Consumer engagement on social media: insights from a virtual brand community

Lima, Vitor; Irígaray, Hélio Arthur Reís; Lourenço, Carlos Eduardo

doi:10.1108/qmr-02-2017-0059

Cited by 45 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…A study reported that the Covid-19 pandemic increased panic buying for some consumption categories but also decreased consumption for the hospitality industry (Hall et al , 2020). Many marketing-related studies have described the importance of social media for social communication, social networks, social influence (Treviño and Pineda Garelli, 2019; Mazzoli et al , 2019; Hallock et al , 2019), customer engagement (Lima et al , 2019), negative information, false claims, social sharing, praise or revenge (Tuten and Perotti, 2019; Whiting et al , 2019), but these studies did not provide an understanding of how social media can play an important role in raising insecurities about visiting retail stores for necessities of life, health risks, perceived risk and social proof which increased stockpiling behaviour. Therefore, the present study aims to address this gap by exploring the role of social media to generate social proof in an engaged society for stockpiling behaviour of customers during Covid-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of social media to generate social proof as engaged society for stockpiling behaviour of customers during Covid-19 pandemic

Naeem

2020

QMR

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Purpose The use of social media and information exchange increased during Covid-19 pandemic because people are isolated and working from home. The use of social media enhances information exchange in a global society, therefore customers are uncertain and not in a better position to take decisions before the situation goes worst everywhere in the world. The current study helps to understand how social media facilitate social and global engagement and information exchange which ultimately leads to the development of the customer psychology of stockpiling. This study aims to develop a research framework which helps to understand the customer psychology of stockpiling during a global pandemic. Design/methodology/approach This study opted for a social constructionist approach because it can help to understand both individual and social subjective realities with respect to stockpiling behaviour due to the fear and risk of Covid-19 pandemic. For this purpose, the researcher collected data from 40 customers of UK retail stores who actively use social media. The data were collected during telephonic interviews and thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Findings Results highlighted that institutional communication and social public interpretation of uncertainties and risk enhanced misinformation and sensationalism through social media platforms; therefore, stockpiling behaviour increased during Covid-19 pandemic. The fear of items being out of stock, illness, misinformation, family fear and going out were some of the possible causes that led to the development of panic stockpiling behaviour. The global uncertainty proof, as well as a public social consensus for staying at home and protecting the future also increased customers’ intention to buy in bulk for their future. Although social media played an important role in transferring relevant and timely information, it also increased uncertainty and social proof which may have led to stockpiling of retail products. Research limitations/implications The results of this study are beneficial for understanding how Covid-19 creates and enhances uncertainties and risks at both global and national level which developed into customer panic stockpiling behaviour, even when there is no promotional scheme or decrease in prices. This study helps marketers understand the psychology of customer stockpiling during a global pandemic. This study also helps to understand the role of social media, which promotes social interpretations of uncertainties and risk which ultimately enhance panic stockpiling among customers. Originality/value Limited research is available which provides an understanding of how social media can play a role in socially generated uncertainties and risks, which enhance misinformation and sensationalism, as well as the development of stockpiling behaviour. This study provided a stockpiling behaviour model based on the theory of uncertainty and social proof. The results of this study are unique as there is limited literature available which connects social media, uncertainties and risk, Covid-19 pandemic and stockpiling behaviour among educated people.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of social media to generate social proof as engaged society for stockpiling behaviour of customers during Covid-19 pandemic

Naeem

2020

QMR

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“…Subsequently, the authors articulated the consumers' online brand-related activities framework, comprising the three aforementioned acts in a hierarchically ordered fashion. However, their behaviourally-oriented model that rests on the psychological paradigm as theoretical underpinning conceptualizes CBE as a multidimensional phenomenon comprising cognitive, emotional and behavioural aspects (Moura et al, 2019) without attending to actual SMBCs data. From a CMDA point of view, multidimensionality is rather approached as the discursive performance of concurrent layers of attribution, based on identifiable brand knowledge structure dimensions, namely attributes, consumer benefits and attitudes (Keller, 1998).…”

Section: From Valencing To Valorizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Rossolatos

2020

QMR

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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.

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“…Social networks on the internet are viable through digital platforms known as social media (Jain et al , 2018; Tsimonis and Dimitriadis, 2014). Companies, such as sports clubs, can promote products and services through word-of-mouth, by which consumers transmit informal opinions, criticisms and suggestions about them (Lima et al , 2019; Kozinets et al , 2010).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soccer and Twitter: virtual brand community engagement practices

Zanini

Moraes

Lima

et al. 2019

MIP

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify how consumer engagement practices shape the dynamics of a soccer club virtual brand community. Design/methodology/approach A netnographic approach was employed. Using a Python script, more than 7,000 tweets about São Paulo FC soccer club on Twitter were collected and analyzed using the Virtual Brand Community Engagement Practices typology. Findings The dynamics of engagement relies on two types of practices: those that comprise the actions of tweeting, retweeting, replying to, mentioning and liking messages from and about the São Paulo FC soccer club profile and those derived from the proposition of Hollebeek et al. (2017). Given the dynamics of Twitter, some practices have performed differently than the original proposal, resulting in a slight adaptation of the framework. Research limitations/implications Given the length and the netnographic nature of this study, its findings should be considered exploratory. Future studies can build upon the ideas presented here by researching different contexts and focal objects of engagement. Practical implications This paper provides the refinement of social media strategies and content development to make them more efficient and to establish a relevant communication channel with audiences. This knowledge can contribute to a better understanding of goals and metrics. Originality/value This paper is based on the behavioral nature of engagement in virtual brand communities, which is an increasing topic of interest. To date, few studies have examined online engagement using a practice approach specifically in the sports marketing context.

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Consumer engagement on social media: insights from a virtual brand community

Cited by 45 publications

References 73 publications

The role of social media to generate social proof as engaged society for stockpiling behaviour of customers during Covid-19 pandemic

The role of social media to generate social proof as engaged society for stockpiling behaviour of customers during Covid-19 pandemic

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

Soccer and Twitter: virtual brand community engagement practices

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