestigious experts in the world of wine are the Masters of Wine (MW). Although initially devoted to international trade, they have spread their activities and their opinion is more and more appreciated by producers and consumers. The main objective of this article is to determine this community of experts’ behaviour on Twitter. In order to do so, four factors (presence, activity, impact and community) have been considered. All Twitter profiles belonging to users awarded with the MW qualification were identified and analysed. In addition, a set of 35,653 tweets published by the MWs were retrieved and analysed through descriptive statistics. The results show MWs on Twitter as high attractors (number of followers), moderate publishers (original contents published), moderate influencers (number of likes and retweets), and low interactors (number of friends and mentions to other users). These findings reveal that the MW community is not using Twitter to gain or reinforce their reputation as an accredited expert in the wine industry, giving more influential space on Twitter to consumers and amateurs.

scholarly journals Why people use online social media brand communities

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Puneet Kaur ◽  
Amandeep Dhir ◽  
Risto Rajala ◽  
Yogesh Dwivedi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Values ◽  
User Participation ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Brand Community ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brand Communities ◽  
Online Social Media ◽  
Consumption Values ◽  
Intention To Continue

Purpose The success and survival of any form of online community relies on the presence and active participation of its users. Hence, ensuring active user participation and retaining existing users is a key concern of the moderators of online communities. To address these challenges, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the epistemic, emotional, and social values that influence users’ intention to continue using an online social media brand community. Moreover, the study also investigates the differences in the influence of the investigated constructs and users’ various activity levels. Design/methodology/approach This study utilized the consumption value theory framework for testing the relationship between different measures. An empirical analysis of the consumption values of 577 users in an online social media brand community was accomplished using structural equation modeling. Findings The study findings revealed that emotional and social values exert partial influence in predicting users’ intention to continue using online social media brand communities. In particular, social enhancement and playfulness predict users’ continuation intentions. Moreover, the results show that the influence of the investigated constructs (except playfulness) is consistent across users with various activity levels in online social media brand communities. Research limitations/implications These findings pave the way for further theoretical and practical considerations of the role of consumption values in resolving challenges of user participation and retention. However, there are still some open gaps concerning the generalizability of the findings as well as other factors that could potentially influence the user intentions. Future studies should validate the findings by recruiting diverse users in terms of their age and cultural background. Practical implications The study findings are of special relevance for the service operators interested in practicing user-centric innovation. Moreover, the findings can help online social media brand community managers to kick start user-centric innovation activities in their community. Originality/value The study provides a novel perspective on the challenges of assessing users’ consumption behavior. The perceived values have been conceptualized using the constructs of social influence, problem solving, playfulness, social enhancement, and social interaction.

Exploring the forced closure of a brand community that is also a participatory culture

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 957-978 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Burgess ◽  
Christian Jones
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Participatory Culture ◽  
Game Studies ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Brand Community ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brand Communities ◽  
Financial Gain ◽  
Emotional Bonds

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate members’ reactions to the forced closure of a narrative video game brand community and its participatory culture. Design/methodology/approach The BioWare Social Network forums closure was announced in a thread, which attracted 8,891 posts. These were analysed using thematic analysis, facilitated by the software program Leximancer and non-participatory netnography. Findings The brand community and participatory culture members were predominantly distressed because they would lose their relationships with each other and access to the participatory culture’s creative output. Research limitations/implications Previous research suggested that video game players cannot be fans and that player-generated content is exploitative. However, members, self-identified as fans, encouraged BioWare’s use of their player-created content for financial gain and articulated the community’s marketing benefits, all of which have implications for Fan and Game Studies’ researchers. Research using primary data could identify brand communities and participatory cultures’ specific benefits and their members’ attitudes about brands’ commercial use of their outputs. Further research is required to identify other products and brands not suitable for establishing brand communities on social media to determine the best ways to manage them. Practical implications Addressing narrative brand communities’ complaints quickly can prevent negative financial outcomes and using social media sites for brand communities may not be suitable structurally or because of members’ privacy concerns. Furthermore, consumers often have intense emotional bonds with narrative brands, their communities and participatory cultures, which marketers may underestimate or misunderstand. Originality/value This study of the unique phenomenon of the forced closure of a narrative brand community and its participatory culture increased understandings about them.

scholarly journals The effects of social media based brand communities on brand community markers, value creation practices, brand trust and brand loyalty

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 1755-1767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Laroche ◽  
Mohammad Reza Habibi ◽  
Marie-Odile Richard ◽  
Ramesh Sankaranarayanan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Brand Loyalty ◽  
Brand Trust ◽  
Brand Community ◽  
Brand Communities

scholarly journals Social Media, Networked Protest, and the March for Science

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630511879340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara L. Ley ◽  
Paul R. Brewer
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Behavioral Intentions ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Do So

Recent studies have explored how the US public responded to the March for Science protests that took place around the world on April 22, 2017, as well as why individuals participated in these protests. Yet, little research has examined how participants used social media and other channels to learn, communicate, and form behavioral intentions regarding the movement. In addressing these questions, the present study conceptualizes the March for Science as a “networked protest.” It then analyzes data from two surveys: one distributed through social media in the month preceding the March for Science events, and one conducted at the Washington, DC event. The results suggest that social media—particularly Facebook—played key roles in how respondents learned and communicated about the protest. At the same time, respondents also learned and communicated about it through other channels, including texting, email, and face-to-face conversations. Both social media respondents and in-person respondents reported that their experiences with the March had increased their likelihood of undertaking future online and offline actions. Furthermore, communicating through Facebook and Twitter predicted a range of self-reported effects of March experiences on intentions to undertake future actions, whereas learning through social media largely failed to do so. Thus, some—but not all—social media uses may have encouraged participants to sustain both online and offline engagement. Taken together, the findings carry potential implications for how the March for Science and other networked protests can use social media and other communication forms to mobilize supporters and facilitate long-term engagement.

The Effects of Consumer Engagement Behavior on the Growth of Social Media Brand Community

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyun He ◽  
Arash Negahban
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Brand Community ◽  
Consumer Engagement ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Brand Communities ◽  
Engagement Behavior ◽  
Dynamic Relationships ◽  
Predictive Relationship

In recent years, there has been increasing attention to how consumers' roles and behaviors can shape and affect social media based brand communities. In this study the authors examine the dynamic relationships between specific consumer engagement behaviors and the growth rate of social media brand community over time. The results of their study suggest that the overall consumer engagement behavior has a significant predictive relationship with the growth rate of brand community in both short term and long term. While each type of positive consumer engagement behavior alone is not a significant indicator of the growth rate of brand community, a combination of them, as a whole, has a positive predictive relationship with the growth rate of brand community. When the effect of promotional posts is taken into consideration, consumer sharing is found to have relatively stronger and faster predictive relationship with the growth rate of brand community, followed by commenting and liking, than other consumer engaging activities. Negative consumer engagement behaviors in general do not play a significant role in predicting the growth rate of brand community in long term, but it does lead to adverse effect in the short term. This study sheds insights on the dynamic effects of consumer engagement behavior in building and growing social media based brand communities.

The Effects of Consumer Engagement Behavior on the Growth of Social Media Brand Community

2017 ◽  
pp. 1283-1304
Author(s):  
Xiaoyun He ◽  
Arash Negahban
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Brand Community ◽  
Consumer Engagement ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Brand Communities ◽  
Engagement Behavior ◽  
Dynamic Relationships ◽  
Predictive Relationship

In recent years, there has been increasing attention to how consumers' roles and behaviors can shape and affect social media based brand communities. In this study the authors examine the dynamic relationships between specific consumer engagement behaviors and the growth rate of social media brand community over time. The results of their study suggest that the overall consumer engagement behavior has a significant predictive relationship with the growth rate of brand community in both short term and long term. While each type of positive consumer engagement behavior alone is not a significant indicator of the growth rate of brand community, a combination of them, as a whole, has a positive predictive relationship with the growth rate of brand community. When the effect of promotional posts is taken into consideration, consumer sharing is found to have relatively stronger and faster predictive relationship with the growth rate of brand community, followed by commenting and liking, than other consumer engaging activities. Negative consumer engagement behaviors in general do not play a significant role in predicting the growth rate of brand community in long term, but it does lead to adverse effect in the short term. This study sheds insights on the dynamic effects of consumer engagement behavior in building and growing social media based brand communities.

The Effects of Fan Personality on Participation in Social Media Based Brand Community

2015 ◽  
pp. 155-177
Author(s):  
Ali Balapour ◽  
Amir Khanlari
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Brand Community ◽  
Brand Communities ◽  
Online Brand Communities ◽  
Online Brand Community ◽  
New Variables

Facebook as the greatest social network has offered a new marketing tools for companies, agencies, organizations and even people like celebrities. We are witnessing a growing trend in emergence of online brand communities both in and out of social media. However, one of the important aspects that needs to be magnified is how brand's fans participate in their favorite brand pages? This study tries to answer questions like this. We introduce new variables which should be counted in the 3M model of personality in order to stimulate brand fans to participate on the brand page more than before. Entertainment, monetary and normative incentives are introduced as potential variables which affect situational traits of participants. Finally, we advise brand managers to not forget about entertainment mixed with promotions or representation of products over their online brand community; entertainment along with monetary and normative incentives can motivate fans to participate.

scholarly journals Factors explaining user loyalty in a social media-based brand community

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis M. Potgieter ◽  
Rennie Naidoo
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Brand Community ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Brand Communities ◽  
Intention To Continue

Background: Marketers are interested in taking advantage of the capabilities of social media-based brand communities to develop long-term relationships with their customers. This research investigated the usage of a South African Facebook page to understand user attitudes and attendant pressures on users related to social norms and user loyalty.Objectives: The research investigated the extent to which perceived value, service quality and social factors influenced the customer’s intention to continue using a global motor vehicle firm’s social media-based online brand community (OBC).Method: We used an online voluntary survey to collect data from social media-based brand community members. In total, 303 responses were collected over a period of 4 weeks from a population of 3100 members. We analysed the relationship between trust, perceived responsiveness, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, social norms and the members’ intention to continue using the firm’s OBC. 293 usable observations were subjected to descriptive, correlation and regression analysis.Results: The age of the respondents varied from 18 to 58 years with a mean age of 32 years. Of these, 60% were men and 40% women. About 86.7% of the respondents reported having at least some form of tertiary education. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicate that service quality factors such as trust (25.5%) and social influence factors such as social norms (12.5%) explain a greater part of the variance in OBC continuance intention compared with utility factors such as perceived usefulness (18.2%). The effects for responsiveness and ease of use were not statistically significant.Conclusion: Social media-based brand communities are playing an important role in enhancing the overall trust relationship, value offering, sociality, knowledge and information sharing between customers and firms. Practitioners should note that the loyalty of customers using a firm’s social media-based brand community is still associated with customers’ historical trust in the branded goods or services, and real-world relationships with the firm and brand community members.

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