Executive summary of “The influence of “Facebook friends” on the intention to join brand pages”
Article Type: Executive summary and implications for managers and executives From: Journal of Product & Brand Management, Volume 24, Issue 6
This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives a rapid appreciation of the content of this article. Those with a particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the research undertaken and its results to get the full benefits of the material present.
The advent of Web 2.0 technologies has seen social media become an integral part of many people’s lives. Adoption rates are especially strong among teenagers and young adults, who use social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter as a means to build, extend and articulate their personal networks.
Many businesses are also now using social networking sites (SNSs) to create pages for their brands. Research shows that such sites play a significant role in marketing communications for firms. This is illustrated by the fact that major corporations like Coca-Cola, Walt Disney and Starbucks are among the leading Fortune 500 companies that have established a strong presence on Facebook.
Marketers see the launch of Facebook brand pages as an effective means of developing closer relationships with consumers. Evidence suggests the mechanism is more effective in assimilating influential brand-related information and entertainment. Given this trend, companies can benefit from an increased understanding of SNS-related factors which most impact on the spread of brand pages.
Brand pages are perceived similarly to virtual brand communities, although their potential network of social ties is much broader. Users are encouraged by firms to click the Facebook “Like” button and become members or followers of the page. Clicking the Like button is a simple way of circulating brand information across a user’s social network by alerting his or her so-called “friends”. Certain features within Facebook can inform members within an individual’s network about his or her activities and which groups or pages he or she has joined. The prospective audience for the brand page can therefore increase substantially.
The Like button is said to function as a “passive recommendation”. In contrast, an “active recommendation” is performed when someone specifically “invites” a friend to join a certain brand page. People may thus opt to join such a page because many of their Facebook friends have done so or indicated a liking for the brand. Plenty research confirms the influence of significant others on consumer decisions. In this respect, “tie strength” is considered important. Strong ties typically reflect those within an individual’s close personal circle, while more casual acquaintances are examples of weak ties.
The same principle applies in an SNS context. Weak ties serve a valuable purpose though as a “bridging function” which facilitates information flow across networks. Strong ties are sometimes deemed more important because of their greater scope to be influential. Consumers typically have many strong and weak ties on an SNS because of the capacity for larger networks of friends that such platforms permit.
It is claimed in certain studies that the number of ties is less influential than their strength. Users are likelier to therefore trust information that comes from closer friends in the social network than from “friends of friends” who they are weakly associated with. Such information is likely to be more aligned with the interests of the user. When determining whether or not to join a brand page, the strength of relationship between sender and receiver of the invite might affect the decision.
Certain factors may moderate the influence of tie strength, researchers have found. Users have differing levels of experience with Facebook and knowledge of the tools available on the platform. Particularly significant are:
Satisfaction: Various reasons motivate the use of SNSs, with expression and presentation of the self uppermost for many people. If information received meets such needs, satisfaction is likely to be higher. This, in turn, could increase the likelihood of joining brand pages.
Joining brand pages in the past: Research shows that earlier satisfaction with this increases the tendency to behave similarly in the future.
Facebook intensity: This refers to usage of Facebook in terms of number of friends, time spent on the SNS and tendency to update ones profile more regularly compared to others. Intensity is positively linked with knowledge about information obtained in the network. Heavy users of Facebook also tend to build a larger and more heterogeneous network of friends. Developing “social capital bridges” through distant connections is also typical for such individuals.
Palazón et al. purport that those who are satisfied with Facebook use, have previously joined brand pages and/or exhibit high Facebook intensity will be less concerned whether strong or weak ties provide information and be more inclined to trust their own judgment.
Two studies were conducted to additionally investigate key issues. In the first, 283 subjects aged between 18 and 35 were recruited. Participants were exposed to one of two simulated Facebook pages containing information about a brand page from friends the receiver respectively has strong or weak ties with. The page relates to a new smartphone brand. Questions addressed respondent intention to join the brand page and their previous Facebook experience pertaining to the variables discussed above. Their level of “social inventiveness” was also measured.
The second study again addressed tie strength, this time along with active and passive recommendation. Tie strength was manipulated by the 199 participants mentioning a Facebook friend that they had a close or distant relationship with in real life. The brand page of a fictitious restaurant was used, and the stimulus indicated they were either invited to join by their friend or could see on their Facebook wall that this friend has joined the brand page. Similar questions were used as before with regard to intention to join and Facebook experience.
These studies reveal how both strong and weak can impact on consumer intention to join brand pages in that:
when Facebook experience is low, strong ties have a greater influence than weak ties;
the impact of strong ties is higher when an active recommendation is responsible for information about the brand page;
weak ties become more important as Facebook experience grows; and
influence of weak ties is equal to that of strong ties in a passive recommendation situation and greater when experience level is moderate or high.
The authors conclude that increased Facebook experience reduces the significance of strength and concomitantly makes weak ties more influential. They note the capacity of weak ties to disseminate information through networks and expect their importance to grow further in line with people’s additional experience of SNSs.
In the view of Palazón et al., managers should take the network of current followers into account when communicating information about their brand. Reaching out to friends of existing followers can help to create links to many additional networks. One suggestion is to segment users based on their level of Facebook experience. A focus on their weak ties is seen as the best strategy when experience is high, while low experience of SNSs would be best addressed by targeting the strong ties of users. In the latter case, people are likely to join the brand page only if they trust the information source. Those with strong ties could also be encouraged to actively recommend the brand page to their friends.
Examining interpersonal influence on other social network platforms such as Twitter is a future research option. Studies could also explore firms’ active promotion of brands and ascertain if other factors influence people to join brand pages. These might be brand-related incentives or individual motivations.
To read the full article, enter 10.1108/JPBM-08-2014-0696 into your search engine.
(A précis of the article “The influence of “Facebook friends” on the intention to join brand pages”. Supplied by Marketing Consultants for Emerald.)
