دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی سن شناسی دنبال کنندگان رسانه های اجتماعی - امرالد 2018

Abstract

Purpose – Luxury brands tend to be hesitant in adopting social media. This matter has created an imminent need to understand the different types of online luxury followers so as to help luxury brands communicate effectively with their consumers, while maintaining the “luxe” image and experience. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to provide luxury brands with a deeper understanding of their online audience and the strategies needed to engage with them through the different social media platforms. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach was utilized in which 24 in-depth interviews were conducted with Lebanese followers of an online luxury brand’s social media pages. Findings – The study identifies the presence of six main categories of online luxury followers: pragmatists, bystanders, trend hunters, image seekers, passionate owners, and prime consumers. Each group has a specific engagement and propensity to buy levels. Research limitations/implications – Understanding the different segments of luxury brand followers provides a framework for marketing managers that allows them to correctly target their marketing and communication strategies in order to maximize consumer engagement and purchasing behaviors. Originality/value – A significant gap exists in the extant literature which offers no understanding of the different luxury brand followers and their different characteristics. This study is the first to offer an exploratory typology of the various luxury brand followers on social media platforms.

Conclusion

In an age where brands have the privilege of using social media platforms to reach potential customers on a daily basis, it is important to note who is receiving this information and what their feedback is. This is especially crucial in the case of luxury brands, which are among the most popular brands on social media. These brands have a sizeable number of followers, yet they must be aware of the types of consumer segments that are present within these followers. Accordingly, this research is the first to identify and analyze the different profiles of luxury brand followers present on social media. By focusing on the values of each profile relative to the brand, this study is the first of its kind to provide a working framework for luxury brands’ marketing managers. However, it must be noted that this work is not without limitations. First, the study utilized a qualitative, face-to-face interview approach that may cause a social desirability bias (Farah, 2017b). Moreover, the analysis focuses solely on the case of Lebanese consumers, which might limit the generalizability of the findings. Despite these limitations, this study offers an initial framework for research endeavors to build upon in this stream of literature. It can be replicated in other countries and cultures to determine if cross-cultural differences impact online consumer segments and behavior in the context of luxury brands. Moreover, further work can empirically examine the impact of the different suggested strategies on brand performance.