Skip to main content

Customer Engagement in Facebook Brand Communities: Measurement and Best Practices from the Airline Industry

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:

Abstract

This paper explores customer engagement in online brand communities and identifies best practices to enhance customer engagement in social media marketing contexts. Drawing on a case study of 30 full service network carrier Facebook communities, the findings demonstrate that customer engagement levels of a majority of these airlines are low, i.e. customers are only marginally or passively engaged. The findings also highlight distinct patterns of customer engagement behaviour among the top three airlines, whose customers are highly engaged. Through proposing a customer engagement measurement framework, this paper contributes to methods of measuring the effectiveness of social media marketing efforts. It suggests that one of the best ways to motivate customers to engage with brands is to create a good mix of marketing content that includes: relevant brand-focus information, entertainment, awards, and tips.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Brodie, R. J., Hollebeek, L. D., Juri, B., & Ilic, A. (2011). Customer engagement: Conceptual domain, fundamental propositions, and implications for research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brodie, R. J., Ilic, A., Juric, B., & Hollebeek, L. (2013). Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: An exploratory analysis. Journal of Business Research, 66(1), 105–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2011). Chapter 12. Content analysis. In A. Bryman, & E. Bell (Eds.), Business research methods (3rd ed., pp. 288–310). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cabiddu, F., Carlo, M. D., & Piccoli, G. (2014). Social media affordances: Enabling customer engagement. Annals of Tourism Research, 48, 175–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calder, B. J., Isaac, M., & Malthouse, E. C. (2013). Taking the customer’s point-of-view: Engagement or satisfaction? Working Paper Series, Report No.13, 1–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caliesch, D., & Liebrich, A. (2011). Organisational challenges of using social media marketing: The case of two network carriers. In P. Keller & C. Laesser (Eds.), New challenges for tourism promotion: Tackling high competition and multimedia changes (pp. 71–84). Berlin: Erich Schmidt Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Capa Center for Aviation (2013). World aviation yearbook 2013: Global overview. Retrieved from http://centreforaviation.com/reports/files/29/CAPA%20Yearbook%202013%20-%20Global.pdf.

  • Chan, N. L., & Guillet, B. D. (2011). Investigation of social media marketing: How does the hotel industry in Hong Kong perform in marketing on social media websites? Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 28(4), 345–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Vries, L., Gensler, S., & Leeflang, P. S. H. (2012). Popularity of brand posts on brand fan pages: An investigation of the effects of social media marketing. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26(2), 83–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dessart, L., Veloutsou, C., & Morgan-Thomas, A. (2015). Consumer engagement in online brand communities: A social media perspective. The Journal of Product and Brand Management, 24(1), 28–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Facebook (2016). News Room. Retrieved from http://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/.

  • Fisher, T. (2009). ROI in social media: A look at the arguments. Journal of Database Marketing; Customer Strategy Management, 16(3), 189–195.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gamboa, A. M., & Goncalves, H. M. (2014). Customer loyalty through social networks: Lessons from Zara on Facebook. Business Horizons, 57(6), 709–717.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grančay, M. (2014). Airline Facebook pages—a content analysis. European Transport Research Review, 6(3), 213–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gummerus, J., Liljander, V., Weman, E., & Pihlström, M. (2012). Customer engagement in a Facebook brand community. Management Research Review, 35(9), 857–877.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hennig-Thurau, T., Gwinner, K. P., Walsh, G., & Gremler, D. D. (2004). Electronic word-of-mouth via consumer-opinion platforms: What motivates consumers to articulate themselves on the Internet? Journal of Interactive Marketing, 18(1), 38–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, D. L., & Fodor, M. (2010). Can you measure the ROI of your social media marketing? MIT Sloan Management Review, 52(1), 41–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollebeek, L. D., Conduit, J., & Brodie, R. J. (2016). Strategic drivers, anticipated and unanticipated outcomes of customer engagement. Journal of Marketing Management, 32(5–6), 393–398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horn, I. S., Taros, T., Dirkes, S., Hüer, L., Rose, M., Tietmeyer, R., et al. (2015). Business reputation and social media: A primer on threats and responses. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 16(16), 193–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hvass, K. A., & Munar, A. M. (2012). The takeoff of social media in tourism. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 18(2), 93–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kemp, S. (2016). Digital in 2016. Retrieved from http://wearesocial.com/uk/special-reports/digital-in-2016.

  • Kozinets, R. V. (2010). Chapter 01: Cultures and communities online. In R. V. Kozinets (Ed.), Netnography: Doing Ethnographic Research Online (pp. 1–20). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladhari, R., & Michaud, M. (2015). EWOM effects on hotel booking intentions, attitudes, trust, and website perceptions. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 46, 36–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leung, D., Law, R., Van Hoof, H., & Buhalis, D. (2013a). Social media in tourism and hospitality: A literature review. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 30(1–2), 3–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leung, R., Schuckert, M., & Yeung, E. (2013). Attracting user social media engagement: A study of three budget airlines Facebook pages. In L. Cantoni & Z. Xiang (Eds.), Information and communication technologies in tourism (pp. 195–206). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malhotra, A., Kubowicz Malhotra, C., & See, A. (2013). How to create brand engagement on Facebook. MIT Sloan Management Review, 54(2), 18–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mistilis, N., Agnes, P., & Presbury, R. (2004). The strategic use of information and communication technology in marketing and distribution—a preliminary investigation of Sydney hotels. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 11(1), 42–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muniz, A. M., & O’Guinn, T. C. (2001). Brand community. Journal of Consumer Research, 27(4), 412–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murdough, C. (2009). Social media measurement. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 10(1), 94–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, L., Moscardo, G., & Benckendorff, P. (2007). Exploring word of mouth influences on travel decisions: Friends and relatives vs. other travellers. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 31(5), 517–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen Media Research. (2012). The state of media: The social media report 2012. Retrieved from http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports-downloads/2012-Reports/The-Social-Media-Report-2012.pdf.

  • Pansari, A. & Kumar, V. (2016). Customer engagement: The construct, antecedents, and consequences. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, (online first), 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmallegger, D., & Carson, D. (2008). Blogs in tourism: Changing approaches to information exchange. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 14(2), 99–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skytrax. (2015). World’s Top 100 Airlines in 2015. Retrieved from http://www.worldairlineawards.com/Awards/worlds_best_airline.html.

  • van Doorn, J., Lemon, K. N., Mittal, V., Nass, S., Pick, D., Pirner, P., et al. (2010). Customer engagement behavior: Theoretical foundations and research directions. Journal of Service Research, 13(3), 253–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vargo, S. L., & Lusch, R. F. (2008). Service-dominant logic: Continuing the evolution. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36(1), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wirtz, J., Ramaseshan, B., van de Klundert, J., Canli, Z. G., & Kandampully, J. (2013). Managing brands and customer engagement in online brand communities. Journal of Service Management, 24(3), 223–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Withiam, G. (2011). Social media and the hospitality industry: Holding the tiger by the tail. Cornell Hospitality Report, 3(3), 6–15.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Wozniak .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this paper

Cite this paper

Thao, V.T., Wozniak, T., Liebrich, A. (2017). Customer Engagement in Facebook Brand Communities: Measurement and Best Practices from the Airline Industry. In: Schegg, R., Stangl, B. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2017. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51168-9_49

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics