Social Media Marketing in Practice of Polish Nationwide Catholic Opinion-Forming Weeklies: Case of Instagram and YouTube

Monika Kaczmarek-Śliwińska,Andrzej Adamski,Gabriela Piechnik-Czyż,Anna Jupowicz-Ginalska,Iwona Leonowicz-Bukała

doi:10.3390/rel13010019

Monika Kaczmarek-Śliwińska, Andrzej Adamski + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13010019

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Abstract

This article, as the fourth in the cycle, presents the conclusions of the research project analysing marketing activities of Polish Catholic opinion-forming weeklies on the chosen social media platforms. This paper aims at presenting the results of the study on the use of Instagram and YouTube as marketing tools by the aforementioned weeklies. The authors focus on such topics as: (1) social media as a way of creating and distributing media products; (2) social media as a way of commercialising the content; (3) social media as carriers of marketing communication (including self-promotion). The empirical research is based on case studies and the content analysis of the social media profiles of the five selected magazines (Gość Niedzielny (GN), Tygodnik Katolicki Niedziela (TKN), Przewodnik Katolicki (PK), Idziemy (I) and Tygodnik Rodzin Katolickich Źródło (TRKŹ)). It can be concluded that some Catholic weeklies manage their accounts in a moderately professional way, using their visual and distribution potential and some functions of the platforms quite efficiently. On the other hand, they do not apply a regular and purposeful self-promotion strategy, do not use important mechanisms of the platforms such as the Shop and IGTV (on Instagram), and do not consistently build a profile or create playlists on YouTube.

Highlights

The vast majority of media originating from traditional press, radio and television run profiles on social media platforms
This is confirmed by Spangardt et al (2016), who discussed the role of presenters in building relationships with audiences outside the studio through social media channels (p. 95)
The profile picture of Gosc Niedzielny (GN) is a red logomark with white letters

Summary

Introduction

The vast majority of media originating from traditional press, radio and television run profiles on social media platforms. One of the reasons for this activity is the numerous benefits it provides (Szews 2015) These can include, for example, reporting on important events (e.g., Piwko et al 2021; Cárdenas et al 2021), implementing news organisations’ ideological agendas and supporting news prioritisation (e.g., Al-Rawi 2017; Cherubini and Nielsen 2016), as well as communicating with audiences, leading to the implementation of diverse dramaturgical strategies (Bonini 2014). A marketing perspective is presented by Hermida (2010, 2013) and García-Perdomo (2021), who associate platforms with the dissemination and production of programming and highlight the importance of news sharing practices As it turns out, the redistribution of posts by audiences means acquiring new channels and building their reach. Scientists have admitted that negative social media responses regarding one episode attracted more people to watch that episode after it was broadcast (p. 3857)

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