How to create a successful Facebook Brand Fan Page:

The effects of common-bond vs. common-identity design on

involvement with the community and the brand

Dr. Sonja Utz1,2 & Linda van Engelen1

1VU University Amsterdam2NHL Leeuwarden

Gor 2012, Mannheim

Social media and brands

Source: http://aytm.com/blog/research-junction/branding-and-how-it-works-in-the-social-media-age/

Prior research on Facebook Fanpages

• Mostly case studies (e.g., Dholakia & Durham, 2010) or descriptive

• Evaluation of existing Facebook fan pages– Buffardi (GOR 2011) – analysis of objective (e.g. number

of videos) and subjective (ratings of wallposts) characteristics of Facebook fan pages

• Correlations with number of fans• Conclusion: more features, more interactivity =>

more fans• Especially subjective characteristics influence Brand

Facebook Page Love and Facebook Page Engagement• No effects on behavior (word-of-mouth; site visits)

– Busse (Gor 2011), Veltins– Effects on evaluation, but not on buying behavior

Theoretical background: Common bond vs. common identity groups (Prentice, Miller, & Lightdale, 1994)

Common bond groups• E.g., groups of friends• Attachment to the group

based on interpersonal relationships

• Members leave if the most popular member switches to another group

Common identity groups• E.g., sport team, political

party • Attachment to the group

based on identification with the goal, values and norms of the group

• Members stay even if the most popular member switches to another group

Prior research on online consumer communities• social identification with the community important

predictor of engagement and brand evaluation

Design principes (see also Ren et al, in press)

Analysis of the most successful Dutch brand pages

• based on SocialBakers.com • 2010: 19 Dutch brands listed (now 162)

– Often mix of both strategies (Top 5)– 9 brands employ primarily a common-identity strategy– None uses a pure common-bond strategy

– Interaction with customers important– Number of pictures and videos made by fans correlates

with growth of the Fan page

Hypotheses

• General assumption: common bonds/pictures from fans good for smooth interaction on fan page, but common identity/brand pictures better for (transfer to) brand

Design strategy:• H1: Common bond design better for community (attitude towards the

fan page, word-of-mouth (WOM) fan page) than common identity design• H2: Common identity design better for brand (engagement on fan page,

attitude towards the brand, brand loyalty, WOM brand) than common bond design

Picture source:• H3: Pictures uploaded by fans better for community (attitude towards

the fan page, WOM fan page) than pictures from brand• H4: Pictures from brand better for brand (engagement on fan page,

attitude towards the brand, brand loyalty, WOM brand) than pictures from fans

Experiment

• 2 (common bond vs. common identity) x 2 (picture source: brand vs. fan) – design

• Dependent variables: attitude fan page, WOM fan page, intention to follow (repeated visits)/participate, attitude brand, WOM brand, brand loyalty

• N = 161

• Manipulation common bond vs. common identity: screenshots based on design principles + fake pretest (people you could become friends with based on interests and personality (common bond); people with similar age and occupation (common identity))

Example stimulus material

Common identity, pictures from brand

Common bond, pictures from fans

Resultats – the effects of design strategy

0123456

attitude fan page

WOM fan page

intention to follow

intention to participate

attitude brand

loyalty brand

WOM brand

common bond common identity

**

**<.10

Resultats – the effects of picture source

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

attitude fan page

WOM fan page

intention to follow

intention to participate

attitude brand

loyalty brand

WOM brand

fans brand

<.10

** **

Resultats – interaction effects design x picture source

0123456

fans brand

intention to follow

common bond common identity

0123456

fans brand

intention to participatecommon bond common identity

Resultaten – interaction effect design x picture source

0

1

2

3

4

5

fans brand

loyalty

common bond common identity

Conclusions

• Common bond design results in a more positive attitude towards the fan page and more WOM for the fan page

• Common identity design stimulates active participation and results in a more positive attitude towards the brand

• Pictures by fans result in a more positive attitude towards the fan page and more WOM for the fan page => people look for social relationships on SNS

• Pictures by the brand stimulate active participation

• Especially the combination common identity + brand pictures stimulates active participation

• Mismatch common bond – brand pictures decreases loyalty

Discussion

• Different forms of attachment have different consequences– Common bond: positive attitude and WOM towards the

community– Common identity: positive for brand (active participation

within community as well as attitude)– Similar pattern for picture source

Discussion

• Implication: optimal strategy depends on goal– Awareness, attracting many visitors/light and medium

buyers: common bond design, fan pictures– Active participation, transfer to brand: common identity +

brand pictures• Again: weaker effects on buying intention• Limitations: Experiment, only screenshots => effects

stronger for real communities?• Strength: Experiment => independent influence of factors,

causal relationship, avoid selection effects• Future research: generalizability to other products, role of

interactive apps

• Take home message: theory-based design works!