Engaging luxury consumers in social media : Does active consumer engagement influence brand image?

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of active consumer engagement within social media based brand communities on the brand image and luxury consumers’ desire to pur-chase luxury goods. The purpose of this study was to prove that by actively engaging con-sumers on social media luxury brands can positively influence the way consumers perceive the brand and through it increase consumers’ intention to purchase their products and services.

Secondary research was carried out through collecting data from academic literature and previous studies on luxury brands, online marketing, social media and branding. Primary research was conducted in the form of an online survey, which was distributed through various social media platforms.

It was found that social media by allowing two-way communication is an effective tool for luxury brands to utilize in communicating with consumers as well as that today’s luxury consumers expect the luxury brands to have an active presence on social media.

While some contradictory evidence was found through primary research, all in all the re-sults revealed that there is a clear correlation between active consumer engagement and brand image, which in turn affects purchase intentions. The research proved by actively engaging consumers in brand communities embedded in social media luxury brands can positively influence the brand image and purchase intention of luxury consumers. Alt-hough, need for further research on a larger scale was also revealed.