Communication Styles of Politicians on Social Media – KO vs. PiS: Different Electorates, Different Strategies

The aim of the article is to show the potential and analyse the use of social media as an influential tool for creating image strategy of political parties. The analysis covers the period of the election campaign before the 2023 parliamentary elections in Poland. Answers were sought to the following research questions: 1) whether and which social media were perceived by political parties as an important element of the election campaign in Poland in 2023? 2) what characterized the content of messages published via social media by election committees of political formations in Poland in 2023? 3) to what extent were social media used as potential communication channels by political formations in the 2023 parliamentary campaign in Poland? After the research, it was found that social media had a significant impact on the image creation of politicians and political parties. Social media was perceived as an important and effective communication channel.

This research examines the vital role of storytelling in modern marketing communications and interactions, focusing on micro influencers on social media platforms like Instagram. This work aims to evaluate the effectiveness of storytelling strategies employed by influencers in engaging and retaining audiences. This qualitative analysis identifies four key narrative strategies: educating, evaluating, advising and entertaining. These strategies are assessed for their impact on audience engagement and ‘stickiness’. The findings reveal that each narrative strategy uniquely affects audience interaction and engagement on social media. The study underscores the significance of micro influencers in shaping brand engagement, emphasising the need for a balance between creative freedom and brand alignment. Importantly, it highlights how influencers leverage personal narratives to build trust and authenticity with their audience, thus enhancing brand image and audience connection. This trend towards authenticity and personal narratives in digital communication reflects a broader societal shift where consumers value transparency and genuine connection. This research also calls for further exploration of diverse narrative strategies across different domains and the role of technology in empowering influencers. This study contributes to understanding digital influencer storytelling and its impact on brand image and audience engagement, offering new perspectives on influencer marketing strategies in the digital era.

Purpose: presenting the possibilities of using social media and artificial intelligence in creating the image of a leader in the local government election campaign in Poland. Design/methodology/approach: triangulation of research methods; the election campaign of the candidate for the mayor of Lubin, Lower Silesian Voivodeship in 2024 was analyzed; then a survey of the opinions of Lubin residents was conducted (March–April 2024); the survey was complemented by obtaining the candidate's opinion, and therefore an interview was conducted with him. Findings: significant information was obtained related to the perception of the elections and candidates as leaders conducting the campaign in social media; in addition, 56.60% of respondents confirmed that information posted on social media has an impact on their voting decisions; 44.34% of respondents trust information about candidates in social media; posts and video materials were indicated as the most engaging content in social media. Regular and frequent publications allow for maintaining the interest and involvement of voters, which is crucial for an effective election campaign. Artificial intelligence can be effectively used during the campaign, among others for the analysis of election data, personalization of the message, automation of responses to comments, creation of newsletters, e-mail marketing, generation of films, images and graphics, and optimization of advertising campaigns. Research limitations/implications: the study concerns only one election campaign of a specific candidate in local elections in Poland; in order to verify the obtained results, further research could be conducted on the comparison of campaigns of other candidates at the same level of power, other levels of power, or even the comparison of campaigns of candidates from different countries. Practical implications: conclusions were drawn that were important for election teams and individual candidates, according to which social media are an important tool for attracting voters’ attention. Social implications: indicating modern methods of conducting political campaigns and their impact on local democracy. Originality/value: previous publications concern mainly presidential campaigns; the value of this article is the analysis at the level of local government elections.

Social media has emerged as the most influential communication tool, playing a critical role in shaping public opinion and fostering national values. This is particularly evident among young individuals, who constitute the primary demographic of social media users worldwide (Al-Khazaleh & Al-Khresha, 2023). Jordan is recognized as one of the most active countries in social media usage, with a high percentage of its population engaging on digital platforms for news consumption, political discussions, and social interactions (Arab Social Media Report, 2023). This study examines the impact of social media—specifically Facebook—as a platform for influencing public opinion and reinforcing national values in Jordanian society. A qualitative research approach was adopted, utilizing semi-structured interviews conducted with six Facebook users from Middle East University in Jordan. The findings revealed that Facebook is the most widely used and preferred platform in Jordan, with its accessibility and interactive features significantly shaping political awareness, civic engagement, and cultural discourse (Hammad & Saleh, 2022). Additionally, participants acknowledged that Facebook plays a pivotal role in promoting national identity and values, as it serves as a medium for discussions on social cohesion, governmental policies, and Jordanian heritage (Alsoud & Alshaikh, 2022). Despite its positive influence, concerns remain regarding the spread of misinformation, online polarization, and the potential for digital echo chambers to limit diverse viewpoints. Thus, understanding the dual impact of social media—both constructive and disruptive—on public opinion and national values is essential for developing digital literacy programs and regulatory measures (Alrawashdeh et al., 2023).

Reflecting their conservative nature, banks lag other industries in leveraging social media, which has emerged as the fastest growing corporate marketing channel. Playing catch up, banks are making significant strategic investments in marketing through social media, but are their efforts effective? To explore this question, this research examined the content strategies of 39 large banks on the social networking site, Twitter, and evaluated whether bank strategies were effective at generating likes, shares and positive comments-common measures of audience engagement. Using the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion as a theoretical framework for audience engagement on social media, this research examined content theme and topic, as well as peripheral content elements such as rich media; hashtags, mentions and hyperlinks; and posting frequency. This study also explored whether a bank's reputation moderated both what content strategies a bank pursued, as well as audience response to these strategies. Data comprised 4,001 social media posts from the U.S. Twitter sites of 39 banks during a 91-day period from January 1 to March 31, 2019. Controlling for the significant differences in content strategies across banks, this research found that content theme and topic were highly significant drivers of audience engagement, with corporate social responsibility content outperforming corporate ability content, despite banks posting significantly more about the latter. Examining peripheral content elements, video was the best-performing media type. Surprisingly, photos underperformed, primarily because banks heavily leveraged stock photos, especially with corporate ability content. Analyzing text-based interactive elements, mentions positively influenced audience engagement; hyperlinks had an unexpectedly negative impact on Twitter engagement; and hashtags were generally ineffective at producing engagement. This research also found diminishing returns for posting too often, but the larger problem is that most banks don't post often enough. Reputation influenced banks at the lower end of the spectrum to post proportionately more corporate social responsibility content, perhaps in an attempt to virtue signal. However, with respect to influencing audience engagement, a bank's reputation was not material. Furthermore, the level of engagement banks generated on Twitter had no influence in changing their near-term, future reputation. Banks are compelling research subjects because their services are essential to both individuals and institutions in modern society, yet consumers view banks poorly compared to most other industries. This dichotomy presents banks with a challenge: how best to market their products and services to an audience that needs them, but only reluctantly so. Bank social media strategies and effectiveness have scarcely been studied, leading to a knowledge gap that this research sought to address. The empirical insights from this study will help marketers build more effective social media content strategies. Findings also add to our understanding of what drives consumer engagement on social media and advance the study of marketing theory as applied to emerging digital channels.

This study examines how social media and traditional journalism interact dynamically within the framework of Uganda's Capital Radio. The research uses a case study technique and focuses on how social media affects news creation, audience interaction, and the potential and challenges for maintaining journalistic integrity. Using existing research on social media's impact on news, audience engagement, and journalistic practices, the study explores Capital Radio's maneuvers through this dynamic media environment. The study utilized a descriptive cross-sectional design, which is appropriate when the problem has a clear definition and the researcher needs the respondents to describe specific aspects of the problem. This study focused on 78 important Capital Radio stakeholders, including senior management, specialists in the field of social media's influence on Uganda's traditional journalism, shareholders, customers, and regulatory agencies. Various stakeholders were selected based on their thorough comprehension and insightful opinions of the topic's applicability to the goals of the research. The results are intended to give light on the transformative effects on news creation processes and the larger media ecosystem, as well as to provide insights into the symbiotic interaction between social media and traditional journalism. According to the report, social media has a big impact on Capital Radio's news creation and journalistic methods. It highlights how important it is to reconsider established journalistic procedures and adjust to the changing media environment. The poll underscores the significance of audience involvement in optimizing content generation and augmenting reporting, underscoring the imperative for news establishments to participate actively in audience engagement. Keywords: Social Media, Traditional Journalism, News Production, Audience Engagement, Media, Capital Radio

The aim of the article. In the context of the rapid development of digital marketing, social media promotion has become a key tool for businesses, public institutions, and personal brands. However, one of the critical challenges, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and startups, is the limitation of financial resources for marketing activities. Traditional methods of social media promotion, such as targeted advertising and collaborations with macro-influencers, often require significant investments that are unaffordable for many companies. Therefore, identifying effective low-budget SMM strategies is an urgent issue for modern marketing. Analysis results. This study aims to analyze and systematize low-budget SMM promotion tools that allow achieving significant audience engagement, organic reach, and conversion rates with minimal financial expenses. The research focuses on content marketing, viral mechanisms, guerrilla marketing, collaborations with micro- and nano-influencers, and the strategic use of free opportunities offered by social media platforms. Particular attention is paid to algorithmic features of platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn, which can be leveraged to maximize organic content distribution. The scientific novelty of this research lies in the comprehensive approach to studying low-budget SMM promotion strategies, emphasizing the synergy between creative content, user-generated content (UGC), and social media algorithms. Unlike previous studies, which primarily focus on paid promotion tools, this research explores alternative methods that enable brands to achieve marketing goals without significant advertising expenditures. Additionally, the study identifies the most effective low-cost engagement techniques and assesses their practical applicability across various business niches. The findings of this study can be valuable for SMBs, startups, and individual entrepreneurs seeking to enhance their digital presence with limited financial resources. The practical recommendations provided in the research can help marketers optimize their SMM strategies by utilizing cost-effective approaches such as:creating high-quality and viral content to increase organic engagement; leveraging micro- and nano-influencer collaborations as a budget-friendly alternative to working with macro-influencers; using interactive and user-generated content to boost audience involvement; low-budget SMM promotion is possible through a deep understanding of social media platform algorithms and a creative approach to content development; user-generated content and interactive formats significantly contribute to audience engagement and organic reach; collaborating with micro- and nano-influencers is a cost-effective strategy with high audience trust and engagement potential. Conclusions and directions for futher resaurh. Future research directions include: а deeper analysis of social media algorithms and their impact on organic content distribution, the development of adaptive SMM strategies tailored to different industries, long-term impact analysis of free SMM tools on audience loyalty and conversion rates, thus, the study of low-budget SMM promotion remains a relevant and promising research direction, contributing both to academic knowledge in digital marketing and practical applications for businesses operating in competitive digital environments.

This study examines the persuasion process involved in social media marketing (SMM), particularly in the higher education sector. Based on the theoretical foundations of the information adoption model, a conceptual model of elaboration of SMM communication is developed and tested. The self-administered survey conducted among a sample of international student travellers in New Zealand examines the influence of argument quality, source credibility, audience involvement and audience engagement on their attitude formation and decision-making. The study particularly examines the mediating effects of audience involvement and engagement in SMM communication. Results based on structural equation modelling suggest that social media content quality is a significant predictor of online users’ transportation, identification and parasocial interaction effects. Despite there being additional evidence to support the arguments over social media, source credibility is found to be a strong influencer of international student traveller’s cognitive, emotional and behavioural engagement dimensions. Further, it is evident from the study that there is a strong correlation between cognitive engagement and attitude formation in SMM. Implications for tourism marketers in terms of SMM strategies are discussed.

The effects of a client's social media disclosure and audience engagement on auditor judgment

Song form, structure, function and ideology are culturally and genre specific. Boiled down to its most basic elements, a pop song is about emotional connection and engagement, whereas its musical theatre cousin is concerned with narrative progression; ‘pop songs are to adjectives what musical theatre songs are to verbs.’ (Lambert, 2015) Lambert articulates a binary perspective on genres, which are actually overlapping in unprecedented ways, in terms of authorship, style, means of distribution, and popularity. This paper explores, not the distinctions, but the points of contact between song forms, with a view to understanding the current creative moment, and, perhaps, anticipating future trends. In contemporary popular music, ‘There are no longer subjective gatekeepers controlling who gets let “in”, promoted and exposed. The choice is ours. Now, anyone can be famous.’ (Price, 2011). This is a transformation also evident in musical theatre, where an upsurge in ‘YouTube musical theatre composers’ (Pasek & Paul, 2015) and social media engagement challenges the dominance of the book musical. Opportunities for self-promotion on the internet are vast, and allow composers to reach a more diverse audience (or wider network), but in what ways do these emerging opportunities also influence the form of works produced. If humans on-line have an average attention span of 8 seconds (Riecke-Gonzales, 2015), for example, this paper considers how musical theatre is evolving to meet the requirements of millennials. The popularity of Dear Evan Hansen - arguably the first truly ‘digital age’ musical (Takiff, 2016)- and Be More Chill provide timely examples of the impact of ‘virtual Broadway’ (Pasek & Paul, 2015) on the musical theatre model. It is both possible and timely to debate the extent to which this hybrid has ‘democratized access to creation and distribution tools’ (Bhargava and Klat, 2017), allowing new voices and models to break through, or has actually limited the genre’s scope. As networks of influence diversify and democratise and the number of people engaging with digital Broadway rises this paper considers the next steps for musical theatre as it discovers the internet.

In today’s dynamic film industry, social media platforms have emerged as game changers for movie marketing and audience engagement techniques. This study digs into the tremendous impact of social media on audience involvement, analyzing both the challenges and triumphs of using these platforms for film promotion with the growth of platforms such as Instagram and YouTube, film studios now have unparalleled potential to engage consumers through captivating content, influencer collaborations, and data-driven campaigns. However, navigating the ever-changing Social media world presents substantial hurdles, such as algorithm updates, content saturation, and the need for ongoing innovation. This study investigates the distinct features and capabilities of various social media platforms, as well as their usefulness in increasing audience engagement for movie marketing. It looks at how user-generated material, interactive experiences, and community- building might help moviegoers develop long-term loyalty and advocacy. The report also digs into the challenges encountered by cinema marketers, such as maintaining a consistent brand presence across different platforms, adjusting to evolving trends and technology, and optimizing audience- centric strategies using social media analytics and data-driven insights. This study aims to uncover best practices and actionable insights for film studios looking to maximize audience engagement and propel their promotional efforts to new heights by examining case studies of successful movie marketing campaigns and analyzing the strategies used by industry leaders. Finally, this study adds to a better knowledge of the impact of social media platforms on audience engagement in the film business. paving the way for more effective and imaginative movie marketing techniques that appeal to digital consumers.

This study explores the self-expression strategies and digital identity formation of Generation Z on social media platform X, focusing on communication styles and audience engagement. As digital natives, Gen Z actively utilizes social media not only as a tool for interaction but also as a medium to construct, negotiate, and display their personal and collective identities. Through a quantitative approach, this research examines the relationship between various communication styles—such as authenticity, humor, and visual storytelling—and the level of audience engagement, including likes, comments, shares, and follower growth. The data were collected from 250 Gen Z users through online surveys and analyzed using statistical methods to identify patterns and correlations. The findings reveal that authentic and visually appealing content significantly increases audience interaction, while humor enhances relatability and connection with followers. This study highlights the importance of strategic self-expression for digital identity management and provides insights for content creators, marketers, and social media practitioners seeking to engage Gen Z audiences effectively.

Research Question Athletes increasingly use social media to voice opinions. Little is known about how athletes can effectively craft advocacy messages to enhance audience engagement. This study aims to answer the following questions: How do message features in athlete advocacy (specifically narrative voice and storytelling format) influence audience engagement, and what roles do parasocial interaction and fictional involvement play in this process? Research Methods This study employs two experiments to investigate audience responses to athlete advocacy messages on social media. Experiment 1 examines the impact of first-person (vs. third-person) narratives and the mediating role of parasocial interaction in shaping audience attitudes and engagement. Experiment 2 explores the effect of storytelling (vs. non-narrative) formats, focusing on fictional involvement as a mediator. Results and Findings Parasocial interaction significantly influenced attitudes toward the athlete and retweet intention, but it did not mediate the relationship between narrative voice and audience responses. Storytelling narratives increased fictional involvement, which in turn enhanced attitudes toward the athlete and intentions to share the message. Implications This study contributes to the sport management and athlete advocacy literature by identifying key message features that enhance audience engagement. While first-person narratives alone may not drive stronger engagement, storytelling effectively fosters emotional involvement, leading to greater audience support and message sharing. By showing how these features operate across distinct and realistic advocacy contexts, the study offers evidence-based guidance for athletes and communication professionals to design more impactful social media advocacy.

The deliberate manipulation of public opinion, the spread of disinformation, and polarization are key social media threats that jeopardize national security. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of the content published by social bots and the polarization of the public debate on social media (Twitter, Facebook) during the presidential election campaign in Poland in 2020. This investigation takes the form of a quantitative study for which data was collected from the public domains of Facebook and Twitter (the corpus consisted of over three million posts, tweets and comments). The analysis was carried out using a decision algorithm developed in C# that operated on the basis of criteria that identified social bots. The level of polarization was investigated through sentiment analysis. During the analysis, we could not identify automated accounts that would generate traffic. This is a result of an integrated action addressing disinformation and the proliferation of bots that mobilized governments, cybersecurity and strategic communication communities, and media companies. The level of disinformation distributed via social media dropped and an increasing number of automated accounts were removed. Finally, the study shows that public discourse is not characterized by polarization and antagonistic political preferences. Neutral posts, tweets and comments dominate over extreme positive or negative opinions. Moreover, positive posts and tweets are more popular across social networking sites than neutral or negative ones. Finally, the implications of the study for information security are discussed.

BackgroundPublic health organizations have begun to use social media to increase awareness of health harm and positively improve health behavior. Little is known about effective strategies to disseminate health education messages digitally and ultimately achieve optimal audience engagement.ObjectiveThis study aims to assess the difference in audience engagement with identical antismoking health messages on three social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) and with a referring link to a tobacco prevention website cited in these messages. We hypothesized that health messages might not receive the same user engagement on these media, although these messages were identical and distributed at the same time.MethodsWe measured the effect of health promotion messages on the risk of smoking among users of three social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) and disseminated 1275 health messages between April 19 and July 12, 2017 (85 days). The identical messages were distributed at the same time and as organic (unpaid) and advertised (paid) messages, each including a link to an educational website with more information about the topic. Outcome measures included message engagement (ie, the click-through rate [CTR] of the social media messages) and educational website engagement (ie, the CTR on the educational website [wCTR]). To analyze the data and model relationships, we used mixed effects negative binomial regression, z-statistic, and the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test.ResultsComparisons between social media sites showed that CTRs for identical antitobacco health messages differed significantly across social media (P<.001 for all). Instagram showed the statistically significant highest overall mean message engagement (CTR=0.0037; 95% CI 0.0032-0.0042), followed by Facebook (CTR=0.0026; 95% CI 0.0022-0.0030) and Twitter (CTR=0.0015; 95% CI 0.0013-0.0017). Facebook showed the highest as well as the lowest CTR for any individual message. However, the message CTR is not indicative of user engagement with the educational website content. Pairwise comparisons of the social media sites differed with respect to the wCTR (P<.001 for all). Messages on Twitter showed the lowest CTR, but they resulted in the highest level of website engagement (wCTR=0.6308; 95% CI 0.5640-0.6975), followed by Facebook (wCTR=0.2213; 95% CI 0.1932-0.2495) and Instagram (wCTR=0.0334; 95% CI 0.0230-0.0438). We found a statistically significant higher CTR for organic (unpaid) messages (CTR=0.0074; 95% CI 0.0047-0.0100) compared with paid advertisements (CTR=0.0022; 95% CI 0.0017-0.0027; P<.001 and P<.001, respectively).ConclusionsOur study provides evidence-based insights to guide the design of health promotion efforts on social media. Future studies should examine the platform-specific impact of psycholinguistic message variations on user engagement, include newer sites such as Snapchat and TikTok, and study the correlation between web-based behavior and real-world health behavior change. The need is urgent in light of increased health-related marketing and misinformation on social media.