Recent years have seen an increase in the role of social media in the communication of energy sector companies (ESCs) with consumers. Currently, consumers look for information, create it themselves, and share it with other Internet users. eWOM communication means that energy companies, firstly, must be present in social media so that consumers can get to know them better, and secondly, they must consciously shape their image according to the expectations of their customers. One-way communication, such as customer satisfaction measurements, is no longer enough to know their preferences. Market trends indicate that for current buyers—both consumer and non-consumer products—the image of a “green product” or a “green company” is expected. Only a few companies report that they are harmful for environment. All companies report that they are generally community friendly. The consumer would like to know, in particular, about the harmfulness to the environment. Thus, there is a knowledge gap that the companies are not filling. In addition to the advertised satisfaction indicators, you can also test customers’ perceptions of environmental responsibility. That is, the research and results in the area of social responsibility must also be accompanied by environmental responsibility. Therefore, the article aims to indicate whether the level of consumer engagement in social media affects the perception of the green energy business model and how the attitude and pro-environmental behavior of social media users affects this perception. The paper also identifies factors related to social media that influence the perception of ESCs.

The article is of a research nature. The aim of the article is to identify the role of social media in shaping personal brand. To this end, the first part discusses the concept of personal brand, as well as components of brand capital in the case of famous people, including consumer-based capital. Attention was also paid to the great importance of social media and the growing role of their users in the process of shaping personal brand. Based on the analysis of the source literature, a research gap was identified, related to the lack of empirical verification of the relationship between users’ online activity and and capital of famous people, also known as celebrities, associated with artistic and cultural activities. The article uses the results of the direct research carried out in the period 2019–2020. The second (empirical) part of the article presents research hypotheses, methodology, as well as results and conclusions from the research. Based on 26 in-depth individual interviews that were conducted with people famous in Poland (mainly engaged in artistic and cultural activities) and surveys of a group of 324 social media users, it was shown, among others, that online activity of Internet users stimulates the brand capital of famous people. Statistically significant relationships were observed for such components of the personal brand as awareness/associations with the personal brand and for the relationship regarding the perception of the quality of activities carried out by a famous person.

Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego