ABSTRACT
Social media are websites and applications that use Web 2.0 technology to facilitate content creation, sharing and social networking. Morrison and Gretzel (2016) define social media as Web-based tools/platforms or mobile apps that make it possible for users to easily create, co-create, discuss, modify and/or share contents with a community of known or unknown others. It is important to recognize that the term social media encompasses a large array of specific types of media such as blogs, message boards, review sites, social networking sites, messaging apps, video sharing sites, etc. Safko and Brake (2009) describe the phenomenon as a social media ecosystem. This suggests that social media do not represent a uniform species of technology applications but rather a multitude of channels and platforms that are interlinked and perform different functions. In addition, it is important to note that while social media were largely used by consumers in the early days of their emergence, they now support both consumers and corporate users. This opened up opportunities for consumers to not only talk to other consumers but also engage with brands in new ways.
