Social Media Brand Communities Research Articles

Investigating social media-based brand communities engagement’s motives and evangelistic tendencies for football sport’s fans

This study aims to investigate variables that motive brand community engagement. Moreover, explore the mediating role of brand evangelism between brand community engagement and brand defense. The data was collected using quantitative research through an online questionnaire-based survey from 217 active members of certain social media brand communities (SMBCs) which are Facebook and Whatsapp. I chose them because they provide similar functionality. The data was analyzed by using regression analysis. Facebook; for example, adopting instant messaging (IM) features similar to those found in Whatsapp however, the two tools of social media provide different social practices, resulting in different user experiences with the same functionality. Thus, the current research adapted these two tools to add richness to data collection. Respondents are a variety of university students and more than 50 different occupations. The data was analyzed by using multiple regression analysis. The research findings provide a comprehensive analysis of user perceptions and engagement within an entertainment platform across eight dimensions. Users generally hold favorable opinions of the platform, with high ratings for entertainment and information, while self-discovery offers opportunities for improvement. Reliability analysis indicates strong internal consistency among measured items, enhancing data trustworthiness. The correlation matrix underscores significant relationships among dimensions, highlighting their interconnectedness. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett's Test supports data suitability. Communalities reveal variable significance through PCA. Regression analysis demonstrates the model's effectiveness in explaining engagement variance. Additionally, mediation analysis emphasizes the direct effects of engagement on brand defense, and the indirect one via brand evangelism, contributing to a deeper understanding of user experiences on the platform.

Emotional brand communication on social media to foster financial well-being

Through the lens of the emotional contagion theory, it is argued in this paper that retail banks’ brand communication strategies must enhance customers’ financial well-being in a bid to foster more engagement and create more trust. Financial well-being is even more important when customers experience hard economic times, as was the case during the period under review. To engage emotionally with customers in a digital environment devoid of real interaction, retail banks must be more aware of their emotional tone on social media by implementing a brand communication strategy that is more empathetic. Adopting an inductive qualitative research approach, this study assessed the emotional tone most evident in the Twitter corpora of seven South African retail banks’ social media brand communication during a pandemic, from a financial content marketing perspective. These banks were selected because they supply banking services to the general public, as opposed to corporations or other banks. In doing so, several data analysis tools were used to understand the context and the emotional tone characteristics embedded in the corpus, namely linguistic inquiry and word count, NVivo, and the social media analytics tool, Mention. While the retail banks’ financial content marketing initiatives focused on educating consumers about the banks’ products and services and how these may assist them to accomplish their financial objectives, the banks did so with an empathic approach and a positive emotional tone. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the need for financial brands, particularly retail banks, to focus on a positive emotional tone in their social media brand communication strategies to enhance customers’ financial well-being, especially in developing countries. The findings also accentuate importance of understanding emotional contagion for effective financial content marketing.

Why do consumers engage in a social media brand community: investigating the effect of psychological empowerment on commitment and loyalty

Purpose This study aims to use empowerment theory to examine the relationship between a user's engagement type (active or passive) and psychological empowerment (intrapersonal and interactional) in the context of a social media brand community (SMBC). This study also looks at the impact of psychological empowerment on brand community commitment (CC) and brand loyalty. Design/methodology/approach Convenience and snowball sampling were used to select respondents from mobile phone brand communities in India. The conceptual model was tested using structure equation modelling. Findings According to the study findings, active user involvement in SMBC is strongly associated to both intrapersonal and interactional empowerment (IE), but passive user engagement is weakly related to IE. Furthermore, customer empowerment and CC have a strong impact on brand CC and brand loyalty. Practical implications SMBC is now a significant point of contact for building strong consumer–brand relationships. SMBC members who are actively involved in the community have greater emotional bonding, trust and commitment to the brand. Therefore, social media marketers should encourage their customers to get involved in a brand community and empower them by involving them in brand related decision, etc. This will help the community grow and thrive. Originality/value This study addresses a research gap by examining how active and passive members of an SMBC facilitate both focal points of psychological empowerment (intrapersonal and interactional), which increase the brand community's commitment and brand loyalty.

Building a social media community around your brand: the moderating role of firm engagement tactics

ABSTRACT Firms can leverage social media brand communities (SMBCs) to manage consumer relationships. This study investigated firm engagement tactics using a mixed-methods approach with qualitative (Study one) and quantitative (Study two) analyses. Building on uses and gratifications theory and the qualitative results, we identify brand-specific consumer education, reputation enhancement, incentives provision, interaction support, and entertainment support as firm engagement tactics. Next, we explore the moderating effect of firm engagement tactics on the SMBC identification/SMBC engagement and SMBC engagement/brand loyalty relationships using the partial least squares method. The results confirm that consumer engagement mediates the link between SMBC identification and brand loyalty. In addition, firm engagement tactics positively moderate the aforementioned relationships. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Modeling Drivers and Outcomes of Fashion and Apparel Social Media Brand Communities Engagement

Modeling Drivers and Outcomes of Fashion and Apparel Social Media Brand Communities Engagement

Customer Engagement in Social Media Brand Community

Given the growth of Social Networking Sites (SNS), especially Facebook, companies have commenced engaging with customers in this newly emerged digital space. This study investigates the role of brand trust and brand love in enhancing engagement throughout Facebook. The effect of customer engagement on brand loyalty is also examined. Data was collected using a survey of 400 Syrian fast-food customers. The model is examined by structural equations modeling (SEM). The findings revealed that brand trust and brand love are considered drivers of customer engagement, also brand loyalty is an outcome of customer engagement. Moreover, the finding provides a model which brand managers can follow to build brand loyalty. It will add value in the field of Brand Management.

Fostering Consumer–Brand Relationships through social media brand communities

ABSTRACT Consumer-brand identification and consumer engagement in social media brand communities (SMBC) are two of the concepts most highlighted in recent studies, as brand benefit facilitators. This study addresses the importance of these two concepts and their interaction effect on brand loyalty in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) category. The results of the quantitative study show that in FMCG, consumer engagement in SMBC is driven by information searching, brand passion, feelings of community connection, and self-expression in the community. Consumer engagement and consumer-brand identification have positive impacts on brand trust and loyalty. The moderating effect of consumer–brand identification on the relationship between consumer engagement in SMBC and brand loyalty is negative, revealing that consumer engagement in social media brand communities has a stronger impact on brand loyalty when consumer-brand identification is low. This study showed the role of SMBC as a powerful communication medium, where brands and consumers can meet, and reach a mutual understanding of common needs and aspirations.

The depth of brand engagement funnel: dimensionalizing interaction in social media brand communities

Purpose This paper aims to contribute to the augmenting literature on consumer brand engagement (CBE) in social media brand communities (SMBCs) by offering the model of the depth of brand engagement funnel (DOBEF). The model is intended to complement the multi-dimensional conceptualization of CBE in the extant consumer behaviour literature and to critically address some of its foundational tenets. Design/methodology/approach A computer-mediated discourse analytic (CMDA) approach is adopted while using a mixed methods research design whereby qualitative data are quantified with a view to enhancing the robustness of the interpretive procedure. The data comprise 170 UGC posts stemming from three fast-moving consumer goods brands’ SMBC threads. Additionally, a netnographic approach is adopted in data collection, while data analysis/synthesis proceeds with the application of the laddering technique with the aid of the computer-aided qualitative discourse analytic CAQDAS software atlas.ti. Findings The bulk of user-generated content (UGC) in the scrutinized brand initiated thematic threads were found to be relevant, albeit negatively valenced or lacking in relevance altogether. This behavioural response pattern to brand initiated themes poses significant constraints to the level and quality of CBE. Multi-dimensional engagement across the DOBEF’s strata was found to be scarce, while engagement diminishes gravely as the upper layers of the model are reached. Research limitations/implications By conducting analyses on coded data alongside DOBEF’s strata, rather than treating consumer comments as raw data, the narrowing down of the semantic focus of posted comments in a thread-specific fashion is enabled, thus meeting the narrow contextualization criterion that is lacking from various studies in the extant literature. Practical implications By shifting focus in identifying CBE levels in SMBCs from attitudinal/behavioural antecedents/outcomes towards the content of the interaction, a nuanced perspective is offered as regards the depth of interaction, while addressing posted comments not only in terms of valencing, but even more importantly of valorization. Social implications By attending closely to incidents of negative brand engagement, and by dimensionalizing engagement along the funnel’s strata, a more nuanced understanding of territories where brand communities contribute to the dilution, rather than the enhancement of brand equity was obtained. Originality/value This is the first paper that discusses engagement on the grounds of deeply-laden consumer axiologies and the degree to which these are congruent with specific brand initiated thematic threads in SMBCs. It is anticipated that the discourse analytic (DA) approach that is adopted here will instigate further research that attends to UGC in a small-data, highly context-specific, rather than a big-data vein.

Linking FOMO and Smartphone Use to Social Media Brand Communities

Social media brand communities provide firms with the necessary apparatus to develop and maintain relationships. This study explores the effect of fear of missing out (FOMO) and smartphone use on consumer engagement in social media brand communities, which the study hypothesizes to affect consumer loyalty. Data from 279 social media brand community (SMBC) participants were analyzed. Findings reveal that both fear of missing out and smartphone use influence consumer engagement, which in turn influences consumer loyalty in social media brand communities. Furthermore, smartphone use was found to mediate the impact of fear of missing out on consumer engagement.

When will consumers be ready? A psychological perspective on consumer engagement in social media brand communities

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to explain whether consumer engagement in social media brand communities (SMBCs) motivates consumer brand loyalty; and second, to explore the antecedents of consumer engagement by developing a model based on personal engagement theory. Design/methodology/approach Online survey data from 279 brand community members of Weibo (one of the most popular social media websites in China) were used to test the proposed model. Structural equation modeling with partial least squares was performed to test both the measurement model and the structural model. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the interaction effects. Findings The findings show that three factors, namely, recognition, community identification and self-efficacy, had significant positive effects on consumer engagement in SMBCs, which consequently enhanced brand loyalty. Self-efficacy moderated the effects of both community identification and recognition on consumer engagement. The impacts of three factors on consumer engagement are contingent upon the type of SMBCs. Originality/value This study extends and advances the literature on consumer engagement by explaining consumer engagement in SMBCs from a new theoretical lens. This study also enriches personal engagement theory by investigating the effects of the interaction between different conditions of engagement. In addition, this study contributes to brand loyalty literature by providing empirical evidence of the impact of consumer engagement on brand loyalty. Finally, this study contributes to the online brand community study by introducing personal engagement theory into SMBC context, and examining the moderating role of SMBC types.

A sensory perspective in the Italian beer market

PurposeFrom literature, an uncovered issue around the customer-based brand equity (CBBE) is detected: the influence of sensorial preferences on the relationship between social media communication and CBBE. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects produced by social media brand communication – both firm-created content (FCC) and user-generated content (UGC) – on CBBE, according to the sensorial preferences in the beer industry.Design/methodology/approachA literature review has been used to develop a research model and hypotheses. The research is based on online survey carried out on a sample of 183 valid questionnaires of Italian active fans and followers in the beer industry. A multi-group analysis applied to structural equation modeling is used.FindingsThe sensory dimension prevails limiting the operating range of brand awareness that does not strongly affect CBBE. In brand equity development’ process, non-sensorial users do not consider sensorial preferences. The brand equity can become stronger by stimulating the reaction of customers through firms’ communication by using social media platforms. Therefore, the quality of peer interactions in the social media communication has a positive impact on brand loyalty. When firms use social media communication to increase overall brand equity, they have to foster and monitor FCC and UGC responses that affect different CBBE components.Originality/valueThe paper provides empirical evidence about the relationship between social media communication and CBBE, according to the importance given to sensorial preferences by beer lovers. This can be considered as the first study on this specific topic focused on the CBBE issue.

What makes fashion consumers “click”? Generation of eWoM engagement in social media

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the perceived exposure of fashion consumers to different types of fashion brands’ social media marketing (SMM) actions in social media, and its relationship with the intention to engage in electronic word-of-mouth (eWoM) behaviors.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical study uses a survey conducted on a stratified random sample of 241 Indonesian members of fashion social media brand communities (SMBCs). The research design includes 19 types of SMM actions and 3 types of eWoM engagement behaviors, and investigates their relationship using point-biserial correlation.FindingsGeneration of intention to engage in “pass-on” and “endorsement” eWoM has different drivers and serves different purposes. The findings suggest that endorsement engagement is contingent on the consumer’s perceived exposure to marketing action stimuli, while pass-on engagement is driven by cognitive-inducing actions.Research limitations/implicationsThis study extends current theory on SMM strategy and its relationship with eWoM engagement with a theoretically grounded conceptualization of eWoM engagement behaviors through the use of one-click social plug-ins.Practical implicationsThe study offers guidelines for fashion brands to effectively design their SMM strategies by identifying specific drivers of consumers’ intention to engage in eWoM.Originality/valueThis study identifies sources of generation of eWoM engagement behavioral intention from a fine-grained analysis of marketing actions across various fashion SMBCs. Besides, it extends the applicability of the “mere exposure” effect to the SMM context. The research pioneers the study on fashion consumers’ eWoM engagement behaviors in Indonesia, a country with one of the largest social media populations.

Brand Meaning Co-Creation in Social Media Brand Communities: A Laddering Approach (Under Review)

Social media brand communities (SMBCs) have been heralded for their co‐creative, participatory potential whereby consumers actively contribute to the proliferation of meaningful brand avenues in a virtuously circular relationship with brands. Elevated loyalty and enhanced brand equity have been posited repeatedly as likely outcomes of a positively engaged community of brand aficionados. However, evidence to the contrary as negative brand co‐creation or brand co‐destruction has been progressively piling up in the extant literature. This paper contributes to the meaning co‐creation in SMBCs literature primarily on two grounds: first, by offering a methodological framework for adapting the laddering research technique in a mixed methods vein to SMBCs data in a thread‐specific context, by leveraging the analytical capabilities of NVivo CAQDAS software; second, by addressing bottlenecks in the applicability of the proposed methodology in light of negative brand co‐creation.

The strategic co-creation of content and student experiences in social media

Purpose This study aims to enhance the understanding of how co-created content (CCC) can facilitate relevant and meaningful customer experiences in social media brand communities (SMBCs). It investigates the characteristics of CCC and explores the effects they have on member engagement from an identity theories perspective. Design/methodology/approach A netnography of a university’s Facebook and Instagram accounts was undertaken to analyse exemplary content co-creation practice and resulting user reactions in an organic setting. Findings The analysis of CCC confirmed a strong presence of identity narratives and cues that can be categorised into university, sub-group and student role identity themes. Members’ identity-consistent reactions highlight that CCC can influence member perceptions of the distinctiveness, prestige and similarity of the identities they enact. University identity theme CCC allows members to project other member’s identity narrative, while sub-group and student-role identity theme CCC can help increase identity synergy. Research limitations/implications The paper adds to the social media marketing literature that SMBC members are important integrators of symbolic resources that influence other members’ identity constructions and further their perceived relationships with the organisation and other members. Social media enables marketers to leverage members’ diverse identities to enhance customer experiences. The study’s single context focus may be a limitation. Practical implications The paper provides a useful framework for designing social media content that facilitates meaningful engagement. Originality/value The use of identity theories to enhance the understanding of CCC and its role in SMBCs is original. The paper generates new lines of future enquiries to advance theorisation of social media marketing.

SOCIAL MEDIA BRAND COMMUNITY ENJOYMENT (SMBCE): SCALE CONSTRUCTION AND VALIDATION FROM AN ETIC PERSPECTIVE

The present study builds on the literature on enjoyment in marketing to construct and validate a scale that measures Social Media Brand Community Enjoyment (SMBCE). The scale is developed using six studies (with total N =1 253) with five conducted in India (development and validation) and one in Portugal (generalization). The result is a five-dimensional SMBCE scale with these dimensions: engagement, affect, fulfillment, self-expression, and participation. SMBCE was found to influence brand affect and brand attachment and was found to be influenced by openness to experience. The study has relevant theoretical and managerial implications.

The Structural Relations between Social Media Brand Community and Trust, Commitment, and Loyalty

The Structural Relations between Social Media Brand Community and Trust, Commitment, and Loyalty

Trust transfer in social media brand communities: The role of consumer engagement

Social media brand communities (SMBCs) provide firms with a potential tool to develop brand relationships. The goal of this study is to understand the value of an SMBC to that brand by examining how the community contributes to one of the central brand relationship variables—brand trust. From the perspective of trust transfer, this study considers whether and how consumer trust in a brand can be transferred from other trusted parties in the SMBC, and the mediation of consumer engagement in this process. Based on a survey of 279 SMBC participants, this study demonstrates that consumer-to-consumer trust and consumer-to-marketer trust have positive impact on consumer engagement, which subsequently influence brand trust. Also the device usage was found to moderate the impact of consumer engagement on brand trust.

CAPTURING AND CO-CREATING STUDENT EXPERIENCES IN SOCIAL MEDIA: A SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY PERSPECTIVE

Drawing on social identity theory (SIT), this research investigates the role of university content strategies on student experiences in social media brand communities (SMBCs). A netnography of a university’s SMBCs sought to grasp the influences of identity cues, narratives, and marketer traits on member reactions. It was revealed that social media content plays an important sensegiving role in meeting members’ need to understand themselves, feel distinctive and positive about themselves, and feel supported and connected. The findings contribute to our understanding of the social media marketing phenomenon and inspire practice in the design of meaningful customer experiences in social media.

Social value, content value, and brand equity in social media brand communities

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of culture, personality, and motivation on social and content value, which in turn affect brand equity in social media brand community (SMBC) setting.Design/methodology/approachOnline surveys were conducted with 595 SMBC participants in China and the USA. AMOS is used in SEM analysis.FindingsConsumers with collectivistic, extroverted, and extrinsic orientation experience social value through social media participation. In contrast, consumers with individualistic and intrinsic orientation demonstrate content value. Furthermore, Chinese consumers show more social value and the US consumers more content value. Accordingly, the effect of social value (content value) on brand equity is stronger for Chinese (US) consumers.Research limitations/implicationsCulture was assessed only by individualism/collectivism, personality by extroversion/introversion and motivation by extrinsic/intrinsic. Future research should verify external generalizability beyond China and the USA.Practical implicationsEnhanced social and content value through consumers’ social media participation can increase brand equity. Thus, companies should motivate consumers to experience more value via social media participation, and, cultivate a multicultural climate and facilitate the exchange of culture.Originality/valueFirst, this research redefines customer value into two components: social and content value. Second, this paper is the first to investigate the antecedents (i.e. culture, personality, and motivation) and the consequence (i.e. brand equity) of customer value in social media community settings. Third, this study illustrates differences in social media customer value experiences of Chinese vs US consumers.

Impact of Social media brand communication on Brand Knowledge: Mediating role of Brand Image & Brand Awareness Application of CBBE model theory of Keller

In 21st century, where the use of social media is growing day by day. Individuals prefer social media for personal and professional use. Corporations are also communicating with their customers through the social media. Which increase awareness about the product of a specific brand. That ultimately develops brand knowledge. The basic objective of this study is to explore the relationship between the social media brand communication and brand knowledge by considering brand image and brand awareness as mediators. This study is quantitative in nature so for the purpose of data collection we adopted questionnaire method. 200 questionnaires were distributed among the students of thebusinessdepartment. Data was tested through SPSS (Statistical Packages for the Social Science) as well as AMOS (Analysis Movement of Structure) Software. Findings of this research show there is apositive and significant relationship among social media brand communication and brand knowledge. Moreover, brand image and brand awareness have extensively mediated the relationship between social media brand communication and brand knowledge.