Consumer Engagement Behaviors in Brand Communities of Social Networking Sites

Many companies have realized the enormous potential of social networking sites and have invested considerable resources in encouraging consumer engagement behaviors in brand communities of social networking sites. In this study, we attempt to propose a research model that explains how consumer engagement behaviors in brand communities of social networking sites affect brand loyalty. The research model is empirically tested with 201 Facebook users. The results provide supports to our research hypotheses and illustrate the importance of consumer engagement behaviors in social networking sites in building brand loyalty. Findings of this study are expected to provide useful insights for emarketers to develop brand loyalty through consumer engagement behaviors in online social networks as well as for researchers to better understand the relationship between consumer engagement behaviors in online brand community and consumer behavior

Social Media Strategic Plan For Under Armour

This thesis is a study of the effects of social media on an organization’s integrated marketing communications strategy in general and provides a proposal of how the sports apparel company Under Armour could use social media to enhance its promotional strategies. It is a discussion of the implications that social media has on consumer behavior with focus on how social media has changed the way today’s consumers interact with brands. This thesis provides an analysis of the growing importance of social media being implemented within a business. Benefits discussed include the appeal of social media over traditional media, increased customer satisfaction, increased loyalty, and brand awareness. A list of essential social media networking sites is discussed under the different platforms of networking, promoting and sharing, highlighting their importance to a business. Under Armour’s current social media presence is discussed and how social media has become a new component of the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) mix. An illustration of how Homeland/Embassy strategy uses social media is provided as an example of how Under Armour could use social media in its IMC mix

Social Media and Consumer Culture: Addicted to the Idealized Consumer

For better or for worse, social media has become party of the fabric of society. As technology and social networking sites increasingly affect the behavior and culture around us, signs of digital addiction are on the rise. This article discusses the connection between consumer culture and social networking site addiction

Digital Food Marketing to Children and Adolescents: Problematic Practices and Policy Interventions

Examines trends in digital marketing to youth that uses "immersive" techniques, social media, behavioral profiling, location targeting and mobile marketing, and neuroscience methods. Recommends principles for regulating inappropriate advertising to youth

The effect of social media communication on consumer perceptions of brands

Researchers and brand managers have limited understanding of the effects social media communication has on how consumers perceive brands. We investigated 504 Facebook users in order to observe the impact of firm-created and user-generated social media communication on brand equity, brand attitude and purchase intention by using a standardized online survey throughout Poland. To test the conceptual model, we analyzed 60 brands across three different industries: non-alcoholic beverages, clothing and mobile network operators. When analyzing the data, we applied the structural equation modeling technique to both investigate the interplay of firm-created and user-generated social media communication and examine industry-specific differences. The results of the empirical studies showed that user-generated social media communication had a positive influence on both brand equity and brand attitude, whereas firm-created social media communication affected only brand attitude. Both brand equity and brand attitude were shown to have a positive influence on purchase intention. In addition, we assessed measurement invariance using a multi-group structural modeling equation. The findings revealed that the proposed measurement model was invariant across the researched industries. However, structural path differences were detected across the models

The Role of Sense of Community in Online Brand Social Networking Sites

This study was designed to explore the phenomenon of social commerce marketing in relation to consumer-brand relationship development. The specific research objective were as follows: (a) to identify multiple factors motivating consumers to have sense of community in the context of brand social networking sites; (b) to investigate the effects of general connection between consumers and the brand on developing a sense of online brand community in social networking site-based brand communities; (c) to examine potential outcomes of having a sense of online brand community in brand social networking sites such as brand commitment, advocacy, and loyalty; (d) to investigate whether levels of participation in brand social networking site strengthens the relationship between a sense of online brand community and relational outcomes such as brand commitment. Theoretical foundations from sense of community (i.e., sense of psychological community), social identity theory, and social capital theory were used to support and test a proposed model. This research employed an online self-administered survey method. A total of 617 complete responses were collected from consumer panels across United States. The analyses of responses were based on a two-step approach: confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Through confirmatory factor analyses with the measurement model development, each construct was examined carefully. The results from the structural model suggested that perceived social support and consumer-brand relationship were important drivers of relationship mediators (i.e., sense of online brand community), which led to relational outcomes (i.e., brand commitment, brand preference, brand advocacy, and behavioral loyalty). However, need for affiliation did not have impact on developing a sense of online brand community. In addition, the levels of engagement of in brand social networking sites strengthened the relationship between sense of online brand community and brand commitment. From the results, academic and managerial implications were suggested, and suggestions for future research were presented

Measuring consumers' engagement with brand-related social-media content: development and validation of a scale that identifies levels of social-media engagement with brands

The main purpose of this study is to develop a scale to measure consumer's engagement with social media brand-related content. The reported scale (CESBC) comprises three dimensions: consumption, contribution, and creation. Qualitative techniques were used to generate an initial pool of items that capture different levels of consumer engagement with social media brand-related content. Quantitative data from a consumer survey (=2252) was then collected in two phases to calibrate and validate the ensuing scale. Results confirmed the structure and psychometric properties of the CESBC. As expected, each subscale is significantly correlated with nomological network constructs, i.e., brand equity and brand attitudes

Be creative, my friend! Engaging users on Instagram by promoting positive emotions

Instagram is emerging as the most influential social network; this phenomenon is especially apparent in the fashion industry. Fashion brands are launching creative campaigns on Instagram to engage their followers. The present study aims to increase the understanding of followers’ engagement by analyzing the consequences of brand publications on Instagram. Taking as a basis the S-O-R framework, brand publications (stimulus) may generate perceptions of creativity and positive emotions in their followers (organism) which, in turn, may influence their affective commitment and interaction intentions (response). Our results, based on data collected from 808 followers of an Instagram fashion brand account, analyzed using structural equation modeling, confirmed that perceived creativity is a crucial aspect of Instagram. In addition, positive emotions and affective commitment act as partial mediators in the relationship between perceived creativity and interaction intentions. These results have interesting implications for both the fashion industry and content generation on Instagram

The Role of Opinion Leadership Characteristics and Brand Commitment as Drivers of Brand-Related Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) in Social Networking Sites (SNS)

Previous studies on the antecedents of Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) have either focused on the opinion leadership characteristics of individuals, or on brand commitment. It is the aim of this study to combine these two separate streams of research by evaluating the impact of opinion leadership characteristics and brand commitment as possible drivers of EWOM on Social Networking Sites (SNS). It is found that brand commitment is indeed a strong driver of brand related EWOM. Brand commitment mediates the motivation to engage in EWOM by those who already exhibit opinion leadership characteristics. In addition, the findings show that those who have opinion leadership characteristics and those who do not have opinion leadership differ in the type of EWOM they engage in. This can be defined as Active EWOM (content creation) and Passive EWOM (forwarding information). Marketers can use this information to design strategies that appeal to the needs of those with opinion leadership characteristics by creating novel experiences, or to enhance commitment by rewarding users who share positive information about the brand