Social media Investigation Findings

The investigation of social media interfaces has revealed a number of cases in which organisations have benefited greatly from using social media as a marketing tool. There are however cases where social media has caused major implications for organisations. The drawbacks of social media however, can be overcome if the correct strategy and understanding of this medium is in place.
The research findings are divided into their respective categories as outlined in the introduction to social media. Each category of social media is explored through the use of case studies, which help illustrate the notions proposed in both commercial and academic literature examined.

Analysis of Communicative Social Media
All of the social media channels examined through this research report possess a strong communicative focus, however the most communicative social media channels are social networks. A social network can be defined as a social structure made of nodes (an individual or organisation) that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency. This interdependency may be shared values, visions, ideas, friendship, kinship, dislike, trade or other forms of exchange (Jackson & Wilinsky, 1996). There are hundreds of social networking sites available on the internet today; however this report will not cover each one. Instead, this report will provide a theoretical framework of social network analysis. This will be followed by an investigation of social network sites ‘Facebook’, ‘Twitter’ and the alternative option of creating ones own social network site, as practical examples of social network marketing.
In order to understand how the interactions occur through social networks, and how this is relevant to marketers, it is beneficial to have an understanding of sociological theory which sets the underlying assumptions upon which social media interaction behaviour is based. Research by Mark Granovetter titled ‘The Strength of Weak Ties’ provides a theoretical framework with regards to information mobility and diffusion through social networks. Sociological theory prior to his research focused on micro-level interactions; however his research identified macro-level patterns of interaction which can be applied to today’s extensive online social networks.
He identified two types of ties which make up social networks. Strong ties are a combination of emotional intensity, frequent interaction, mutual confiding and reciprocal services. They form clusters such as an individuals close circle of friends. Weak ties act as a bridge between groups or clusters of strong ties within the whole social structure. They act as channels through which ideas, influences or information can flow from socially distant groups. This means that information, ideas or innovation to be diffused, can reach a larger number of people and traverse greater social distance if passed through weak ties rather than strong ties. Individuals whom are ‘early adopters’ of ideas, products and innovations are therefore more likely to have weak ties. They are less subject to localised social pressures and influence, and sit on the margins of social clusters. Identifying individuals most likely to have many weak ties as opposed to those who are more integrated into a local social system can be beneficial to marketers whom want to rapidly disseminate information over a vast distance or acquire socially distant ideas and innovations. This is the strength of weak ties.
The unique feature of social network sites such as Facebook is that they enable users to articulate and make visible their social networks. This feature allows for identification of an individuals social capital, and furthermore, facilitates the bridging of social capital by making visible potential ties that would not be made in an offline environment. Research by Ellison, Steinfield and Lampe (2007) confirmed a positive relationship between usage levels of online social network ‘Facebook’ and the creation of social capital. Information now has greater liquidity and dispersion, presenting marketers with increased opportunities to reach their target audience.

Facebook
Facebook is a social networking site established in 2004, which has grown to be the largest social network on the internet. It has almost 200 million active users, of which 70% of them live outside of the United States. The site offers users a wide variety of tools to facilitate communication within individuals networks including status updates, photo sharing, email, event posting and live chatting (Facebook, 2009). The key question with regards to using Facebook as a marketing channel is how to leverage the power of the social network and engage users with your presense? One central finding with regards to not only marketing on Facebook, but all social media marketing, is to be a member, not a marketer (Gault, 2009).
The creation of a profile page is the start of your organisations presence on Facebook and is also the page which the creator has the most control over. This is the first point of contact with other individuals within the social network, therefore it needs to authentically express who you are or what you are trying to promote. From this point, further organsation awareness and growth can be fostered through the use of tools such as the creation of ‘groups’ and ‘pages’. These tools create a central place for conversation about your organisation or brand, providing useful customer feedback and insight. If named strategically they can motivate people to join, which then puts the group name on all members profile pages, creating additional brand visibility. An example of a successful group was the ‘1,000,000 Strong for Stephen Colbert’ group, which grew from zero to one million members in just five days (Facebook, 2009).
Other tools and applications Facebook offers includes event listings, posting invitations and requests, social ads, photo and video uploading and a ‘marketplace’ tool which acts as a classifieds listing service.
The Facebook interface and associated tools offer marketers entirely new paradigms for designing immersive and persuasive brand experiences. The challenge however is in creating something of value, and not only for the organisation but for consumers. This involves being creative and removing barriers, make the brand more accessible to consumers and encourage both B2C, C2C, and C2B conversation. According to marketing expert and author of ‘Purple Cow’ Seth Godin, “Conversations among the people in your marketplace happen whether you like it or not. Good marketing encourages the right sort of conversations” (Seth Godin, 2003).
Creating attractive interactive content through social network channels such as Facebook can require the combining of computing, media and telecommunications skills in order to produce effective exposure. If implemented strategically however, the results can include client retention through the building of relationships, customer engagement, brand awareness, increased customer satisfaction, positive word-of-mouth, and increased web site traffic.

Twitter
Twitter is one of the fastest growing social media platforms on the internet. The emergence and rapid growth of Twitter can be partly attributed to the release of mobile technologies such as the ‘iPhone’. Since the iPhones release in early 2008 over 17million iPhones have been sold (Apple, 2009;http://tinyurl.com/r5vvgm). Through the growing availability of mobile internet technology, consumers’ accessibility to social networks has increased, resulting in furthering the reach of social media.
‘Twitter’ can be viewed as a subcategory of communicative social media. It has been termed a ‘microblogging platform’, predominantly due to its constrictive status update offering, limited to 140 characters only. Users send out these short status updates, called ‘Tweets’, to all their followers within the Twitter network. The community of Twitter, Twitter users, and their ‘Tweets’ has been labelled the ‘Twittersphere’. Twitter users create a profile page as their point of contact with the ‘Twittershere’, however their network is structured in a different way to social networks such as Facebook. A users network consists of people they have selected to ‘follow’, and other users whom have selected to be ‘followers’. The two components are not interrelated, therefore the user controls what information they receive themselves (by who they follow) but the user cannot control who sees the users content (this is chosen by followers, not the user). As a result, Twitter users get interesting insight when posting questions, and it spreads the users message to new places. Twitter also allows users to connect with high profile individuals such as Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama and Ashton Kutcher, which they would otherwise not have the ability to connect to.
These structural variations around visibility and access are one of the primary ways in which social network sites differentiate themselves. The Twitter network construction is so open and simple, it is the users that are developing variations of how it can be used. Already an array of different uses of Twitter by organisations have emerged. It is being used in a non-commercial nature by local governments and Councils. It is also used as a link to tie audiences to other communication channels, used as a research tool, and in general a low maintenance way of connecting with people.
With the growth in Twitters popularity, so too has the frequency of social media communication flows. Initially, online social media tools such as email, message boards, forums, blogs and comment posts were asynchronous in nature. Twitter however is shifting the communication style to a more synchronous nature, with little to no time lag between the giving and receiving aspects of comminication. This synchronous characteristic of Twitter communication is the driving factor behind trends such as the non-commercial apoption of Twitter by local governments and Councils. One small town in America uses a Twitter network to distribute community notices such as road works updates. Twitter was used as a souce of emergency updates throughout the Californian bushfires in America, with Twitter users following Twitterer ‘@sandiegofire’ in order to receive uptodate evacuation information. Twitters capability to distribute emergency notices such as natural disasters and health alerts will become an increasingly effective means of citizen communication as the Twitter network continues to expand.
Large news corporations are using Twitter in a similar way to Government agencies, by alerting followers of breaking news through their ‘Tweets’. Twitter is a rapid catalyst for news. One of the most widely followed media distributors on Twitter is CNN, with over 1.5 million followers. The ‘Tweets’ however serve a secondary function of linking and driving traffic to their other media channels. CNN distributes breaking-news links which steer followers to CNNs central website. A second news corporation, KPBS News, also adopts this strategy. Figure 8.0 shows a sample of their ‘Tweets’, all of which contain links to their other media channels including their central website and their online radio station.
The strategy of incorporating links into ‘Tweets’ is being adopted by a wide range of industries as Twitters popularity grows. The key to a ‘Tweets’ success however, as with all social media marketing, is creating ‘Tweets’ which uniquely incorporate value to followers. ‘Tweeting’ an organisations website link repeatedly will fail to drive traffic if it does not offer the follower something of value. Businesses are therefore ‘Tweeting’ links to amusing videos on YouTube, special offers and sale information, rheurorical questions which stimulate consumer curiosity, or anecdotes, quotes and riddles in order to engage followers and offer them a valuable experience.
A third method of using ‘Twitter’ is harnessing its functionality as a market research tool. It can act as an instant focus group, a method of measuring responsiveness to offline media campaigns, to gain competitor insight, and remain relevant by tracking Twitter trends through applications such as Twopular, Twist, Tweetmeme, Twitturly, and Twithority, among many others.

The ‘do-it-yourself’ Approach
Another approach to social networking being adopted by a number of businesses including DMO’s such as ‘Las Vegas Tourism’, is the creation of their own social networks, accessible through the organisations existing digital assets.
There are however a number of disadvantages associated with the ‘do-it-yourself’ approach. The creation of the social network interface is costly, requiring web designers, project managers and digital architects. Research reveals that one’s existing offline network influences which social network site one embraces. People most commonly use social network sites to connect with those in their existing networks, rather than to seek out new friends and acquaintances. This creates a challenge for organisations such as Las Vegas Tourism, in establishing a strong enough online presence to motivate people to join the ‘MyVegas’ social network. People prefer to converse within the comfort of their own chosen network, it’s easier than trying to convince consumers to change.