Theoretical Guidelines for Social Media Marketing Communication

Abstract

Social media (user-generated content) create many innovative opportunities for those organisationsthat realise that electronic word of mouth (eWOM) can be powerful in an online environment. eWOMis now considered to provide an organisation’s online marketing communication with a competitiveedge since consumers know and trust their friends’ recommendations regarding products andservices. Social media provide organisations with an opportunity to create consumer experiencesfor consumers by making available social media tools. Organisations are interested in brandonline communities because of their ability also to build brand equity and product differentiationin the long term. Although organisations realise the huge potential of social media for eWOM andestablishing an organisation’s brand, there are no clear theoretical guidelines for social mediamarketing communication. This article proposes theoretical guidelines in terms of which socialmedia marketing communication can be considered. These guidelines are evaluated by means ofa case study of a recent social media marketing communication campaign in South Africa.