A Model of Social Interactivity through Internet-based Technologies: Implications for Marketing Communications

The emergence and the rapid adoption of social media in recent years have led to the political, economic and social changes. The recent political upheavals in several countries from the Middle East, Eastern Europe to Southeast Asia have sparked an interest for the participants to use internet-based technologies for instantaneous communications among themselves. News, rumors and various messages can spread swiftly without frontiers and obstruction from the opponents. The new communications technologies themselves cannot be censored or limited any longer. Facebook, twitters, instagrams, you tube, blogs etc. have been effective tools to link the messages among the participants. This up-to-date information can be beneficial to understand what happens in social interactivity using social media. Moreover, in an anonymous environment of the Internet, participants speak out more loudly than ever before. Instead of focusing on the interactions between the company and its customers, this study intends to explore significant factors in the society which leads to social interactivity in the Internet-based technologies. The model will help us learn more about the processes of how the Internet-based technologies function in the society and will be applied for the marketing activities using the social media. The implications for integrated marketing communications would help us understand more deeply how the social interactivity can be applied for the brand building and relationships among communications participants.