The strategic management of social media relationships
Creators: name: Cooper, Anthony
Publisher: name: RMIT University
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 350604
subject: Marketing communications

description: Groups of consumers who derive value from interacting with brands and their customers are referred to as brand communities. The advent of social media saw these groups migrate to online environments followed by marketers who recognised the commercial potential of such communication networks. The nature of relationships in online contexts is highly dynamic, however, and different to the offline. Empowered consumers now challenge traditional brand management paradigms in an ecosystem contested by multiple players, some of whom service the burgeoning online environment, where all compete for share of voice, hearts and minds.

Attracted by low-cost and highly efficient targeting, social media offers marketers myriad opportunities for consumer engagement leading to stronger, more robust relationships. Consequently, social media has become a ubiquitous element of the marketing mix in little more than a decade; with marketing spend in these channels now exceeding that of print media. Industries with strong hedonic drivers, fashion for example, have been at the forefront of the rapid embrace of these media. The impact on consumer-brand relationship dynamics because of the bi-directional character of social media and the capacity of peer-to-peer communications through such networks to impact brands has required a rethink of the brand management protocols in these digital contexts. Understanding the manner in which firms manage the challenges of brand governance in online settings is therefore important in order to mitigate financial and reputational risk.

This thesis examines the strategic management of relationships conducted in social media environments within the context of the fashion industry to understand how firms confront the inherent tension when disparate groups come together in branded social media settings. The research is based around three empirical papers. A preceding initial pilot study which was published just prior to candidature provided the seminal foundation for the conceptualisation of the nature of engagement in long-term relationship marketing and is included in the thesis by way of background for this reason. 
Paper 1 identified three principal levers used by marketers to balance the conflicting goals of the firm and its fans. Paper 2 examined strategies for the mitigation of negative sentiment within social media, identifying five domains of influence as the basis for effective management. The final paper (Paper 3) documented the management of relationships with stakeholders who have emerged to support the social media milieu.
 
The thesis contributes to theoretical knowledge relating to branded communication management using social media-based communities, identifying the need for agility and adaptability. It provides empirically based practitioner guidance regarding a balanced approach to social media management in contexts of potential conflict. Above all, the thesis captures the profound shift that has taken place in social media from the beginning to the end of candidature.