Branding identity. Facebook, brands and self construction

The driving force of consumption has shifted from the need for something to the desire for it. This change implies that we, as researchers, should pay attention to the relationship dynamics which link consumers with certain products and brands - autonomously chosen according to the individuals’ personalities, sub-cultures, and increasingly, to their offline and online relationships. Such processes seem to be emphasized by Social Network Sites; in this chapter we analyze a sample of posts published on Facebook by fans of successful brands, in order to try and understand if consumption is more related to individuals’ identities and expressions or if it is still connected to the product itself and its qualities. We will try to observe the dynamics of brand appropriation and the mechanisms through which individuals include lovemarks (Roberts, 2006) among the identity resources they use to express themselves and to experiment - with no substantial differences between mediated and face to face relationships - their experience in the world.