Social Media as a Medium for Co-Creation Communication in Ghana: A Study of Interactions between Small Artisanal Businesses and their Customers

Abstract

The traditional conception of production, where companies were sole originators of products has opened up to emphasize consumer’ input in a process known as co-creation. As a communication-laden activity, co-creation interactions appear to have deepened as social media provide more opportunities for brand producers and their customers to meet and share ideas. This study sought to explore the ways in which social media is shaping co-creation interactions by small artisanal businesses in Ghana who have less opportunity to use mass media, hence take advantage of social media to interact with their customers during co-creation communication. This was done by seeking answers to the questions ‘who uses social media to co-create?’, ‘what drives social media choice for co-creation interactions?’ and ‘what is the nature interactions that take place via social media during co-creation? The study adopted a qualitative approach, using interviews with ten brand producers and ten consumers. Findings showed that consumers and producers have differing reasons for choosing social media for co-creation; convenience and cost savings respectively. The subject of most co-creation interactions is about design specifications and discussions on these are held using multiple content file formats (text, video etc.) matched to different stages in the interactions. Different social media platforms are also used for different stages in the co-creation interaction.