Abstract

Focusing on the mobile phones sector, this study explores how the social networking site ‘Facebook’ is used by consumers in their purchasing. Although there is extensive work on the influences on the buying decision process relevant to mobile phone purchasing, it is mainly set outside of a social media context. This paper assists in filling a gap in contemporary research, revealing the presence of different behavioural segments on Facebook. We analyse the consumer decision sequence in response to the notion of ‘brand presence’, manifested through online advertising, fan and group pages. The approach is interpretative. The study is based on young professional user’s experiences, collected through semi-structured individual and focus group interviews. The findings show that Facebook fan pages are shown to have a degree of influence, particularly in the early stages of buying behaviour. In this context, five novel behavioural segments of consumer interactions with Smartphone brands on Facebook have been identified by the research. These are the Avoider, the Suspicious, the Passive, the Receptive, and the Active. Future research of cross comparative studies could be taken on the issues we examine and consider them in relation to not only Facebook, but additionally, to other social network sites. Companies could utilise the findings in the future development of social media strategy. The research highlights the socially networked and collective nature of much activity on Facebook, which impacts on the consumer decision-making process for mobile phones.