The Factors Which Lead Brands To Use Social Media In External Corporate Communication

Social media is the new form of today?s communication. People spend a lot of time on social media to be informed about and to interact with the happenings in their social environments, and in the meantime they want to reach their favorite brands. Therefore, many brands have started to open brand fan pages in different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get in touch with their consumers. There are many factors which have led brands to use social media in external corporate communication; however, these are not pointed out in detail in the literature. This paper aims to cover the factors which have motivated brands to use social media in external corporate communication. The paper first explores the reasons behind the decline of trust towards traditional advertisements and the advertisements on the Internet. Afterwards, it discusses why websites have recently lost their popularity against social media platforms. Lastly, it looks at why consumers want a presence of brands in social media. The results show that today?s consumers tend to trust electronic word of mouth in social media platforms more than traditional advertisements since they can learn online the experiences of people who have tried the products and services of brands. Furthermore, many consumers feel bothered from the advertisements which drop into their e-mail boxes and the Internet banners which pop up. Interactivity in social media is the main factor which has caused social media to get one step more forward than the websites. Today?s consumers want to engage in dialogues with their favorite brands and have in touch with them on social media. This paper will contribute to the literature of corporate communication from the aspect of social media.