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Mktg 203 social media essay

Consumer Behaviour (Macquarie University)

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“Social media has enabled and accelerated the social construction of brand meaning. Are all
brand communications (consumer, organisation or other originated) within this environment
authentic, and trustworthy? Discuss”

In an era that has experienced dramatic growth in technology, there has been positive and negative
changes in how brands communicate and how marketing messages penetrate. Defined as “online
applications, platforms and media which aim to facilitate interactions, collaborations and the
sharing of content” (Kim & Ko 2012, pp. 1481), social media has created boundless space for
communication between consumers, organisations and communities. Examples of social media
include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and they come in the form of videos, social blogs, web blogs,
pictures and so forth.(Kim & Ko 2012). The rise of social media platforms such as Instagram and
Facebook has enabled and accelerated the social construction of brand meaning as consumers are
now provided with a platform where they feel empowered to want organisations to listen to their
ideas, appropriately engage, and respond (Kietzmann et al 2011). However, such pervasive change
also portrays social media as a cultural phenomena where brand communications within this
environment can be both authentic and trustworthy and inauthentic and untrustworthy. With a
detailed analysis of the nature of social media and brand meaning, this essay will aim to show how
social media has accelerated the social construction of brand meaning by building brand resonance
with consumers. This essay will then critique on the authenticity and trustworthiness of brand
communication within social media through an analysis of earned and owned media and the
individual constructs within this such as social media based brand communities (SMBBC) and
electronic word of mouth (e-WOM). However, because the terms authenticity and trustworthy are
all based on consumer perception and credibility, it is ambiguous and hard to pinpoint in certain
whether the environment of social media is an authentic and trustworthy one. However, it can be
said that whether it is authentic or trustworthy, social media has started a new digital era.

Social media has enabled the social construction of brand meaning by creating multiple platforms.
Through these multi-layered digital platforms, consumers and organisations are able to engage and
connect more efficiently and more intimately. This is because it is now easier to participate in social
media as physical barriers have been removed and communication has shifted from a fixed space of
a computer screen to the moving form of smart phones (Davis & Sajtos 2008). For example, many
fashion brands such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton now have their own app on iPhone where they are

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able to communicate more efficiently with their consumers (Kim & Ko 2012). According to a
study done by DEI Worldwide (2008), research shows that over 70% of consumers go to social
media to obtain information about a brand and 49% of these consumers make a purchase decision
based on the information they gathered through social media sites (Kim & Ko, 2010a). Hence from
an organisational point of view, the rise of social media has accelerated and enhanced the level of
interaction with consumers in an efficient way for them to gather information and share their
thoughts. This demonstrates a positive impact on the significant of constructing brand meaning.

Furthermore, the increased level of engagement between consumers and organisations on social
media has allowed consumers to participate in the shaping of brand offering. This in turn
demonstrates another positive outcome, as social media enables consumers to actively take part in
the building of brand meaning. Brand meaning, according to Keller (2001) is the idea of
establishing a brand image that stands in the mind of consumers. Brand meaning is made up of two
major categories of brand association: brand performance and brand imagery. Brand performance is
how the consumer feels about the product itself whilst brand imagery is the “extrinsic properties of
a product or service that meets the social needs of a customer.” (Keller 2001, pp. 10). Traditionally,
brands rely heavily on brand performance, store image, word of mouth and TV ad campaigns to
establish a strong brand meaning and organisation value that resonates with consumers. However,
due to the rise of social media, organisations can now rely more heavily on building brand imagery,
that is the culture and personality of a brand to engage with their customers. For example, In 2009,
Traditional luxury house Burberry, launched a social network site called “artofthetrench.com” to
communicate the brand culture of Burberry with its customers. (Kim & Ko 2012). For customers,
the brand meaning of Burberry has always been defined as luxurious, fashion-forward, with their
most iconic pieces coming from their trench coat line. The use of the social network site not only
reinforced Burberry’s brand meaning but also allowed customers to view the historical culture of the
brand, creating strong resonance within them. This highlights the fact that social media has not
only accelerated the social construction of brand meaning, but more importantly it has allowed
organisations and already well established brands to continue to resonate with their consumer and
facilitate the emergence of social brand engagement and communication.

Social media brand communication and engagement can be divided into two categories: owned
social media and earned social media. Owned social media is a media channel that is owned and
controlled entirely by the brand owner (Xie & Lee 2015). The most popular form of owned media
are websites and blog posts. On the other hand, earned social media refers to social media activity
related to a brand that is not controlled by the brand owner, but instead, is the vehicle that helps

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consumer get to the owned media. For example, consumer will browse through reviews about a
makeup product before they go to the actual website of the brand to purchase it. As can be seen,
owned and earned social media share a dyadic relationship in ensuring that communications
between consumers and organisations within this environment translate through. However the
authenticity and trustworthiness of this environment is debatable. Trust is defined as a “rationally
based expectation that technically competent performance and/or fiduciary obligation and
responsibility will be forthcoming” (Barber 1983) . Brand trust can be both built and diluted by
social media communications. The creation of SMBBCs and the use of earned media such as e-
WOM, UGC can enhance the credibility of a brands owned media leading to an increase in brand
equity for organisations only if its perceived as authentic and trustworthy. However, the high level
of exposure in the nature of social media means that it can also diminish a brands image just as fast
as it can enhance it if consumers view it as inauthentic and untrustworthy.

The creation of SMBCCs, formally defined as “specialised, non-geographically bound community

based on a structured set of social relations among admirers of a brand (Muniz & O’Guinn 2001, pp.
412) are grouped communities where communications are transferred and connections are built.
SMBCCs can also increase the trustworthiness and authenticity of a brand as brand community
members can co-create value with the brand, give brands innovation that leads to product
improvement leading to better future prospects for companies (Schau et al 2009). Because of the
high level of integration between SMBCCs and brands, loyalty can be increased. The better quality
of such integration, the more positive the effect is on the company (Habibi et al 2014). However,
SMBCCs is a double-edged sword and because of the high level exposure of brands on social
media, if qualities of products decreases, it will be easily picked up online and transmitted very fast
through WOM. This could potentially lead to a sudden collapse of a loyalty market that the
company and brand has made a great deal of effort over many years to nurture.

It can be argued that SMBCCs help nourish authentic connections as the fundamental factors that
builds a SMBCC are shared consciousness (Muniz & O’Guinn 2001). This is supported by
Rheingold, (1991) who believes that people can make new friends, engage in intellectual
discussion, exchange knowledge and give emotional support in brand communities. Thus,
highlighting that brand communications within social media can be authentic and real. However, it
can also be argued that brand communities give off an illusion of authenticity but is actually
superficial in nature. According to a Sydney Morning Herald, about one third of Australians feel
lonely although they are all part of a social brand community that is more connected than ever
before. This leads us to question if connections built online authentic or is it just merely people

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subconsciously and consciously receiving and communicating marketing messages. Thus, it can be
argued that the use of social media as a form of social construct is not without flaws, as the
impression and varacity of brand meaning can easily be manipulated for specific results.

E- WOM, the essential form of earned media, is defined as “any positive or negative statement
made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company, which is made
available to a multitude of people an institutions via the internet.” (Hennig, Thurau, Gwinners,
Walsn & Gremler 2014). Unlike traditional world of mouth, e-WOM is written. This not only gives
consumers the advantage of sharing thoughts and information at a time and place that is most
suitable to them but allows them to connect with other consumers across the globe (Sun, Young,
Wu & Kuntaraporn 2006). e-WOM can be perceived as a authentic and trustworthy way of brand
communication because it originates from first hand experiences of other consumers (Bickart &
Schindler 2001). Another reason of why sWOM can be trustworthy is that usually, consumers only
adopt e-WOM when they think that the credibility of an online source is high (Hong & Park 2012).
When a consumer browse online for information about a certain product or brand, they first look at
the quantity of the e-WOM. Usually products with more reviews become most observable
(Eisingerich et al 2015). After this, consumer will then judge on the quality of the e-WOM, that is,
looking at the credit rating by of the review by other consumers that has visited the before.

However, e-WOM can also be untrustworthy due to the high level of social risk it brings upon
consumers. sWOM is usually provided within an established everyday-based circle of friends
family and acquaintances (Eisingerich et al 2015). This means that before a consumer shares, likes
or review anything on social media platforms such as Facebook and Youtube, they will first analyse
how this might affect their own reputation (Mandel 2003). Therefore reviews may be altered and
twigged to portray a certain product in a more positive or negative light because of the influence of
a consumers social circle. Thus, brand communication within this environment is less authentic and
trustworthy then it might seem as consumers are more bounded by the idea of self-enhancement and
presenting themselves favourably, rather than providing what they actually think of a certain
product or brand.

In conclusion, social media has not only enabled and accelerated the social construction of brand
meaning, but has allowed well established brands to build strong brand resonance and relationships
with their consumer. The rise of social media has demonstrated positive functions in the process of
creating brand meaning. This includes enhancing the level of intimacy and engagement during the

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construction of brand meaning. However, this is contrasted with the flaws of this mode of social
construct as social media has also introduced issues in the process of creating brand meaning. These
include the possibility of falsified transparency and increased capacity to manipulate perspectives of
brand meaning. Hence, the exploration of such concepts demonstrate the complexity of social
media as a form of social construct, as it inevitably introduces both positive and negative impact to
the enforcement of brand meaning. Regardless, social media has had a profound impact on the ways
in which consumers and brands interrelate, and although brand communication within this
environment, to a large extent, is inauthentic and untrustworthy, it is important to continually
examine this relationship and the implications it has on consumers, brands and organisations.

Word count: 2011

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