Brand Image and Social Media - an ever trending story? : A Qualitative study on Social Media and Brand Image of a Brand of Low Involvement Products

Abstract: A firm’s brand image has to stand the test of time and be durable through different trends and changes, which emphasize the importance of following developments in the marketplace such as the emerging relevance of firm generated content on social media. With attitudes towards a product being lower in relation to the involvement regarding a product, the importance of establishing brand image for low-involvement product brands increases. With this in mind the purpose of this thesis was to explore how consumers’ brand image of low involvement products was affected by firm generated content on social media. This research provides insights on how brand image of a brand of a low involvement products is affected by firm generated content on social media. The study is based on existing research within brand image and was conducted through the use of a qualitative research approach using in-depth interviews as data collection method. The findings of this thesis suggest that consumers brand image is influenced by symbolic benefits where the benefits around the product are emphasized. A pattern could be seen where consumers emphasized symbolic benefits communicated through firm generated content on social media in a higher regard when the perceived functional benefits between brands were similar. This suggests that firm generated content of brands of low involvement products communicated on social media often seem to influence consumers perception of symbolic benefits in regards to favorability, strength and uniqueness of associations which in turn influence brand image.