The Journal of Social Media in Society
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Using Instagram to Engage with (Potential) Consumers: A study of Forbes Most Valuable Brands’ Use of Instagram
Get PDFWith over 800 million monthly users, Instagram has become one of the most popular social networking sites utilized by individuals and businesses alike. Guided by interactivity theory, the current study identifies connections between the posting behaviour of popular brands on Instagram and audience engagement. Instagram posts (N = 710) from brands on the Forbes Most Valuable Brands list were coded for image type and the presence of brand-related and social content. Using an individualized engagement score for each post, results found audiences were most responsive when images featured products and logos together and when social content appears in captions. Findings of this study are useful to marketing strategists aiming to capitalize on this platform
Like Us on Facebook: Social Capital, Opinion Leadership, and Social Media Word-of-Mouth for Promoting Cultural Goods
Get PDFWhile the role of paid advertising in online environments has diminished, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) has become increasingly valuable. This study sought to determine if consumers’ trust in their social media network, defined as social capital, or identification as an opinion leader better predicted social media eWOM related to cultural goods. The key finding was that perceived opinion leadership consistently best predicted Facebook eWOM
Happiness, Loneliness, and Social Media: Perceived Intimacy Mediates the Emotional Benefits of Platform Use
No full textThe purpose of this study is to explore the how user perceptions of social media might influence effects on psychological well-being. Social Presence Theory was used to examine Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and texting. Undergraduate students (N = 352) were given a survey to assess how frequently they use social media, how intimate they think each platform is, and how lonely and happy they are. Perceived intimacy was found to mediate the ameliorating effects of social media use on loneliness and happiness. Frequency of social media use initially predicted decreased loneliness and increased happiness, but once perceived intimacy was factored in, it was a more significant predictor than frequency of use. The more one uses social media, the more he or she thinks they are a good way to connect with others (perceived intimacy), and the more one is likely to be happy and feel connected with others. Results and implications are discussed
How Posting Purchases on Social Media Influences Happiness: The Role of Self-Esteem
Get PDFThe purpose of this article is to investigate the influences of posting one’s purchases on the content creator’s happiness attained from the purchases. A survey (n=207) was conducted on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Multiple regression and floodlight analysis were utilized to examine the data, which show that posting purchases on social media as a new way of self-presentation interplays with self-esteem in influencing consumers’ happiness obtained from the posted purchases. Specifically, posting behavior increases the happiness among consumers with higher self-esteem, but has no effects on consumers with lower self-esteem. This article fills the gap among literature about the influences of the different self-presentation styles caused by self- esteem, and advances our understanding of how social media usage differently influences consumers with higher and lower self-esteem. This research also provides novel insights into the role of self-presentation in consumers’ happiness from purchases and the affective benefits of creating user-generated content. This article is pioneering in investigating the behavior of posting purchases on social media. It is the first research revealing the complicated interaction between the behavior and the content creators’ self-esteem in influencing happiness obtained from the purchases
“It’s white people in Asian disguises”: Contesting Race in YouTube’s K-Town
No full textThis paper utilizes ethnographic content analysis to analyze the discourses surrounding the negotiation of Korean American identity in a YouTube series, K-Town, a reality web series with an Asian American cast set in Los Angeles, California. We find that ethnic stereotypes about Korean Americans (KAs), as well as Koreatown, Los Angeles (KT) as a foreign space, are actively constructed and contested by users on YouTube. We argue that YouTube user-generated comments illuminate DuBois’ concept of stance and disalignment whereby users invoke their ethnic or racial identities as either Korean American (KA) or more broadly Asian American (AA), to validate their own social location and to make claims regarding the authenticity of the webisode in portraying KAs and KT. YouTube users also deployed Butler’s concept of “abject identity” to critique the portrayal of unacceptable KA identities while simultaneously affirming acceptable ethnic identities. We conclude that YouTubers not only contributed to the discourse of what it means to be KA or AA, but also brought to the forefront who ought to determine what is an “authentic” portrayal. This is significant considering mainstream media’s perpetuation of racial stereotypes in mostly White-centered narratives
Posting Selfies and Body Image in Young Adult Women: The Selfie Paradox
Get PDFThis exploratory study was designed to investigate how young women make sense of their decision to post selfies, and perceived links between selfie posting and body image. Eighteen 19-22 year old British women were interviewed about their experiences of taking and posting selfies, and interviews were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Women linked selfie posting to the “ideal” body, identity management, and body exposure; objectifying their own and others’ selfies, and trying to portray an image that was as close to “ideal” as possible. Women differentiated between their “unreal,” digitally manipulated online selfie identity and their “real” identity outside of Facebook and Instagram. Bodies were expected to be covered, and sexualised selfies were to be avoided. Results challenge conceptualisations of women as empowered and self-determined selfie posters; although women sought to control their image online, posting was constrained by postfeminist notions of what was considered socially appropriate to post.
#TrumpStyle: The Political Frames and Twitter Attacks of Donald Trump
Get PDFOn January 20th, 2017, Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as the 45thPresident of the United States. No recent U.S. President has consistently engaged the U.S. media in such an adversarial way. Donald Trump’s personality, combined with the still emerging social media platform of Twitter, has thrown a rhetorical Molotov cocktail into the house of the body politic.This exploration of Trump’s Twitter rhetoric in regards to the U.S. media is important in three regards: (1) Twitter is now officially ensconced as a legitimate and effective political tool. (2) Twitter is now the primary avenue for dissemination of political propaganda and “talking points” and (3) When weaponized, Twitter can completely fracture the public and tangibly alter the reality/perceptions of a non-discerning public, to the point of embracing the most outlandish conspiracy theories or political narratives. In addressing these issues and contributing to current scholarship, this paper will utilize framing theory to engage in a content analysis of Trump’s “Fake News” tweets. In doing so, we should gain a better understanding of how Donald Trump uses 180 characters to develop allies, engage his opposition, promote his agenda, respond to criticism and define himself
Critical Communications: A Retrospective Look at the Use of Social Media among American Sierra Leoneans during the Ebola Outbreak
Get PDFThis study explores perceptions of the role of social media in facilitating communication and information sharing between Sierra Leoneans in Sierra Leone and the United States during the Ebola outbreak. Using the model of identity-congruent communication as the conceptual framework, a series of focus groups revealed four major themes: social media source of information, topics of communicated information, implementation of communication strategies, and consequences of inaccurate or incomplete information. The use of WhatsApp was reported as the main source of communication with family and friends in Sierra Leone during the outbreak. Participants felt they received up-to-date information on deaths, outbreak updates, and conspiracy theory updates from the Ebola outbreak. Discussions on inaccurate and misleading information on Ebola prevention was common and fueled fear and created distrust in interpersonal relationships
Image, Race, and Rhetoric: The Contention for Visual Space on Twitter
Get PDFThis study examines photographs associated with the Twitter hashtag “ifiweregunneddown” through the lens of visual rhetoric, concluding that social media users engaged in a protest against mainstream media by using images of themselves to reassert their identity. The study examines and discusses identity within the context of photographic media portrayals of African-Americans, including the historical Emmett Till murder, in which image played a key role in the national discussion over race. Data from this study was examined through the theory of the public sphere, suggesting that societal members use information available to them to debate and determine meaning. Results found eight patterns in the photos associated with the hashtag: five were considered negative or undesirable, and three were considered positive or socially acceptable. This study also borrows theory from geography and the concept of contested space
Posting #selfie on Instagram: What are People Talking About?
No full textDue to the rise in popularity with Instagram and posting selfies, and the potential negative outcomes on psychosocial health, the purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate the nature of the comments/captions left by users on #selfie photographs. A secondary objective was to investigate the characteristics of the author posting the #selfie image. Approximately 4,500 posts were analyzed for word content and networking, and author’s sex, age, location, number of posts, and the number of followers and following were collected. The most common words associated with #selfie were to gather more followers and/or likes, followed by image descriptors, feelings, or were Instagram-specific. Among the #selfie authors, being female (p = 0.023) and the number of posts (p <0.001) were associated with having a following to follower ratio greater than 1. This is the first analysis of the #selfie conversation on Instagram, however, further research is needed to determine the motivation for posting #selfies and/or the impact of posting #selfies and gaining more followers/likes