Strategic Networking for Online Success

Abstract

The growth of online social networks and the decreasing effectiveness of traditional marketing have lead to a large interest in social networks. For an appropriate application of new marketing approaches marketers have to understand the impact of interactions and relationships among network members on their individual outcome and network popularity in order to use online social networks effectively in marketing. In this study we analyze networking behavior of music artists for promoting their music. Our sample consists of a set of 480 music artists who actively operate online social networks for personal success on two independent online social network platforms at the same time. Personal network information on both platforms is tracked monthly over a period of six months. Applying a count data approach we relate well-established egocentric network measures to online success. Our results indicate that online success is determined by the social network structure and networking activities of the music artists rather than by their outside popularity. Most importantly, the drivers of online success are not limited to the size of the of the artist’s personal network. The findings of our study provide several insights into the use of personal online social networks for marketing products and services.