Using Facebook as a Digital Tool for Developing Trust amongst Consumers using Netnography and Social Media Analytics: A Study of Jet Airways

Abstract

ABSTRACT Social media usage is proliferating and millions of consumers are logging onto Facebook, the world's biggest digital platform. The vastness of the individual database and the huge amount of information generated by the individuals in the online domain make Facebook an interesting tool for marketers. This article evaluates how an organization like Jet Airways uses Facebook as a digital tool for developing trust amongst consumers, using the methodologies of netnography and social media analytics. The article studies the various structural features of Facebook and develops a theoretical framework to identify the benefits of Facebook. The research study further attempts to classify the content generated by Jet Airways on this platform into diverse content typologies, identifies the most significant content typology, and examines how the volume of likes, comments, and shares pertaining to the most significant content typology impacts the development of trust amongst Jet Airways customers. Additionally, the framework identifies the three benefits of Facebook to be building trust and reciprocity, providing user-specific information, and allowing organizations to monitor their online presence. Subsequently, the research work classifies the content generated by Jet Airways into three categories: organizational content, relational content, and promotional content. The study is further able to empirically demonstrate that a greater number of likes, comments, and shares on a relational post has a significant impact on developing trust among customers of Jet Airways.