Augmenting brand community identification for inactive users: a uses and gratification perspective

In an era where companies shift a part of their marketing budget to support their social media presence, very little is known about the antecedents and effects of participant identification in a social media community. This research aims to examine the antecedents of community identification in a Facebook company-managed brand community, for inactive members, using the Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT). Brand community identification is also expected to lead to higher levels of brand loyalty for these members. This research reports the results of a quantitative with survey data from 389 members of a variety of different official Facebook pages. The results reveal that inactive members of Facebook pages can be influenced to act in a way that is beneficial for a company. Perceived human and information value of the brand Facebook page lead members to identify with a brand community and identification is a strong predictor of loyalty to the brand. By showing that brand community identification and loyalty exists for users with low activity levels, this research challenges the widely accepted idea that only highly active members are valuable in online brand communities. Specifically, it reveals the most important motivations for these members to identify with the community and be loyal to the brand.