MIB605- Lecture 4 Technology and Online Community How technologies change information flow and social interactions?

Transcription

1 MIB605- Lecture 4 Technology and Online Community How technologies change information flow and social interactions? Prof. Cui Internet Communication Technology 1 What you learned from other classes need to be updated and integrated! 1

2 Internet Communication Technologies Internet, , discussion groups (BBS) Texting, Mobile, GPS Grouping, tagging Audio, video Networks underline the premise of social media Social network is a socially relevant nodes connected by one or more relations (ties). These relations lead to interaction. Information flow between nodes. Flows are exchange of resources, information, or influence among members of the network. These flows of communication go in many directions at any point in time and often on multiple platforms- Of course, the communication is often led by people with strong ties (e.g., close friends) Media Multiplexity Theory 2

3 Discussion Why should social media managers care about these flows? Networks: The underlying structure of communities A group of people who come together for a specific purpose About belonging and exclusion; About us vs. them ; Example: Lingnan community; MScMIB community. A community s reality is based on how it is imagined rather than on the space in which it exists. (e.g., the existence of virtual community) a sense of belong and inter-subjectivity! (add a friend to a group, follow a group) If consumers log on, form relationships in cyberspace, and believe that they have found communities, these must be real for them. Again, a network with no flow, there is no participation and may not be an effective community. 3

4 2 Internet Marketing Technology Internet Marketing Technologies Web transaction logs: records user activity at a web site. registration forms Shopping cart database Oder of item, relationship of item, items placed without buying Main questions: What are the major patterns of interest and purchase for group and individuals? After the home page, where do most users go first, and then second and third? What are the interests of specific individual? How can we make it easier for people to use our sites so that they can find what they want? How can we change the design of the site to encourage visitors to purchase our high-margin products? Where are visitors coming from and how can we optimize our presence on these referral sites? How can we personalize our messages, offerings, and products to individuals users? 4

5 Internet Marketing Technologies Databases, Data Warehouses, Data Mining, and Big Data Database: is a collection of information (data) in a systematically organized way for future retrieval. Data Warehouse: a database that collects a firm s transactional and customer data in a single location for offline analysis. Used for reporting and data analysis, including the storage of current and historical data. Data Mining: is a set of analytical techniques that look for patterns in the data of a database or data warehouse, or seek to model the behavioral of customers. Internet Marketing Technologies Data Mining: Query-driven data mining The analysis is driven by a question about relationship. Model-driven data mining The analysis is driven by an examination of a proposed model. Big Data: to predict behavior or pattern (smart city) 5

6 3 Online Community Community-Based Participation For all communities: Feeling of membership A sense of proximity to one another Interest in the community s activities 6

7 Characteristics of Online Communities Benefits of being community members (motivation): Needs for affiliation; Resource acquisition; Entertainment; Information exchange. 1. Presence- experience when interacting with a computer-mediated (-generated) environment. 2. Standards of Behavior (Norm)- rules that govern behavior 3. Conversations: talks between the members 4. Democracy- everyone has equal talk while leaders may emerge from reputation 5. Level of Participation: engagement frequency LOLs, followers, vs lurkers) Type of Social Networks and Online Communities Type General Practice Interest Affinity Sponsored Description Online social gathering place to meet and socialize with friends, share content, schedules, and interests. (Facebook) Social network of professionals and practitioners, creators of artifacts such as computer code or music. (LinkedIn) Community built around a common interest, such as games, sports, music, or lifestyle. (Pinterest) Community of members who self-identity with a demographic or geographic category. (Taiwanese in HK) Network created by commercial, government, and nonprofit organizations for a variety of purposes. (Nike, Apple, and polital candidates) 7

8 Brand Community A brand community is a specialized, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social relation among admirers of a brand. Core community commonalities Consciousness of kind Shared rituals and traditions Send of moral responsibility 8

9 Main argument Brand communities are in fact legitimate forms of community, but communities of a particular stripe, and of their time. These communities may form around any brand, but are probably most likely to form around brands with a strong image, a rich and lengthy history, and threatening competition. How ideas/conversations travel in a community? Democracy aspect of conversation Opinions supported by the majority may win Norm/ Culture aspect of conversation. People with status, reputation, power may direct the conversation. (e.g., opinion leader- a person who is frequently able to influence others attitude or behaviors). Some people s recommendations carry more weight than others. The Process of Influence: Social influence Normative influence: a type of conformity in order to be liked or accepted by others. Informational influence: a type of conformity that reflects one s belief about others information correctness. -> Results: Compliance, impact 9

10 Questions How does community-based participation relate to different media options (i.e., paid, earned, or owned)? If you are a social media manager, how would you incorporate the idea of community into your social media strategy? Relationships among Earned, Paid, and Owned Media transformation of advertising how it is done on socialmediapaid Digital Media Earned Digital Media Paid Ad Placements Paid Partnerships in games, networks, forums, blogs, etc. Communities and Forums Seeded Content Network Create awareness, persuade Blogs Owned Media Listen, engage, respond Corporate Websites, Corporate Blogs, Direct Messaging 10

11 Social Community Zone Paid media in Social Networks: Display ads Social ads Social engagement ad: contains ad creative (image and text) along with an opinion to encourage the viewer to engage with the brand (e.g., LIKE button) Social context ad: includes ad creative, an engagement device, and personalized referral content from people in the viewer s network. (e.g., Your Friends make a comment on an ad) Organic social ads: are shared on a person s activity stream following a brand interaction (e.g., liking the brand). Organic social ads occur only when people are interacting with the brand and are thought to carry enhanced credibility. Break 11

12 4 Word-of-Mouth Understanding WOM Marketing in Online Communities Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) is the intentional influencing of consumer-to-consumer communications by professional marketing techniques. To affect WOM effectively, we need to know how WOM is happening in online communities. They study bloggers behavior to identify the communication strategies used by those influencers. 12

13 The evolution of WOM theory A. The Organic Interconsumer Influence Model B. The Linear Marketer Influence Model C. The Network Coproduction Model Patterns of Evolution of e-wom Cascade Critical mass or threshold Tipping point Positivity vs. negativity bias Key opinion leaders (beauty bloggers) Followers Lurkers Participation inequality (1-9-90%) 13

14 1) The Effect of WOM on Sales: Online Book Review (2006) How to demonstrate that reviews help sales? Match the reviews amount pattern with sales pattern (e.g., correlational analysis or linear regression). However, causal relationship can t be proven in a correlational analysis. Sales may lead to more WOM, so the cause-effect relation could be opposite. Time-series data -> historical effect needs to control Partial correlation may lead to the same result Solution: differences-in-differences approach Using public available data is sufficient because it eliminates the need of certain private data. 1) The Effect of WOM on Sales: Online Book Review (2006) What is the general social media marketing objective? Get more participation: reviews, comments, sharing, etc. We assume that, participation leads to traffic, and subsequently enhance sales. But, is this true? When consumers are talking about a product, can such behavior indeed leads to more potential sales? That is, can community content plays any role in consumer decision making? Or, if I post one positive review, will I receive more sales? 14

15 2) Brand Community Research Questions and Method Q1: How do communities respond to community-oriented WOM? Q2: What patterns to WOM communicator strategies assume? Q3: Why do they assume these patterns? Method: Studied seeding campaign- the product is placed among influential consumers so that they can communicate favorably about it to other consumers. Target product: a camera-equipped mobile phone Blogger selection How many bloggers were selected? What are the criteria for selection? Demographic: 22 ~ 45 years 59% male Photographers, designers, writers, programmers, consultants, and administrative personnel. Data: Total posts: 220; total comments responded by readers: 700 Coding: classified into categories, analyzed the themes. 15

16 Findings Frank s blog: Seeking social connection and offering explanation Alicia s blog: Honesty and humility meets marketing intent Carrie s blog: Mocking, exhibitionism, and embracing commercialism Judith s blog: Honest survival and an honest living Narrative strategies Evaluation Explanation Embracing Endorsement 16

17 Discussion If you are a famous blogger and being provided a free sample of a SmartWatch (or fitness watch, Fuelband, etc.), how will you describe the new product in your blog? What is your communication strategy? Evaluation? Explanation? Embracing? Endorsement? Why? Method Select a small and real neighborhood- Fairlawn Observe two brand communities: Saab cars Macintosh computers 17

18 Findings (1) Consciousness of kind: Members feel that they sort of know each other at some level, even if they have never met. Legitimacy: a process whereby members of the community differentiate between true members of the community and those who are not. Oppositional Brand Loyalty: derive an important aspect of their community experience, and an important component of the meaning of the brand. Findings (2) Rituals and Traditions: The meaning of the community is reproduced and transmitted within and beyond the community. Example: George: If you drove a Saab, whenever you passed someone else driving a Saab on the road, you beeped or flashed your lights. Celebrating the History of the Brand. Sharing Brand Stories 18

19 Findings (3) Moral Responsibility A sense of duty to the community as a whole, and to individuals members of the community. Example: George: If you drove a Saab, whenever you passed someone else driving a Saab on the road, you beeped or flashed your lights. Integrating and Retaining Members Assisting in the Use of the Brand Hear what the author says about Brand Community Thomas O Guinn (Prof. in Marketing, Uni of Wisconsin-Madison) Brand community of Harley-Davidson 19