THE IMPACT OF COMPANY FACEBOOK PAGE ON WOM COMMUNICATION OF NEW PRODUCT

Online channels, especially social network sites have been widely used since they have allowed their users to connect with other people based on common interest. The technology of social media has created new tools and opportunities for marketing. Facebook as the most popular social media network can be used successfully by companies of all sizes as the main tool of establishing brand community. Online brand communities increase the dialogue between the customer and the company. Although brand community has been a topic of interest for marketing literature in recent years, the studies about company Facebook page as brand community are limited. The purpose of this study is to understand underlying motives to use the company Facebook pages through brand community commitment in the perspective of new product word-of-mouth (WOM) behavior. After a qualitative study provided comprehensive understanding of the main issues, a quantitative research was conducted on Facebook fans of a selected company that uses actively social media in marketing applications. The findings aim to contribute to marketing field by filling the gap in related area and offering valuable implications to marketing managers who utilize online brand community as their new marketing channel.