Segmenting Consumers in Social Networks Based on Social Motivations of Engagement in Electronic Word of Mouth Relationships

  All kinds of word-of-mouth (WOM) communication are not created in the same way, and their effects vary depending on several factors, such as resource, recipient, message, and status features. Accordingly, for the purpose of effective use of social networks, it is not enough to create a positive WOM relationship but it is important to take into account the conditions and factors through which the users of such communications accept and communicate it with others. Although researchers have been studying WPM communication in various online platforms, including online consumer surveys as well as from a variety of perspectives including marketing and psychology, there is little research on word of mouth communication in the field of social networking. The investigation in the present study shows that there is no research (local and international) investigating social network users based on social incentives affecting participation in WOM communication so far. This research can be considered as the first to deal with the partitioning of social network users based on the motivations of participation in oral communication. The main objective of this research is to identify the social motivations affecting the participation of consumers in advertising campaigns on social networks, the segmentation of users from this perspective, and ultimately providing marketing strategies tailored to each sector.

This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-exploratory in terms of implementation. The data were collected distributing the on-line link to the questionnaire to more than 385 social network users selected based on available sampling method. In order to analyze the data and to partition social network users, self-organizing maps based on artificial neural networks have been used.

Based on the findings, social network users were divided into three sections with different demographic, behavioral and social motivations affecting WOM behaviors. These three sections were titled "Low Active Social Stimulus", "Active Social Stimulus" and "Social Inactivity Stimulus". The first section is applied to users who spend a fair amount of time on social networks, but have less social motivation to engage in word of mouth behaviors. The second section is applied to young people who devote most of their time to social networking activities and are highly motivated. And the third category is applied to those who are motivated enough but devote very little time to working on social networks.

Managers and advertising activists in social networks should consider word of mouth communication as an important part of social interactions. Although the content of WOM messages is often related to brands, the fact is that these types of communications are more likely to be influenced and published by the various incentives of consumer. This kind of behavior suggests that communication strategies should develop to the point where consumers' incentives to engage in oral communication in social networks can be identified and thereby their likelihood of purchasing can be increased. In the first group, it is recommended that marketers take into consideration the incentives that affect this sector and activate them based on the relative great magnitude of this sector compared to other sectors. In the second group, marketers are advised to consider this sector as a motivated sector for communication and encouraging them to have WOM communication. Hence, those who want to advertise their products on social networks should know that this section of social networking users are willing to receive oral messages and that they should provide the product information in a comprehensive and detailed manner so that they can further explore them by sharing it with experts. In the third group, marketers should invite them to engage in oral communication through communicating with individuals with similar beliefs, behaviors and intellectual flow. The members of this section are buying the products that others have verified. Hence, using well-known individuals to advertise their products can be used as one of the appropriate ways to promote products and brands for this section.