The Role of Online Social Media in Brand-Consumer Engagement:
An Exploratory Study
Abstract Submitted to the Direct/Interactive Marketing Research Summit Proceedings
August 31, 2012
Andrew J. Rohm
Associate Professor, Marketing Department, College of Business Administration, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, arohm1@lmu.edu
George R. Milne
Professor, Marketing Department, Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, milne@isenberg.umass.edu
Velitchka Kaltcheva
Associate Professor, Marketing Department, College of Business Administration, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, velitchka.kaltcheva@lmu.edu
Researchers have noted the importance of generating more
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2011). At the same time, companies are seeking to better understand the extent to which social media can and should play a role in customer engagement (Parent, Plangger, and Bal 2011).
Our knowledge regarding social media-driven brand-consumer engagement and what constitutes effective social media strategy is only now developing. Although both industry and academic research has begun to examine the role of social media within firm-customer interactions, there is a continued need for empirical investigation of usage characteristics and behaviors with respect to social media and online brand engagement, particularly among younger consumers. Accordingly, our study investigates the role of social media among younger consumers as they actively engage online with brands spanning the product, service, and media sectors. We administered a written diary to fifty-eight individuals over a one-week period in late Fall 2011. Diary data captured background information on social media usage and recorded 406 discrete company-respondent interactions across two primary social media platforms—Facebook and Twitter—as well as email. Email interactions were included in the study because this form of contact is part of the electronic ecosystem connecting consumers and businesses and is complementary to social media usage.
Our study makes two contributions to the growing body of social media marketing research. First, we uncover several themes characterizing online brand-consumer
Course Description This course involves an integrated analysis of the role of marketing within the total organization. Specific attention is given to the analysis of factors affecting consumer behavior, the identification of marketing variables, the development and use of marketing strategies, and the discussion of international marketing issues. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: University policies: You must be
The use of social media marketing has become a standard way in which organizations advertise their products or services. Social media marketing allows consumers to have immediate access to other consumers reviews or to post a review about a product or service. There is engagement between the company and the consumer (Evans, Dave 2010). Social Media emerged in the late 1980’s when websites such as Prodigy, Compuserve and America Online. Prodigy was first of it’s kind and was known as a ”consumer online service”. Half of the page is devoted to advertising. Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Hi5, Bebo and Orkut are all social media platforms that are utilized as platforms today.
It is interesting how social media today is influencing the marketing role of many companies and how it’s playing a big role in their success. The more the company advertises on social media, the
Social media has become an influential ground for consumers to share their opinions about a company’s brand and products. In addition, it helps in having a strong brand that produces positive relations and distinguish the brand from competitors, is a critical component for effective marketing. According to Dahlén and Lange (2009) “the quality of the product is not the evident factor when it comes to purchasing a product, the deciding factor depends on how the brand is perceived” (Para. 1). This demonstrates the importance of incorporating social media as a tool to promote brands, allow for interactions, and customer satisfaction by engaging with customers more frequently for feedbacks or reviews. Thus create an opportunity for the company to show its devotion to their customers, and initiate good reputation, which can increase sales. In other words, social media has the ability to upsurge the awareness for businesses as well as the brand.
Kerin, R. A., Hartley, S. W., & Rudelius, W. (2013). Marketing. (11th ed.). New York, New
Research on the subject of using social media for advertising began with the review of several scholarly articles. The Journal of Marketing published an article named “From Social to Sale: The Effects of Firm-Generated Content in Social Media on Consumer Behavior” on January 1 of this year. The authors conducted a study on consumer behavior linked to social media and e-mail advertising. Their results are promising. A separate article was published in April on the use of social media in sales. This article, “The Use Of Social Media In Sales: Individual And Organizational Antecedents, And The Role Of Customer Engagement In Social Media”, tested a model
David J. and John F. 2009, Foundations of marketing, 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill higher Education,5: 120-122
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2012). Marketing Management (14th ed., pp. 517-518). Essex, London: Prentice Hall.
Social media has become essential as a marketing tool for CU's, which is why 74% of marketers are incorporating social media into their marketing budgets. The CMO Survey released in August 2014, indicates that “marketing budgets are expected to increase by 7.2% in the next year.” With 1.65 billion social accounts that are active globally, social media has become an effective
This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree in Marketing Practice
Received: 26 January 2010 / Accepted: 29 September 2010 / Published online: 20 October 2010 # Academy of Marketing Science 2010
In today’s business world, social media is being discussed on a daily basis. This phenomenon has taken over the marketing and advertising industries and has changed the way they handle their efforts to attract customers. There is a big misunderstanding that social media are only popular networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, but as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, social media are “forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and micro blogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos).” The rise of these online communities has given companies an opportunity to engage in conversations with their customers. This in
Copyright 2006 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America This chapter was originally published as chapter 4 of Marketer’s Toolkit, copyright 2006 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior
In modern days people and organizations rely so much on the internet as the main source of information. Every business organizations must, therefore, evolve and develop a platform where people can access information about them. Social media as a tool for doing business as Wang (2013) continues to grow and in recent years it has seen an increase in usage as compared to mainstream media as a source of information and communication channels by customers. It offers a great platform which organization can use to create awareness and advertisements. Use of social media in any business entity has many advantages but Odden (2012) also observed that it also require commitment, strategy, and defined systems. Social media allow entities to increase brand recognition campaigns, improve brand loyalty and create more opportunities to reach covert customer (Saravanakumar and SuganthaLakshmi 2012). It is achieved through accessing many peoples and by having high conversation rate with potential and existing customers.
Social media is defined as a group of Internet-based applications which build on the platform of Web 2.0 and the contents of these applications can be modified by all users in a participatory and collaborative method (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). Social media creates a platform for companies to talk to their customers as a hybrid element of promotion mix. With the emergence of social media, the tools and strategies for companies to connect with customers have also changed (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). To adapt with the emergence of social media in the marketing, companies should have unique insights about these significances (Quan-Haase and Young, 2010). The significances of social media embody three main aspects which are technology, decision-making and purchase behaviors of customers.