International Journal of Marketing Studies; Vol. 11, No. 4; 2019 ISSN 1918-719X E-ISSN 1918-7203 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 30 Social Media Marketing and Luxury Consumption: A Literature Review Giuseppe Colella 1 , Cesare Amatulli 1 & Maria Pilar Martinez-Ruiz 2 1 Ionian Department of Mediterranean Legal and Economic Systems, University of Bari - Aldo Moro, Taranto, Italy 2 Department of Business Administration, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain Correspondence: Giuseppe Colella, Ionian Department of Mediterranean Legal and Economic Systems, University of Bari - Aldo Moro, Taranto, TA., 74121, Italy. E-mail: giuseppe.colella@uniba.it Received: August 1, 2019 Accepted: August 28, 2019 Online Published: September 29, 2019 doi:10.5539/ijms.v11n4p30 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/ijms.v11n4p30 Abstract People and companies worldwide are by now involved and attached to web 2.0 technologies and in particular to social media platforms. In this context, these digital technologies and social media have modified and improved the way to communicate and collaborate between companies and customers in all sectors through by implementing effective interaction mechanisms. However, the approach to social media and digital technologies in sectors such as luxury has been slower. Therefore, the main aim of this study is firstly to systematically examine and review the current studies conducted on the related area of social media and luxury marketing. Secondly, in addition to providing an overview of the main themes and trends covered by the relevant literature, this review has focused on the consumption of luxury and the dual dimension that it can take in a social media context. Third, a systematic review of the literature on academic research on social media marketing in luxury brands was conducted to collect, examine and synthesize the reactive studies. This review also provided important insights on social media marketing in luxury brands and key research topics were classified into three insights, on consumer behavior, brand awareness and advertising activities in a social media context. Therefore, this study, for both academics and marketer manager, could represent a solid theoretical basis for empirical studies on the phenomenon of social media marketing in the field of luxury marketing and luxury brands. Keywords: externalised luxury, internalized luxury, luxury marketing, luxury brands, luxury consumption, social media, social media marketing 1. Introduction The era of digitalisation and the development of social networks are radically changing traditional communication paradigms, influencing the way companies communicate and, more importantly, interact with customers (Essamri, McKechnie, & Winklhofer, 2019; Gielens & Steenkamp, 2019). In particular, such an evolution could be summarized by the following changes: a) overcoming unidirectional communication and a greater capacity for direct listening to consumers (Gurău, 2008; Key & Czaplewski, 2017; Li & Bernoff, 2008); b) perfect compliance with the specific needs of stakeholders through the co-creation of content between companies and users (Koivisto & Mattila, 2018; Ozuem, Howell, & Lancaster, 2008; Truong, McColl, & Kitchen, 2010); and c) greater forms of interaction among companies and consumers that are less expensive than those possible with traditional media (Vendemia, 2017). Interestingly, such changes have consolidated the transition from a linear communication model—based on the stimulus-response logic, where we have a sender and a receiver, thus constituting a “static” relationship—to a reticular communication model, in which the architecture of the relationship radically changes because of digitization (Royle & Laing, 2014). It becomes more interactive and based on a plurality of subjects and means (Hoffman & Novak, 1996; Kohli, Suri, & Kapoor 2015; Pastore & Vernuccio, 2008; Vernuccio & Ceccotti, 2015). Therefore, such a transition tends to influence consumers’ behaviour and their approach to new technologies (Alalwan, Rana, Algharabat, & Tarhini, 2016a; Alalwan, Rana, Dwivedi, & Algharabat, 2017). With the digitization and development of social networks, the concept of marketing itself is changing. Indeed, marketing paradigms have shifted from the concept of ‘Marketing 2.0’, oriented exclusively to consumers and based on unidirectional logic, to the concept of ‘Marketing 4.0’, where the development of digital technologies is