Online Brand Communities: The Difference between Lurkers, Infrequent Posters, & Frequent Posters

Abstract

Brand managers are very interested in getting brand communities right because they lead to many positive outcomes, such as increased brand loyalty, purchase intentions, positive word-of-mouth, and many others. The current module discusses the various types of brand community members. Historically, brand community members have been divided into two types. However, recent research indicates that there are, indeed, three different types of members: lurkers, infrequent posters, and frequent posters. These three types of members are discussed regarding their definition, their motivation when joining these brand communities, and why understanding these differences is important to brand managers.