Social Media and the Shifting Corporate-Consumer Relationship by Karina Legzdins
Social media has been a topic of interest for scholars and professionals for several years. Researchers in many different fields have explored its definition, reach, use, and potential. Considering social media in the corporate sphere, Brian Howlett, Chief Creative Officer at the Toronto advertising and marketing firm Agency59, describes the effect social media has had on his field and his clients’ business: “There has been a fundamental shift in the corporate-consumer relationship, resulting from the steep rise in popularity and use of social media since 2007†(2012). Howlett’s statement suggests that, rather than being an asymmetrical power dynamic where the organization communicates a story to their stakeholders, social media sites have accustomed users to expecting that organizations will communicate with them, and put more emphasis on dialogue.