Media brand loyalty through online audience integration?

Abstract

This chapter discusses the question of whether audience members become loyal toward a media brand when sharing, liking or commenting on online media content-or are loyal readers more inclined to write comments on online articles or to like and share them? The aim is to answer this chicken-egg causality dilemma of the audience integration-loyalty relationship on a theoretical basis. Therefore, the concept of attitude-behavior consistency, the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior, involvement theory, uses and gratifications theory, and current research are reviewed. In conclusion, audience integration can be defined as behavioral dimension of loyalty and affects gratifications obtained that determine satisfaction, which in turn determines loyalty and future gratifications sought.