Enhancing Social Media Marketing with A Brand Post Management Process

In recent years, enterprises are increasingly using social media to enhance the marketing effects about their brands and services. As such, brand pages on social media sites with brand posts placed are commonly used for effecting desired marketing features such as advertisement of services and assistance of customers. Therefore, it has become an important objective for enterprises to enhance the effects of their brand pages via sufficient management mechanisms. For this purpose, we present in this paper a management process that focuses on the organization, execution, and control of brand posts to enhance their marketing effects

Identity Presentation in Face Book Posts: The Kenyan Situation

The Internet technology is dramatically changing the landscape of identity construction by mobilizing people around the world to re-conceptualize their image. This paper argues that although once identity was ascribed by family name and reputation, social status, education and such like factors, Face Book users now exert the utmost influence in shaping their virtual image to reflect both actual and ideal identities. It goes on to contend that Face Book provides an optimal format for users to keep a personal narrative going in which they integrate events which happen in the external world, and sort them into an ongoing’ story about the self. The paper uses a research design that is both qualitative and quantitative in nature. Purposive sampling procedure was used to arrive at the sample for the paper which consisted of eight Facebook friends in the 22-35 age bracket. This is the age that was found to use Facebook more in Kenya. This narrative on self is presented on Face Book in the feature called Timeline. One is able to access histories on an individual’s posts and photos, all that make up to re-construct the identity of this individual. Identity construction, face book, timeline, personal narrative, post

A cross-cultural examination of student attitudes and gender differences in Facebook profile content

This paper examines cultural and gender differences in student reports of the likelihood that they would post various types of information on their Facebook profiles and their attitudes regarding non-students accessing their profiles. Significant gender and country differences were found. In general, U.S. students were more likely than German students to report they would post extreme information. Males in both countries (U.S. and Germany) were more likely than females to self-promote and be extreme in the information they would post and less concerned if employers viewed their profiles. Both U.S. and German students reported several items they would likely post on their profiles, but did not want employers to see. Implications of these results and recommendations for future research are also discussed

Consumer Brand Engagement nei contesti digitali. Un'analisi empirica del brand engagement di Telecom Italia Mobile

Negli ultimi due decenni, il termine engagement è stato ampiamente utilizzato in una vasta gamma di discipline delle scienze sociali, quali psicologia, sociologia, scienze politiche e comportamento organizzativo, portando ad una varietà di approcci concettuali che evidenziano diversi aspetti del costrutto. L'elaborato cerca di offrire una visione aggiornata di un topic che risulta non essere ancora oggi definito in modo chiaro ed univoco. Lo sviluppo del lavoro ha richiesto innanzitutto un'ampia review della letteratura sul tema, confrontando pubblicazioni sia di natura accademica sia professionale. Successivamente, il tema del Consumer Brand Engagement è stato analizzato nella prospettiva manageriale dell'azienda leader di mercato in Italia nel settore delle telecomunicazioni. A tal fine, la ricerca empirica si è concentrata sull'individuazione dei driver che spingono i consumatori ad un coinvolgimento attivo verso il brand, e all'evidenza dei risultati derivanti dalle strategie di engagement implementate dall'azienda. Da un punto di vista metodologico, lo studio empirico è stato condotto mediante un approccio di ricerca di marketing di tipo qualitativo, facendo riferimento alle tecniche qualitative interpretative riprese da numerosi studi dell'ultimo decennio (Sawhney, 2004; Gummesson, 2005; Spanjaard e Freeman, 2006; Cantone e Testa, 2010, 2011). Per comprendere la natura dei driver fondamentali che portano i consumatori ad un coinvolgimento attivo verso il brand, si è deciso di effettuare un'analisi semantica di tutti i contenuti generati dai consumatori "ingaggiati" rispetto al brand TIM sui principali digital environments – Facebook, Twitter e blog di settore – nell'arco temporale Ottobre - Dicembre 2014. La fase iniziale di data collecting è stata effettuata nel mese di Gennaio 2015 mediante la piattaforma digitale Blogmeter con cui sono stati raccolti un totale di 126.573 contesti testuali divisi tra commenti, post e tweet caratterizzati da parole chiave legate al mondo della telefonia mobile. La gran mole di dati ha reso necessario un processo di scrematura prima di poter procedere alla creazione di un unico corpus testuale. In seguito alla fase di purificazione dei dati, l'analisi è proseguita con la costituzione di un corpus testuale analizzato attraverso un software di text mining che adotta una serie di strumenti linguistici e statistici per l'analisi del contenuto di testo o di testi. Nel dettaglio, sono state condotte due differenti analisi qualitative: l'analisi delle co-occorrenze (o co-word analysis) e l'analisi dei cluster tematici (o cluster analysis). La prima ha permesso di identificare e quantificare in modo sintetico i rapporti di associazione tra due o più parole chiave simultaneamente presenti negli stessi contesti elementari; la seconda ha permesso la selezione ed il raggruppamento di elementi omogenei (parole chiave e unità lessicali) presenti nell'intero corpus testuale. I risultati emersi dall'analisi empirica hanno in primis confermato e dato riscontro pratico alle tre dimensioni emerse dai recenti studi teorici sul tema del Customer Brand Engagement, le quali hanno messo in evidenza come il coinvolgimento dei consumatori verso il brand TIM scaturisca fondamentalmente da driver di tipo emotivo, cognitivo e comportamentale. L'analisi empirica ha fatto emergere che le principali tematiche legate al mondo delle telecomunicazioni mobile riguardano nel dettaglio: l'utilizzo dei prodotti/servizi mobile; il benchmark con le offerte dei competitor; le informazioni delle offerte legate al brand TIM; le problematiche di natura tecnica. Come espresso poi dall'output grafico dell'analisi dei cluster, sono stati identificati i principali raggruppamenti tematici che si caratterizzano in base a: tradizione vs. innovazione, tangibile vs. intangibile e promozionale vs. informativo. I cluster tematici individuati sono cinque: servizi musicali; dispositivi e caratteristiche tecniche; offerte servizi tradizionali/base; disservizi rete; servizi di pagamento innovativi. L'impresa che si propone di raggiungere e rendere sostenibile il vantaggio competitivo attraverso strategie di engagement dei propri clienti ha, in primis, la necessità di presidiare in modo opportuno tutti i touch point con cui il consumatore entra in contatto con il brand. L'ascolto passivo della voce del consumatore deve lasciare spazio ad una forma di dialogo attivo che possa consentire ai consumatori di esprimere le proprie emozioni, le proprie conoscenze e il proprio comportamento. I consumatori coinvolti in modo attivo forniscono informazioni e conoscenze per la creazione di nuove offerte mediante i feedback proposti sulle piattaforme digitali: il consumatore non deve essere quindi considerato meramente come end-user ma, tutt'altro, come co-creatore di valore per l'azienda. Come evidenziato dall'analisi, l'engagement dei consumatori può essere attivato anche attraverso le nuove tecnologie digitali interattive come i social network o i blog. Pertanto, da un lato, le aziende hanno strumenti appropriati volti a pianificare e implementare strategie di brand engagement al fine di co-creare valore spontaneamente verso il brand; dall'altro, i consumatori hanno l'opportunità di dialogare in modo diretto con le aziende circa i prodotti/servizi e contribuire alla creazione di equity e creare soluzioni alle proprie esigenze

Culture and Social Media

博士(文学)神戸市外国語大

The symbiotic relationship of social media content creation and consumption: a mood management and selective exposure theory perspective

En la recerca sobre el consum dels llocs personals a les xarxes socials, com Facebook, YouTube i Instagram, han predominat els projectes basats en la identitat en què les persones utilitzen l’espai online per crear i projectar les identitats que coldrien tenir per mitjà d’un procés de gestió de la imatge. En aquest recerca, es presenta una conceptualització alternativa de l’ús de les xarxes socials, incloent-hi la creació i el consum de continguts, que utilitza la teoria de la gestió dels estats d’ànim i l’exposició selectiva que es deriva de la psicologia dels mitjans. La teoria de la gestió dels estats d’ànim estipula que les persones intenten readaptar el seu entorn d’estímuls per incrementar la durada i la intensitat dels bons moments i reduir la intensitat i la durada dels mals moments. En conseqüència, aquesta recerca té una triple finalitat: 1) explicar amb detall el procés de gestió de l’estat d’ànim col•lectiu en els llocs personals de les xarxes socials, incloent-hi la creació selectiva i el consum selectiu de continguts; 2) il•lustrar sobre les conseqüències d’una cultura de gestió de l’estat d’ànim col•lectiu en les xarxes socials, i 3) identificar formes en què les marques es poden afermar en una cultura de gestió dels estats d’ànim a les xarxes socials i a través d’elles. A partir de 15 llargues entrevistes de més de dues hores de durada cadascuna i de les dades recollides durant vuit mesos d’informació online dels perfils de Facebook dels enquestats, trobem que les persones creen col•lectivament uns continguts en els seus llocs personals de les xarxes socials que són bàsicament positius i divertits, que fan que els continguts visibles a les xarxes socials siguin predominantment positius i divertits. Aquest fenomen s’explica estudiant detingudament els tipus de continguts que creen les persones, els tipus de continguts que no creen, els tipus de continguts que consumeixen online i els que no consumeixen. Les nostres conclusions demostren que l’ús de les xarxes socials implica una combinació de comportaments contraris i contradictoris. Les marques necessiten entendre la cultura que han creat els consumidors de les xarxes socials, no tan sols per determinar com penetrar i actuar en aquesta cultura, sinó també per trobar noves vies al creixement, més enllà de la comunicació bidireccional i de la construcció de relacions, en què les experiències també s’ofereixin a través de les xarxes socials.En la investigación sobre el consumo de los sitios personales en las redes sociales, como Facebook, YouTube e Instagram, han predominado los proyectos de base identitaria en que las personas utilizan el espacio online para crear y proyectar aquellas identidades que desearían tener a través de un proceso de gestión de la imagen. En esta investigación, se presenta una conceptualización alternativa del uso de las redes sociales, incluyendo la creación y el consumo de contenidos, que utiliza la teoría de la gestión de los estados de ánimo y la exposición selectiva que se deriva de la psicología de los medios. La teoría de la gestión de los estados de ánimo estipula que las personas intentan readaptar su entorno de estímulos para incrementar la duración y la intensidad del buen humor y reducir la intensidad y la duración del mal humor. En consecuencia, esta investigación tiene una triple finalidad: 1) explicar en detalle el proceso de gestión del estado de ánimo colectivo en los sitios personales de las redes sociales, incluyendo la creación selectiva y el consumo selectivo de contenidos; 2) arrojar luz sobre las consecuencias de una cultura de gestión del estado de ánimo colectivo sobre las redes sociales, y 3) identificar formas en que las marcas pueden afianzarse en una cultura de gestión de los estados de ánimo en y a través de las redes sociales. Utilizando 15 largas entrevistas de más de dos horas de duración cada una y datos recogidos de ocho meses de información online de los perfiles de Facebook de los encuestados, hallamos que las personas crean colectivamente unos contenidos en sus sitios personales de las redes sociales que son básicamente positivos y divertidos, que hacen que los contenidos visibles en las redes sociales sean predominantemente positivos y divertidos. Este fenómeno se explica estudiando en detalle los tipos de contenidos que crean las personas, los tipos de contenidos que no crean, los tipos de contenidos que consumen online y los que no consumen. Nuestras conclusiones demuestran que el uso de las redes sociales implica una combinación de comportamientos contrarios y contradictorios. Las marcas necesitan entender la cultura creada por los consumidores de las redes sociales no solo para determinar cómo penetrar y actuar en dicha cultura, sino también para hallar nuevas vías al crecimiento más allá de la comunicación bidireccional y de la construcción de relaciones, en que las experiencias también se ofrezcan a través de las redes sociales.Research on the consumption of personal social media sites, such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, has been dominated by identity-based projects in which individuals use the online space to create and project their desired identities through the process of image-management. In this research, an alternative conceptualization of social media usage, comprising content creation and consumption, is presented using mood management and selective exposure theory derived from media psychology. Mood management theory stipulates that individuals attempt to rearrange their stimulus environment so as to increase the duration and intensity of good moods and reduce the intensity and duration of bad ones. Subsequently, the aims of this research are threefold: (1) to elaborate on the process of collective mood management on personal social media sites, including selective content creation and selective content consumption; (2) to shed light on the consequences of a culture of collective mood management on social media networks; and (3) to identify ways in which brands can leverage themselves in a culture of mood management on and through social media. Using 15 long interviews spanning two hours each and data collected from eight months of online observation of the respondents’ Facebook profiles, I find that individuals collectively create content on their personal social media sites that is primarily positive and entertaining, leading to predominantly positive and entertaining content visible on social media networks. This phenomenon is explained by elaborating on the types of content that individuals create, the types of content they do not create, the types of content that persons consume online and those which they do not consume. The findings demonstrate that social media usage involves a combination of contrary and contradictory behaviours. Understanding the culture created by consumers of social media is not only necessary for brands to determine how to penetrate and engage in such a culture, but is also relevant for brands to find avenues for growth beyond two-way communication and relationship building, in which experiences are also delivered through social media networks

A cross-cultural evaluation of individualism and collectivism on communication strategies and social identity on online social media

The increase of the use of social network sites (SNS) has given the opportunity for members from all cultures to maintain existing and establish new social connections and also create an online social identity for themselves. Such online communication has now become part of our daily lives, where members from individualist (independent) and collectivist (interdependent) cultures interact with each other. While past research has been successful in understanding the causal role of culture in an offline context which has affects social identity and psychological understanding and decisions members make, the evaluation of how culture effects human behaviour and their social identity in an online environment is limited. This research aims to address this gap in literature by acknowledging the concept of Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effect (SIDE) which posits that the level of anonymity in an online environment helps members to depersonalise, thereby helping in social identification of the self and facilitating online relationships and communication. This research particularly evaluates how cultural differences effects online communication, the decisions members making in various psychological outcomes and how if effects their social identities. This will be achieved by a cross-cultural among Facebook members from individualist country (UK) and collectivist country (India and Indonesia) through a survey and priming experiments. While cultural orientation has been used as an independent variable in the study, psychological variables like online social identity, online self-enhancement, perceived online social support, online trust and online privacy concern has been used as the dependent variables in the study. The research used a quantitative method approach which was divided into four studies. Study 1 (N = 150) and Study 2 (N = 432) consisted of the online study involving Facebook responses and Study 3 (N = 71) and Study 4 (N = 407) consisted of the priming experiments where cultural orientation was manipulated to check participant responses on various psychological outcome measures. The results revealed that differences in participant responses existed among both cultures. Priming members with consistent cultural self-construal strengthened their scores on their cultural orientation and when members were primed with inconsistent cultural self-construal, it weakened their scores on their cultural orientation. The causal role of culture was established in some of the outcome measures that will be discussed further. The results highlight the importance of understanding and acknowledging cultural differences of members using SNSs. This is not just crucial for health professionals trying to incorporate SNSs to implement care to patients, the results also highlight the important responsibility for web developers and network providers fighting privacy issues, online bullying. Additionally, the results are also crucial to social researchers as they try to understand online behaviour and to the members of SNSs itself to help prevent online tension