Social media and consumer power. Opportunities and challenges for digital marketing activities

Social Media (SM) have not only become an important part of daily life for individuals, governments and organisations but have also transformed the way people work, learn, consume and socially interact. There are many SM uses, posting frequencies and content preferences. User participation also varies from passive to more active behaviours, depending on the motivation for engagement in online conversations. From a marketing perspective, SM have redefined the traditional company - consumer relationship by progressively shifting power from marketing managers to consumers. Organisations are increasingly interested in understanding how SM can benefit (or harm) consumer-brand relationships, increase consumer engagement and contribute to value (co)creation. By exploring the impact of SM on Digital Marketing (DM) activities, this chapter outlines how consumers are empowered via digital transformation and how digital marketers can use SM to enhance long-term consumer engagement and innovate (co)creating value approaches. This chapter concludes with reflections on how to transform SM challenges into future opportunities for marketing and brand managers by exploring possible venues for digital marketing research on SM.