From fandom to fad: are millennials really engaged with and loyal to their loved brands on social media?

Abstract

Purpose Exerting a peculiar fascination on both managers and academics, Millennials can be distinguished from other cohorts by their intense exposure to the internet and heavy use of social media, which, in turn, affect their identity formation, brand engagement, loyalty and purchase behaviour. Yet, uncertainties regarding online engagement and the real benefits brands can reap from Millennials’ avid use of social media remain. Therefore, by developing a holistic model of drivers and outcomes, this study aims to understand how Millennials engage with their most loved, self-expressive brands across social media platforms and its impact on loyalty-related intentions. Design/methodology/approach Data was gathered using a self-administered survey, answered by 343 millennial generation social media users and based on self-selected self-expressive, loved brands. Considering brand loyalty as a key outcome, a holistic model was developed and tested using partial least squares-structural equation modelling, emphasizing not only the role of social media engagement but also including brand love, experience and identification as direct and indirect antecedents. Findings Findings suggest a disconnection between online and offline brand relationships: though Millennials love and are very loyal to their favourite brands, they are not actively engaged in social media, which helps to explain the non-significant effect of engagement on brand loyalty. Moreover, together with brand identification, brand experience was found to play a major role in developing brand love, which, in turn, is positively related to engagement and loyalty. Originality/value Theoretically, this study contributes to bridging a gap in the literature, as research on engagement, its drivers and outcomes is scant and there is no robust evidence about its impact on brand loyalty, particularly among Millennials. Moreover, research on disengaged consumers who exhibit limited willingness to engage is still scant. Managerially, this study provides insights for brand managers wishing to successfully engage and build relationships with Millennials and to identify key routes to Millennials’ loyalty.

The role of parasocial relationship in social media marketing: testing a model among baby boomers

“…However, the study results showed that online engagement was not a significant predictor of brand loyalty. A similar finding was noted in recent research, which studied the relationship between brand love, social media engagement and brand loyalty among millennials (Fernandes and Inverneiro, 2020). The disconnect between online engagement and brand loyalty may be related to the fact that although baby boomers may establish a parasocial relationship with hospitality brands, they do not actively engage with them in social media, leading to a nonsignificant relationship with brand loyalty.…”

“…The lack of research on the older generation is an important gap, considering the significant business value of these consumers for the hospitality industry. In addition, generational theory suggests that different cohorts may have distinct consumption attitudes and behaviors given their varying formative experiences, values and technology usage (Fernandes and Inverneiro, 2020). There are some indications that baby boomers vary from other generations in their engagement motivation and brand attitude on social media (Krishen et al, 2016).…”

“…Content-related antecedents are the benefits and value consumers' access through interacting with brand-generated content, and include utilitarian and hedonic IJCHM 33,5 benefits (Bilgihan and Bujisic, 2015;Jahn and Kunz, 2012;Kang et al, 2014). In addition, online engagement and brand loyalty are selected as key outcomes of the parasocial relationship because of their heightened importance for marketing researchers and practitioners (Fernandes and Inverneiro, 2020).…”

Exploring the antecedents and outcomes of destination brand love

“…In the concrete case, this means that the more passionate the Erasmus students felt about their host country, the more likely they were to post pictures on their social media accounts and to share their experiences with Erasmus on the internet. Interestingly, recent research has found that, although some consumers love brands, they do not actively engage with them on social media (Fernandes and Inverneiro, 2020). This may explain why eWOM was one of the weakest outcomes for destination brand love in this study.…”

The role of storytelling in the creation of brand love: the PANDORA case

“…Bergkvist and Bech-Larsen (2010) stress the importance of the identification with the brand, as the closer the consumer self-image is to the brand image, the higher is the level of identification with the brand. Fernandes and Inverneiro (2020) reiterate the connection between brand identification and brand love. Carroll and Ahuvia (2006) also mention self-expression as an antecedent of brand love, as consumers value "the degree to which the specific brand enhances one's social self and/or reflects one's inner self" (p. 82), and thus prefer brands that help create and reinforce their identities and its expression.…”