Leveraging Social Media Word-of-Mouth for Marketing Communications in the Nigerian Book Publishing Industry
Abstract
The marketing aspect of book publishing is essential to the publishing industry's survival in the digital markets. Although there have been efforts to improve marketing methods in Nigeria's book industry over the past several years, the reality is that marketing in the country has not received the maximum amount of attention. In addition to establishing marketing units to entrench innovative marketing practices, there has also been a shift towards business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing as publishers establish online presence by setting up websites to distribute and promote their books, in conjunction with other digital platforms. However, there is a knowledge gap on how Nigerian book publishers use social media for marketing communications, particularly the function of social media word-of-mouth in this context. In light of this, this study reviews the literature on the roles of social media word-of-mouth and social media advertising in the marketing communication strategies of book publishers. The results show that word-of-mouth marketing on social media, one of the most popular types of marketing communication, has established itself as a valuable source of information that consumers can use to make their purchasing decisions, based on favorable testimonials of other customers. On the other hand, there is the issue of unfavorable remarks or reviews that might prove to be counterproductive, necessitating the use of social media advertising as a method for participating in online communities and having one-on-one interactions with individual community members by specifically targeting them with social media messages.
References
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Criswell, J., & Canty, N. (2014). Deconstructing social media: an analysis of Twitter and Facebook use in the publishing industry. Publishing Research Quarterly, 30, 352-376.
Fill, C. (2009). Marketing communications: interactivity, communities and content. Pearson Education.
Gu, B., Park, J., & Konana, P. (2012). Research note—the impact of external word-of-mouth sources on retailer sales of high-involvement products. Information Systems Research, 23(1), 182-196.
Hasan, H. H., & Rahim, S. A. (2008). Factors affecting online purchasing behavior. Jurnal Komunikasi, Malaysian Journal of Communication, 24(1), 1-19.
Hersetyawati, E., Arief, M., Furinto, A., & Saroso, H. (2021). Analysis of The Influence of the Negative Electronic Word of Mouth and Its Effect on Repurchase Intention Mediated by Company Mitigation Responses. WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, 17, 876-884.
Hu, N., Bose, I., Gao, Y., & Liu, L. (2011). Manipulation in digital word-of-mouth: A reality check for book reviews. Decision Support Systems, 50(3), 627-635.
Ifeduba, E., & Christopher, N. (2018). Validation of digital publishing innovation adoption framework. Library Philosophy and Practice, 1.
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Igbinovia, M. O., & Egbodofo, O. E. (2015). Book Marketing and Publicity Strategies as Determinants of Book Sales. Library and Information Science Digest, 8(1), 20-24.
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Knoll, J. (2016). Advertising in social media: a review of empirical evidence. International journal of Advertising, 35(2), 266-300.
Kucukemiroglu, S., & Kara, A. (2015). Online word-of-mouth communication on social networking sites: An empirical study of Facebook users. International journal of commerce and management, 25(1), 2-20.
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Leitão, L., Amaro, S., Henriques, C., & Fonseca, P. (2018). Do consumers judge a book by its cover? A study of the factors that influence the purchasing of books. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 42, 88-97.
Li, M., & Hua, Y. (2022). Integrating social presence with social learning to promote purchase intention: based on social cognitive theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 6205.
Lis, B., & Berz, J. (2011). Using social media for branding in publishing. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 1(4), 193.
Liu, Q., Zhang, X., Huang, S., Zhang, L., & Zhao, Y. (2020). Exploring consumers’ buying behavior in a large online promotion activity: The role of psychological distance and involvement. Journal of theoretical and applied electronic commerce research, 15(1), 66-80.
Luţan, E. R., & Bădică, C. (2022). Emotion-Based Literature Book Classification Using Online Reviews. Electronics, 11(20), 3412.
Madan, H. S., & Tandon, U. (2022) Examining the role of aspiration in improving purchase intention of school books. Journal of Content, Community & Communication, 15(8): 242-259
Margolis, E. (1984). The role of promotion in the book publishing process. Library Trends; 215-222
Martins, M. P., & Lins, S. (2022). An endless bookcase: Variables associated with impulse buying of books. European Journal of Applied Business Management, 8(2): 60-77
Matthews, J. C. (2016). Professionals and nonprofessionals on Goodreads: Behavior standards for authors, reviewers, and readers. New media & society, 18(10), 2305-2322.
Mohammed, A. A. F., Jan, M. T., & Ulfy, M. A. (2021). Factors Influencing Consumer Purchase Intention: A Study of Bookstores in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 1(1), 19-35
Nelson, M. (2006). The Blog Phenomenon and the Book Publishing Industry. Publishing Research Quarterly, 22(2).
Nguyen, H. V., & Tran, V. T. (2019). The role of social media in the purchase of books: empirical evidence from Vietnam’s publishing industry. Publishing Research Quarterly, 35(4), 704-709.
Pires, P. B., Santos, J. D., Brito, P. Q. D., & Marques, D. N. (2022). Connecting Digital Channels to Consumers’ Purchase Decision-Making Process in Online Stores. Sustainability, 14(21), 14392.
Pitsaki, Irini. (2011). "Strategic Brand Management Tools in Publishing." The International Journal of the Book, 8 (3): 103-112. doi:10.18848/1447-9516/CGP/v08i03/36886.
Rahmani, S., Halim, R. E., Gayatri, G., & Furinto, A. (2021). The role of company reputation in mitigating negative word of mouth. Business: Theory and Practice, 22(1), 109-120.
Sinha, R. R., & Swearingen, K. (2001). Comparing recommendations made by online systems and friends. DELOS, 106.
Suharyanto, S., & Rahman, N. R. (2022). The effect of electronic word of mouth and social media marketing on the purchase decision of billionaire's project products through product quality. International Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting Research (IJEBAR), 6(1), 475-488.
Thelwall, M. (2019). Reader and author gender and genre in Goodreads. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 51(2), 403-430.
Uche, A. O. (2015). Stakeholders’ Perspectives on Book Publishing and Marketing in Nigeria. Communication Panorama. African and Global Perspectives, 1(2), 1-23.
Umeda, T., Ichikawa, M., Koyama, Y., & Deguchi, H. (2009). Evaluation of collaborative filtering by agent-based simulation considering market environment. In Developments in business simulation and experiential learning: Proceedings of the annual ABSEL conference (Vol. 36).
Uwalaka, N. (2000). Book Publishing Performance in the Nigerian Economic Environment. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Williams, M., & Buttle, F. (2014). Managing negative word-of-mouth: an exploratory study. Journal of Marketing Management, 30(13-14), 1423-1447.
Zinko, R., Patrick, A., Furner, C. P., Gaines, S., Kim, M. D., Negri, M., ... & Villarreal, C. (2021). Responding to negative electronic word of mouth to improve purchase intention. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(6), 1945-1959.
Zolkepli, I. A., Omar, A., Ab Rahim, N. H., Tahir, S. N. K. M., & Tiwari, V. (2023). Social Media Advertising, Celebrity Endorsement, And Electronic Word-of-Mouth Effect on Health Supplement Purchasing Behaviour. Asian Journal of Research in Business and Management, 4(4), 185-199.
Bandura, A. (2009). Social cognitive theory of mass communication. In Media effects: 110-140). Routledge.
Belch, G., & Belch, M. (2018). Advertising and Promotion–An Integrated Marketing Communication Perspective (11ed). McGraw-Hill Education.
Brian Lee, H. C., & Li, X. (2018). Impact of online word of mouth on channel disintermediation for information goods. Journal of Management Information Systems, 35(3), 964-993.
Chaffey, D., & Smith, P. R. (2017). Digital marketing excellence: planning, optimizing and integrating online marketing. Routledge.
Chen, A., Lu, Y., & Wang, B. (2017). Customers’ purchase decision-making process in social commerce: A social learning perspective. International Journal of Information Management, 37(6), 627-638.
Chevalier, J. A., & Mayzlin, D. (2006). The Effect of Word of Mouth on Sales: Online Book Reviews. Journal of Marketing Research, 43(3), 345–354. doi:10.1509/jmkr.43.3.345
Christopher, N. M. (2010). Applying Marketing Concepts to Book Publishing in Nigeria. Journal of International Social Research, 3(11); 206 -212
Christopher, N. (2004). Book Publishing in Nigeria: The Journey so far and the Way Forward. The Publisher, 11(1);25-35.
Criswell, J., & Canty, N. (2014). Deconstructing social media: an analysis of Twitter and Facebook use in the publishing industry. Publishing Research Quarterly, 30, 352-376.
Fill, C. (2009). Marketing communications: interactivity, communities and content. Pearson Education.
Gu, B., Park, J., & Konana, P. (2012). Research note—the impact of external word-of-mouth sources on retailer sales of high-involvement products. Information Systems Research, 23(1), 182-196.
Hasan, H. H., & Rahim, S. A. (2008). Factors affecting online purchasing behavior. Jurnal Komunikasi, Malaysian Journal of Communication, 24(1), 1-19.
Hersetyawati, E., Arief, M., Furinto, A., & Saroso, H. (2021). Analysis of The Influence of the Negative Electronic Word of Mouth and Its Effect on Repurchase Intention Mediated by Company Mitigation Responses. WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, 17, 876-884.
Hu, N., Bose, I., Gao, Y., & Liu, L. (2011). Manipulation in digital word-of-mouth: A reality check for book reviews. Decision Support Systems, 50(3), 627-635.
Ifeduba, E., & Christopher, N. (2018). Validation of digital publishing innovation adoption framework. Library Philosophy and Practice, 1.
Ifeduba, E. (2014). Website Content Evaluation Instrument for Adoption of Digital Publishing Innovations. International Journal of Scientific Research and Management, 2(9);1338-1356
Igbinovia, M. O., & Egbodofo, O. E. (2015). Book Marketing and Publicity Strategies as Determinants of Book Sales. Library and Information Science Digest, 8(1), 20-24.
Igudia, O. E. & Ogunsina, S. T. (2021) Effort Expectancy and Use of Social Media for Marketing by Staff of Selected Publishing Firms in South-West, Nigeria. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). 4869. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/4869
Keisidou, E., Sarigiannidis, L., & Maditinos, D. (2011). Consumer characteristics and their effect on accepting online shopping, in the context of different product types. International Journal of Business Science & Applied Management (IJBSAM), 6(2), 31-51.
Kerin, R. A. (2022). Hartley Steen W. Marketing, the core, Ninth Edition. McGraw-Hill Education, New York.
Knoll, J. (2016). Advertising in social media: a review of empirical evidence. International journal of Advertising, 35(2), 266-300.
Kucukemiroglu, S., & Kara, A. (2015). Online word-of-mouth communication on social networking sites: An empirical study of Facebook users. International journal of commerce and management, 25(1), 2-20.
Leemans, H., & Stokmans, M. (1992). A descriptive model of the decision-making process of buyers of books. Journal of Cultural Economics, 25-50.
Leitão, L., Amaro, S., Henriques, C., & Fonseca, P. (2018). Do consumers judge a book by its cover? A study of the factors that influence the purchasing of books. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 42, 88-97.
Li, M., & Hua, Y. (2022). Integrating social presence with social learning to promote purchase intention: based on social cognitive theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 6205.
Lis, B., & Berz, J. (2011). Using social media for branding in publishing. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 1(4), 193.
Liu, Q., Zhang, X., Huang, S., Zhang, L., & Zhao, Y. (2020). Exploring consumers’ buying behavior in a large online promotion activity: The role of psychological distance and involvement. Journal of theoretical and applied electronic commerce research, 15(1), 66-80.
Luţan, E. R., & Bădică, C. (2022). Emotion-Based Literature Book Classification Using Online Reviews. Electronics, 11(20), 3412.
Madan, H. S., & Tandon, U. (2022) Examining the role of aspiration in improving purchase intention of school books. Journal of Content, Community & Communication, 15(8): 242-259
Margolis, E. (1984). The role of promotion in the book publishing process. Library Trends; 215-222
Martins, M. P., & Lins, S. (2022). An endless bookcase: Variables associated with impulse buying of books. European Journal of Applied Business Management, 8(2): 60-77
Matthews, J. C. (2016). Professionals and nonprofessionals on Goodreads: Behavior standards for authors, reviewers, and readers. New media & society, 18(10), 2305-2322.
Mohammed, A. A. F., Jan, M. T., & Ulfy, M. A. (2021). Factors Influencing Consumer Purchase Intention: A Study of Bookstores in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 1(1), 19-35
Nelson, M. (2006). The Blog Phenomenon and the Book Publishing Industry. Publishing Research Quarterly, 22(2).
Nguyen, H. V., & Tran, V. T. (2019). The role of social media in the purchase of books: empirical evidence from Vietnam’s publishing industry. Publishing Research Quarterly, 35(4), 704-709.
Pires, P. B., Santos, J. D., Brito, P. Q. D., & Marques, D. N. (2022). Connecting Digital Channels to Consumers’ Purchase Decision-Making Process in Online Stores. Sustainability, 14(21), 14392.
Pitsaki, Irini. (2011). "Strategic Brand Management Tools in Publishing." The International Journal of the Book, 8 (3): 103-112. doi:10.18848/1447-9516/CGP/v08i03/36886.
Rahmani, S., Halim, R. E., Gayatri, G., & Furinto, A. (2021). The role of company reputation in mitigating negative word of mouth. Business: Theory and Practice, 22(1), 109-120.
Sinha, R. R., & Swearingen, K. (2001). Comparing recommendations made by online systems and friends. DELOS, 106.
Suharyanto, S., & Rahman, N. R. (2022). The effect of electronic word of mouth and social media marketing on the purchase decision of billionaire's project products through product quality. International Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting Research (IJEBAR), 6(1), 475-488.
Thelwall, M. (2019). Reader and author gender and genre in Goodreads. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 51(2), 403-430.
Uche, A. O. (2015). Stakeholders’ Perspectives on Book Publishing and Marketing in Nigeria. Communication Panorama. African and Global Perspectives, 1(2), 1-23.
Umeda, T., Ichikawa, M., Koyama, Y., & Deguchi, H. (2009). Evaluation of collaborative filtering by agent-based simulation considering market environment. In Developments in business simulation and experiential learning: Proceedings of the annual ABSEL conference (Vol. 36).
Uwalaka, N. (2000). Book Publishing Performance in the Nigerian Economic Environment. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Williams, M., & Buttle, F. (2014). Managing negative word-of-mouth: an exploratory study. Journal of Marketing Management, 30(13-14), 1423-1447.
Zinko, R., Patrick, A., Furner, C. P., Gaines, S., Kim, M. D., Negri, M., ... & Villarreal, C. (2021). Responding to negative electronic word of mouth to improve purchase intention. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(6), 1945-1959.
Zolkepli, I. A., Omar, A., Ab Rahim, N. H., Tahir, S. N. K. M., & Tiwari, V. (2023). Social Media Advertising, Celebrity Endorsement, And Electronic Word-of-Mouth Effect on Health Supplement Purchasing Behaviour. Asian Journal of Research in Business and Management, 4(4), 185-199.
Published
2023-04-30
How to Cite
AFOLABI, Abdulrasheed Adebola; ZOLKEPLI, Izzal Asnira.
Leveraging Social Media Word-of-Mouth for Marketing Communications in the Nigerian Book Publishing Industry.
Asian Journal of Research in Business and Management, [S.l.], v. 5, n. 1, p. 282-294, apr. 2023.
Available at: <https://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ajrbm/article/view/21926>. Date accessed: 11 sep. 2024.
Section
Articles
