Chapter 18 - Social Media

Social Media

Internet-based applications that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content; a unique form of communication between brands and consumers, and among consumers.

Social Media Planning Requirement

A clear plan must be established before committing money, time, and effort across paid, owned, and earned delivery channels.

Social Media Classes

Networking sites (e.g., Facebook), content communities (e.g., YouTube), blogs (e.g., WordPress), collaborative projects (e.g., wikis, reviews), and virtual worlds.

Social Media Attachment: Connecting

Using social media to remain linked with others.

Social Media Attachment: Nostalgia

Using social media to remember the past.

Social Media Attachment: Informed

Using social media to keep up to date with news and events.

Social Media Attachment: Enjoyment

Using social media for relaxation and entertainment.

Social Media Attachment: Advice

Using social media to learn from others.

Social Media Attachment: Affirmation

Using social media to feel assured and supported.

Social Media Attachment: Enhancement

Using social media for esteem and self-actualization.

Social Media Attachment: Influence

Using social media to encourage and help others.

COBRAs

Consumers' Online Brand-Related Activities; the act of consuming, contributing, or creating brand content within social media.

COBRA: Consuming

The lowest level of engagement; motivated by entertainment and information; includes watching brand videos, viewing pictures, reading brand pages, and downloading branded material.

COBRA: Contributing

Mid-level engagement; motivated by personal identity and social integration; includes rating products, joining brand pages, participating in brand conversations, and commenting on brand blogs.

COBRA: Creating

The highest level of engagement; motivated by brand love or brand attachment; includes publishing brand blogs, uploading brand content, writing articles, and writing product reviews.

Social Media Engagement

Consumer brand-related activities that reflect consuming, contributing, or creating behaviour manifested digitally in social media; distinct from brand equity and brand attitude.

eWOM

Electronic word-of-mouth; positive or negative statements about a brand communicated by a potential, actual, or former customer through internet or social media; selfies and hashtags are strong contributors.

eWOM Effect

Brands that successfully encourage positive eWOM experience greater sales; consumer-initiated positive eWOM is more influential than brand-initiated content.

Social Media Demographics: Age

The 18-34 age group skews higher than the total for all social media platforms except Facebook and Pinterest, where 35-49 skews higher.

Social Media Demographics: Gender

LinkedIn, Twitter, and Reddit skew male; Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok skew female; Snapchat and WhatsApp show no discernible gender skew.

Social Media Platform Purposes

YouTube: self-promotion; Twitter: information delivery; Facebook: in between; TikTok: staying in touch; Instagram: visually attractive brand messages; Blogs: keeping in touch with brands.

Social Networking Users

Tend to be heavier internet consumers than non-social networking users; spend more time online, watch more video, and listen to more audio.

Facebook in Canada

Approximately 25 million users; 53% female, 47% male; functions as paid (display ads), owned (brand pages), and earned (user-generated content) media simultaneously.

Facebook: Paid Media

Display ads and video messages that resemble magazine or TV clutter; options include stories, messenger ads, carousel, slideshow, and collection formats.

Facebook: Owned Media

Brand pages that allow instant connection to brand content; the whole page becomes a commercial experience that users may not perceive as advertising due to brand loyalty.

Facebook Brand Page Community Building

Done through introducing topical content, identifying communication to build interaction, and establishing cultural norms around the value of social interaction.

Facebook Content: Vividness Effect

Posts with video produce higher levels of likes than those with photos or no visuals; higher vividness drives stronger engagement.

Facebook Content: Interactivity Effect

Contest links produce higher levels of likes; positional location of the post and positive comments from others also increase likes and comments.

Facebook: Earned Media

The section of the brand page where consumers describe buying and consumption experiences; not controlled by the advertiser but can be influenced by the brand's own posts.

Facebook: Decision-Making Effects

Media advertising builds brand awareness and drives information search, alternative evaluation, and purchases; eWOM contributes to preferred attitudes and purchases.

Twitter in Canada

Approximately 7.5 million users; 54% female, 46% male; best used by brands as a PR tool; described as a real-time information network or micro-blog.

Twitter: Paid Media

Includes promoted accounts, promoted tweets, customer testimonials, and promoted trends listed in a designated trends section to encourage continued exposure.

Twitter: Owned Media

Brands must consider what message to send, when and how frequently to send it, where to direct users via links, who should send it, and why consumers are motivated to receive the feed.

Twitter: Earned Media

Designed for influencers to retweet; links to brand websites, social network sites, photos, and videos drive earned reach; links to news media have no effect.

YouTube in Canada

73% of Canadians 18+ watch weekly; average of 4.7 hours per week; generates revenue through display and video ads; brands use it for owned media via branded channels.

YouTube: Paid

True View Ads - Allow viewers to skip the ad after five seconds.

YouTube: Paid

Standard In-Stream Ads - Play before, during, or after a video without a skip option.

YouTube: Paid

First Watch Ads - The brand's ad plays first regardless of what video the viewer selects.

YouTube: Owned Media

User channels are free; brand channels add brand identification features; custom brand channels offer interactive applications, live streaming, and client services for a fee.

YouTube: Earned Media

A brand's video is shared if it is original and creative; drivers of sharing include altruism, affiliation, and distinctiveness; the receiver must like or hold a positive attitude toward the video.

Instagram in Canada

Approximately 13 million regular visitors; 56% female, 44% male; users exhibit very strong social media engagement; useful for paid, owned, and earned media.

Instagram: Paid Media

Photo, video, and carousel ads pushed through the news feed with the same look as organic content, similar to Facebook.

Instagram: Owned Media

A creative and visual channel for businesses selling directly to consumers; provides strong online exposure for small businesses.

Instagram: Earned Media

Attractive for brands using transformational motivations like travel and fashion; encourages user-generated content and consumer posts.

Blogs

Periodic articles presented in reverse chronological order; reflect the writings of individuals, communities, or corporations; allow ad placement and user-generated responses.

Blog Platforms

WordPress (no ads), Blogger, and Tumblr; companies use blogs as a PR tool; personal bloggers are key influencers with strong source credibility effects.

Collaborative Projects

Includes wikis, reviews, and social bookmarking sites with extensive user-generated content; examples include Wikipedia, Yahoo Answers, Yelp, Quora, Pinterest, and Reddit.

Wikipedia

A top wiki site that does not accept advertising and encourages active community debate on its content.

Pinterest

A social bookmarking site focused on content; allows users to pin internet content; brands can establish owned and earned media.

Reddit

A social bookmarking site focused on news; provides instructions for placing ads alongside content.

Social Media Influencer

A consumer who claims expertise and shares product opinions through blogs or conspicuous consumption in photos and videos; concerns arise when paid endorsements are not disclosed.

Canadian Competition Act and Influencers

Identifies social media influencer messages as advertising, requiring disclosure of any material connection between the influencer and the brand.

Ad Standards Disclosure Guidelines

Influencers must use hashtags such as #ad, #sponsored, #brandname_ambassador, or #brandname_partner; vague tags like #spon, #collab, or #PR are not acceptable.

Influencer Disclosure: Placement Rules

Disclosure hashtags must be clearly visible, not buried in a long list, and designed to clearly attract the attention of the receiver.

Influencer Disclosure: Video Requirements

Disclosure must appear at the start of the video, be repeated multiple times, and be communicated through both video and audio.

IMC Planning: Social Media Alignment

Requires aligning target audience and objectives, balancing paid/owned/earned elements, and choosing the appropriate IMC tool for each platform.

IMC Planning: Social Media and Decision-Making

Social media should influence consumers at all phases of the decision-making process as part of a complete IMC program, including through influencer partnerships and leveraging consumers' online social connections.