Social Media and Its Implications for Marketing Communications

The field of marketing communications studies is often called on to close the gap between marketing and computer-mediated studies. This chapter engages with the concept of social media in the design and implementation of marketing communication programmes, particularly in the UK Fashion sector. The chapter goes on to conclude, rather sceptically, that understandings of the various nuances of social media platforms could engender effective customer retention programmes. It also offers a new way of thinking about customer engagement, incorporating social media platforms.

Stakeholder Interaction for Sustainability

The wave of new media technology is sweeping across the globe. Given its speed of information dissemination and retrieval, it is relevant to explore how it can be used to manage corporate-stakeholder relations, engagement, and communication. This is because communication is an effective medium for managing relations (and crisis). In the post-conflict era in Niger delta region of Nigeria that has been described as slipping into the abyss of renewed conflict and violence following perceived failure of the amnesty deal to drive change, it is crucial to rethink the instrumentality of the new media in bringing better corporate-community relations in the region. It is expected that this process will democratise stakeholder engagement and widen discursive space following the speed, method, and multiplicity of the platforms that new media affords. The author also hopes that arguments shared here will cause a rethink on the possibility of a sustainable future in post-conflict Niger delta through new media technology.

Social Media and SMEs in Transition Countries

The consequences of social media applications are experienced at every level in an organizational context, but they are arguably most extensively experienced in developing effective marketing communication strategies. Drawing on constructivist perspectives, recognizing the socially constructed realities embedded within this evolving techno-cultural construct, the current chapter suggests that understanding social media must begin not in the technological domain, but in the way in which users negotiate meanings between and amongst themselves in the Internet ecosystem. This could potentially help marketers to develop effective marketing communications programmes. Understanding the co-evolution of social media connectivity and sociality in the context of the emerging culture provides deeper insight into how SMEs, particularly in transition economies, could adapt to and contextualize values of openness and connectedness offered by this technological tapestry. Certain conditions in which the deployment of cultural transformation is likely to succeed are identified, and a future empirical research agenda is suggested.

Defining the Role of Social Media as a Contemporary Local Area Marketing Technique in Franchising

Literature on Local Area Marketing (LAM) and social media engagement techniques for franchise businesses is scant, with Direct and Online Marketing the primary focus. It is important for franchise businesses to have a qualified understanding of social media to integrate its use as a LAM technique in their business. Problems facing franchise businesses include confusion over how social media functions within local area marketing strategy, a unified perception over how social media can be used to develop their business, and the lack of a basic theoretical model for social media engagement and LAM guidelines. This chapter examines the role of social media in LAM. It explores the franchise business attitude on new technology adoption including the use of social media. It presents a coordinated framework for the application of social media to increase awareness and enhance franchise business success, providing an important contribution to the franchise industry sector.

What Social Media Marketing Content Is Best to Engage Consumers?

The aim of this chapter is to investigate and empirically validate the factors contributing to consumer engagement on social media, particularly on Facebook brand pages. Using a dataset of marketing content posted on the top 100 Food and Beverage brand pages on Facebook, a qualitative study, based on an interpretive approach, has been carried out to identify the various content themes used in highly engaging posts. The results of this research demonstrate that there is a different causal impact of several content themes on consumer engagement constructs. The findings of this study permit one to better understand the determinants of consumer engagement related to the marketing content posted on Facebook brand pages and provide brand managers with valuable guidance on how to design and implement effective social media marketing strategies generating consumer engagement.

Brand Trust in Offline and Online Environments

Social media operates in the online environment, and the challenge is to enhance the end-user experience. The chapter asserts that the consumer experience and behaviour in the online (e.g. e-commerce) and offline environments have some commonality with social media. Building a successful brand online is a prerequisite for success, but fundamental to trusting brand beliefs is the ability to create trust and by extension commitment. The trust-commitment relationship is fundamental to brand building and to influence end-user intentional behaviour. This relationship is enhanced by physical means (website design [aesthetics], website functionality [privacy and security]); although these are important factors alone, they do not guarantee a pleasant online experience. Online firms like social media need to create social interaction on the website to communicate affective involvement. Online effectiveness leads to positive behavioural intention and continual repeat usage via attitudinal formation.

Consumer Attitudes toward Online Video Game Purchases

Much research has been carried out on online shopping and the implications of such a purchasing format for consumers and retailers. The majority of these studies have focused on consumer attitudes toward online shopping and how these can be useful predictors of online shopping adoption. Despite these insights from adoption theory, extant research has not yet distilled the most effective means of understanding consumers' attitudes toward online video game purchases. This chapter aims to shed light on this issue by developing an integrative framework to examine how the advent of Internet technologies affects consumers' attitudes toward video games.

Digital Governance and Social Media Engagement

Social media and online brand communities are important factors in today's business environment (Fuchs, 2014; King, 2013; KPMG, 2012). This chapter presents an in-depth qualitative analysis in the sector of financial services companies; additionally, it provides some indications for the adaption to other services and to general industry companies. In itself, communication in the digital social network provides no value for companies, but it may help to create value (Piwinger & Porák, 2005; Zerfaß, 2006). Social media is already naturally integrated within many areas of everyday work, according to the interviewed experts. However, many companies still have deficits in their governance structures for social media. Used properly, digital social networks might be a cost-effective component in communication between the company and its partners and customers. Social media networks can contribute in the medium- or long-term to gain the trust of customers and business partners.

Social Media and Customer Retention

Social media has become an integrated part of everyday life, but its entry into the luxury goods industry has been far from easy. The use of social media in the luxury beauty industry has caused many heated debates as it is seen as a form of interference in the exclusivity of luxury brands by limiting the physical and sensual contact between brand and customer. The purpose of this chapter is to provide some insights into how social media impacts the cosmetics industry. Further, the authors provide evidence that the effective application of social media in the luxury beauty industry could lead to wider market share and customer retention. The chapter concludes with some strategies that practitioners and researchers can adopt to develop effective marketing communication strategies using social media platforms.

Mobile Phone Purchases and the Consumer Decision-Making Process

Facebook has been one of the popular Social Networking Sites (SNS) in recent years. With an increasing number of consumer groups using SNS, an understanding of consumer attitudes and behaviour towards its advertising becomes useful for businesses, in particular for those mobile phone companies that encounter consumer tastes in favouring technologically innovative products. Furthermore, greater attention needs to be paid to the function of online advertising in influencing the purchasing process. The study in this chapter contributes to our understanding of consumer behaviour towards SNS advertising. The differing behavioural segments identified show that Facebook advertising impacts the pre-purchase stages of the consumer decision-making process in mobile phone purchasing. Furthermore, the findings show that whilst social networking amongst peers is recognized as a key determinant of online engagement formal networking enabled by technical mechanisms on Facebook can be another key reason for using the site.