Sharmila Pixy Ferris

Using Restaurant Reviews to Teach How to Write Literature Reviews.

Courses: Any communication course requiring a literature review, including, but is not limited to, Communication Research Methods and Communication Theory. Objectives: After completing this activity, students should be able to write better literature reviews by (1) locating a range of resources; (2) identifying a variety of relevant information (that directly relates to the question at hand) from within a popular social medium; (3) identifying relevant information from scholarly works and making informed judgments about what information should be used or discarded; and (4) synthesizing information from disparate sources, drawing appropriate inferences and conclusions from the available research to communicate a point clearly.

Brand Loyalty and Online Brand Communities: Is Brand Loyalty Being Strengthened Through Social Media?

This research explores the use of the online social media network Pinterest in brand-to-consumer engagement and brand loyalty. The basis of the study was formed upon previous research on brand loyalty, online brand communities, brand experiences, and emotional connections to brands. Brand loyalty is defined in this study as pins, likes, or comments on a post by one of three food brands: Cooking Light, Food Network, and Kraft Foods. Content analyses were conducted over a two-week period to observe the number and types of posts by the three brands and the interaction with their Pinterest followers. It was found that consumers who engage with brands on social networks sites, such as Pinterest, do have positive brand experiences, which has been previously linked to increased brand loyalty.