Shaping social media strategy

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Shaping social media

strategy

N. S. Dalavouras

s1830449

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

Faculty of Economics and Business

MSc BA Master Thesis Strategy & Innovation

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Abstract

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Appendices...45

Appendix 1 Users questionnaire...45

Appendix 2 Experts questionnaire ...46

Appendix 3 Users interviews...47

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CHAPTER 1 1. Introduction

People talk about Web 2.0, virtual communities, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, whereas scientists, analysts and marketers talk about social media. Social media is the social and technological phenomenon which promotes the on line presence and participation. The challenge for marketers and corporations is to understand not only how to adapt to them but also how to use them effectively. On the other hand social media are in the phase of innovation in response to users’ appetite for new ways to communicate and interact in the new online world. In the following section, the main actors (users, enterprises and social media websites) will be described.

1.1 Market analysis

Users: Analysts observe the growth of this phenomenon and try to measure its success. One of the recent researches for the social media system and social networking notes that 42% of adults worldwide (including both internet users and nonusers) knew what social networking was as of June 2008. Nearly 75% of European internet users or 210 million people visited a social network site in December 2008 (Williamson, 2009). Data from the same source show that 80% of internet users in Asia, or some 450 million people and 68% of Australia’s internet users accessed a social network site in December 2008. The percentage of the US internet user population visited social network sites at least once a month, reaches 41,2 % (Williamson, 2009).

Social media websites: The second actor of the social media system is social media websites. According to Boyd (2007) ‘‘social media websites sites are web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system’’. Boyd (2007) also states that the nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site. Websites administrators and developers are responsible for the website’s function, design, policy and possible applications and their aim generally is to attract and retain as many visitors as it is possible. According to Alexa Ranking (2009), social media such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and Orkut are among the ten most popular websites worldwide.

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going to spend an estimated $2.35 billion on social network advertising in 2009, worldwide (Williamson, 2009). Businesses realize that social media are the new communication method between brands and customers. Williamson (2009) also states that business social networking is a global consumer phenomenon with much potential. It is the new way to reach consumers.

The analysis of the social media market gives information about the characteristics of the market’s actors but the paragraph stated below completes the analysis referring to the relationship these actors have.

Actor’s relationship: The figure presented below shows the dependence relationship among the three aforementioned social media actors. What the figures shows is the main characteristics which connect the actors of the social media market. The figure shows that social media websites are the platforms where users can communicate, interact and generate content. On the other hand, users are those who allow sites to exist as they add UGC and use sites applications. Concerning enterprises, social media allow online advertising and on line contact between enterprises and existing/potential customers. What social media mainly benefit from enterprises is advertising revenues. Moreover, users have the opportunity to search for new products, ‘follow’ their favourite brand and share concerns, ideas and experiences with other users/consumers.

Figure 1: Social media actors

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1.2 Research question

Li et al. (2006) notes that user engagement in websites can be achieved through a process of developing a relationship with them. The recent research of Williamson (2009) which takes into account information from over 3,000 sources also states that social media system needs changes in order to become more functional and beneficial for its users and for enterprises.

Traditional communication such as TV, radio and newspapers has become less effective in reaching customers/consumers. Social media are considered revolutionary as they provide accessibility, usability, recency and permanence (Benkler, 2006). Social media are available to anyone at little or no cost and do not require specialized skills and training. Users can generate content, edit and remove it making it more flexible and interactive than traditional media.

Social media are usually connected to the new set of technologies named Web 2.0. This is true but it is not the only truth. The fact is that social media are a complicated phenomenon. It is a phenomenon which is investigated by scientists of many majors. Sociologists, communication consultants, psychologists, economists, IT experts, graphic designers and many other scientists who try to explain how this medium works and behaves and how it could be managed effectively. In few words, it can be said that social media have a lot of potential but not that much is known yet about success factors. Social media websites launched their innovative platforms. These platforms incorporated the Web 2.0 technologies, new design features and applications. Design features refer to the background, structure, layout, applications, usability, forms, applications, etc. of social media sites. Nowadays, social media market has grown and social media focus on innovation and differentiation in order to stand the market competition. The goal is to attract users who are engaged in the website and enterprises which promote their brands and come in touch with existing and potential customers. The fact is that people’s needs and interests change. Enterprises’ way of advertising and communication change as well.

This research project investigates the determinants which drive people to use social media websites (in terms of design features and applications). It also examines if design features and applications are tools that social media as businesses have to use in order to attract more users and consequently more advertisement revenues. Social media have to continue focusing on the technological innovations (Web 2.0), the social factors which drive people use social media or a combination of both?

The research question consists of a main research question and three sub-questions. The main research question is ‘‘How should social media websites manage their website effectively (in terms of design features) to positively influence users and enterprises engagement’’?

Sub-questions:

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• What are the benefits and the costs from the use of social media?

• How do social media website functionalities influence users and enterprises engagement?

1.3 Research limitations

This study has no geographical boundaries. Social media from every part of the world has been investigated. The study sets a boundary concerning social media types/forms. That means that it refers to social media but focus only on seven basic types/forms of them. Concerning users, there is no age limit or any other kind of limit. The study refers to all social media users.

1.4 Thesis outline

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CHAPTER 2 2.0 Theoretical framework

The goal of this chapter is to provide an overview of social media system and investigate the social media websites – user – enterprises relationship in that system. Firstly, a definition of innovation is provided and the relationship between social media and innovation is explained. Second, definitions of social media and social media components are presented. Third, the basic forms of social media and their characteristics are described in order to have an overview of social media websites and their characteristics. Fourth, web design matters are discussed. Finally, costs and benefits of social media websites for users as well as the conceptual model of the study are given.

2.1 Defining innovation

As stated above social media and innovation are absolutely related as social media is a technological and social novelty. Garcia and Calantone (2001) explain what innovation is and make explicit why social media are considered innovation. According to the aforementioned authors ‘‘innovation is an iterative process initiated by the perception of a new market and/or new service opportunity for a technology-based invention which leads to development, production, and marketing tasks striving for the commercial success of the invention’’ (Garcia and Calantone, 2001). Two different types are discerned. The World Wide Web is one of the radical innovations which appeared the past decade and Web 1.0 is considered its first edition which refers to any web design style introduced before the advent of Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is an incremental innovation as according to both authors it provides new features, benefits, or improvements. These characteristics are related to the existing technology in the existing market involving the adaptation, refinement, and enhancement of existing products. Web 2.0 concepts are those which allowed the development of social media websites, user generated content and virtual communities. It has to become explicit that the innovation of social media is the Web 2.0. Following Jacobs (2007), innovation deals also with deconstructing social constructions, and constructing these again meaning the change social media brought into people’s interpersonal relations. The aforementioned statement is related to the fact that social media is not only a technological but also a social phenomenon which altered the way people communicate.

2.2 Defining Social media

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Author Definitions

Kangas et al (2007)

Social media is built of content, communities and Web 2.0 technologies. Social media refers to applications that are either completely based on user generated content or in which user generated content and the actions of users play a substantial role in increasing the value of the application or service.

George Brown (2008)

Social media is an online tool that people use to share content, profiles, opinions, insights, experiences, perspectives and media itself, thus facilitating the conversations and interaction online between groups of people (users).

Brian Solis (2007)

Social media is, at its most basic sense, a shift in how people discover, read, and share news and information and content. It's a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologue (one-to-many) into dialog (many-to-many).

Antony Mayfield

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Social media is best understood as a group of new kinds of online media, which share most or all of the following characteristics: Participation, openness, conversation, community and connectedness.

Ron Jones (2009)

Social media essentially is a category of online media where people are talking, participating, sharing, networking, and bookmarking online. Most social media services encourage discussion, feedback, voting, comments, and sharing of information from all interested parties.

Table 1: Social media definitions

Based on the above, it can be said that social media is the medium which allows on line communication, content circulation, participation and interaction among people (users) who use the Web 2.0 set of technologies.

2.3 Social media core concepts

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Figure 2: Social media core concept

2.3.1 Web 2.0

According to Kangas et al. (2007), Web 2.0 refers particularly to a set of technologies that enable easy production and distribution of social media on the internet. O’Reilly introduced the term Web 2.0, and defines it as the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform. Moreover, O’Reilly mentions that Web 2.0 can be considered as a set of economic, social, and technology trends that collectively form the basis for the next generation of the internet—a more mature, distinctive medium characterized by user participation, openness, and network effects (O’Reilly and Musser, 2005, 2006). McMillan and Huang (2002) connect web 2.0 with interactivity as the latter is related to user control, two-way communication and responsiveness.

2.3.2 User generated Content

User generated content is the second component of social media. According to OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2007), UGC is related to various kinds of media content produced by end-users or amateur creators. Social media make use of UGC concerning three types of content: (1) New content (images, videos, music, text), (2) Modified (compilations, video mixes) and (3) Categorized content (playlists, reviews, keywords) (Kangas et al., 2007). Although UCG began as a movement not focused on monetary rewards, nowadays user generated content

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monetisation (virtual gifts selling and usage fee for special applications on Facebook, photos auctions on Flickr, etc.) is a growing trend (OECD, 2007).

2.3.3 Virtual Community

The term virtual community refers to online social aggregations when enough people carry on public discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace (Rheingold 1993, p. 5). Komito (1998) claims that these communities not only share norms of behaviour or certain defining practices, but also enforce certain moral standards. Coexistence in close proximity to one another is also one of their main characteristics. Kozinets (1999) refers to them as electronic tribes and electronic gatherings. He also lists the types of the members who are engaged in virtual communities, depending on their level of commitment. The first type is the tourists. Tourists lack strong social ties and maintain only superficial interest in the consumption activity. The minglers are the second type and according to Kozinets (1999), they are only perfunctorily (doing it routinely) interested in the central consumption activity. Next are the devotees, who even though maintain a strong enthusiasm for the consumption activity, they have few social attachments to the group. The last group of the insiders have both strong social ties and personal ties to the consumption activity (Kozinets, 1999).

2.4 Basic forms of social media

As stated above, social media are media which allow on line engagement and info sharing among people. It has to become explicit that the terms social media and social networks are different. Researchers usually use the words type or form to refer to social network as part of social media. The current research does the same and refers also to the basic forms of social media. The aim of this classification is to make clear that there are several types/forms of social media which offer many and various applications in order to reach the great majority of internet users and better fulfil their needs.

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Podcasts: Podcasts are audio, image and video broadcasts that have been converted to an MP3 file in order to become downloadable on a portable device. The most popular service is provided by Apple and is called iTunes.

Social networks: Social networks are Web 2.0 services that allow people (users) to create a profile within a bounded system, list their on line ‘friends’ (other users who use the same service) and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system (Boyd, 2007). The most popular social network sites are Facebook and MySpace (Williamson, 2009). Skype is another example. Skype is not only a software application that allows voice calls over the internet but also a platform where users can create a profile, make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other Skype users (Skype, 2009).

Blogs: Blogs are online journals or walls where people post diary entries related to their daily news, experiences or interests, in chronological order (Princeton University dictionary, 2009). Boing Boing, Techcrunch, Kottke and Dooce are some of the most powerful blogs worldwide (Guardian, 2008).

Wikis: According to Encyclopaedia Britannica (2009), wikis are ‘‘websites that can be modified or contributed to by users’’. This means that users provide the website with information and users are also those who edit the provided content. Wikipedia is the most popular wiki website, attracting 684 million visitors yearly (Wikipedia, 2009).

Microblogging: Microblogging is related to social networking combined with bite-sized blogging. The small amounts of content (updates) are distributed online and through the mobile phone network. These brief text updates are those which separate micro blogging from blogging and put it in another social media form. Twitter is the most popular microblogging device (Mayfield, 2008).

Content communities: According to Mayfield (2008), there is another basic form of social media called ‘content communities’. Mayfield defines this form as ‘‘communities which organise and share particular kinds of content’’. Content mostly refers to photos and video. You tube is a content community as people tend to form around video and Flickr is also content community as people are engaged in photo sharing. Del.icio.us is also a popular content community website (Mayfield, 2008).

There are popular social media that their status is frequently debated. Second life is one of these sites. Most experts usually categorize it as a social network, virtual world or just an innovative game.

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Table 2 shows the basic social media forms, some exemplary websites which represent these forms and their basic characteristics (based on the overview of these sites).

Table 2: Social media types and basic characteristics/design features (July, 2009) Social media

forms

Forums Podcasts Social networks Blogs Content Communities Wikis Micro Bloggin g Overview Websites Bodybuil ding.com iTunes Facebook MySpace LinkedIn

Gizmodo YouTube Wikipedia Twitter Most common characteristics

Entry services

Registration R R R R Optional Optional R 5 R 2 OPT

Subscription fee

NR NR Optional NR NR NR NR 6 NR 1 OPT

Profile creation NE NE E E E/NE NE E 3 N/E 3E

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Mobile Compatibility E E E E E E E 7 E Virtual communities E NE E E NE NE E 3 NE 4 E E–commerce, Business E E E E E E E 7 E User Generated Content - Special features Discussion board Entertainme nt superstore, digital music- video, syncs content -iPod, iPhone, Apple TV Users profile, online communitie s, friend lists, chat, instant messages Product advertiseme nts, Discussion for various topics Free distribution channel for videos, criticised for copyright infringement Online encyclopaed ia, users create and edit the content voluntarily Free social messaging utility, real time messages, friends list,

E: Existent, NE: Non Existent, R: Required, NR: Non Required

Comments: Most social media websites require registration to allow their users to use their site. Table 2 shows that almost all websites do not require subscription fees. The majority allows reviews and comments posting. All social media websites offer videos and photos uploading services, as well. Games and chatting services are also provided by most social media. Furthermore, advertising and e-commerce are present in most social media websites. Mobile compatibility is a new service. However, all websites offer it to their users. Finally, virtual communities are not always part of a social media websites.

2.6 Social media business model

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2.7 Website design

The entrance of Web 2.0 tools and social media changed the way websites look like and communicate with the users. The current part presents what makes social media websites different from traditional, less interactive websites, what are the elements of these sites which attract users and keep them coming back. The website design and functionality are strategic elements for social media designers to increase website effectiveness.

2.7.1 Aesthetics

According to Cox and Dale (2002), the quality of a website depends on the objective of the design. The website has to reflect the value proposition and satisfy customers. Cronin (2009) argues that simplicity in user interface is of high importance for social media and networking websites. Most social media websites are rather simple in terms of colour scheme and graphics, and usually consist of few colours along with slight monochromatic variations (see Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn). These social media websites have a white background and updates (e.g. status updated) often highlighted with a light colour. Moreover, alerts are usually highlighted with a red background colour. Cronin (2009) states that most social media websites’ interfaces are context-sensitive, displaying many features on demand, using calm and supportive colours and lacking graphical elements which confuse the users. Most websites use blue and white. According to semiotics, white and blue symbolize the sky and the heaven, the clean and the pure. This is related to the fact that most websites visitors are young people and many times people under 18. Cronin (2009) noticed that graphics are always very simple and are used very sparingly. He claims that vivid visual design is not really useful on social networking sites as it creates unnecessary noise and makes it harder for users to focus on their conversations. Twitter is considered one of the most minimalistic social media websites as it uses few light colours, a text area box for short messages and simple sequence of past messages.

2.7.2 Looks and design

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probably like to join helping or stimulating him to build his/her social network. For Facebook the user is at the centre of the software. As Cronin says, the website ‘‘emphasizes the personal value of the application’’. Twitter is also a notable example as the front page focuses on the user, the updates, the connections and conversations among friends. According to Cronin (2009), ‘‘the more engaged the user is, the more traffic he/she delivers back to the service and the more users are getting engaged by the word of mouth advertising. That is the key of social applications – and egocentric user interfaces leverage this strategy to effectively bind users to using these applications’’.

2.7.3 Basic applications

Social media websites have a special website design as they have introduced many applications. These applications targets to users engagement and participation. Facebook is one of the social media websites that has introduced many popular applications. These applications are offered mainly by social media websites that own and use the suitable software. The applications stated below have been chosen as they are applicable to most websites.

Registration form: According to Cronin (2009), web forms are probably the most important design element for social media and networking sites. Forms are used and related to many applications as sign-up, search, reply to a post, add comment etc. As Web forms are very important for the sites’ functionality, they have to be usable. The first form that users meet is the sign-up form. Most social media websites have a ‘working’ sign-up form in order to make users access easier, simpler and faster. The only way to do that is a short sign-up form. Most social media prefer to include only the essentials in the sign-up form and give users the opportunity to edit their account’s information when they want (e.g. biography, city and hobbies). Facebook and MySpace have exactly the same short sign-up form while Flickr informs the potential users that it takes just a moment to sign up. Cronin (2009) has concluded that ‘‘the simpler the web form is, the better it is for the user – the more fields and requirements are removed, the more users will sign up for websites’ services’’. What the user needs is to start playing around with the system as fast as possible. Twitter appeared to be one more time the most minimalistic website as it uses a very short sign-up form.

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Search: According to Cronin (2002) good search functionality is necessary for a good usability and user interface. Social media applications provide advanced search tools as users can use the search input area to find their friends, groups, communities and interests. Users can usually find a search input area and a search button right at the top of the site. The search box is visible in most social media websites because of its high utility. Notable is the application of filtering which helps users to quickly find the content they are looking for and get rid of any content that is not relevant to them (Cronin, 2002).

Music, Photos and videos: Users can upload photos and videos saved in their computer or found on the internet. Users have the opportunity to upload great number of these files. They can comment on their photos and ‘tag’ or label their friends on them. User’s friends can also comment on these photos or use the application ‘likes’ which shows the positive opinion of the user who saw the photo or the video. Users can use this application in an easy and fast way. They just click on ‘create album’ or ‘upload video’ and through a browser they can upload their files.

Chatting: People visit social media websites in order to stay in contact with existing friends and meet new people, upload photos and videos, write a blog, install applications and promote a brand. It is easy to understand that people want to communicate, participate and be active. Social media make it possible through their functional websites. Communication is possible through instant messaging. Facebook for example offers this application. The user is able to communicate with his/her friends who are online at that moment. People can also communicate sending messages, commenting on other people status or writing on people’s ‘wall’. A kind of communication can be also considered the posting of comments on photos or videos. Besides communication, people are interested in participation.

2.8 Main costs and benefits for social media users

This section discusses the main benefits and costs for users. These benefits and costs results from the users experience in a web platform with special design features and applications as described before. They are also based on Zeithaml’s (1988) classification of value. She suggests that consumers consider the perceived (monetary/non monetary) benefits and costs.

2.8.1 Main Benefits Monetary

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for ways to save money and time. Social media websites have introduced applications to make this possible. People can communicate for free through instant messages or chatting service on Facebook, can visit Wikipedia for free information, watch movies on Google video and listen to their favourite music on Lastfm.

Non monetary

Status and social bonding: Social status is present not only in real life but also in social media world. Users have the perception that the online activity could elevate their status and self-confidence. According to Boyd (2008), social media websites sites allow users to enhance their profiles by adding multimedia content or modifying their profile's look and feel. Users upload photos, videos, add new friends in their friend list, join groups and create their own groups. For example, users who have many friends or celebrities in their friend list feel that their status is higher than those who have fewer friends. Other users believe that participation also elevates their status. It has to be mentioned that participation alone cannot elevate social status. Boyd (2008) states that high network density is very important as users gain the most value from social network sites when more users use the site. In other words, users gain the most value from their social media presence and especially from social networks when all of their friends use the site. Boyd (2008) adds that people not only want to interact with their friends on the site but they also want to list those friends as Friends in order to achieve a public display of status through connections. There are many cases where people are obsessed with their social status. On Amazon for example, there are users who read hundreds of books every month posting hundred reviews respectively. There is no monetary motive. People who post good reviews are just marked as four or five star users and have others attention. Another similar application on Facebook put friends in categories. For example there are people who have been voted as ‘the most loveable’ by their friends.

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Freedom of expression and creativity: Leadbeater (2007) claims that freedom is not related to the quantity of goods consumers can buy or the choices consumers have. Freedom is related to the opportunity the user has to use various applications according to his/her tastes and the way in which he/she wants to express his self/herself (e.g. escaping from reality on Second Life). Social media websites give users the opportunity to show off their creativity. There are sites where people can create, use or distribute their own content. Flickr for example, can become an online exhibition for users as they can upload, store and make their photos public. YouTube is also a popular site where people upload videos presenting their own talent. In many cases users become famous, as professionals have observed their talent and help them to create a career (performers, singers, actors, etc.).

Personal autonomy: According to Leadbeater (2007) ‘‘social production recreates the possibility that people can find a sense of autonomy through work, albeit not work for a corporation. People who produce, for free new computer games, encyclopaedia article, software, music, films are finding ways to express themselves through voluntary labour’’. This happens without dependencies to others (e.g. enterprises). It is something they do for their self-satisfaction. Leadbeater (2007) makes clear that there is a category of people who want to consume but there is also another category who wants to participate. These people have different motivations. They are funs of altruism. They participate for their own interests, passions and skills. They are not obsessed by the power and status conferred by hierarchy and financial rewards. Moreover, these users have no boss and working place pressure (Leadbeater, 2007).

2.8.2 Main Costs

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high that sometimes people opt to make an account for their friends compelling them indirectly to engage in social media websites (Boyd, 2008).

Psychological disorders: According to Kangas (2007), social media websites and services require either complete identification or allow complete anonymity. Kangas (2007) also claims that when someone has a different identity in a virtual world from that in the real world there is a great risk for mind damage. This happens because people in virtual worlds do not take into account the norms of the real world. Remarkable example is that of Warcraft where people are addicted as nobody knows their presence in the virtual world. Avatars in Second life may also influences people’s psychological situation as user’s condition (financial status, appearance, etc.) in the virtual world is usually completely different from that of the real world. People on Second Life can buy villas, islands, expensive clothes and expensive cars but in real life they have none of them. That results in psychological imbalance. Besides, there are people who tend to become addicted to these websites as they worry that even a temporary distraction from the screen will mean missing crucial updates and in-jokes (Wong, 2009). They just want to have the ‘always online feeling’ and be all time updated.

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Security concerns: Security is different from privacy. It is a technical issue. Security is the ability of a system not only to protect information but also system resources (e.g. CPUs, disks and software) (Ross, 1999). Facebook (2009) claims that its site cannot guarantee that the security measures are perfect or impenetrable. According to Fossen (2009), virus creators are increasingly targeting social networking sites and other Web 2.0 technologies. Twitter, instant messaging services from Google and others face security problems. Fossen (2009) notes that viruses may create fake accounts and profiles of celebrities or people who attract internet users hoping users will link with them. In that way virus writers transmit malicious software which can hurt users’ computers.

Increasing cost, time and effort: According to Wellman et al. (2001), ‘‘adding internet based activities to daily life requires a redistribution of limited personal resources of time and effort’’. Nielsen’s report (2009) shows that blogs and social networking are consuming more online time than checking and writing personal email. Nielsen also notes that ‘‘one in every 11 minutes online globally is accounted for the social network and blogging sites’’. Internet users spend substantial time online exploring the social media applications. The variety of the applications as well as the opportunity of user generated content attract people’s attention and keep them on line. According to Wellman et al. (2001), the hours people spend online per week are increased rapidly with numbers of years using the internet, meaning that ‘experienced’ users spend much more time on line. Wellman also notes that experience is that which determine users’ activities and reasons for being online. Addiction is also one of the most extreme forms that is related to online presence as people ‘stick’ to a specific site or application. This phenomenon is usually related to user generated content which motivates users’ participation. It has to be mentioned that time is a paradox as social media offer the opportunities the internet offers in general, concerning time saving (fast communication, fast information searching etc.). Observing social media websites, it is easy to realize that social networking, blogging, etc. demand not only time but also substantial effort (use of physical or mental energy) to use and to learn. Users spend hours on line in order to explore a huge number of various applications which are usually related to social networking. On Facebook for example, it is obvious that people put great effort to elevate their status, creating groups, posting comments, photos and videos, engaging in existing applications or creating new. In general, it can be said that users mostly put effort in order to create an on line social profile which they believe that could elevate their status in the real life.

2.9 Main costs and benefits for enterprises

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There are enterprises which perceived the benefits of social media and started communication with their existing or potential customers through social media websites.

Targeted Advertising: Advertising through social media websites is becoming the new marketing trend.

Less expensive/access to global market: Enterprises also use social media to advertise their products at low cost to more people. On YouTube for example enterprises can post videos or photos from their radio or TV advertising campaign for free, making it accessible to millions of users.

Influentials: Influentials (opinion leaders) are people who have the power to influence users and spread messages far and wide (Ramsey, 2009). Influentials are usually bloggers who write about products giving brands a glowing endorsement.

Targeted advertising messages: Besides influentials, enterprises have the opportunity to transmit targeted advertising messages. According to Ramsey (2009), ‘‘the leading social network sites allow for very granular targeting, so ad messages can be refined to address very particular consumer groups’’, such as new mothers or university students. Popular social media websites also have special ad systems which use information that users post about their selves in their profiles and deliver targeted banner ads (Ramsey, 2009). Information about users preferences mean that enterprises do not waste time doing market searches.

The most remarkable example is Victoria’s Secret Pink group which has tremendous success on Facebook (Ramsey, 2009). 1,246,100 people have already joined the group and the company has a great opportunity to advertise its products.

Customer relationship: Enterprises which use social media have the opportunity to meet existing or potential customers who are willing to make their conversations about issues, concerns, passions, purchasing decisions, and their experiences with products and services, public. What enterprises have to do is to follow them. Research on social media websites showed that blogs, consumer review sites and social portal sites (e.g. Facebook) can become the medium enterprises can use to stay in touch with their consumers. Ramsey (2009) claims that consumers expect marketers to participate in this on line discussion which can lead to a better contact between consumers and enterprises. Enterprises become part of users’ conversations about interests, attitudes, shopping plans and even brands. Enterprises also gain rich insights into consumer behaviour and attitudes. According to Williamson (2009), enterprises ‘‘should convey brand messages that are perceived as relevant, value-added content in order to engage consumers in social contexts’’.

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on the discussion board. In that way, Victoria’s Secret has created a form of online brand community which is more accessible and active than the brand communities of the real world. Users are also able to communicate with other users/consumers and answer their possible questions at higher accuracy than the company’s official staff would. According to Emarketer (2009), the enterprises could monitor users’ engagement and participation with the potential to gain rich insights into consumer behaviour and attitudes. In that way, enterprises can be led to target advertising (as described above).

Feedback & market research: Enterprises which are present in social media websites can get sales and post-sale feedback and support. Enterprises can use social media websites to learn how consumers talk about their products or services. They can take into account their concerns and make alterations to their products or services. Social media websites allow people to express their opinions. There are no call centres and feedback can be sent directly. Everybody can see that and post a comment on that. According to Emarketer (2009) enterprises can also be informed about problems their customers face (related to products or customer service). Consumers discuss their problems with a company or product with others on blogs, social networks or micro blogging (Twitter). These discussions can become information source for enterprises which want to correct a real problem or a misperception.

2.9.2 Costs

Web 2.0 services can be used by everyone. There are cases where users or enterprises exploit social media in an unethical way. Their goal is to blur others’ enterprises fame. Some cases from the social media history are stated in order to explain the aspect of reputation in social media.

United consumers power: Social media is the medium which allow group forming, campaign starting, opinion expression, etc. The case of HSBC is a remarkable case of united consumers’ power in Britain who decided to use this medium in order to make their ‘problem’ public. According to The Guardian (2008) article, a group of British students (clients of HSBC) received unexpected bills with high interest charges (up to £140 annually) because of the new interest policy of the British bank. The decision of the bank led its consumers (students) to create a group on Facebook declaring their disappointment and disagreement. The name of the group is ‘Stop the Great HSBC Graduate Rip-Off!!!’ and numbers almost five thousands members (Facebook, 2009). The group creation influenced students across Britain, who closed their bank accounts. The initiative was successful and HSBC reacted by freezing interest on overdrafts (Guardian, 2008).

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produces and sells this special kind of shoes. The current research investigates this case as most social websites host groups which declares their aversion for this product. The most remarkable case is that of Facebook. If someone types the words ‘hate crocs’ in the search box, Facebook presents about 450 groups which have been created to defame crocs (Facebook, 2009). Flickr and several blogs host this kind of groups, as well (Flickr, 2009). The conclusion is that social media allow people who dislike a product to declare it in places where millions of people are present causing negative advertising to the enterprise which sells this product.

Shareholder activism: Shareholder activism is different from the two aforementioned parts. The difference deals with the fact that shareholders are parts of a company as they own one or more shares of stock. Social media is the tool shareholders use to promote their activities and especially the activities related to activism. Social media allow shareholders to make their campaigns known to a broader group of people. Eric Jackson case is one of the cases published on Bloggingstocks.com (2008). According to the article, Eric Jackson used social media like YouTube and Google Inc to help with his campaigns against companies like Yahoo and Motorola (Bloggingstocks.com, 2008). Eric Jackson had found the way to condemn the CEOs decisions and show that shareholders are present and have the power to influence the company’s policy – strategy. The fact is that companies used to face shareholders with limited power but now social media gives them more opportunities and more power to react when the situations demand it.

2.10 Conceptual model

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Figure 3: Conceptual model

SOCIAL

MEDIA

WEBSITE

DESIGN

Aesthetics Looks and design

Basic Applications

USERS

BENEFITS (1) Save money (2) Status and social bonding (3) Entertainment, enjoyment, leisure time (4) Freedom of expression and creativity (5) Personal autonomy COSTS (1) Social pressure (2) Psychological disorders (3) Privacy concerns (4) Security concerns (5) Increasing costs, time and effort

ENTERPRISES

BENEFITS (1) Targeted advertising (2) Customer relationship (3) Customer/consumer participation (4) Feedback and market research

COSTS

(1) United consumer power (2) Hate sites

(3) Shareholder activism

New website design

policy

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CHAPTER 3 3.0 Research design

The goal of this section is to describe how the research is designed and how the data are collected.

3.1 Methodology

The aim of this paper is to find out how social media should manage their websites effectively in terms of the design features in order to influence users’ and enterprises’ engagement. A literature study as well as personal interviews has been chosen to be used as the main research techniques. The literature resulted in a conceptual framework.

The combination of the aforementioned parts leads to possible behavioural and perceptual outcomes. The literature used for the theoretical part is very important but is considered inefficient to support these outcomes. For that reasons the technique of interviews has been chosen. These interviews will test the benefits and costs for users and enterprises.

3.2 Data collection

The method of observations is used in order to have key insights in the characteristics of social media websites. Becoming member of most of social media websites mentioned in this paper allows to understand how they work, what they offer, etc. The observation of these websites contributed to the part of the design features and that of the costs and benefits as it completed the gaps of the academic papers which had written in the past.

The interviews will be used to provide an answer to the research question. These interviews as it is stated before are used to make the research more reliable and support the literature review. The choice to perform interviews instead of other data collection methods is related to the fact that this method provides in-depth information and is a relatively quick method to obtain this information. An interview allows the researcher to ask complex questions and get better information. Structured, semi-structured and unsemi-structured are the three fundamental types of interviews used for researches. For this research, the semi structured type is preferred. According to Corbetta (2003) ‘‘the interviewer is free to conduct the conversation as he thinks fit, to ask the questions he deems appropriate in the words he considers best, to give explanations and ask for clarification if the answer is not clear, to prompt the respondent to elucidate further if necessary, and to establish his own style of conversation’’.

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Concerning the ways the interviews are conducted, most of them are face to face interviews, interviews through Skype and MSN messenger and through e-mail in the cases were the interviewees are not able to be present in a direct on line or real conversation.

3.3 The sample

The respondents include social media experts and users. For this study, four experts and five users are interviewed. The term experts refers to people who own a social media website, people who are managers, marketers or designers in a social media company or people who have investigated this topic (researchers, professors). Users are people who registered themselves and use social media regularly. All of them are university students or graduates. They are considered experienced users as they use social media websites in a daily basis; they have accounts in popular websites and exploit each opportunity social media gives to them (entertainment, source of information, participation, etc.). The respondents come from different countries. Most of them come from Greece as the last part of the research takes place in Greece and it is easier to conduct face to face interviews.

Experts: The selection of the experts is not random. There are some factors which played a special role to this decision.

Experts

Selection factors

Aleksandros Melidis

Howard Dean was a US politician who first combined politics and blogs. Barack Obama was the first candidate for the US presidency who used and still uses social media in order to inaugurate a new epoch for the communication of the state and the citizens. The selected expert has watched the aforementioned cases and the presence of social media in the political world. His main interests are related to Political communication, new media management, comparative campaign communication, new social movements, public opinion research, social networking and blogging.

Chris Mantas This expert is related to social media in two ways. He is a forum administrator named street panthers and social media consultant for people who want to have a special presence in social media. He has accounts in several social websites and he is keen on blogging and on line social networking. Mr Mantas is also PhD Researcher.

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business communication expert and her interests are related to social media communication and graphic design as well.

Thodoris Likakis

Thodoris Likakis works for one of the most important advertising companies in Greece, named Globalstar. He is a sales manager and marketer and specialized in electronic business.

The experts are mainly selected because of their direct experience and not because of expertise or knowledge in the field.

Social media users: The selection of users is not random as well. As the topic is related to technical terms or terms resulting from sociology, communication or business, people who are well educated and have general knowledge have been preferred. The final results show that all interviewees as people who are considered experienced internet and social media users move along the same line.

3.4 Interviews structure

Users’ interviews: The questionnaire for the users consists of four questions (see Appendix 3). Before the interview, a brief description of what social media are is given. Examples of social media websites are also used. The first question consists of four sub questions. The first questions are related to users behaviour and reaction at each stage (registration, first use, repeated use, quitting). The goal of these questions is to show how users react or think or receive the website’s ‘messages’ at each stage. The other questions are related to the degree of websites’ influence on users’ engagement and the distinction between the technological and the social part of social media.

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CHAPTER 4 4. Results

This chapter discusses the results. The results are related to the literature review and they are combined with the experts’ and users’ interviews. They also deal with the design features and the outcomes deriving from user and enterprise costs and benefits analysis.

4.1 Design features outcomes

Design features are considered as one of the main tools social media (as businesses) use in order to sell their product better (the website) and attract more consumers (users, enterprises). The aim of this research project is to investigate how social media could manage this tool more effectively in order to attain the involvement of all parties. The fact is that the literature review as well as the contact with social media users showed that design features are strategy tools but they are not the main strategy tools. The way design features and applications influence social media policy/strategy and success is complicated. Users claim that design features are not of the utmost importance to them (this will be further elaborated upon in chapter 5). Others support that website design may influence them to a certain degree; however the degree of influence is not very high. It is also stated that ‘interface’ is only a tool for users to gain access to content and communication services. Users state that some specific design features are more important to them than others. Videos, photos uploading as well as chatting services for example, are considered important and interesting as promote communication and active participation. Other applications as games are considered just time wasters. It is also stated that the degree of influence design features have on users and their importance/significance from enrolling to quitting stage is not the same but becomes less important over time as people become more experienced and are not influenced so easily by the website design.

According to Mantas, design features influence people’s engagement during the first visits. Mantas also states that the degree of influence is initially high (first visits) and then declines. Melidis states that users are influenced by the people who use social media applications and not directly from the applications/characteristics. He explains that applications and design features influence the use of them. The case of Facebook games is a notable example. Facebook offers many games. When some people start playing games, Facebook publishes their scores or inform the ‘wall’ that ‘user X is playing Waka Waka’ (Facebook game) or ‘Compete user X’ leading other people to engagement.

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it attracts both users and enterprises. The results of the research stated below make it explicit. For each section, first the results of the interviewed users will be described, followed by the experts.

4.2 Costs and benefits outcomes

Communication

Communication is a term related to some of the main benefits and costs for users. Users communicate on social media websites as the latter offer time saving and free of charge services (save money). Free of charge and multi way communication is also one of the reasons people are addicted to social media (psychological disorders). Furthermore, communication is a way people spend their leisure time and entertain themselves (see parts 2.8.1, 2.8.2).

People look for ways to communicate. They want to communicate with existing friends and are willing to make new friends in order to widen their communication scope. Social media allow not only communication between users but also between enterprises and users. Both users and enterprises are useful for social media as interaction between them provides the basis of social media websites’ existence.

Table 2 shows that the majority of social media support specific applications (friends list creation, comments and review posting, photos and videos uploading, games and chatting) that promote interaction and communication. Design features and applications are the tools social media use in order to influence user willingness for communication. This study shows (see part 2.7.2) that social media motivate users to meet new friends (e.g. ‘people you may know’, “recommend friends to newcomer” services on Facebook), give them the opportunity to post comments on photos and videos (users receive notifications about the comments and post new comments leading to a conversation), offer games (games like ‘poker’ on Facebook invite people to play a game with other users) and chatting services (synchronous communication). Users consider communication their main priority. They also claim that the speciality of communication is very important to them, as well. Most interviewed users state that they focus on content and not on the fancy stuff. They claim that the variety, ease and free of charge use of communication services drives them into using social media. Table 2 shows that most social media websites offer this variety. Website interface is user-centric (see part 2.7.2) and lack cluttered displays (a lot graphical elements) that confuse users (see part 2.7.1), allowing ease of use. As far as service cost is concerned, most social media offer the basic communication services free of charge.

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users, stating that social media offer applications that motivate grouping and as a result communication between users with the same interests.

The observation of the most popular social media websites (see table 2) indicates that most of them focus on communication services as stated below. Facebook offers communication services (instant messaging, messages, text area boxes, comments, reviews, etc.) and adds more and more services (personal observation from April to October 2009). According to Alexa Ranking (2009), Facebook is the most successful social media website in terms of registered users number. Other social networks as MySpace and Vkontakte with similar website designs are also among the most visited websites (Alexa, 2009). Overall, it can be said that the variety and the kind of communication services are success factors but it is not certain that they will continue to be in the future (further elaborated upon in chapter 5).

Networking

Networking is strongly related to social bonding as the latter is prerequisite of the former. Users also choose networking on social media websites as it is a way to elevate their status (see part 2.8.1). Social media users started using this medium in order to meet their friends on line. Besides, they soon discovered that they could meet new people, people with common interests, experiences or mentality. Social media allowed people to create wide networks in which they could interact. The interviewees claim that they use social media in order to create a network. This network enables them to move to the next phase, the phase of communication. One-to-one and one-to-many communication is possible. Interpersonal offline communication is also common (e.g. dating services on social networks, dating sites).

Applications and design features are very important as they help people to create their own networks, join other networks, meet new people, etc. Twitter for example offers the ‘create a new list’ application. Twitter focuses on networking and this is obvious as the aforementioned application is at the top of the main page, over site main application, the ‘text area box’. The notifications most sites send to users also promote networking. Websites notify users about people they may know or groups the user would probably like to join helping or stimulating him to build his/her social network (see part 2.7.2).

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events for you’ and ‘build your own network’ applications prompt people to start networking. There are also applications which suggest people to join university alumni groups or groups created for big companies. Networking seems to be a priority for social media as the aforementioned applications appear at the top or centre of website main page (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn).

Participation – UGC

UGC sets social media apart from conventional (less interactive) websites. User generated content deals with various kinds of media content produced by end-users or amateur creators and promotes freedom of expression and creativity. UGC is a movement not focused on monetary rewards and dependencies on others but on users’ self-satisfaction (self autonomy) (see parts 2.3.2, 2.8.1). UGC allows on line engagement and especially participation. The new social media sites are user-centric and promote user participation. Users add their own content and feel active members of the site. Wikis, discussion boards, photo sharing, personal videos uploading, are some of the most popular types of UGC. The variety of applications is very important as users have different tastes and needs.

User-centric interfaces effectively bind users to using these applications (see part 2.7.2). Users claim that they visit social media websites in order to generate content and access other users

content. They also state that they value participation and basically the interaction and exchanging of ideas among users. Besides, they appreciate the fact that UGC makes them active as allows participation instead of passivity that traditional media offer. Users also claim that USG and participation influence their emotional condition as they feel useful. Users say that websites that update their content or add new features on a regular basis will attract more people but this can also be dangerous since websites change too often. They also add that often design features and layout changes in general, are boring and irritating and lead to less participation. They claim that it is better when the main features stay as they are. Website design promotes participation. Social media websites are rather simple in terms of colour scheme and graphics, and usually consist of few colours along with slight monochromatic variations (see part 2.7.1). Vivid visual graphics do not distract user attention either. Simplicity promotes participation. The interviews indicate that games, quizzes or tests are ways of participation but they are not top priority for users. Most of them prefer to participate

using the main applications (chatting, photo sharing, videos uploading, etc.). Both users and Melidis make a point as far as trust is concerned. When users trust social media they

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Privacy – Security

Privacy and security are different terms (see part 2.8.2). Although these terms are different most users relate them and take them into account as a whole. The interviews show that most users believe or ‘have the feeling’ that social media provide a secure environment for them and their personal data. Security and privacy are ‘hygiene factors’ for users. When they are not present, they cause dissatisfaction but when they are present it does not mean that satisfaction increases (Hergberg, 1968). It is noteworthy to take a look at respondents’ answers: One says that “Sometimes I am thinking that maybe someone watches my life and other peoples’ life and use my personal data. But I don’t care and I am not scared. Everybody uses Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. So...’’. Another one says that “he appreciates the security and privacy options which protect his personal data and make them public only when he wishes them to”. The third one states: “I appreciate there is some kind of privacy. Of course that they are not selling my pictures to other sites’’. The rest of the respondents do not refer to privacy and security matters. Users do not refer to personal experiences of privacy violation or security concern, either. It seems that users trust social media or they feel there is a very little risk of violation. The truth is that users do have at least privacy concerns. 66% of teens who use social media report that their profile is not visible to all internet users and 46% of teens who have open profiles reported that their profiles include at least some false information to misguide people (Lenhart et al., 2007).

Enterprises exploit the online presence of social media users in order to adapt their marketing policy to user needs (see part 2.9). Targeted advertising was one of the subjects to have been analyzed. All the experts refer to enterprises and the policy these enterprises follow and make clear that user personal data and online presence are scanned and used in order to form strategy. Zazueta refers to applications and how these applications can become information source for enterprises. Melidis states that design features do not take into account only user needs but also enterprise needs. Likakis also claims that social media make enterprises’ marketing policy more targeted and effective. Overall, it can be said that users’ on line life is monitored, their personal data are violated and no absolute security is provided (spam). The fact is that most users seem not to pay that much attention to such issues.

Social pressure

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and why all my friends refer to it all the time’’. Another one said: “I started using social media two years ago when I realized that most of my friends had already created an account’’. There are also users who claim that curiosity made them create an account. The aforementioned statements reconfirm the fact that users besides fearing social isolation, they also worry about not being able to keep up with the latest news of their friends. This phenomenon is more intense among teens (see part 2.8.2)

Melidis states that people use social media because they do not want to be considered passive or unsociable. In brief, people start using social media in order not to be isolated, to be ‘normal’, ‘trendy’, ‘cool’ and not miss out on peer news (Boyed, 2008). Users who have already been website members also feel the social pressure. On Facebook for example, most applications publish what users do and send notifications to other users informing them about their friends’ activities. Social pressure is also connected to the social media business model, which is based on the network effect (see part 2.6). That means that existing users push non users to use social media in order to increase their utility and gain more value.

Consumer power

Social media users are not simply ordinary users but also consumers. That means that they have an online relationship with enterprises. The fact is that enterprises use social media and especially the applications in order to gather information for user behaviour and tastes. This is one aspect of this relationship. The other one deals with consumer power. Social media is the medium or the tool that can be used by consumers in order to declare their opinion, problems or concerns. Social media and social media applications and design features provide the opportunity to operate in a more organized way and have a stronger ‘voice’. That means that social media enjoy not only benefits but also bear cost. They are the ones that are responsible for the balance that has to be kept between users and enterprises. Concerning users, social media have to allow them to express their opinion and protect them from the enterprises monitoring (privacy). Concerning enterprises, social media have to provide them information (data related to users) respecting users’ privacy. Social media also offer information to enterprises even though the latter are not involved in advertising matters but they have just created a group where they can meet their costumers/potential customers.

Shaping social media strategy