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Strategies  in  Stakeholders’  discussions  on  social  media  

Developing  a  framework  to  analyze  communication  strategies  on  social  media      

                                               

By  Tom  Wolterink   S1246569  

 

Supervisor:  Dr.  L.  van  de  Wijngaert   2

nd

 Supervisor:  Dr.  S.A.  de  Vries    

Communication  Studies  

Faculty  of  Behavioral,  Management  and  Social  sciences  

University  of  Twente  

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Abstract  

This  research  contributes  to  the  body  of  knowledge  on  the  use  of  social  media  in  a   specific  setting,  specifically  how  organizations  can  use  social  media  in  stakeholder   discussions.  We  studied  10  Facebook  fan  pages  from  major  organizations  in  the  Dutch   staffing  industry  in  order  to  answer  our  main  question:  In  what  way  can  organizations  in   the  public  sphere  use  social  media  in  stakeholders’  discussion?  Using  tools  to  scrape   data  from  these  pages  and  visualize  networks,  we  can  conclude  that  there  are  three   strategies  that  can  be  followed,  each  with  their  own  implications  on  the  growth  of  the   network  and  the  means  necessary  from  whoever  administrates  the  page.    

  Recommendations  for  further  studies  are  that  organizations  are  interviewed  in  order  to   find  out  if  the  network  and  the  strategy  the  organizations  think  it  maintains  match.  

Another  recommendation  for  further  studies  is  a  more  longitudinal  study  that  measures   the  effect  of  certain  strategies  on  the  network  over  time.  

 

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Summary  (English)  

It  has  become  more  and  more  beneficial  for  organizations  in  the  public  sphere  to  use   social  media  in  order  to  maintain  an  open  and  easy  connection  with  their  followers.  

However,  not  all  organizations  are  using  Facebook  in  the  same  way,  with  some  being   very  active  and  some  not  very  active  at  all.    This  research  looks  towards  explaining   which  strategies  an  organization  can  use  on  social  media  and  what  effect  this  will  have   on  the  network.  

 

In  order  to  explain  which  strategies  an  organization  can  use  on  social  media,  we  look  to   analyze  10  Facebook  fan  pages  while  looking  at  three  proven  communication  strategies   in  the  public  sphere:  The  disclosure  strategy,  the  information  dissemination  strategy   and  the  interactivity  strategy.  The  disclosure  strategy  means  an  organization  only   discloses  the  most  basic  information  about  themselves  and  shares  almost  only  basic   content,  such  as  a  link  to  their  website.  The  information  dissemination  strategy  expands   on  this  strategy  by  posting  more  regularly  and  providing  more  information.  

Organizations  who  follow  this  strategy  usually  tend  to  respond  to  questions  on   Facebook,  but  do  not  seek  any  interactivity  with  their  followers  beyond  that.  The   interactivity  strategy  does  seek  interactivity  with  followers.  This  is  accomplished  by   keeping  discussions  alive,  asking  questions,  posting  very  regularly  and  using  content   exclusively  created  for  Facebook.  Also,  in  the  interactivity  strategy,  more  links  towards   third  party  communication  channels  are  used.  

 

After  scraping  data  and  analyzing  this  using  various  tools,  we  can  confirm  these   strategies  in  our  networks  and  we  can  see  that  regular  posting  and  the  size  of  the   network  seem  related  to  each  other.  Organizations  that  post  more  regularly  seem  to   have  bigger  networks  and  vice  versa.  Because  this  is  not  a  longitudinal  study,  we  cannot   say  anything  about  causation  in  relation  to  this  effect.  Other  noticeable  variables  are  a   higher  graph  density  in  larger  networks  when  the  interactivity  strategy  is  used.  The   same  goes  for  modularity.    

 

In  this  research  we  can  conclude  that  the  organization  can  choose  to  use  Facebook  in  a   three  different  ways,  all  of  which  will  ask  a  different  level  of  investment  of  the  

organization.  The  disclosure  strategy  asks  for  little  time,  but  the  network  will  grow  only   a  little  and  the  Facebook  page  will  look  empty  and  deserted.  The  information  

dissemination  strategy  ask  for  a  little  more  time  investment,  and  is  a  good  strategy  from   disclosure  to  interactivity.  It  is  advisable  to  react  to  question  that  are  asked  and  

sometime  post  unique  content  to  Facebook.  The  interactivity  strategy  seems  to  work   very  well,  as  followers  seem  much  more  engaged  in  networks  that  use  this  strategy.  It  is   needed  to  make  significant  investment  in  the  form  of  time  to  administrate  the  Facebook   page.  The  organization  will  need  to  react  to  questions  and  keep  discussions  alive,  as  well   as  provide  unique  content  to  the  Facebook  page.    

 

Recommendations  for  future  studies  are  a  longitudinal  study  that  studies  the  effect  of  a  

strategy  on  a  network  over  time,  as  well  as  a  study  that  matches  the  organizations  

strategy  with  the  strategy  that  is  visible  within  the  network.  

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Samenvatting  (Nederlands)  

Het  is  steeds  gunstiger  voor  organisaties  in  de  publieke  sfeer  om  sociale  media  te   gebruiken  om  een  open  en  gemakkelijke  connectie  met  hun  volgers  te  onderhouden.  

Echter,  niet  alle  organisaties  gebruiken  Facebook  op  dezelfde  manier,  met  enkele  zeer   actief  en  sommige  niet  actief.  Dit  onderzoek  kijkt  probeert  te    verklaren  welke  

strategieën  een  organisatie  kan  gebruiken  op  sociale  media  en  welk  effect  dit  zal  hebben   op  het  netwerk.  

 

Om  uit  te  leggen  welke  strategieën  een  organisatie  kan  gebruiken  op  sociale  media,   kijken  we  naar  10  Facebook  fan  pagina's,  terwijl  wij  daarnaast  kijken  naar  drie  bewezen   communicatiestrategieën  in  de  publieke  sfeer:  De  disclosure  strategie,  de  information   dissemination  strategie  en  de  interactivity  strategie.  De  disclosure  strategie  betekent  dat   een  organisatie  alleen  de  meest  elementaire  informatie  over  zichzelf  deelt  en  alleen  zeer   basale  content  deelt  op  Facebook,  zoals  een  link  naar  hun  website.  De  information   dissemination  strategie  breidt  deze  strategie  uit,  door  middel  van  meer  content  posten   en  het  verstrekken  van  meer  informatie.  Organisaties  die  deze  strategie  volgen  hebben   meestal  de  neiging  om  te  reageren  op  vragen  op  Facebook,  maar  zoeken  verder  geen   interactie  met  hun  volgers.  De  interactivity  strategie  breidt  interactie  met  volgers  uit.  Dit   wordt  gedaan  door  het  het  stellen  van  vragen  aan  volgers  en  ook  te  reageren  op  vragen   van  volgers.  Tevens  wordt  er  zeer  regelmatig  content  geplaast  en  is  deze  content   regelmatig  exclusief  gemaakt  voor  Facebook.    

 

Na  het  verzamelen  van  de  gegevens  van  de  Facebook  fan  pages  is  er  een  analyse  van   deze  gegevens  gemaakt  met  behulp  van  diverse  instrumenten.  We  zien  de  eerder   genoemde  strategieën  terug  in  de  netwerken  en  we  kunnen  zien  dat  regelmatige   plaatsing  en  de  grootte  van  het  netwerk  aan  elkaar  gerelateerd  lijken.  Organisaties  die   vaker  berichten  te  posten  lijken  grotere  netwerken  te  hebben  en  vice  versa.  Omdat  dit   niet  geen  longitudinaal  onderzoek  is,  kunnen  we  niets  over  de  causaliteit  hier  van.  

Andere  opvallende  variabelen  een  hogere  zijn  een  hoge  dichtheid  graph  density  in   grotere  netwerken  met  de  interactivity  strategie.  Dit  geldt  ook  voor  de  modulariteit.  

 

Uit  dit  onderzoek  kunnen  we  concluderen  dat  de  organisatie  ervoor  kan  kiezen  om   Facebook  te  gebruiken  op  drie  verschillende  manieren,  die  allemaal  een  ander  niveau   van  de  investeringen  van  de  organisatie  te  vragen.  De  disclosure  strategie  vraagt  weinig   tijd,  maar  het  netwerk  zal  waarschijnlijk  klein  blijven  en  de  Facebook-­‐pagina  zal  leeg   zijn  en  een  verlaten  indruk  achterlaten.  De  information  dissemination  strategie  vraagt   om  meer  tijd  te  investeren,  en  is  een  goede  strategie  om  van  discolure  naar  interactivity   te  gaan.  Het  is  aan  de  organisatie  om  vragen  die  worden  gesteld  te  beantwoorden  en  om   unieke  content  op  Facebook  te  posten.  Daarnaast  dient  er  actief  interactie  te  worden   gezocht  met  de  volgers.  De  interactivity  strategie  lijkt  goed  te  werken,  volgers  reageren   beter  op  Facebook  pagina’s  van  organisaties  die  interactiviteit  stimuleren.  Het  is  nodig   om  een  aanzienlijke  investeringen  te  doen  de  vorm  van  de  tijd.  De  organisatie  zal   moeten  reageren  op  vragen  en  discussies  in  leven  houden,  evenals  unieke  content   creëren  

 

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Preface  

This  thesis  was  written  in  order  to  complete  my  master  education  in  Communication   Science  at  the  University  of  Twente.  Work  on  this  thesis  started  in  February  2014  and   lasted  until  September  2015.  Even  though  this  is  far  longer  than  I  had  expected  when   starting  work  on  my  thesis,  I  am  pleased  to  present  you  the  end  result  of  18  months  of   work.  

 

I  started  18  months  ago  with  the  idea  of  writing  my  thesis  on  a  social  media  subject,   seeing  how  many  organizations  use  social  media  and  how  many  make  small  (and  big)   mistakes  and  how  many  organizations  having  no  clue  what  they  are  doing  on  social   media.    

 

Several  persons  have  contributed  academically  and  practically  to  this  thesis.  Therefore,  I   would  first  like  to  thank  my  supervisor,  Dr.  L.  van  de  Wijngaert  and  my  co-­‐supervisor  Dr.  

S  de  Vries,  for  their  time,  valuable  input  and  their  support  throughout  the  entire  18   month  period  of  writing  this  thesis.  

 

Also,  I  would  like  to  extend  my  gratitude  to  my  family  and  friends  for  their  help,  support  

and  patience  during  my  entire  study  in  Communication  Sciences  at  the  University  of  

Twente.  

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Table  of  contents    

Abstract  ...  2  

Summary  (English)  ...  3  

Samenvatting  (Nederlands)  ...  4  

Preface  ...  5  

  1.  Introduction  ...  7  

  2.    Theoretical  Framework  ...  8  

2.1  Stakeholder  discussions  in  the  public  sphere  ...  8  

2.2  Stakeholder  discussions  on  social  media  ...  8  

2.3  The  public  sphere  and  social  media  ...  9  

2.4  How  external  communication  influence  stakeholders’  discussions  ...  10  

2.5  Communication  strategies  on  social  media  in  the  public  sphere  ...  10  

2.6.1  How  strategies  are  reflected  in  the  network  on  social  media  ...  13  

2.6.2  How  communication  strategies  are  reflected  in  content  on  social  media  ...  15  

  3.  Methodology  ...  17  

3.1  The  origin  of  conflict  ...  17  

  4.  Results  ...  21  

  5.  Discussion  &  Conclusion  ...  29  

5.1  Research  questions  ...  29  

5.1.2  In  what  way  can  we  use  Social  Media  in  stakeholder  discussions?  ...  32  

5.2  Theoretical  and  practical  implications  ...  33  

5.3  Limitations  and  recommendations  ...  33  

5.4  Conclusion  ...  34  

  6.  References  ...  35  

 

Appendix  I:  The  separate  Facebook  pages  analyses  ...  37  

 

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1.  Introduction    

Organizations  in  the  public  sphere  often  use  Social  Media  to  engage  with  their  followers.  

For  example,  Amnesty  international  can  easily  create  interest  and  discussion  amongst   followers  when  unlawful  capital  punishment  is  carried  out,  or  environmental  

organizations  can  quickly  notify  followers  or  mistreatments  of  nature  in  areas  where  oil   companies  drill  for  oil.  Another  example  is  workers’  union’s  organization  strikes  when   negotiations  for  a  new  collective  bargaining  agreement  reach  a  dead  end.    

 

Social  media  can  be  an  effective  tool  for  these  stakeholder  organizations  to  reach   followers  because  it  allows  for  quicker,  cheaper  and  faster  communication  than  older   media.    Currently,  not  a  lot  is  known  about  how  and  what  makes  social  media  an   effective  tool  for  reaching  followers  in  the  public  sphere.  

 

This  research  investigates  how  we  can  categorize  and  analyze  communication  strategies   that  are  used  by  these  stakeholder  organizations  on  social  media.  The  focus  in  this   research  towards  social  media  lies  on  Facebook  in  particular.  Facebook  itself  is  a  great   tool  to  streamline  management  functions,  interact  with  volunteers  and  donors,  and   educate  others  about  programs  and  services.  Through  interactions  with  stakeholders  on   Facebook,  organizations  seek  to  develop  relationships  with  important  publics  (Waters,   2009).  According  to  Waters  et  al.  (2009),  one  of  three  different  communication  

strategies  is  often  used.  To  investigate  how  effective  these  strategies  are,  we  investigate   Facebook  Fan  pages  of  ten  organizations  in  the  public  sphere.  From  these  pages  we  will   derive  which  communication  strategy  is  used  on  these  pages.  The  results  of  this  will  give   us  insight  in  how  these  strategies  are  used  looking  at  a  number  of  performance  

indicators.    

 

This  research  looks  to  develop  a  framework  by  which  Facebook  Fan  pages’  networks   with  different  strategies  are  compared  to  each  other  in  order  to  investigate  in  which  way   social  media  can  be  used  in  stakeholder  discussions.  This  means  the  framework  

developed  in  this  research  looks  to  answer  the  question:  

 

“  In  what  way  can  we  use  Social  Media  in  stakeholder  discussions?”  

 

In  order  to  answer  this  research  will  look  to  answer  the  following  sub  questions:  

 

1) What  is  a  stakeholders  discussions  and  what  is  the  role  of  Social  Media  in  these   discussions?  

2) Which  informational  strategies  are  used  on  Social  Media  in  stakeholder   discussions?  

3) How  are  these  informational  strategies  represented  in  networks?    

4) What  advice  can  we  give  towards  the  use  of  the  different  strategies  on  Social   Media?  

 

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2.    Theoretical  Framework    

In  this  chapter  we  want  to  clarify  a  number  of  factors  that  play  a  major  role  in  our   research  domain.  This  chapter  is  split  into  three  sections  that  shed  light  on  the  public   sphere,  social  media  and  the  network  society.  

 

2.1  Stakeholder  discussions  in  the  public  sphere  

The  public  sphere  was  defined  by  Habermas  (1989)  as  the  sphere  of  private  people   coming  together  as  a  public;  Habermas  (1989)  explains  that  people  claimed  the  public   sphere  regulated  from  above  against  the  public  authorities  themselves,  to  engage  the   authorities  in  a  debate  over  the  general  rules  governing  relations  in  the  basically   privatized  but  publicly  relevant  sphere  of  commodity  exchange  and  social  labor.  The   public  sphere  is  a  discursive  space  in  which  individuals  and  groups  congregate  to   discuss  matters  of  mutual  interest  and,  where  possible,  to  reach  a  common  judgment   (Hauser,  1998).    

 

An  example  of  this  is  Amnesty  international,  who  easily  creates  a  lot  of  interest  amongst   its  followers  when  unlawful  capital  punishment  is  applied  or  a  workers  union  quickly   mobilizing  large  amounts  of  people  for  a  workers  strike  in  order  to  impose  the  revisiting   of  a  collective  bargaining  agreement  (CBA).  Other  examples  are  environmental  

organizations  that  wish  to  preserve  wildlife  versus  the  oil  industry  who  want  to  drill  for   oil,  healthcare  organizations  that  want  to  provide  excellent  healthcare  versus  the  

government,  who  wants  to  bring  costs  down.  These  organizations  want  to  spread  their   statements  amongst  their  followers,  who  likely  share  the  same  sentiment.  By  doing  this,   the  organization  creates  visibility  for  the  problem  but  also  for  itself.  Usually,  these   interactions  took  place  in  town  centers,  cafes,  bars  and  such.  These  were  face-­‐to-­‐face   interactions  in  the  public  sphere.    

 

2.2  Stakeholder  discussions  on  social  media  

A  decisive  part  of  interactions  in  the  public  sphere  used  to  be  direct  face-­‐to-­‐face   encounters.  However,  this  is  no  longer  the  case.  These  interactions  have  turned  to   indirect,  mediated  encounters  (Koopmans,  2004).  With  people  turning  to  online  media   in  order  to  explore  their  identities,  connect  with  peers  and  show  their  interest  to  certain   organizations  communication  has  become  broader  and  faster  at  a  lower  cost  and  more   precise  coordination  of  activities  (Rheingold,  2008).  

 

 

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Social  Media  has  gained  enormous  popularity  over  the  last  few  years  (Kaplan  &  

Haenlein,  2010).  Facebook  has  over  68  million  active  users  and  more  than  250.000  new   registrations  per  day.  Social  Media  can  best  be  described  as  open,  interactive  platforms   on  which  users  can  create,  share  and  modify  user-­‐generated  content  (Kietzmann  et  al.  

2011,  p.  241).  People  wish  to  be  informed  on  what  is  going  on  around  them.  The  internet   is  no  longer  used  only  for  reading  about  new  products  of  services,  but  it  is  also  used  to   (co-­‐)create  content  and  connect  with  organizations  all  across  the  globe  (Hanna,  Rohm,  &  

Crittenden,  2011).  For  this  reason,  organizations  are  also  becoming  increasingly   interested  in  understanding  and  using  social  media  optimally.  These  organizations  can   use  social  media  to  connect  in  a  more  direct  and  precise  way  with  their  stakeholders   than  more  traditional  media  allow  them  to  do  (Lin  et  al.,  2012).    Waters  et  al  (2009)  also   conclude  that  social  networking  sites  can  be  an  effective  way  to  reach  stakeholder   groups  if  organizations  understand  how  their  stakeholders  use  these  social  networks.  

 

2.3  The  public  sphere  and  social  media    

The  use  of  (social)  networks  dominates  our  society.  Van  Dijk  (2013)  argues  that  a  world   without  electronic  communications  can  no  longer  be  envisioned.  Individuals  in  

organizations  in  first  world  countries  no  longer  function  without  an  electronic   communication  connection.  Communication  networks  have  become  a  lifeline  for   modern  society.  They  are  continuously  integrating  with  social  networks  in  the  offline   world,  and  by  doing  that,  create  a  network  society.  

 

In  the  network  society,  social  media  can  be  seen  as  a  medium  between  mass  

communication  and  interpersonal  communication.  The  social  media  platforms  can  be   used  for  both,  and  often  have  both  public  and  private  sections  that  are  not  kept  apart.  

This  means  that  either  sender  of  receiver  can  be  private  or  public.    

 

Koopmans  (2004)  proved  that  the  public  sphere  was  shifting  from  face  to  face   encounters  and  towards  indirect,  mediated  encounters.  It  also  lies  in  line  with  what   Habermas  (1989)  acknowledged  as  the  existence  of  multiple  public  spheres  where   organizations  vie  for  dominance.  The  network  society  has  made  is  possible  for  the  public   sphere  to  shift  towards  those  mediated  encounters.  The  network  society  has  also  made   it  possible  for  organizations  that  vie  for  dominance  to  easily  use  social  media  to  connect   in  a  more  direct  and  precise  way  with  their  stakeholders  than  more  traditional  media   allow  them  to  do  (Lin  et  al.,  2012).  

 

 

 

   

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2.4  How  external  communication  influence  stakeholders’  discussions  

External  communication  is  communication  that  is  aimed  at  external  stakeholders.  It  is   most  commonly  associated  with  Public  Relations  (PR)  or  relationship  management   (Ihlen,  2005).  Hutton  (1999)  defined  PR  as  ‘managing  strategic  relationships’.  Social   Media  can  be  seen  as  a  good  platform  or  channel  to  competently  manage  strategic   relationships  focusing  on  the  desired  outcome,  which  is  a  mutually  beneficial   partnership  (Cutlip  et  al.,  1999).  Hutton  (1999)  argues  that  these  relationships  are   essential  towards  achieving  an  organizations  long-­‐term  goal.    

 

It  is  argued  that  an  organization’s  reputation  can  be  formed  by  providing  information   about  the  organization  (Fobrum,  &  Van  Riel,  2004).  Favorable  reputations  lead  to  a   competitive  advantage,  therefore,  external  communication  is  key  (Roberts  &  Dowling,   2002).  Social  Media  are  capable  of  providing  fast,  timely  reactions  when  necessary  in   cases  where  swift  action  is  required  and  is  known  for  rapid  diffusion  and  exchange  on   information  (Lovejoy  et  al.,  2012).  

 

Because  of  the  connecting  nature  of  Social  Media,  organizations  have  quite  a  lot  to  gain   from  them.  Using  these  platforms  can  lead  to  new  opportunities  to  be  more  transparent   and  disclose  information,  which  can  lead  to  a  better  reputation  (Kho,  2008).  Singh  et  al.  

(2012)  were  also  able  to  prove  that  the  main  reason  for  using  social  media  in  an  

organization  was  to  create  and  grow  business  relationships.  For  this  however,  the  use  of   social  media  needs  to  be  done  with  an  outcome  in  mind  and  a  clear  strategy.  

 

2.5  Communication  strategies  on  social  media  in  the  public  sphere  

Waters,  Burnett,  Lamm  and  Lucas  (2009)  define  three  strategies  for  social  media  use,   specifically  in  the  public  sphere.  The  communication  strategies  are  based  

on  analyzing  275  Facebook  pages  of  organizations  in  the  public  sphere,  and  while  more   than  three  strategies  have  been  put  forth  by  others,  these  three  strategies  have  been   found  to  be  helpful  especially  in  relationship  cultivation  according  to  Walters,  Burnett,   Lamm  and  Lucas  (2009).  These  three  strategies  are  disclosure,  information  

dissemination  and  interactivity.  Mergel  (2010)  also  defined  three  communication   strategies,  which  have  been  found  very  relevant  in  the  public  sphere.    

 

The  disclosure  strategy  calls  for  openness  and  encourages  practitioners  to  use  the   Internet  and  their  social  network  to  advocate  for  their  organizations  and  causes;  

however,  the  practitioners  should  be  transparent  in  their  online  communication   activities.  For  full  disclosure,  organizations  must  make  sure  to  provide  a  detailed   description  of  the  organization  and  its  history,  use  hyperlinks  to  connect  to  the  

organization’s  website,  provide  logos  and  visual  cues  to  establish  the  connection,  and  list   the  individuals  who  are  responsible  for  maintaining  the  social  networking  site  profile   (Berman,  Abraham,  Battino,  Shipnuck,  &  Neus,  2007).  Disclosure  is  related  to  Mergel's   (2010)  strategy  of  push.  Disclosure  is  mostly  about  revealing  an  organizations  

information  and  news,  and  not  about  drawing  visitors  to  other  communication  channels  

or  interacting  with  page  fans.  This  strategy  is  mostly  used  by  organizations  new  to  social  

media  and  is  characterized  by  unmanned  and  incomplete  Facebook  walls  that  are  

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The  strategy  of  information  dissemination  states  that  the  social  media  site  should  be   useful  for  stakeholders.  The  usefulness  of  social  networking  profiles  often  focuses  on   information  that  is  being  distributed  (Crespo,  2007).  The  most  common  form  of  this   information  is  posting  photographs,  video  or  audio  from  the  organizations  itself.  The   organization  is  the  content  creator  in  this  case.    

 

However,  the  information  dissemination  strategy  also  includes  posting  links  to  external   news  item  about  the  organization  and  its  causes  and  using  the  Facebook  page  wall   for  discussions,  posting  announcements  and  answers  question  (a  form  of  web  care)   (Carrera  et  al.,  2008).  Mergel  (2010)  describes  this  strategy  as  a  pull  strategy,  as  both   strategies  are  mostly  about  pushing  content  from  and  about  the  organization  towards   the  page  followers  in  an  attempt  to  redirect  the  page’s  followers  to  other  communication   channels  at  the  dispense  of  the  organization.  The  pull  strategy  is  used  to  pull  people  to   the  organizations  website  or  other  communication  channel  were  news  is  aggravated,   mostly  in  order  to  keep  control.  Pull  strategies  are  actively  involving  audiences  using   some  degree  of  interaction  that  results  in  a  few  comments.  An  example  of  this  could  be   warning  potential  job  seekers  about  legislation  changes  (Mergel,  2010).  

 

The  final  strategy  is  interactivity,  which  Mergel  (2010)  defines  as  a  networking  strategy.  

Interactivity  plays  an  important  role  in  developing  relationships  online  with   stakeholders.  Jo  and  Kim  (2003)  found  that  interactivity  is  a  vital  component  for   an  organization  if  it  is  to  develop  any  kind  of  relationship  with  their  stakeholders.  

Organizations  should  provide  a  calendar  of  events  or  listing  volunteer  opportunities  to   involve  stakeholders’  offline  as  well.  Mergel  states  that  the  networking  strategy  is   defined  by  high  interactiveness  with  a  lot  of  back  and  forth  between  the  organization   and  others,  but  also  a  lot  of  back  and  forth  between  users  on  the  page.  The  organization   that  uses  the  networking  strategy  usually  has  a  good  idea  of  who  is  following  them  and   whom  they  want  to  reach.  They  use  their  social  media  very  strategically,  and  not  only  to   control  and  direct  messages,  but  also  to  find  where  actual  issues  are  being  

discussed  that  are  of  relevance  to  the  organization  and  it’s  pubic.    

 

Both  Mergel  (2010)  and  Waters  et  al.  (2009)  concluded  that  showing  basic  information   not  only  leads  to  more  connections,  but  is  also  a  viable  part  of  all  three  communication   strategies,  especially  the  disclosure  (Waters  et  al.,  2009)  and  the  push  strategy  (Mergel,   2010).  Mergel  (2010)  also  concluded  that  organizations  that  follow  a  push  strategy  are   simply  using  their  Facebook  page  to  'get  the  message  out  there'.  This  leads  to  fairly   empty  Facebook  pages  with  only  a  few  (usually  0,  1  or  2)  comments  or  likes  on  pages.  

Content  on  these  pages  usually  links  to  another  communication  channel  of  the   organization  itself.    

 

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A  Facebook  page  on  which  some  content  links  to  other  parties  communication  channel   and  few  comments  is  more  often  used  to  spread  the  word  and  educate  people  on   developments  within  the  branch  (Waters  et  al.,  2009).  The  major  difference  between   pages  using  an  information  dissemination  or  push  strategy  is  that  content  more  often   links  to  communication  channels  of  other  organizations.  Also,  Facebook  pages  following   these  strategies  will  have  some  comments,  with  sometimes  the  pages  owners  answering   a  question  of  a  follower.    

 

The  interactivity  strategy  translates  itself  in  a  Facebook  page  that  links  towards  own   communication  channels  as  well  as  communication  channels  of  third  parties,  

furthermore,  one  will  find  unique  content  on  the  pages  more  often  than  on  the  other  

pages.  Pages  following  other  strategies  will  usually  not  create  any  content  especially  for  

Facebook.  Organizations  following  a  strategy  based  on  interactivity  will  have  Facebook  

pages  with  a  lot  of  comments  and  events;  these  organizations  are  also  more  likely  to  

actively  ask  for  email  addresses  or  donations.    

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2.6  How  strategies  pertain  to  the  network  and  social  media  

In  this  chapter  we  how  strategies  pertain  to  the  network  and  to  the  content  found  on   these  networks.    

 

2.6.1  How  strategies  are  reflected  in  the  network  on  social  media  

After  gathering  the  data,  this  data  was  exported  from  NodeXL  to  Gephi.  In  Gephi  a   number  of  analyses  and  visualizations  will  be  done.  First,  the  networks  are  subdued  to  a   Force  Atlas.  This  makes  the  connected  nodes  and  push  unconnected  nodes  apart  in   order  to  create  clusters  of  nodes  and  edges.    

  After  this,  the  average  path  length  is  calculated.  The  average  path  length  is  the  average   number  of  steps  along  the  shortest  paths  for  all  possible  pairs  of  network  nodes.  This   calculates  the  efficiency  of  the  transport  in  the  network.  A  high  average  path  length   means  people  are  not  highly  connected  to  each  other,  on  average  information  will  have   to  travel  past  many  nodes  in  order  to  reach  another  node.  For  organizations  that  use  the   disclosure  strategy,  the  average  path  length  should  be  high,  relative  to  the  size  of  the   network,  because  we  expect  these  networks  to  be  smaller.  Organizations  using  an   interactivity  strategy  should  have  a  low  path  length  relative  to  the  size  of  the  network,   because  these  networks  should  be  larger  and  better  connected.  Information  

dissemination  using  organizations  should  also  be  fairly  low,  for  the  same  reason  as  with   organizations  using  the  disclosure  strategy.  

 

Following  this  the  betweenness  centrality  is  calculated.  This  is  visualized  in  the  size  of  a   node.  A  larger  visual  representation  of  the  node  in  the  network  means  that  this  node  has   a  more  central  location  within  the  network.  Larger  nodes  can  be  identified  as  hubs.  Hubs   are  good  at  spreading  information  because  of  the  large  numbers  of  connections  

(Goldenberg,  Han,  Lehman,  &  Hong,  2009).  It  is  expected  that  when  an  interactivity  /   networking  strategy  is  used  by  organizations;  these  will  show  up  as  a  hub  in  the  

network  because  the  organizations  invest  more  means  into  responding  to  questions  and   discussions.  Because  of  the  nature  of  the  disclosure  and  information  dissemination   strategies,  hubs  will  not  be  present,  or  perhaps  only  one  will  be  present,  because  on  the   pages  the  pages  are  used  to  get  the  news  out  there,  or  to  redirect  visitors  and  these   pages  are  not  used  to  discuss  topics  or  answer  questions.    

 

One  of  the  major  differences  between  pages  using  an  information  dissemination  strategy   is  that  content  more  often  links  to  communication  channels  of  other  organizations.  

Facebook  pages  following  these  strategies  will  have  some  comments,  with  sometimes   the  pages  owners  answering  a  question  of  a  follower.  This  can  be  seen  in  the  network  by   the  amount  of  edges,  which  will  be  higher  than  for  pages  with  the  disclosure  strategy.  

Network  density  could  be  relatively  high,  but  this  is  also  dependent  on  the  size  of  the   network.  The  Network  Density  in  these  networks  can  be  high  because  the  total  amount   of  possible  edges  in  itself  is  not  very  high.    

 

For  pages  that  use  an  interactivity  strategy,  all  these  numbers  should  be  high.  Because   these  pages  are  active,  more  nodes  will  be  gathered  and  these  new  nodes  will  start  to   form  more  edges.  Network  density  for  these  networks  should  be  low,  because  the  total   number  of  possible  edges  will  be  very  high.  

 

 

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Modularity  shows  us  if  the  Facebook  page  is  one  community  or  if  there  are  multiple,   splintered  communities  and  how  large  these  are.  These  two  combined  can  also  show  us   if  there  major  contributors  are  mostly  contributing  to  one  discussion,  or  the  page  in   general  by  analyzing  their  position  and  color  within  the  network.  Networks  using  a   disclosure  strategy  will  have  virtually  no  modularity  whatsoever.  This  is  because  the   page  is  used  to  get  the  news  out  there,  and  not  to  respond  to  posts.  Modularity  on  pages   using  an  information  dissemination  strategy  will  be  measurable  and  fairly  low  (many   different  communities)  because  almost  every  single  question  will  be  seen  as  a  separate   discussion.  Modularity  in  networks  where  an  interactivity  strategy  is  used  will  be  high,   meaning  a  few  splintered  communities.  These  few  splintered  communities  can  be  very   important  discussions  with  a  lot  of  commenters,  for  instance.  

 

Finally,  average  degree,  average  weighted  degree  and  the  graph  density  can  be  

calculated.  These  statistics  reflect  the  average  number  of  edges  a  node  has,  the  average   number  of  edges  a  node  has  taking  into  account  how  important  those  edges  are  and  the   total  number  of  possible  edges,  divided  by  the  actually  present  number  of  edges.    These   statics  tell  us  how  connected  people  are  within  the  network,  how  connected  people  are   when  taking  into  account  to  whom  these  nodes  are  connected  to  and  how  many  of  the   possible  edges  are  present  within  the  network.  A  very  high  degree  can  indicate  to  a   network  where  everybody  is  connected  with  everybody,  which  could  be  the  case  for   small  networks  using  disclosure  strategies.  A  low  average  degree  means  that  people  are   selectively  commenting  on  certain  posts  only  pertaining  to  their  interests  or  people  not   commenting  at  all,  for  instance  in  large  networks  with  interactivity  strategies.  

 

As  a  last  step,  we  will  append  all  networks.  Appending  all  networks  to  one  another   shows  us  multiple  things.  First,  it  shows  whether  or  not  there  are  connections  between   the  networks,  and  whether  or  not  these  people  are  more  active  in  the  collective  network   than  in  the  individual  networks.  Second,  it  shows  any  trends  within  the  individual   network  that  carry  over  towards  the  collective  network.  After  this  modularity  is   calculated  and  visualized.  Modularity  reflects  the  strength  of  the  network  in  different   communities  and  is  reflected  in  the  different  colors  in  the  network.  A  single  color   represents  a  single  community.  If  there  are  any  strong  or  big  communities  these  reflect   prominent  discussions  on  the  Facebook  page,  Modularity  is  an  indicator  of  the  strategy   used  by  an  organization.  If  no  communities  are  present,  there  is  almost  no  interaction   between  members.  If  there  is  a  high  level  of  interactiveness,  many  communities  can  take   shape.  

 

   

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2.6.2  How  communication  strategies  are  reflected  in  content  on  social  media   Besides  analyzing  the  scraped  data  in  Gephi,  a  content  analysis  is  done.  We  check  if  basic   information  such  as  a  description  of  the  organization  and  location  are  added  to  the   Facebook  page.  This  should  be  present  for  all  organizations,  regardless  of  the  

communication  strategy.  However,  organizations  using  a  disclosure  strategy  will  have   filled  in  only  the  bare  minimum,  organizations  using  an  information  dissemination  will   have  filled  in  some  more  important  data  and  organizations  using  the  interactivity   strategy  will  have  filled  in  almost  their  entire  organizational  history.  

 

We  also  check  if  events  were  shared  on  the  Facebook  page  and  if  followers  are  actively   asked  to  sign  up  for  mailing  lists  or  donate,  this  is  common  practice  for  organizations   using  the  interactivity  strategy.  Organizations  using  other  strategies  will  not  use  these   possibilities.    

 

The  amount  of  Facebook  posts  per  page  is  counted  and  are  categorized  as  unique   Facebook  content  or  more  generic  content.  Also,  we  count  how  many  of  the  posts  are   directing  to  communication  channels  of  other  organization  or  other  communication   channels  of  the  organization  that  owns  the  Facebook  fan  page.  Here  we  should  be  able  to   see  distinct  differences  between  different  communicational  strategies.  When  disclosure   is  used,  posting  rates  will  be  low  and  content  will  be  very  generic.  Usually  there  is  no   pattern  found  in  posting.  Almost  all  content  will  be  guided  towards  communication   channels  that  are  also  in  possession  of  the  organization.  This  lies  in  line  with  using   Facebook  to  ‘get  the  message  out  there’.  

 

When  an  organization  uses  information  dissemination,  posting  rates  will  be  a  bit  higher,   for  instance  bi-­‐weekly  and  sometimes  events  will  be  shared.  These  organizations  usually   post  generic,  so  not  Facebook  specific,  content.  The  content  will  mostly  be  pointed  at   own  communication  channels,  but  sometimes  others  will  be  linked  to.    

  Organizations  that  use  an  interactivity  strategy  will  have  a  high  rate  of  posting,  mostly   twice  or  three  times  a  week.  It  is  also  expected  that  these  organizations  use  unique   Facebook  content,  usually  in  order  to  trigger  discussions  or  just  to  interact  with  their   followers.    

 

Finally,  we  check  the  number  of  comments  and  whom  these  comments  come  from,   followers  or  the  page  owner  themselves.  This  can  also  be  seen  visualized  through  edges   within  the  Gephi  network  visualizations.  Organizations  that  use  a  disclosure  strategy   will  not  have  many  comments  to  their  posts,  and  will  not  react  to  any  questions.  They   simply  use  Facebook  as  a  broadcasting  tool.  In  the  information  dissemination  strategy,   the  organizations  will  have  some  comments  on  their  posts,  and  when  a  question  was   asked  they  will  have  answered,  but  they  will  not  try  to  keep  the  discussions  going.  

Organizations  that  use  the  interactivity  strategy  will  have  many  comments  on  their   posts,  and  will  also  post  a  lot  themselves.  Not  only  when  questions  are  asked  but  also  to   mingle  in  the  discussion.  They  try  and  embrace  the  nature  of  the  chosen  strategy,  and   want  to  interact  with  their  followers.  

 

 

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To  summarize,  we  have  added  a  chart  showing  the  different  characteristics  that  the   different  modes  of  analysis  and  communicational  strategies  bring.  

 

Strategy Analysis

Disclosure Information Dissemination Interactivity

# of posts - - -

Links to own channels

Almost exclusively Almost exclusively Mixed

Links to other parties

Almost none A few Mixed

Basic info present Basic info present Information is available. Probably more than just the

basics.

Information is extensively available Reactions of

others

Almost none Some Most reactions are

from others

Reactions of page owner

Almost none Just to answer questions Reactions to questions and to keep discussions going

Long threads (20+ reactions) present?

None 1 or 2 maximum A lot

Average path length

High average High average Low average

Betweenness Centrality

Low centrality for all Low centrality for most

a few will have higher centrality (responding to questions)

High centrality in a some nodes low in other Modularity No modularity

possible Every node is a different community

Every node is a different community

Few small communities

Communities are formed

Average degree Low average degree Low average degree High average degree Average Weighted

Degree

Lower than average degree

Lower than average degree Higher than average degree

 

Table  1:  How  communicational  strategies  pertain  to  network  and  content   characteristics.  

 

After  analyzing  all  the  individual  networks.  The  networks  were  combined  to  one  overall   network.  The  same  calculations  and  visualizations  were  done  on  the  collective  network..  

This  shows  whether  or  not  there  are  connections  between  the  networks,  and  whether  or   not  these  people  are  more  active  in  the  collective  network  than  in  the  individual  

networks.  Second,  it  shows  any  patterns  within  the  individual  network  that  carry  over  

towards  the  collective  network.      

(17)

3.  Methodology    

In  the  introduction  of  our  research  we  have  seen  examples  of  organizations  using  social   media  to  represent  the  interest  of  their  followers  and  gain  a  more  meaningful  position  in   discussions  and  conflicts.  In  our  research  we  are  looking  at  a  similar  case:  The  Dutch   staffing  industry.    

 

The  Dutch  staffing  industry  consists  of  almost  3.260  staffing  agencies,  which  represent   roughly  700.000  temporary  workers.  These  temporary  workers  work  208.000  FTE  a   year.  The  Dutch  staffing  industry  represents  9.9  billion  euros  of  the  Dutch  GDP,  which  is   roughly  4%.    

 

3.1  The  origin  of  conflict  

The  Dutch  staffing  industry  is  a  representative  industry  for  a  number  of  reasons.    

Opening  borders  in  Europe  has  led  to  a  high  number  of  foreign,  low-­‐wage  workers   entering  the  Dutch  temporary  workforce.  Because  these  low-­‐wage  workers  are  not   familiar  with  the  Dutch  CBA,  some  companies  force  these  employees  to  handle  in  a  way   that  is  not  required  of  them.  For  instance,  foreign  temporary  workers  have  been  forced   to  provide  and  pay  their  own  housing,  while  this  should  have  been  done  by  the  staffing   agency.  This  mistreatment  makes  a  low-­‐wage  foreign  temporary  employee  much   cheaper  for  the  staffing  agency  than  a  Dutch  temporary  employee.    Contributing  to  this   is  the  possibility  of  paying  low-­‐wage  workers  much  less  through  faulty  tax-­‐

constructions.    

 

By  mistreating  certain  workers  because  of  their  unfamiliarity  with  the  CBA,  other   workers,  in  this  case  Dutch  temporary  workers  are  repressed.  This  repression  comes   from  a  costs  perspective,  as  Dutch  temporary  workers  have  become  relatively  expensive   for  the  staffing  agencies.    

 

All  of  these  practices  are  in  direct  conflict  with  the  collective  bargaining  agreement.  

However,  because  there  are  currently  not  enough  resources  to  see  if  all  parties  adhere  to   the  CBA,  and  because  many  foreigners  are  not  familiar  with  the  CBA,  it  has  become  very   easy  for  employers  to  divert  from  the  CBA.    

 

Social  media  can  prove  itself  as  a  helpful  tool  towards  solving  these  problems.  Social   media  can  be  used  to  educate  temporary  workers,  both  Dutch  and  foreign,  of  their  rights   and  privileges.  If  low-­‐wage  workers  know  their  rights,  it  will  be  easier  to  stand  up  for   these  rights.  Likewise,  if  Dutch  temporary  workers  know  the  CBA  and  the  law,  they  can   report  mistreatments  and  repression  when  confronted  with  this.  However,  in  order  to   do  this  it  is  necessary  for  all  parties  involved  to  find  out  what  is  the  most  effective  way  to   use  social  media  to  represent  interests  of  the  parties’  stakeholders.  Furthermore,  

checking  for  any  mistreatments  or  repression  can  become  easier  by  monitoring  traffic   on  multiple  social  networks.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(18)

 

All  in  all,  the  Dutch  staffing  industry  consists  of  multiple  parties:  

 

1) Employers’  Organisation;  such  as  the  Dutch  ‘Algemene  Bond  

Uitzendondernemingen’  (ABU)  or  the  VNO  NCO.  These  parties  represent  

employers’  and  their  interests  and  also  control  if  companies  adhere  to  the  CBA  in   the  interest  of  the  company.  

2) Employees:  Dutch  and  foreign  temporary  workers  

3) Staffing  agencies;  staffing  agencies  who  employ  workers.  The  can  be  located  in   Holland  or  abroad.  

4) Companies  employing  temporary  workers   5) The  Dutch  government  

6) Workers’  Unions;  such  as  the  FNV  and  CNV;  these  parties  represent  employees   and  their  interests.  

7) CBA  Controlling  body;  The  entity  which  controls  if  companies  adhere  to  the   Collective  Bargaining  Agreement  (CBA)  in  the  interest  of  the  employee.  

 

(19)

A  schematic  of  these  parties  and  how  they  are  connected  can  be  found  below.    

                                   

     

Figure  1.  Relations  in  the  Dutch  staffing  industry  

Red  arrows  denote  flow  of  influence,  for  instance:  The  CBA  in  influenced   by  both  the  ABU  and  the  workers  union.  

 

As  is  evident  from  figure  1,  employers  and  employees  are  connected  by  a  number  of   organizations.  The  red  arrows  in  Figure  1  denote  the  flow  of  influence.  For  instance,   companies  are  influenced  by  the  board  and  the  CBA  controller,  and  companies  influence   their  employees  and  temporary  workers.    Another  example  is  that  the  Board  influences   the  VNO  NCW,  whose  interests  they  represent  towards  the  ABU.  They  influence  the  ABU,   who  in  their  turn  represents  the  interest  of  the  board  and  VNO  NCW  in  CBA  

negotiations.  They  are  in  turn,  influenced  by  the  VNO  NCW.  

 

The  VNO  NCW  represents  the  interests  of  companies,  while  being  connected  to  the  ABU.  

The  ABU  is  a  body  that  represents  the  interests  of  staffing  agencies  and  negotiates  with   workers’  unions  about  changes  in  the  CBA.  The  ABU  also  funds  the  SNCU,  an  agency  that   checks  if  staffing  agencies  are  adhering  to  the  CBA.    

  Workers’  unions  represent  employees,  who  work  for  companies.  The  unions  represent   the  interests  of  these  employees  in  negotiations  about  the  CBA.  The  CBA  Police  

represents  these  employees  by  checking  if  companies  adhere  to  the  CBA.    

There  is  a  certain  amount  of  tension  between  the  parties  on  both  sides.  Most  of  this   tension  is  retraceable  to  a  number  of  conflicts  that  deal  with  mistreatments  and   repression  within  the  staffing  agency.    

 

   

(20)

For  our  research,  we  decided  to  analyze  the  page  of  the  ten  most  influential   organizations  in  the  staffing  industry.  These  organizations  are  unions  with  most   members,  staffing  agencies  with  easy  access  to  the  largest  demographic  groups  in  the   industry  and  organizations  that  are  responsible  for  brokering  a  new  CBA.  To  further   justify  the  selection  of  Facebook  fan  pages,  we  chose  an  even  split  in  our  ten  pages:  five   employee  aligned  pages  and  five  employer-­‐aligned  pages.  To  collect  data  we  have   scraped  data  from  ten  Facebook  ‘fan  pages’.    

 

The  five  organizations  on  the  employers  side  of  the  playing  field  are  the  main  

representative  of  staffing  organizations  during  conflict  and  CBA  negotiations:  the  ABU,   the  VNO  NCW  are  the  main  representative  of  organizations  for  employers,  two  or  the   largest  staffing  agencies  in  the  country  in  Randstad  and  TempoTeam  and  one  the  main   staffing  organizations,  studentenwerk,  representing  on  the  largest  temporary  worker   group:  students.  

 

The  organizations  on  the  side  of  the  employees  are  the  three  major  and  largest  worker   unions  with  in  the  Netherlands:  The  FNV,  Abvakabo  FNV  and  CNV.  Another  union   representing  the  students  is  the  LSVb  and  also  FNV  Jong,  representing  younger   temporary  workers  as  students  and  young  temporary  workers  make  up  the  largest   groups  of  workers  in  the  staffing  industry.  

 

To  summarize,  the  following  pages  were  selected:  

 

Organization   Facebook  page   Number  

of  likes   Allegiance  

ABU   /deABUnl   164   Employers  

Abvakabo   /abvakabofnv   4559   Employees  

CNV  Vakbond   /vakbond   1236   Employees  

FNV  Bondg.   /FNVBondgenoten   7979   Employees  

FNV  Jong   /fnvjong   1567   Employees  

LSVb   /studentenbond   1808   Employees  

Studentenwerk   /StudentenWerk   4991   Employers  

Randstad   /randstadnederland   15108   Employers  

Tempoteam   /tempoteamnederland   13362   Employers  

VNO  NCW   /VNONCW   213   Employers  

 

Data  was  collected  from  these  Facebook  pages  by  using  NodeXL  and  consists  off  

comments  on  posts  on  these  pages  in  the  period  of  September  1

st

 2013  to  September  1

st

  2014.  The  commenters  are  represented  as  nodes  within  the  network.  When  two  nodes   comment  on  the  same  post,  an  edge  is  formed  between  them.  This  is  called  ‘co-­‐

commenting’.    

 

Charting  the  Facebook  pages  will  give  us  insights  into  how  relations  are  mapped,  in  

(21)

4.  Results  

In  this  section  we  will  present  the  results  of  analyzing  the  Facebook  pages  and  the   resulting  collective  network  of  all  the  Facebook  pages.  The  individual  analysis  of  each   Facebook  page  can  be  found  in  Appendix  I.      

 

A  table  with  all  results  found  can  be  found  on  the  next  page.  

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8 the premise that individuals have the desire to conform, this goal of affiliation will be stronger for social media users than non-users (as they have been found to have a

The second part of the hypothesis, which state that “the synergies between internet advertising and traditional advertising are greater than the synergies between