Leveraging Online Brand Communities for Public Relations Outcomes in Ghana’s Music Industries: Strategies and Forms.

Abstract

This study examined how artist management teams in Ghana used digital public relations to mobilise online fan communities and how such mobilisation shaped visibility, reputation, and relational continuity within the music industry. Using qualitative data from selected management teams, the study found that fan communities functioned beyond the extension of publicity reach. Fans actively engaged in reputation defence, reinforced preferred narratives, and supported sustained relationships between artists and audiences. At the same time, these practices generated persistent challenges, including frequent message misinterpretation and heightened exposure to reputational risk. Ethical concerns also emerged, particularly in relation to the reliance on unpaid emotional labour from highly committed fans. The findings further showed that the effectiveness of fan participation depended on trust, access, recognition, and shared cultural communication norms. Where these conditions were present, mobilisation supported relational stability and visibility management. Where they were absent, fan activity often became disruptive and difficult to regulate. Platform dynamics further shaped outcomes, as algorithmic changes altered visibility without warning and platform instability constrained managerial control. The study therefore positions digital public relations not merely as promotional activity but as a form of communication governance operating within unequal relations of power and dependence in contemporary fan mobilisation.