Discuss how social media can be used to build a brand community and Essay

Discuss how social media can be used to build a brand community and illustrate your answer with detailed examples of such use - Essay Example It goes without saying that technologies and social media, in particular, contribute to the development of the collective brand identities and, therefore, brand communities. The example of Apple Macintosh suggests that social media, including blogs, forums, and social networks, facilitate the creation and expansion of brand communities, through the creation of shared meanings, the development of groups and clubs, elimination of any formal hierarchy, and diversification of communication instruments and ties. Brand communities Brand communities are among the most popular topics of present day market research. The rapid advancement of technologies and social media, in particular, contributes to unprecedented growth of brand communities and groups. According to Muniz and O’Guinn (2005), â€Å"brand communities are nongeographically bound collectives of brand admirers who, through their ability to aggregate and community at very little cost, assert themselves as important marketpl ace collectives† (p.65). Brand communities are always about building and sustaining a common, collective identity in their members (Muniz & O’Guinn 2005). ... Needless to say, brand communities develop and operate through the subcultures of consumption which differ from brand communities but also share numerous common features with them. Subcultures of consumption Unlike brand communities, subcultures of consumption is a separate society subgroup, which self-selects as a result of developing shared commitment to brand, product class, or consumption activity (Heding, Knudtzen & Bjerre 2008). The basic features of a subculture of consumption include (a) social hierarchy; (b) shared ethos; (c) unique lexicon and ritualistic features; and (d) unique ways of symbolic self-expression (Heding, Knudtzen & Bjerre 2008). Subcultures of consumption exemplify a collective view of numerous brand communities and identities. In the current state of global marketing, brand communities are of particular importance for firms, since they primarily focus on shared brand meanings and do not normally reject the prevailing society’s culture (Wiegandt 2009 ). In this sense brand communities’ reliance on low-cost communication methods and social interaction implies that social media do play a role in their development and expansion (Wiegandt 2009). The Apple brand community presents a unique example of how social media and brand communities interact. Apple Macintosh, brand communities, and social media Apple is one of the most frequently cited objects of brand community research in professional literature. Much has been written and said about what works and sustains the culture of sharedness in Apple Macintosh brand communities. It should be noted that the Apple brand community displays a number of specific features. These