Social Media Communication Research Articles

Strategic measurement and evaluation of municipal social media: insight from front-line personnel in the United States

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how a sample of US municipalities use social media for strategic communication, focusing on efforts to effectively measure and evaluate that communication. Research questions focus on measurement and evaluation practices, as well as the motivations and impacts associated with these practices.Design/methodology/approachThis research uses a qualitative approach. Interviews were conducted with 12 municipal government personnel responsible for social media communication. The self-selected participants represent 10 states and all US Census regions. Data was content analyzed and categorized according to four research questions, with emergent themes described.FindingsThe results show a diverse set of approaches and motivations, with surface-level measurement and evaluation methods. Initial efforts at more ad hoc use of social media are moving toward more deliberate strategies, but limited resources inhibit progress for some municipalities.Originality/valueFew studies exist which explore how US municipalities formally measure and evaluate their social media activities as part of their overall strategic communication efforts. This study adds to the existing literature by providing insight into the measurement and evaluation practices that municipalities use to assess their social media communication. The study also provides a basis for larger and deeper investigations of municipal strategic communication practices related to measurement and evaluation.

Determinants of Acceptance of the COVID-19 Vaccine in Pregnant Women, Indonesia: A Literature Review

Pregnant woman are a vulnerable group for COVID-19. Efforts to control and prevent COVID-19 are being made with the implementation of vaccination, but the fact is that still many pregnant woman refuse to be vaccinated because of many factors, such as fear, feeling insecure about their health and their babies, so there is a doubt about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. This research aims to find out determinants of acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine among pregnant women in Indonesia. This study used a literature review (PRISMA) model for guide. Literacy is limited to articles published in January 2021 until September 2023. The extracted data is synthesized with a narrative approach. The article search obtained 17 selected articles. There are 19 determinants that influence the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine among pregnant women in Indonesia, including: knowledge, perception, vaccination history, vaccine information, participation, education, anxiety, employment status, behavior, attitude, history of comorbid diseases, family support, role of health workers, social media information, age, community culture, pregnancy status, ANC frequency, and vaccine safety. The underlying factors behind receiving the COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant woman are very complex and context-specific, varying all the time. Socio-demographic variables play a major role in it

Paradigm Shift In Social Media Communication Brought By Blockchain-Based Decentralized Platforms

İnternet teknolojisi ile birlikte hızla yaygınlaşan çevrimiçi iletişim mecralarından olan sosyal medya uygulamaları teknoloji firmaları tarafından merkezi bir şekilde yönetilen platformlardır. Blokzincir teknolojisi ile yaygınlaşmaya başlayan merkeziyetsiz yönetişim yaklaşımı, sosyal medya iletişiminde de uygulama alanları bulmaktadır. Bu araştırmanın amacı nispeten yeni teknolojilerden biri olan blokzincir teknolojisinin sosyal medya iletişim platformlarının altyapısı olarak kullanılması ile ortaya çıkan yeni nesil merkeziyetsiz sosyal medya uygulamalarının çalışma prensiplerinin anlaşılması ve sosyal medya iletişimine getirdiği paradigma değişikliğinin sosyal ve ekonomik tartışmasının yapılmasıdır. Kullanıcı adetleri olarak hızla büyümekte ve yaygınlaşmakta olan yeni nesil merkeziyetsiz sosyal medya iletişim platformlarının teknik çalışma prensiplerinin yanı sıra kullanıcılar için olumlu ve olumsuz potansiyellerinin anlaşılması da önem taşımaktadır. Bu araştırmada doküman analizi ve örnek incelemesi ile derlenen veriler üzerinden veri sahipliği, üretici ekonomisi ve kullanıcı deneyimi odağında bir tartışma sunulmaktadır. Merkeziyetsiz sosyal medya uygulamalarının avantaj ve dezavantajlarını ortaya koyan bu disiplinler arası araştırma, literatüre yaptığı katkı ile fayda sağlamakta ve gelecekteki farklı araştırmalar için yeni sorulara alan açmaktadır.

THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATION IN THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN WIDOWHOOD AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS

Abstract Losing a spouse is one of most painful experiences in adulthood; widowed adults often suffer from psychological difficulties. Scholars have examined how social support from close relationships such as family members and friends plays a protective role in the context of spousal loss. Given that the use of mobile technologies and internet became an important way to engage with social relationships, it is crucial to investigate the role of social media communication in the bereavement process. This study examined the moderating effects of social media communication in the association between widowhood and depressive symptoms, comparing different types of social media communication—chatting/messaging (e.g., iMessage), social media (e.g., Facebook), video-sharing (e.g., YouTube), and online community platforms (e.g., forums). From the 2021 Korea Social Integration Survey, we analyzed a sample of 5,238 respondents (aged 40+) who were ever-married. Our regression models showed that widowed respondents (9.79%) were likely to have more depressive symptoms (B = 0.19, p < .001) than non-widow(er)s; all types of social media communication were associated with fewer depressive symptoms, regardless of widowhood. We also found that two types of social media communication moderated the association between widowhood and depressive symptoms; such that widowed respondents who used social media (B = -0.08. p =.002) and online community platforms (B = -0.05. p = .038) more frequently had fewer depressive symptoms, compared to their counterparts. Our findings highlight the importance of examining social engagement via information and communication technologies and the potential mechanism contributing to widowed adults’ well-being.

Navigating Uncertainty: Social Media Narratives of Tourism during COVID-19

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic and the travelling restrictions put in place by governments had an unprecedented effect on tourism in South Tyrol, with stays from the main markets experiencing a loss ranging from -36.3% to -73.4%. The present study explores the English-language social media communication of tourist destinations in South Tyrol during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. To do so, a combined methodological approach is adopted, based on ethnographic interviews with practitioners of the tourism sector and corpusassisted discourse analysis. The findings reveal that the deployment of futureoriented and corrective linguistic approaches to envision a post-crisis scenario is crucial in conveying hope and possibility. These findings not only enhance our understanding of tourism discourse in the context of communication crisis management but also have implications for the resilience of tourism industry during challenging periods.

Analisis Perilaku Penyimpangan Sosial Remaja Gay Di Era Digital

The fast development of information technology, especially in handheld communication devices (smartphones) is undeniable that it is difficult to avoid massively by the public. Its existence will be a tool of personal reconstruction in society. Not only as a means of communication, but far beyond the basic functions of smartphones. The important role of technology is what brings human civilisation into the digital era. The digital era has brought various good changes as a positive impact that can be used as well as possible. Through a smartphone, users can show their activities and build their social identity, both in the real and virtual world. Deviant sexual orientation makes it difficult for gays to interact and communicate like a dominant society, it makes gays need an alternative media in order to interact and communicate with the aim of meeting their social and sexual needs. The result of this discussion is that in the digital era it is no longer a taboo for most teenagers to find out information about the whereabouts of gay men. Gay youth communication on social media is divided into two types, namely verbal and non-verbal. The existence of verbal and non-verbal communication in social media can support the realisation of meetings in real life.

Online Platform Privacy Policies

In January 2021, Meta (then Facebook) published an update to its WhatsApp privacy policy which included, among other things, a decision to share some user data with Facebook. This action, together with previous events like the notorious Cambridge-Analytica data breach, has sparked debates about the protection of online privacy, specifically the balance of rights and responsibilities relevant to the protection of social media user data. This qualitative study contributes to that debate by exploring the perceptions and reactions of South African WhatsApp users to these policy changes. The findings highlight the significance of platforms like WhatsApp in the daily socio-economic activities of users in developing countries. This reliance on social media for communication and access to vital information creates an imbalance of power between users and platform owners. The situationis worsened by the lack of effective regulatory frameworks that governments and institutions in developing countries can use to enforce their privacy laws, leaving users vulnerable to potential exploitation from digital platforms. This study contributes to the broader discourse on safeguarding online privacy as Western technology companies continue to gain access to data that is generated by an ever-increasing global user base.

Advertising translation in social media

Abstract In the multimodal era, communication in social media incorporates new codes and elements that challenge traditional definitions of text and the translation field itself. Integrating semiotics, understanding that modes follow a particular hierarchical order, and analyzing how they influence the (re)construction of meaning in certain communities is key to studying transnational hybrid messages, both global and local, in virtual environments. The translation act has proven to be a particularly useful circumstance to understand that modes should not be regarded as signs that carry meaning across cultures. Instead, this paper aims to identify which elements act as “prompts,” which (re)activate meaning once the message is repositioned in an alternative cultural context. Through a contrastive analysis of ten transpositions, in Kress’s terms, of a Burger King campaign, this work aims to shed light on which elements can be defined as modes and prompts, as well as reflecting upon its hierarchical status in this particular multimodal ensemble, while considering that, in the virtual space, other factors such as repetition and simultaneity may condition the impact and reception of global messages.

Platforms matter: analyzing user engagement with social media content of Swiss higher education institutions

ABSTRACTHigher education institutions (HEIs) increasingly use social media to communicate with stakeholders and the public. The success of these efforts on individual platforms has been assessed by a growing number of studies recently. However, comparative research across different platforms and types of HEIs is lacking. This study analyzes factors influencing user engagement across different HEI types and the three most widely used platforms – Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter). The study relies on a full sample of all social media posts published in 2019 (n = 42,006) by all 42 Swiss HEIs. Hereof, a random sample of 1500 posts per platform was manually coded. Several factors at the content-level turned out to vary across platforms, thereby pointing to the need for HEIs to tailor their social media communication to the respective affordances of different platforms. However, results also show patterns across platforms, including the importance of visual communication and the development of a large followership for driving user engagement. In contrast, we found no impact of publishing time, publishing frequency, and content length. This, among other findings, indicates that strategies focused on creating high-quality content rather than a large quantity of content yield better engagement results for the social media communication of HEIs.

Messaging and mobilization: Rebel groups, social media communication, and audience engagement

Mobilization is central to the emergence, survival and success of armed groups challenging the state, and has lately expanded to new arenas with the rise of social media. Using a new dataset of rebel group Twitter use, we examined the topics contained in rebel group social media communications to understand how different messaging strategies impact civilian engagement with rebel messages. Rather than benefiting solely from direct calls to action, we found that rebel groups also increased civilian engagement through indirect messages of self-promotion. While direct appeals received more engagement than indirect appeals, their effects were tempered by audience fatigue when relied on too heavily. We additionally found that including images further enhanced the impact of a mobilizing message. These findings expanded our understanding of rebel communications and mobilization, with important implications for combating the use of social media as a recruitment tool for violent extremism.

Local Government, Social Media and Management of COVID-19: The Case of Chilean Mayoral Communication

ABSTRACT Most research on governments’ use of social media focuses on the national or federal level. We therefore know little about the way local authorities harness social media platforms to communicate with their constituencies. This paper studies the role structural and political variables played in Chilean mayors’ political communication strategies during 2020–2021, a period of municipal elections marked by lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluate whether the volume and characteristics of mayors’ social media posts are related to political factors (partisanship; alignment or not with the governing block; years in office), socioeconomic characteristics (poverty rate; age profile; health infrastructure; etc.); and the incidence of COVID-19 cases and deaths at the municipal level. We found that mayors’ social media communication strategies depend on the functions that different municipalities perform in the territory, and that socioeconomic variables differentiate these activities. More specifically, we found that mayors of poorer communities made more extensive use of social media during lockdown periods than did mayors of more affluent municipalities.

‘One is allowed to show the reality’: The creation of panoptic structures in social media communication

Abstract This article aims to introduce the notion of panoptic structures as a way of theorizing how people strategically exploit the affordances of digital devices to expose other people's behavior. I argue that Foucault's notion of panopticism becomes relevant in new ways in social life as a consequence of the polymedia repertoires of networked individuals. Central here is the ability to store digital communication and repost it for selected audiences. The data I analyze here were collected from a group of students who had just entered the gymnasium (the Danish equivalent of high school). During the months of multi-sited, online and offline ethnography, a conflict occurred between two groups of students. During this conflict, a repeated activity involved students confronting students from the opposing group with screenshots of their earlier social media activities and doing so in front of larger audiences of other students. On this basis, I argue that a theory of such panoptic practices belongs in the sociolinguistic toolbox. (Panopticism, social media, conflict, polymedia repertoire, audience)*

The Influence of Short Videos on College Students Purchasing Behavior

Short video has gradually developed into one of the practical expression ways of information content communication in the mobile Internetvarious social media and e-commerce use opportunities from this trend. College students are the most active and mainstream group in Short video. The fragmented communication mode, exciting content, and business behavior of short videos have been integrated into the group of college students, influencing them all the time, including but not limited to purchasing behavior. In this paper, college students are selected to build a mechanism model of the influence of word-of-mouth characteristics of social e-commerce networks on college students purchase intention, and the model is tested through empirical research. The results showed that when brand marketing is enhanced, brand interaction, experience perception, interest, and perception are enhanced. The more frequently consumers interact with the brand, the more frequently they connect and communicate with it, and their purchasing behavior will be enhanced.

Social media communication management in the media sector

The production, distribution, and consumption of news have undergone fundamental changes, with social media providing an essential point of access to information. On these digital platforms, visual content has become increasingly important for the media sector. Nowadays, social media are a bridge for obtaining information, particularly on Instagram reels. The objective of this study was to investigate how news organisations make visual information available to the public, in particular the way in which reels are being used on social media. The profiles of three Portuguese national newspapers on the Instagram social network are analysed using a quantitative and qualitative approach. The variation of followers, the differences and similarities in the strategies used to distribute reels and how short videos are included to engage the target audience are analysed over the period. The way in which different journalistic genres are integrated into social media for the distribution of news is also presented, relating it to changes in communication management with the use of reels. The findings of this study suggest that social networks’ influence on journalistic management and practices is changing digital journalism.

Workplace learning and information exchange among gig workers: crowdsourcing and the social media advantage

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand the scope and nature of information sharing as a form of workplace learning among gig workers.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from public social media communities of gig workers in Thailand. In total, 338 posts and 3,022 comments on the posts were analyzed (data corpus N = 3,360). Thailand was selected for the context of this study given its high level of social media penetration, a high percentage of digital service consumption of internet users and the prevalence of app-based gig workers. This study used thematic analysis using inductive and semantic coding to generate themes.FindingsFindings showed two overarching themes of information sharing, which included on-the-job experience and inquiries. One surprising finding was the extent to which gig workers used social media to help others even when it potentially undermined their success.Research limitations/implicationsThis study adds evidence to the role of information sharing in workplace learning and illustrates how gig workers who do not have access to traditional training and learning opportunities use social media communities to fill this need.Originality/valueGiven the surge of digitalization and internet infrastructure leading to the rise of gig work worldwide, this study provides a closer look at how gig workers are using social media communities to facilitate workplace learning and support one another amid otherwise difficult and insecure working conditions. It also discusses the role that culture plays in facilitating a cooperative rather than a competitive environment among drivers.

The Urgency of the Bantul Regional Disaster Management Agency in Increasing Disaster Awareness among Women’s Community

Women are included in the list of vulnerable victims of disaster due to their lack of skills and lower physical strength than men. The role of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) as a communicator or messenger is required in the efforts to increase disaster awareness and information among women's community. This urgency is supported by the condition of the area which has a high risk of disaster as well as the fact that the total female population outnumbers the males. This research aims to find out how the BPBD of Bantul Regency uses social media to promote disaster awareness and information to the women's community. In the digital era, social media is considered capable of channeling messages more widely to reach underserved communities. This research used a qualitative method with a case study approach. The research results show that the BPBD of Bantul Regency have made some efforts to increase disaster awareness and information among women's community by involving direct participation. In carrying out the role, the communicator has a structured information delivery and processing chain by involving Pusdalops (the Operational Control Center) and teams from each field. This results in messages wrapped in the form of social media content, even though the disaster narrative does not yet represent efforts to increase disaster awareness and information for women's community. The target of this social media communication is the general public, both men and women. The existence of a structured information delivery and processing chain as well as mastered materials can make the messages reach the women's community. The researchers propose an alternative model for disaster communication through social media as an effort to increase disaster awareness and information among women's community without changing existing disaster information communication patterns. The researchers propose this model to fill the gap in the role of teams in each field who should have knowledge capacity related to the disaster awareness and information among women's community

A Pragmatic Study of Digital Communication among Students at Federal University. Wukari, Nigeria

The new media, also known as social media, among other benefits, promotes communication among students as well as language development in linguistically diverse contexts in Nigeria. On the university campus, students who have been experiencing difficulties in contributing to interactions in classrooms and other formal settings on the campus, appear to find voice in these electronically mediated spaces. Communication in digital spaces accommodates linguistic and paralinguistic cues. Thus, it is characterized by innovations, which include an admixture of languages and varieties of Nigerian English, graphics, memes, and emojis, among others. This study examines some posts by students as well as comments on the posts on a Federal University Wukari students’ Facebook forum. Information from the analysis of data reflects the linguistic practices of the students, the kind of information and knowledge they share as well as their communicative procedure. Findings from the study also reflect on the sociolinguistics and implications of social media communications on the University community as well as in the society in general.

Online posting intention: do the social communication and brand equity of esports matter?

PurposeSocial media's role in engaging participants in sports events, particularly during the pandemic, is acknowledged. However, previous studies often utilized sports events for diverse objectives but overlooked brand equity's influence on sports event development. And very limited research explores social media's impact on brand equity in esports events, despite its significance. Therefore, this study aims to explore how social media affects esports event brand equity and participants' satisfaction and engagement with social media through brand equity's influence.Design/methodology/approachThe study focused on League of Legends World Championships (LOLWC) participants, who completed a self-judged questionnaire online. The questionnaire included demographic details and latent constructs. Data analysis involved two steps: exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to assess measurement scale validity and structural equation modeling (SEM) to study relationships between traits.FindingsThe results reveal that, within the esports event context, controlled communication exerts a meaningful and dual impact – both directly and indirectly – on the fundamental components of brand equity. This, in turn, serves as a catalyst for increasing participant contentment and their posting intention.Originality/valueThis study applies brand equity theories to the esports domain, exploring participant-based brand equity concepts, user behavior and the influence of social media communication on event branding and engagement. It also recommends strategies for event improvement, emphasizes controlled communication for brand equity and highlights marketing's role in brand awareness, association and participant satisfaction. Additionally, it suggests government regulation to address cyber violence during esports events.

COMPARING THE USE OF RHETORICAL APPEALS BY TWO MALAYSIAN POLITICIANS IN THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATION

Drawing upon Aristotle’s rhetorical appeal theory, the study was conducted to compare the use of rhetorical strategies by two Malaysian politicians namely Syed Saddiq [P1] and Hannah Yeoh [P2] in their social media communication. Two research questions were formulated for the study: (a) What were the rhetorical strategies used by the two politicians? (b) Which type of rhetorical appeals were used the most among the two politicians? This study employs a qualitative content analysis approach and the data for the study were social media postings collected from the target politicians’ social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter) related to the Taman Sri Muda flood crisis dated from the 17th of December 2021 to the 10th of January 2022. The data were analysed and classified based on Aristotle’s rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos. It was found that both politicians adopted different types of rhetorical strategies depending on the message they intended to convey. Syed Saddiq [P1] used more pathos while Hannah Yeoh [P2] utilised more ethos. It can be concluded based on the findings that Syed Saddiq and Hannah Yeoh had utilised Aristotle’s rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos in their social media posts during the Taman Sri Muda flood crisis to establish their credibility as politicians, to appeal to the public’s emotion and sympathy as well as to provide evidence to back up their arguments and claims. This study contributes to the literature on persuasive strategies used by politicians and political communication. Keyword(s) : Rhetorical appeals; communicative practices; social media interaction; ethos, pathos; logos.

THE SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH

Covid-19 mandated home confinement for long period, that resulted in high dependence on social media applications for communication between almost everybody; social media communication has negative impact on mental and psychological health of users, but also has positive impact; every person needs to understand the impact of social media use on his own mental and psychological wellness, to be able to manage it for healthy communication practices, to be able to avoid the negative impact, and enhancing the positive impact on one’s mental and psychological health..