Engaging and sustaining brand community on Facebook: Study of Finnish shopping malls.

Abstract

ENGAGING AND SUSTAINING BRAND COMMUNITY ON FACEBOOK: STUDY OF FINNISH SHOPPING MALLS

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE The main objective of this thesis is to examine how shopping center organizations may gain competitive advantage by facilitating online communities. Research focus is on what kind of content creates engagement and value for a business in online communities. Study is made by observing Finnish shopping centers' Facebook pages and how interaction between brands and customers are taking place in this type of online brand communities. Additionally, this thesis casts light on how engaging community may influence on hedonistic and utilitarian shopping behavior. In the study, motivations for businesses to participate as well as consumers to join brand communities are examined. Furthermore, antecedents of an online community are characterised. The final interest is to draw a blueprint for measuring success in a Facebook community.

RESEARCH METHOD AND DATA The main data source is statistical data generated by Facebook insights function. The chosen methodology is mixed methods, where univariate analysis is combined with netnography. The used data are from three Finnish shopping malls' Facebook Pages, which were observed between January 1st 2012 and December 31st 2012. The data were coded manually, classified, and then analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively, and the results reported.

KEY FINDINGS The key findings of this study were that an online brand community such as a Facebook Page serves best hedonistic consumption behavior. Content is crucially important in creating value for a brand and it should be measured by using the quality of engagement. The size of the community did not remarkably change the quantity or quality of the engagement. According to the results, the most engaging content on a shopping center's Facebook Page is non-commercial, entertaining, brief content that is stating in tone and is visual. The study also found that women tend to be more active community members in shopping mall communities than men.

KEYWORDS: brand community, virtual online community, consumer community, Facebook, Social Networking sites, shopping malls, hedonistic consumption, utilitarian consumption