Social network analysis of Facebook brand communities

Abstract

Social Network Analysis (SNA) is used in a broad range of fields. However, its business application is still a relatively new area in marketing field. Meanwhile, social web based on web 2.0 technology has made interaction between people across the world faster and more convenient. Social network has been changing the playing rules in marketplace significantly. To fill the gap of network study in marketing, this research focused on online brand communities to explore their network shapes. In the study, we analyzed the interaction mechanisms and processes behind different network structures; identified key roles and their influence in a network; and examined information-based contagion process. The research adopted graph-theoretic method which is most widely used in SNA. Data set from the Facebook of eight brands encompassed vertices and arcs. NodeXL program was used to construct graphical networks and provided measure metrics. Statistical analyses were conducted to test the relationship between variables and to identify the significant difference across brand networks.