Author(s)

Qian Zhang ¹, Jing Chen ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Lijiang Culture and Tourism College, Lijiang, Yunnan, 674100, China

Corresponding Author

Jing Chen

ABSTRACT

With the continuous iteration of digital technology, social media has become deeply embedded in people's daily lives. By virtue of its extensive reach and powerful interactivity, it has exerted a profound social impact. Consequently, leveraging the advantages of these platforms for brand building has become a widely accepted consensus. However, in an ocean of information, how can a brand stand out? The key lies in the emotional appeal of its content. Against this backdrop, narratology provides a critical pathway for brands to establish deep emotional connections with their users. Taking the core elements of narratology—story structure, character development, spatiotemporal context, and audience participation—as an analytical framework, this paper explores how brands construct narrative systems with strong communicative power and a sense of identity on social platforms such as Weibo, Douyin (TikTok), and Xiaohongshu (RED). The study reveals that successful social media brand narratives often employ a creative reconstruction strategy of "putting new wine in old bottles." In video content creation, brands tend to borrow well-known classic stories or traditional characters (e.g., mythological figures or cinematic classics) as narrative vehicles to lower users' cognitive thresholds and evoke collective memory. On this basis, creators deconstruct and reorganize traditional content by integrating modern internet slang and humorous expressions, rendering originally serious or distant classic images highly relatable and approachable. This grounded narrative style not only bridges the gap between brands and users but also stimulates users' desire for entertainment and sharing through the appeal of "contrast cuteness." Ultimately, brand information is effectively conveyed in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

KEYWORDS

Social Media; Brand Building; Narratology; Video Content; Classic Revival

CITE THIS PAPER

Qian Zhang, Jing Chen. Narratology in social media branding. Media and Communication Research (2026). Vol. 7, No. 2, 143-150. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/mediacr.2026.070215.

REFERENCES

[1] Bakhtin, M. M. (1984). Problems of Dostoevsky's poetics (C. Emerson, Trans.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. (Original work published 1929)
[2] Bu, D. Y. (2018). Multimodal construction of online brand discourse: Developing profitable customer relationships [Master's thesis]. Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.
[3] Fu, S. B. (2010). Research on characteristics of digital brand communication in network environment [Master's thesis]. Hunan University.
[4] Greimas, A. J. (1987). On meaning: Selected writings in semiotic theory (P. J. Perron & F. H. Collins, Trans.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. (Original work published 1970)
[5] Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York: New York University Press.
[6] Li, M. (2011). Branding of Mountain Dew from the perspective of culture [Master's thesis]. Northeast University of Finance and Economics.
[7] Li, Z. L. (2022). Research of branding and identity design for rural communities from the perspective of branding narrative theory: A case study of the branding and identity design for Zhuquanyu Village [Master's thesis]. Shandong University of Arts & Design.
[8] Lv, Y. F. (2006). Chinese brand development in a global context [Master's thesis]. Northeast University of Finance and Economics.
[9] Manovich, L. (2001). The language of new media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
[10] Propp, V. (1968). Morphology of the folktale (2nd ed., L. Scott, Trans.). Austin: University of Texas Press. (Original work published 1928)
[11] Shen, D. (2005). Narratology studies in China and the West. Foreign Literatures, (4), 110-111.
[12] Toffler, A. (1980). The third wave. New York: Bantam Books.
[13] Wang, Y. (2023). Research on purchasing factors of museum co-branded products based on emotional value mediation effect [Master's thesis]. Shenzhen University.
[14] Yang, L. Y. (2007). A preliminary study on marketing communication strategies in element branding. Marketing Communication Forum, (3), 34.

Sponsors, Associates, and Links

---

• Journal of Language Testing & Assessment
  
  
• Information and Knowledge Management
  
  
• Military and Armament Science
  
  
• Journal of Human Movement Science
  
  
• Art and Performance Letters
  
  
• Lecture Notes on History
  
  
• Lecture Notes on Language and Literature
  
  
• Philosophy Journal
  
  
• Science of Law Journal
  
  
• Journal of Political Science Research
  
  
• Journal of Sociology and Ethnology
  
  
• Advances in Broadcasting