The Role of Digital and Social Media Marketing in Consumer
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THE ROLE OF DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
Andrew T. Stephen
L’Oréal Professor of Marketing
University of Oxford, Saïd Business School
Park End Street, Oxford OX1 1HP, United Kingdom
Email. Andrew.Stephen@sbs.ox.ac.uk
Submitted to Current Opinion in Psychology special issue on consumer behavior
October 12, 2015
* Corresponding author: Andrew Stephen, L’Oréal Professor of Marketing, Saïd Business
School, University of Oxford, Park End Street, Oxford OX1 1HP, United Kingdom
(Andrew.Stephen@sbs.ox.ac.uk). The author thanks Nancy Puccinelli for providing comments
on an earlier draft, Cait Lamberton for discussions about the digital marketing literature that
helped inspire some of the opinions expressed in this article, and the special issue editors for
their helpful feedback.
THE ROLE OF DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
Andrew T. Stephen
L’Oréal Professor of Marketing
University of Oxford, Saïd Business School
Park End Street, Oxford OX1 1HP, United Kingdom
Email. Andrew.Stephen@sbs.ox.ac.uk
Submitted to Current Opinion in Psychology special issue on consumer behavior
October 12, 2015
* Corresponding author: Andrew Stephen, L’Oréal Professor of Marketing, Saïd Business
School, University of Oxford, Park End Street, Oxford OX1 1HP, United Kingdom
(Andrew.Stephen@sbs.ox.ac.uk). The author thanks Nancy Puccinelli for providing comments
on an earlier draft, Cait Lamberton for discussions about the digital marketing literature that
helped inspire some of the opinions expressed in this article, and the special issue editors for
their helpful feedback.
2
THE ROLE OF DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
ABSTRACT
This article reviews recently published research about consumers in digital and social
media marketing settings. Five themes are identified: (i) consumer digital culture, (ii) responses
to digital advertising, (iii) effects of digital environments on consumer behavior, (iv) mobile
environments, and (v) online word of mouth (WOM). Collectively these articles shed light from
many different angles on how consumers experience, influence, and are influenced by the digital
environments in which they are situated as part of their daily lives. Much is still to be
understood, and existing knowledge tends to be disproportionately focused on WOM, which is
only part of the digital consumer experience. Several directions for future research are advanced
to encourage researchers to consider a broader range of phenomena.
THE ROLE OF DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
ABSTRACT
This article reviews recently published research about consumers in digital and social
media marketing settings. Five themes are identified: (i) consumer digital culture, (ii) responses
to digital advertising, (iii) effects of digital environments on consumer behavior, (iv) mobile
environments, and (v) online word of mouth (WOM). Collectively these articles shed light from
many different angles on how consumers experience, influence, and are influenced by the digital
environments in which they are situated as part of their daily lives. Much is still to be
understood, and existing knowledge tends to be disproportionately focused on WOM, which is
only part of the digital consumer experience. Several directions for future research are advanced
to encourage researchers to consider a broader range of phenomena.
3
INTRODUCTION
Using the internet, social media, mobile apps, and other digital communication
technologies has become part of billions of people’s daily lives. For instance, the current rate of
internet use among American adults is about 87% and is closer to 100% for demographic groups
such as college-educated and higher-income adults [1]. Younger people—the next generation of
mass consumers—have similarly high levels [2]. People also spend increasing time online. For
example, in the UK, over the last decade the number of hours spent online by adults has more
than doubled, and now averages 20.5 hours per week [3]. Social media has fueled part of this
growth: worldwide there are now more than 2 billion people using social media [4], and
Facebook alone now has approximately 1 billion active users per day [5].
Clearly, people are exposing themselves to more and more digital and social media. This
is for many purposes, including in their roles as consumers as they search for information about
products,1 purchase and consume them, and communicate with others about their experiences.
Marketers have responded to this fundamental shift by increasing their use of digital marketing
channels. In fact, by 2017 approximately one-third of global advertising spending is forecast to
be in digital channels [6]. Thus, future consumer marketing will largely be carried out in digital
settings, particularly social media and mobile. It is therefore necessary for consumer research to
examine and understand consumer behavior in digital environments. This has been happening
over the last decade, with increasing amounts of research focusing on digital consumer behavior
issues. The literature is still relatively nascent, however, and more research is of course needed—
particularly given the ever-changing nature of the digital/social media/mobile environments in
which consumers are situated and interact with brands and each other. This article attempts to
1 For convenience, I use the term “product” throughout this article to refer to any kind of marketed offer from a firm.
This can include specific products or services, as well as brands (multiple products or services) as a whole.
INTRODUCTION
Using the internet, social media, mobile apps, and other digital communication
technologies has become part of billions of people’s daily lives. For instance, the current rate of
internet use among American adults is about 87% and is closer to 100% for demographic groups
such as college-educated and higher-income adults [1]. Younger people—the next generation of
mass consumers—have similarly high levels [2]. People also spend increasing time online. For
example, in the UK, over the last decade the number of hours spent online by adults has more
than doubled, and now averages 20.5 hours per week [3]. Social media has fueled part of this
growth: worldwide there are now more than 2 billion people using social media [4], and
Facebook alone now has approximately 1 billion active users per day [5].
Clearly, people are exposing themselves to more and more digital and social media. This
is for many purposes, including in their roles as consumers as they search for information about
products,1 purchase and consume them, and communicate with others about their experiences.
Marketers have responded to this fundamental shift by increasing their use of digital marketing
channels. In fact, by 2017 approximately one-third of global advertising spending is forecast to
be in digital channels [6]. Thus, future consumer marketing will largely be carried out in digital
settings, particularly social media and mobile. It is therefore necessary for consumer research to
examine and understand consumer behavior in digital environments. This has been happening
over the last decade, with increasing amounts of research focusing on digital consumer behavior
issues. The literature is still relatively nascent, however, and more research is of course needed—
particularly given the ever-changing nature of the digital/social media/mobile environments in
which consumers are situated and interact with brands and each other. This article attempts to
1 For convenience, I use the term “product” throughout this article to refer to any kind of marketed offer from a firm.
This can include specific products or services, as well as brands (multiple products or services) as a whole.
4
take stock of very recent developments on these issues in the consumer behavior/psychology
literature, and in doing so hopes to spur new, relevant research.
This review is based on articles published in between January 2013 and September 2015
in the four leading consumer research journals: Journal of Consumer Research (JCR), Journal of
Consumer Psychology (JCP), Journal of Marketing (JM), and Journal of Marketing Research
(JMR). Articles related to digital marketing, social media, and online word of mouth are featured
in this review. In total, 29 articles were published on these topics in the consumer behavior
literature in the last few years, suggesting that this is an increasingly popular domain within
consumer research. In addition to these articles, there were three review articles worth
mentioning: (i) Berger’s review of word-of-mouth and interpersonal communication research
[7], (ii) You et al.’s meta-analysis of online word-of-mouth effects [8], and (iii) Yadav and
Pavlou’s review of marketing in computer-mediated environments [9].
RESEARCH THEMES AND FINDINGS
Five distinct research themes emerge in recent consumer research on digital marketing
and social media. The five themes are (i) consumer digital culture, (ii) advertising, (iii) impacts
of digital environments, (iv) mobile, and (v) online WOM and reviews. The most popular themes
are online WOM, which is covered by almost half of the articles, and advertising, represented by
slightly over one-quarter of the articles. I now discuss each theme.
Consumer Digital Culture
Consumer digital culture research considers, quite deeply, the digital environments in
which consumers are situated. A key aspect of this work has been understanding how
take stock of very recent developments on these issues in the consumer behavior/psychology
literature, and in doing so hopes to spur new, relevant research.
This review is based on articles published in between January 2013 and September 2015
in the four leading consumer research journals: Journal of Consumer Research (JCR), Journal of
Consumer Psychology (JCP), Journal of Marketing (JM), and Journal of Marketing Research
(JMR). Articles related to digital marketing, social media, and online word of mouth are featured
in this review. In total, 29 articles were published on these topics in the consumer behavior
literature in the last few years, suggesting that this is an increasingly popular domain within
consumer research. In addition to these articles, there were three review articles worth
mentioning: (i) Berger’s review of word-of-mouth and interpersonal communication research
[7], (ii) You et al.’s meta-analysis of online word-of-mouth effects [8], and (iii) Yadav and
Pavlou’s review of marketing in computer-mediated environments [9].
RESEARCH THEMES AND FINDINGS
Five distinct research themes emerge in recent consumer research on digital marketing
and social media. The five themes are (i) consumer digital culture, (ii) advertising, (iii) impacts
of digital environments, (iv) mobile, and (v) online WOM and reviews. The most popular themes
are online WOM, which is covered by almost half of the articles, and advertising, represented by
slightly over one-quarter of the articles. I now discuss each theme.
Consumer Digital Culture
Consumer digital culture research considers, quite deeply, the digital environments in
which consumers are situated. A key aspect of this work has been understanding how
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