DOI: 10.7763/IPEDR. 2012. V55. 13 From the Angels to the Screamers: User Segmentation and e-WOM in Social Media Amalia E. Maulana, Ph.D 1 , Stella Tjen 2 1 BINUS University Jakarta, Indonesia 2 The London School of Public Relation Jakarta, Indonesia Abstract. Social media have attained a rather prominent presence in consumer lives; however, few studies have conducted detailed examinations of social media user segmentation and explained the roles of these users in electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM). The current study objective is to help identify social media user segments and investigate the intentions of these segments to discuss brands during their daily social media communications. To produce comprehensive results, this study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The qualitative study methodology included netnography, usability interviews and contextual in-depth interviews, whereas the quantitative methods of this study involved the administration of an online survey. The findings from this study were analyzed, and these results indicated the presence of six significant segments in social media: The Angels, The Active Learners, The Passive Learners, The Social Networkers, The Journalist-Narcissists, and The Screamers. Only two segments, The Active Learners and The Journalist-Narcissists, were found to have significant potential for e-WOM. Keywords: e-WOM, Social Media, User segmentation, Netnography 1. Study Background The advent of the Internet has expanded consumers’ abilities to gather unbiased product informati on from other consumers and has provided opportunities for consumers to offer their own consumption-related advice by engaging in electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM). Given the distinctive characteristics of Internet communications (for instance, these communications may be directed to multiple individuals, are available to other consumers for an indefinite period of time, and remain anonymous), e-WOM deserves the serious attention of marketing researchers and managers This e-WOM is communicated through various types of media, including discussion forums, electronic bulletin boards, newsletters, blogs, and diverse channels of social networking media, such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Friendster and Foursquare, among others. Social media provide one of the fastest growing types of communication. The presence of social media in consumer lives has altered the roles of mass and paid media as product information sources. Consumers rely more on electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) communications. The reliance of e-WOM on other parties, such as opinion leaders in the community, provides implications regarding the ways in which brand managers allocate their media budgets. To obtain an understanding of which groups of social media users are the most effective entities for promulgating brand messages, brand owners must obtain a clear understanding of the characteristics of social media user segments. Unfortunately, little is known with respect to user segmentation in the context of social media. Therefore, the objective of the current study is to facilitate the identification of social media user segments and the roles of these segments in e-WOM communications. This study seeks to provide greater insight and understanding regarding the segmentation and characterization of consumers in terms of social media types. This understanding will permit more detailed explorations and identifications of the differences among social media user segments and will facilitate explanations of which of these segments has the highest tendency to engage in e-WOM. 2. Literature Review  Corresponding author. Tel.: +6221 7450958 E-mail address: amalia@etnomark.com 67