Gagnkvæmur ávinningur fyrirtækja og neytenda af sterkum vörumerkjasamfélögum

It is increasingly common for organizations to use social media as one of their marketing tools, especially to increase relationship with consumers. Brand communities are specialized communities on social media around the social connections of followers of a specific organization or brand. The purpose of this study was to explore if brand communities can benefit both consumers and organizations. An online convenience sample was used where participants (N=247) were asked to answer number of statements regarding brand communities’ strength, value for consumers and loyalty towards an organization or a brand. The findings show that the benefits consumers gain from participating in a brand community lead to an increased loyalty towards an organization or brand. These findings are important for organizations and an important contribution to research on brand communities. Like in other marketing activities it is emphasized that consumers and their benefits have to be in central focus. If we focus on added value for consumers through their participation in brand communities it is likely to lead to benefits for organizations through added consumers’ loyalty.