Social network analysis and social capital in marketing: theory and practical implementation

Abstract

The application of social network analysis in marketing can provide marketers with valuable insights for developing communication and branding strategies by building up social capital in social networking sites (SNSs) as Facebook. In this paper, the main characteristics and definitions of social capital and social network analysis (SNA) are reviewed and discussed, including the importance of social capital for marketing and branding in SNSs. SNA is used to analyse the network structure of a famous Greek brand page, and the activity (comments) of its members during a period of two months in 2013. The interactions between consumers, the content generated by the firm and the posts commenting on this content are presented and analysed in terms of SNA and marketing, highlighting the importance of content creation in attracting users to like and comment increasing engagement. The implications and applications of the use of SNA results and of social capital as a way of building brand loyalty in marketing decisions and planning are discussed, and suggestions for further research are offered.