From #mcdonaldsfail to #dominossucks

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 344-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanine D. Guidry ◽  
Marcus Messner ◽  
Yan Jin ◽  
Vivian Medina-Messner
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Fast Food ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
Public Relations Practitioners ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Media Platform

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the crisis information posted by publics on the social media platform Instagram about leading fast food companies as well as the responses by the companies and their general use of Instagram. Design/methodology/approach – In two quantitative content analyses, 711 Instagram posts were identified in a two-week constructed time period that related to the ten largest fast food chains in the world. Findings – It was found that negative content about these companies is posted by customers and employees alike and that the negative tonality primarily stems from issues with service and the work environment. The study also showed that the companies are just starting to discover Instagram and have very little engagement with users. None of the companies responded to the negative posts of customers and employees. Research limitations/implications – The analysis only evaluated posts with negative hashtags about ten fast food companies. Future research should expand the analysis to all posts about a certain sector as well as expand the scope of the research beyond the fast food sector. Practical implications – The results of the study are a call-to-action for public relations professionals to engage with their publics on Instagram and actively use the app as a pre-crisis monitoring and crisis response tool in their social media plans. Originality/value – Instagram is a fast-growing social media channel, yet research into this platform is lacking. The findings of this study should be a challenge to public relations practitioners to put Instagram next to Facebook and Twitter at the center of their social media strategy.

A taxonomy of value co-creation on Weibo – a communication perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 2075-2092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Ge ◽  
Ulrike Gretzel
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Marketing Organization ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Media Platform ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
Comprehensive Classification ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to develop a taxonomy of value co-creation types occurring in firm-customer interactions on social media. Design/methodology/approach In total, 570 destination marketing organization (DMO)-initiated posts on Weibo and 3,137 responses were collected to develop a taxonomy by conducting qualitative empirical-to-conceptual analysis. To apply the taxonomy through conceptual-to-empirical analysis, 100 DMO-initiated posts and 823 responses were collected. Findings The communication-focused value co-creation taxonomy shows a variety of co-creators, verbal and non-verbal communicative co-creation actions facilitated by social media, and different co-created value types. Research limitations/implications This study used a single social media platform and selected three DMOs’ Weibo accounts. Future research should focus on other types of firms and different social media platforms. Practical implications This study used a single social media platform and selected three DMOs’ Weibo accounts. Future research should focus on other types of firms and different social media platforms. Originality/value This study enriches the tourism literature and the general marketing literature by examining value co-creation from a communication perspective and provides a comprehensive classification of value co-creation opportunities on social media.

“Digital buddies”: parasocial interactions in social media

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mujde Yuksel ◽  
Lauren I. Labrecque
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Student Athletes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Media Platform ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
Personal Accounts ◽  
Parasocial Interactions

Purpose This paper aims to focus its inquiries on the parasocial interactions (PSI) and relationships (PSR) consumers form with personae in online social media communities. The authors extend the marketing literature on parasocial interaction/relationship beyond brands by focusing on personal social media accounts (public student-athletes). Design/methodology/approach The authors adopt a grounded theory methodology (Glaser and Strauss, 2009) triangulating observational netnographic data (Kozinets, 2010) of 49 public student-athlete accounts on Twitter (34,500 tweets) with in-depth interviews. The findings emphasize that PSI/PSR occur not only from interactions with brands but also through personal accounts on social media platforms. Findings The investigation reveals that through such social media platforms, PSI/PSR influence consumers cognitively, affectively and behaviorally. In terms of cognition, the data suggest that PSI/PSR can influence opinion, interests, attention allocation and construction of relations, specifically through the availability of in-depth knowledge about the social media persona. Additionally, the research findings indicate that affect-laden messages from persona can alter emotion and mood, induce empathetic reactions and trigger inspiration, especially in relation to the shared interest of the online community of the social media account. Behaviorally, the findings suggest that personas’ messages can direct and inspire both online and offline actions through endorsed behavioral parasocial interactions. Research limitations/implications This research focused on one specific social media platform, Twitter. Twitter was specifically chosen, because it is a popular social media platform and allows non-reciprocal relationships. Although the authors feel that the findings would hold for other social media platforms, future research may be conducted to see if there are differences in PSI/PSR development on different types of networks. Additionally, the authors focused on a specific type of personal account, student-athletes. Future research may wish to extend beyond this population to other personal social media accounts, such as fashion bloggers, diy bloggers and others. Originality/value This research reveals that PSI/PSR can occur not only from interactions with brands but also through personal accounts on social media platforms. The findings give support for the value of brand spokespersons and brand ambassadors and suggest that brands should take careful consideration into who is chosen to represent the brand.

Guiding the conversation

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Walden
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Relations Practitioners ◽  
Frontline Workers ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Normative Expectations ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how public relations practitioners view their role in guiding their organizations’ frontline (nonnominated) employees’ social media use and the tensions that organizations must navigate when they interact with their employees online. Design/methodology/approach This study utilizes in-depth interviews with 24 PR practitioners in the USA. Data were analyzed via grounded theory’s approach to open, axial, and select coding. Findings PR practitioners engage in three activities to guide employees’ social media use: serving as a reactive-technical resource; supporting employee communities; and responding to incidental monitoring of social media posts. Research limitations/implications The study extends stakeholder theory by describing the normative expectations that are placed on employees when it comes to discussing the organization online. Practical implications Recommendations are offered for PR practitioners regarding the boundary-respecting management of nonnominated employees’ social media use. Social implications Findings point to a greater understanding about frontline workers’ roles in supporting their organizations and the need for organizations to carefully explain social media policies. Originality/value Scholars have not fully explored the challenges that firms face when they seek to influence employees’ personal social networking activities. There is new insight about the ways in which organization can ethically engage with employees in digitally mediated spaces.

Public relations culture, social media, and regulation

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Vardeman-Winter ◽  
Katie Place
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Relations Practitioners ◽  
Shared Meanings ◽  
Growing Pains ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
Circuit Of Culture

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how practitioner culture is maintained despite legal, technical, and educational issues resulting from the deluge of social media. The authors examined the nexus of practitioner culture, social media usage, and regulatory forces like policies, authority figures, and social norms. Design/methodology/approach – To explore practitioner culture, a cultural studies approach was used. Specifically, the circuit of culture model framed data analysis. The authors conducted qualitative interviews with 20 US public relations practitioners. Findings – Social media emerged as integral for cultural maintenance at every point in the circuit of culture. Practitioners expressed shared meanings about the regulations of social media as the reinvention of communication amidst growing pains; blurred public-private boundaries; nuanced rules of netiquette; and new systems of measurement and education. Research limitations/implications – The authors propose a regulation-formality hypothesis and regulation-identification articulations that should be considered in public relations practice, research, and education. Practical implications – Findings suggest best practices to help practitioners negotiate their personal identities and the identities of their organizations because of the unregulated nature of social media. Originality/value – This study fills the need for more qualitative, in-depth research that describes the cultural implications of social media in public relations to better address misunderstandings or gaps between its perceived effectiveness and actual use.

scholarly journals IMC antecedents and the consequences of planned brand identity in higher education

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 528-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pantea Foroudi ◽  
Keith Dinnie ◽  
Philip J. Kitchen ◽  
T. C. Melewar ◽  
Mohammad M. Foroudi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Country Of Origin ◽  
Brand Identity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences

Purpose This study aims to identify integrated marketing communication (IMC) antecedents and the consequences of planned brand identity in the context of higher education, and empirically test a number of hypotheses related to the constructs of these antecedents and consequences. Design/methodology/approach A model of the IMC antecedents and consequences of planned brand identity was tested in a survey conducted among stakeholders in two London-based universities. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to gain insight into the various influences and relationships. Findings The study identifies and confirms key constructs in planned brand identity. IMC antecedents of planned brand identity, such as brand elements, service attributes, public relations and place/country of origin, were found to positively influence the planned brand identity consequences of awareness, image and reputation. However, websites, social media, advertising and direct marketing were not found to have significant influence. Research limitations/implications The focus on two UK universities limits the generalisability of the findings. Future research should be conducted in other country settings to test the relationships identified in the present study. Also, future research may build on the study’s findings by investigating the attitudinal and behavioural consequences of brand identification in the higher education context. Practical implications Professionals responsible for universities’ promotional and branding activities need to evaluate the relative contributions of the IMC antecedents of planned brand identity. Brand elements such as design, colour and name, for example, should be reviewed to determine whether modifications are required in different international markets. The increasing prevalence of social media, one of the key antecedents of brand awareness, offers opportunities for universities to engage in brand co-creation by interacting with past, present and future students on relevant digital platforms. Finally, the place/country-of-origin cue is of particular relevance to institutions of higher education given the increasing numbers of students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels who are choosing to study abroad (Melewar and Akel, 2005). The attraction of the UK as a country to study in, or the appeal of individual cities such as London, should be fully integrated into universities’ IMC strategies. Originality/value The study makes two main contributions. First is the theoretical contribution by identifying the core IMC antecedents and consequences of planned brand identity for universities and from this extrapolate key directions for future research. Second it is indicated that a number of managerial implications are designed to assist in the formulation of improved professional practice.

Exploring the effects of social media features on the publics’ responses to decreased usage CSR messages

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyejin Kim ◽  
Hao Xu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Cues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Responses ◽  
Public Relations Practitioners ◽  
Corporate Managers ◽  
Message Source ◽  
Social Cause

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the way the message source and presence of positive social cues influence the evaluations (attitude toward the corporate social responsibility (CSR) message and company, and word-of-mouth intention to support the campaign) of the decreased use CSR messages on Facebook. Design/methodology/approach In the context of Facebook, this study adopted 2 (message source: a CSR message in a sponsored ad format vs a CSR message posted by another Facebook user) × 2 (social cue: highly salient, positive social cues vs no social cues) factorial experimental design. Findings The main effects of message source types and presence of positive social cues on decreased usage CSR campaigns proved to be effective in generating better consumer responses to the company and campaign. Research limitations/implications The findings are expected to advance the CSR literature by offering a detailed understanding of CSR campaigns that discourage consumption of the company’s own product to support a social cause. It is suggested to test the effects with other CSR examples to increase the ability to generalize the results further. Practical implications The results suggest campaign strategies on social media for public relations practitioners and corporate managers who work for companies conducting social responsibility campaigns that discourage consumption of their own products. Originality/value This study contributes to the CSR literature by examining the concept of CSR campaigns that advocate decreased usage, which has received scant scholarly attention to date.

Enhancing customer brand experience and loyalty through enterprise microblogs

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 580-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Yang ◽  
Rui Zheng ◽  
Ling Zhao ◽  
Sumeet Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Brand Loyalty ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Brand Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Communication Framework ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Media Platform

Purpose As the social media platform becomes an ever more important communication channel between company and customer, companies are learning how they can best utilize social media to better communicate their brands with customers. The purpose of this paper is to explore the communication tactics adopted by the enterprise microblogs using a communication framework. Further, the authors hope to find out how these communication tactics influence customer brand experience (BE) and subsequently brand loyalty. Design/methodology/approach First, to identify the communication tactics used by enterprise microblogs, the authors recruited six active microblog users and listed all possible characteristics of enterprise microblogs that could increase customers’ fondness for the brand. Second, based on the listed 19 characteristics and existing theories, the authors pre-classified and conceptualized the content and style tactics categories. The authors also followed a sorting procedure to verify our classification. Finally, based on the sorted characteristics and previous research, the authors designed a questionnaire and 459 sets of valid data were collected from enterprise microblog users. Findings The communication tactics are classified into two dimensions, namely content tactics and style tactics. The content tactics include content diversity, content accuracy and content timeliness, and the style tactics include impression enhancement style and interactivity enhancement style. The results reveal that the communication content and style tactics significantly enhance overall customer BE and further brand loyalty. The study results also show that style tactics exert more influence on BE than content tactics. Originality/value This paper highlights the company’s important role in company-customer communication on social media, and categorizes the effective communication tactics used by the enterprise microblog within a communication framework. Companies could build brand loyalty by enhancing users’ BE using effective communication. The communication perspective and measures of the communication tactics in this study provide an ideal background for future research on IT-based company-customer interaction.

Social media advertising reactance model: a theoretical review

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Honghong Huo ◽  
Zhiyong Liu ◽  
Qingfei Min
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Publishing Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Full Picture ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Social Media Advertising ◽  
User Friendly

PurposeResearch on social media advertising reactance (SMAR) is in the early stages. This paper intends to present a full picture of SMAR studies, introduce a comprehensive theoretical model (the social media advertising reactance model, SMARM) and provide insights into research and practice.Design/methodology/approachThis review adopts the concept-driven systematic review approach, identifying 92 articles from four primary academic databases – EBSCO, Elsevier, Web of Science and Google Scholar.FindingsFirst, this review offers overviews of five topics: publication trends, the journals publishing research, research methodology, targeted platform and the main theories. Second, based on the framework of psychological reactance, this study proposes the SMARM, identifying and elaborating on four components of the nomological relationship to SMAR: related concepts, antecedents, moderators and consequences.Practical implicationsThis research has implications for advertisers, social media platform operators and policymakers by providing a whole picture of SMAR. Moreover, the SMARM could guide the stakeholders to adopt a user-friendly advertising design for the sustainable development of social media advertising (SMA).Originality/valueBy presenting an up-to-date review of SMAR-related research, this paper contributes to the literature of social media, advertising and marketing. Through a comparison with traditional advertising, this paper makes the characteristics of SMA clear. Meanwhile, the SMARM is developed to systematically elaborate on all related elements of SMAR and explain their underlying causal relationships. Future research directions are proposed.

Does public segmentation matter in crisis communication? The interplay between public segmentation and crisis response strategies

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor Jing Wen ◽  
Jo-Yun Li ◽  
Baobao Song
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Communication Theory ◽  
Safety Issue ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Relations Practitioners ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Modest Contribution

PurposeThis study situates in the context of Chipotle's food safety issue and seeks to understand how their primary customers perceive their crisis response messages after learning of the outbreaks. The current study incorporates the framework of situational crisis communication theory (SCCT; Coombs, 2007) and public segmentation model (Rawlins, 2006) to understand the effectiveness of crisis response messages. It aims to examine the role of public segmentation in situational crisis communication and investigate the effects of three crisis response strategies according to SCCT on different public segments.Design/methodology/approachThe SCCT provides guidelines for understanding the effectiveness of different crisis response strategies. The current study showcases the importance of public segmentation in the SCCT model through the lens of stakeholder theory. A 3 (crisis response strategy: deny, diminish, rebuild) × 4 (public segment: advocate, dormant, adversarial, apathetic) factorial experiment was conducted.FindingsThe findings suggest that advocate public expressed more positive evaluation about the company when exposed to rebuild and deny strategies. Both dormant and adversarial stakeholders reported positive responses on rebuild and diminish strategies. However, no difference was found among apathetic public.Originality/valueThe researchers attempt to make a modest contribution in this direction by reporting results from an empirical experiment that examined the effects of crisis response strategies on different public segments. The findings suggest an effective message tailoring approach to target different public segments. Thus, the results of this study are expected to benefit relevant corporations and public relations practitioners.

Social media’s have-nots: an era of social disenfranchisement

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 1253-1274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinru Page ◽  
Pamela Wisniewski ◽  
Bart P. Knijnenburg ◽  
Moses Namara
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Open Coding ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the motivations, concerns, benefits and consequences associated with non-use of social media. In doing so, it extends Wyatt’s commonly used taxonomy of non-use by identifying new dimensions in which to understand non-use of social media. This framework encompasses a previously unidentified category of non-use that is critical to understand in today’s social media environment. Design/methodology/approach This is an exploratory interview study with 17 self-identified social media non-users distributed across age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds. A thematic analysis is conducted based on a novel extension of Wyatt’s framework and the risk-benefits framework. This is supplemented by open coding to allow for emerging themes. Findings This paper provides empirical insights into a formerly uninvestigated population of non-users who are prevented from using social media because of social engagement (rather than functional) barriers. It identifies how these individuals face social consequences both on and off social media, resulting in social disenfranchisement. Research limitations/implications This is an initial exploration of the phenomenon using an interview study. For generalizability, future research should investigate non-use with a broader and random sample. Practical implications This paper includes design recommendations and implications for social media platform designers to mitigate the consequences experienced by socially disenfranchised non-users. Social implications Addressing concerns of this newly identified class of non-users is of utmost importance. As others are increasingly connected, these non-users are left behind and even ostracized – showing the dark sides of social media use and non-use. Originality/value This work identifies types of non-use of social media previously unrecognized in the literature.

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