SMM2 - Motives of social media use (keywords, mp + scenario questions)

What is the difference between traditional marketing and social media marketing?

Traditional marketing uses push communication (one-way, company controls message, top-down); SMM uses pull communication (consumer seeks out content, lots of interaction, bottom-up, 5th P = participation)

What are owned, paid, and earned media?

Owned = brand's own channels (e.g. website); Paid = bought advertising space (TV, internet ads); Earned = free exposure via others, e.g. eWOM — no direct cost but little control

Why is earned media both the most powerful and most risky media type?

It has the largest reach of all three types, but the brand has the least control — positive eWOM can spread further than any paid campaign, but negative eWOM (firestorms) is equally uncontrollable

What is the 5th P in the new marketing mix?

Participation — social media enables consumers to have more input in products and services, involved in all stages of the marketing process

What is Uses & Gratifications (U&G) theory?

A theory that explains why people actively and selectively choose media to fulfill specific psychological and social needs; media use is goal-oriented

What is the difference between gratifications sought and gratifications obtained?

Gratifications sought = what the user hopes to get from media use (antecedent); gratifications obtained = what they actually get (consequence). These can differ — e.g. seeking relaxation but getting stress

What are the 5 broad motives for social media use (Chen & Peng, 2023)?

1. Expression and exhibition 2. Information seeking and sharing 3. Social interaction 4. Escapism and relaxation 5. Norm and trend following

What are the 6 platform affordances identified by Chen et al. (2023)?

1. Information richness 2. Communication regulation 3. Persistence 4. Network association 5. Anonymity 6. Privacy

What platform affordances do social interaction seekers prefer?

High network association and — surprisingly — less information richness, implying they prefer textual communication

What platform affordances do expression and exhibition users prefer?

High information richness and strong privacy protection

What personality traits predict social interaction motive on social media?

Extraversion and neuroticism — both groups are more likely to seek online social interaction and prefer platforms with strong network association

What personality type is most likely to use social media for expression and exhibition?

Narcissistic users — they seek platforms with rich, visual information to present themselves to others

What distinguishes users with openness/conscientiousness in social media use?

They primarily use social media for information seeking and sharing — driven by utilitarian and cognitive motivations rather than social or hedonic ones

What is Br-UGC and what makes it powerful?

Brand-related User Generated Content — it is visual, often includes a brand mention, used strategically, and comes from trusted sources; this makes it more powerful than influencer marketing

What are the 4 brand take-aways for effective Br-UGC strategy?

1. The sender makes the difference 2. Authenticity is crucial 3. Subtlety works 4. Match strategy to the source

Why do functional/promotional posts trigger the advertising radar more than emotional content?

Functional strategies activate persuasion knowledge; self-promotional posts are quickly recognized as advertising; emotional and social/inspiring content bypasses this radar more effectively

What is a social community?

Platforms that focus on collective activities of users who share similar interests or identities, emphasizing relationship-building, conversations, and collaboration — social interaction is the main reason for participating

What are the 3 characteristics that differentiate social media sites?

1. Audience specialization (internal vs. external) 2. Social objects that mediate relationships (existing network vs. shared interest) 3. Openness (open = one-to-many, e.g. Instagram; closed = restricted, e.g. WhatsApp)

What are the 3 brand engagement strategies?

1. Conversations 2. Real-time marketing (right place, right time; respond to current events) 3. UGC contest campaigns (participatory advertising: consumers create branded content)

What are the 3 levels of brand-related social media use?

1. Consumers/lurkers (90%) 2. Contributors — e.g. sharing (9%) 3. Creators — loyal brand ambassadors (1%)

Why do customers 'befriend' brands on social media?

Identity expression, showing their 'ideal self', and building social capital

What did Bazi et al. (2020) research?

What motivates consumers to engage with luxury brands on social media — identified 13 motivations grouped into 6 macro-dimensions

What are the 6 macro-dimensions of luxury brand engagement (Bazi et al., 2020)?

1. Perceived content relevancy 2. Brand-customer relationship 3. Socio-psychological motives 4. Brand equity 5. Aesthetic motives 6. Hedonic motives (+ Technology-related motives in the framework)

What is brand ethereality (Bazi et al., 2020)?

A brand's ability to let consumers dream and fantasize about an idealized, fairytale lifestyle through its luxurious and exclusive visuals

What is status signaling as a motive for luxury brand engagement?

The strong need to display success, wealth, and belonging to an elite group to one's personal network via conspicuous consumption of luxury goods

What is actual self-congruency?

The drive to interact with brands whose identity and personality seamlessly align with the consumer's own self-image

What did Kaur et al. (2020) research?

The effect of brand community identification and reward on consumer brand engagement, and how engagement then drives brand loyalty in virtual brand communities

What are the main findings of Kaur et al. (2020)?

Brand community identification and reward both positively drive consumer brand engagement; engagement in turn strongly increases brand loyalty; engagement also partially mediates the relationship between identification/reward and loyalty

What are the 4 dimensions of consumer brand engagement (Kaur et al., 2020)?

1. Conscious attention 2. Affection 3. Enthused participation 4. Social connection

What is the role of reward in brand communities (Kaur et al., 2020)?

Both hedonic rewards (entertainment, relaxation) and utilitarian rewards (information, discounts) directly and positively drive consumer brand engagement

Explain why engagement is more important than reach or number of fans

A large following with low engagement produces little brand loyalty; it is the depth of interaction — identity, reward, community belonging — that creates loyal brand ambassadors, not mere exposure

What is a virtual brand community?

A specialized, non-geographically bound online network based on social communication and relationships between consumers of a specific brand

What is brand community identification?

The degree to which consumers identify with an online community, creating a strong emotional sense of belonging to both the brand and fellow community members