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A case study into the connection between brands and customers on Facebook.
Have we truly reached two-way symmetrical communication?
Canadian Public Relations Society National Conference: Engagement + Impact Matt Proctor, Mount Saint Vincent University Montreal, June 2, 2015.
Research Objectives
Literature Review
Theoretical Framework
Methodology
Data Collection/Theme Development
Analysis & Findings
Discussions
Limitations
Conclusions
Outline
To explore the connection between brands and customers on Facebook
- Two-way symmetrical communication as the ideal
- Two-way asymmetrical model based on persuasion
Justification for the research is to better understand brand and social interaction so communication professionals can better achieve mutual relationships and shared understanding
Research Objective
RQ1. According to a main principle of Excellence Theory does a company or brand achieve two-way symmetrical or asymmetrical communication with its customers?
RQ2. Where does the balance of power lie between brands (companies) and customers (fans) on brand pages?
RQ3. Are the outbound posts that companies deploy intended to initiate dialogue or to sell/market products?
Research Questions
Facebook is now a medium to generate sales and profit Macnamara (2010) notes the potential of social media for
two-way balanced dialogue Bushelow’s (2012) research that showed consumer
participation on Facebook was for personal gain Brands capitalize on the opportunity for targeted
messages to specific audiences (Generation Like, 2014) Grunig (2009) notes while new media may have potential
for two-way symmetrical communication, many practitioners fall back to “the same old ways of dumping messages on the general population”
Literature Review
Grunig & Hunt’s (1984) Four Models of PR
Grunig’s Excellence Theory (1992): Two-way symmetrical
Theoretical Framework
*Source: http://wadds.co.uk/2012/09/14/grunig-revisited-digital-communication-and-the-excellence-model/
Mixed Methods/Content Analysis Binary Case Study Approach (Yin 2014)
Brand Facebook Pages Examined (Outbound only)
- Posts from February 2014 – January 2015 (One Year)
Why the Canadian telecommunications industry?
Why Rogers and Telus?
Methodology
Data Collection
Rogers page size = 581,349 as of Feb 15
Minumum use
of Like functionality
Date Post Theme Post # likes # shares # community comments # Brand Responses Response %
1 30-Jan Brand Engagement
Mark your calendars Cole Harbour and surrounding area! February 14th-
15th our free outdoor hockey weekend festival will be in town at Cole
Harbour Place and packed with activities for all ages! Hope you can
make it! 6 0 0 0 0.0%
1 30-Jan Brand Engagement
Mark your calendars St. John's and surrounding area! February 7th-8th
our free outdoor hockey weekend festival will be in town at Quidi Vidi
and packed with activities for all ages! Hope you can make it! 6 0 1 0 0.0%
1 30-Jan Content/Sales Message
Looking for an action flick tonight? Brad Pitt stars as Wardaddy, an
army sergeant commanding a Sherman tank and five-man crew on a
deadly mission behind enemy lines. Catch Fury on ROD tonight! 135 12 20 2 10.0%
1 29-Jan Content/Sales Message
Sometimes all you need is a good friend to help get you through some
everyday struggles – struggles like breakups, homicide, blackmail and
the imminent apocalypse... ok, maybe they’re a really great friend.
Check out our top 10 favourite TV Bromances & BFFs that showcase the 139 3 4 2 50.0%
1 25-Jan Content/Sales Message
Check out the angle from the RefCam at the 2015 Honda NHL All-Stars
Skills Competition last night! Catch tonight's game and even more
exclusive GamePlus angles on Rogers NHL GameCentre Live! # RGCL 641 55 44 14 31.8%
1 23-Jan Content/Sales Message
You can now be among the first in Canada to check out Transparent –
the Golden Globes award winning comedy that everyone’s talking
about! Only on Shomi 298 0 24 11 45.8%
Theme Development
Post Themes Criteria Theory Correlation
Brand Engagement
Posts that aim to create dialogue, interaction or
build a relationship with the community (Contests
that do not tie to product purchase fall within here). Two-way Communication
Product/Service Sales
Posts that aim to sell whether it is content themed,
product superiority claims, offers/discounts on
products or services (ie. Samsung Tablet or TV
service) One-way Communication
CSR
Posts that aim to build relationships through
demonstration of goodwill, sponsorship or events
for the community. Two-way Communication
Technology/Service Support
More generic posts on technology or support that
tie to industry practices and service issues. Posts
are more of an informative nature. One-way Communication
Both brands had similar results where at best they provided ~30% response ratio to consumer interactions for the outbound posts evaluated
Far below the 100% required for two-way, even dialogue
Analysis/Key Findings
Page/Posts Stats Rogers Telus
# Page Community Likes 581,349 910,652
# Outbound Posts during Period 65 72
# of Likes of Outbound Posts 27,750 88,153
# of Shares of Outbound Posts 3,074 19,742
# of Comments of Outbound Posts 5,039 7,323
# of Brand Responses to Replies of Outbound Posts 1,395 2,095
Brand Response % (including customer likes) 4.25% 2.19% *
Brand Response % (excluding customer likes) 27.68% 28.61% *
*Excludes shares (deemed separate from brand/customer interaction)
Rogers tended to have more product/service or sales oriented messages - Aligned more with one-way communication
Telus tended to have more brand engagement or community building messages - More two-way communication oriented
# of Posts by Theme: Rogers % of Posts Telus % of Posts
Brand Engagement 11 16.9% 47 65.3%
Product/Service Sales 44 67.7% 10 13.9%
CSR 5 7.7% 11 15.3%
Tech/Service Support 5 7.7% 4 5.6%
Total Posts 65 100.0% 72 100.0%
Communication Style (per tab 2 criteria) One-Way Two-Way Total Posts % Two-way
Rogers 49 16 65 24.6%
Telus 10 58 72 80.6%
Analysis/Key Findings
Results are directional in nature given case study format
Larger, robust quantitative study with each public may help to better determine their social objectives
Larger cross-section of brand pages would help remove any specific industry bias
Personal bias was judged to be minimized given no affiliation with either brand, but an understanding of the industry
Limitations
Conclusions
RQ1. Two-way, asymmetrical
RQ2. Consumers
RQ3. Relates to brand communication strategy (different approaches in study) Requires larger study to validate
Why the absence of the ideal (two-way, symmetrical)? - Not achievable within large brand communities
- Smart brands’ intent is to spark dialogue, not control
- Two-way, symmetrical may actually stifle consumer participation
- Brands may tend to mimic their existing positioning/equities within their social communities
Brands that take less of a “hard sell” and more of a “relationship building” approach appear to achieve a more positive community
Discussion/Conclusions
Bushelow, E. E. (2012). Facebook Pages and Benefits to Brands. Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, 3(2), 5-17.
Generation Like (2014). In R. Aronson & B. Tarver (Executive Producers), Frontline [Documentary]. United States: Public Broadcast Service.
Grunig, J. E. (2009). Paradigms of global public relations in an age of digitilisation, PRism, 6(2), 1-19.
Grunig, J., & Grunig, L. (1992). Models of public relations and communication. In J. Grunig (Ed.), Excellence in public relations and communication management (pp. 285-325). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Grunig, J. E. & Hunt, T. (1984). Managing public relations. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Yin, R. (2014). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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