Success factors of brand community management in social media

Abstract

The rise of social media has significantly altered both consumer behaviour and the possibilities of companies to engage in brand community management. Alongside the operation of conventional brand communities, companies nowadays have the chance to manage communities on social media platforms. While the social media literature has considerably increased in recent years, there is a lack of studies focusing on success factors in terms of a broad range of specific content categories that community managers offer to generate the desired user engagement. Based on the uses and gratifications theory, the study deduces a model that supposes relationships between different content categories and user engagement as well as its effect on users' brand trust and purchase intention. This model was largely supported by the structural equation model with data gathered from 247 users active in Facebook brand communities. The study finds entertaining, vivid, informative and credible content to have a positive influence on user engagement. In addition, the study confirms the influence of user engagement on brand trust and purchase intention, while brand trust mediates the relationship between user engagement and purchase intention.