Community members on the wall, are you more in love after all? : The differences between community members and non-members brand love, brand loyalty and purchase intentions

Abstract: Background: Social media is growing bigger and bigger by the day, and it wasn't that many years ago that it was first introduced to the world. Along with social media, the marketing world has changed immensely and one of the things that have been added over the years is social media-based brand communities that are groups of people that forms online to support or discuss a certain brand. It is then explored if there could be a difference between the type of brand and their communities.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to quantitatively research how brand community members are impacted by communities in the aspects of brand love, brand loyalty and purchase intentions. Furthermore, if there is a difference in these aspects to community members and non-members and the choosing of brand. Method: With a quantitative method, in the form of a questionnaire, consumers from Apple, IKEA and Zara have been asked to answer questions and then analyze the differences in how they feel and act around the different brands. Findings: The research showed that members had stronger brand love, brand loyalty and purchase intentions than non-members, but that there was no difference depending on which brand the consumer chose.