research methods only for tutor mitchelle
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qualitative_research_thesis_tolkki_annukka.pdf
Master's Thesis
Master’s Degree Programme in International Business Management
2015
Annukka Tolkki
MANAGING SOCIAL MEDIA CONVERSATIONS - case study
TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Annukka Tolkki
MASTER'S THESIS | ABSTRACT
TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
Master of Business Administration, International Business Management
Autumn 2015 | 65
Instructor Laura Heinonen
Annukka Tolkki
MANAGING SOCIAL MEDIA CONVERSATIONS The purpose of this thesis was to explore how companies can manage (monitor and control) social media conversations. Regardless of the companies’ presence in social media networks, they or their industry are constantly being discussed in social media. Therefore organisations should be present in social media, monitor and participate in conversations, in order to turn them into their benefit. There are software and services available to help in monitoring. Variety of tools and statistic deliver reports, but someone has to analyse and utilizes the information.
Most common reasons for organisations to be in social media are marketing products and services and engage customers. Companies should produce interesting content in their social media networks in order to engage social media users. If social media conversations are disregarded there is a risk of prolonged and negative discussion and even crises. It is rather difficult to have a control over the conversations, but companies can affect to its own presence and take part in conversations. It is seen very important to purposefully get involved and follow the conversations. Information can be used for various functions such as for planning and producing content around the key themes. By participating, companies have the opportunity to be aware of what is being discussed, react accordingly and prevent possible crises or steer the conversations into favourable direction.
The research was implemented as a qualitative research and it was conducted as a case research. Research reviews four case companies and how they manage social media conversation. Empirical research data included personal, semi-controlled interviews and background information of related written sources. Empirical research is qualitative, utilizing findings from interviews carried out within the case companies. Conclusions are also compared to the theory of the thesis. The research shows that social media in general is widely recognised and integrated in the business within the case companies. They do monitor and manage the conversation in social media in a systematic way. Challenges for managing social media conversations arise from the lack of resources and the nature of the social media. Even though it is beyond the control, companies seem actively try to affect the conversations in their benefit.
KEYWORDS: Social media, social media conversations, social media strategy, social media monitoring, social media management, engagement, content, crisis communications, customer service.
TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Annukka Tolkki
OPINNÄYTETYÖ | TIIVISTELMÄ
TURUN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU
Master of Business Administration, International Business Management
Syksy 2015 | 65
Ohjaaja Laura Heinonen
Annukka Tolkki
MITEN YRITYS VOI TUNNISTAA JA HALLITA SITÄ KOSKEVAA KESKUSTELUA SOSIAALISESSA MEDIASSA? Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on kartoittaa miten yritykset tunnistavat ja hallitsevat heitä koskevaa keskustelua sosiaalisessa mediassa. Organisaatioiden kannattaa olla läsnä sosiaalisessa mediassa, monitoroida keskusteluja ja osallistua niihin kääntäen keskustelut eduksi. Monitorointia varten on tarjolla erilaisia sovelluksia ja työvälineitä. Huomattavaa on, että datan lisäksi tarvitaan sen analysointia, jotta tietoa voidaan hyödyntää liiketoiminnassa.
Yritykset toimivat sosiaalisessa mediassa markkinoidakseen tuotteita ja palveluita ja hyödyntääkseen tietoa. Yritysten tulisi tuottaa kuluttajaa kiinnostavaa ja sitouttavaa sisältöä sosiaaliseen mediaan. Sosiaalisessa mediassa toimiva yritys pystyy reagoimaan käytävään keskusteluun ja vaikuttamaan mahdollisten negatiivisten keskustelujen tai kriisien leviämisen hillitsemiseen.
Tutkimuksen case yritykset olivat samaa mieltä siitä, että on mahdotonta kontrolloida keskusteluja, mutta on tarpeellista tarkoituksenmukaisesti seurata keskusteluita ja osallistua niihin. Monitoroinnin tuottamana tieto auttaa myös sisällöntuotannon suunnittelussa ja kuluttajaa kiinnostavien aiheiden kartoittamisessa. Osallistumalla keskusteluihin ja niiden seuraamiseen yrityksellä on mahdollisuus olla tietoinen siitä mistä keskustellaan ja myös kerätä asiakaspalautetta.
Tutkimus tehtiin tapaustutkimuksena, jonka tavoitteena oli selvittää yritysten tapaa hallinnoida sosiaalisen median keskusteluja. Tarkastelussa oli myös yleisesti sosiaalisen median rooli yrityksen liiketoiminnassa. Empiirinen tutkimus on laadullinen ja pohjautuu neljän tapausyrityksen sisällä tehtyihin haastattelutuloksiin. Haastattelut olivat henkilökohtaisia ja puolistrukturoituja. Tuloksia peilattiin lopputyön teoreettiseen viitekehykseen, joka pohjautuu alan kirjallisuuteen ja muihin kirjoitettuihin lähteisiin. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että yritykset tunnistavat sosiaalisen median mahdollisuudet ja hyödyntävät sitä tehokkaasti eri toiminnoissaan. Erityisesti sen rooli nähdään tärkeänä asiakasviestinnässä ja vuorovaikutuskanavana. Yritykset monitoroivat ja hallinnoivat keskustelua sosiaalisessa mediassa systemaattisesti. Haasteita aiheutuu resurssipulasta ja sosiaalisen median luonteesta – vaikka sitä ei voi täysin hallita, yritykset pyrkivät hyödyntämään sosiaalista media liiketoiminnassaan.
ASIASANAT: Sosiaalinen media, sosiaalisen median keskustelut, sosiaalisen median strategia, sosiaalisen median monitorointi, sosiaalisen median hallinta, sitouttaminen, sisältö, kriisiviestintä, asiakaspalvelu.
TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Annukka Tolkki
CONTENT
1 INTRODUCTION 5
1.1 Research objectives and questions 9
2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 10
2.1 Concept of social media 11
2.1.1 Why social media? 12
2.1.2 Social media forms 15
2.1.3 Social media strategy 17
2.1.4 Engaging consumers 18
2.2 Monitoring social media conversations 22
2.2.1 Objectives of monitoring 23
2.2.2 Monitoring tools 25
2.2.3 Who manages social media conversations? 26
2.3 Controlling social media conversations 27
2.3.1 Guidelines for managing conversations 28
2.3.2 Responding to conversations 29
2.3.3 Social media usage policy 30
3 METHODOLODY 31
3.1 Case selection criteria and data collection 31
3.2 Research methods 32
3.2.1 Semi-structured interviews 32
3.2.2 Qualitative approach 34
3.3 Data quality issues - reliability and validity 34
4 FINDINGS OF EMPIRICAL DATA 36
4.1 The role of social media 37
TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Annukka Tolkki
4.1.1 Customer service in social media 39
4.1.2 Expert services 40
4.1.3 Social media strategy 42
4.2. Monitoring social media 42
4.2.1 Importance of the monitoring conversations 44
4.2.2 The means to monitor 45
4.2.3 Engagement 45
4.3 Controlling social media conversation 48
4.3.1 Social media policy, guidelines 48
4.4 Summary of empirical results 49
5 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY (RESEARCH AND THE THEORY) 51
5.1. Roles of social media in business 52
5.2. Monitoring conversations 54
5.3 Controlling conversations 55
6 CONCLUSIONS 58
6.1. Research summary 58
6.2. Statement of limitations and ideas for further research 60
REFERENCES 61
APPENDICES 63
Appendix 1. Interview Questionnaire
1 INTRODUCTION
The Digital Revolution, also called the Third Industrial Revolution, is the change
from analogy, mechanical and electronic technology to digital technology. The
term also refers to the sweeping changes brought about by digital computing
and communication technology during the latter half of the 20th century. (Wik-
ipedia 2014.) During the past decade, the rapid development of Internet has
offered consumers many new opportunities. In addition to searching for infor-
mation and communicating without boundaries, globally, it is nowadays possible
to express thoughts and feelings through social media. (Tsimonis & Dimitriadis
2013.) Many consumers are using social media, for example over 40 year-old
users segment is growing in Facebook. Moreover, social media is commonly
used as a tool when searching for consumer products and services. (Ruus-
kanen 2014.) Showing explosive growth in just few years time, social media
appears to be thought as the media of choice across the whole world (Dong-
Hun, 2010). Indeed, it is difficult to even imagine modern business communica-
tion without strong role of social media and Internet. In particular, company’s’
management is paying more and more interest to social media as a channel for
reaching customers and employees. (Forsgård & Frey 2010, 156.)
Not only has the consumers’ behaviour changed, but also companies are ex-
ploiting the scope of social media platforms as a means for efficient customer
targeting. Companies are appealed by the information exchange, as consumers
are now able to actively engage with each other and also communicate more
productively with companies. (Emerald 2014, 35.) Companies are expected to
do business by the new rules of new age. This new thinking means that the cus-
tomers are heard globally and markets are the conversation. As a result, the
key skill in the organisation is no longer marketing, but conversation. (Isokangas
& Vassinen 2010, 206.)
Communication in social media differs from traditional communication. This is
because dialogue has placed one-way communication and it is now everyone’s
right to communicate. (Kortesuo, 2014,15.) By tradition, integrated marketing communication means placing the same message in different channels.
TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Annukka Tolkki
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Whereas Isokangas & Vassinen (2010, 206) argue that in the future Internet is
the hub and marketing communication and stories are brought to live in different
channels. In comparison to traditional media, Internet makes communication
and advertisement more lively and flexible. The futures’ marketing will be split in
half: tactic advertising operated by robots and delivering cool content that in-
spires people to share it and interact. In order to build visible digital footprint,
company must manage both technology (robots) and story (people). (Isokangas
& Vassinen 2010, 185-187.)
It appears that the digitalization is changing business models. Inevitably, com-
panies are facing new challenges and opportunities because of the digitaliza-
tion. It appears that utilisation of social media in business communication is still
rather a new thing. Many companies use social media as a communication
channel, out bounding messages, not for the real dialogue with consumers. The
importance of the Internet and social media has tremendously risen above any
means of communicating with the world. Social media has grown fast and com-
panies don’t yet know how to act upon. In this thesis we shall try to find out how
companies could manage social media conversations and why it is important.
Companies might worry about the customer feedback in social media. Especial-
ly negative experiences and its feedback in public can be destructive. When
company is participating social media, they should also participate on conversa-
tions in order to correct situations if needed. In addition, social media gives an
opportunity for companies to be a public channel for positive feedback as well.
Consumers’ positive experiences and recommendations are the greatest argu-
ments for buying decisions. (Ruuskanen, 2014.) Communities that are formed
around brands inspire companies. Commitment of group members is priceless
in terms of positive word-of-mouth recommendations and brand advocacy that
are probable outcomes (Tsimonis & Dimitriadis 2014, 35). Consumers increas-
ingly turn to the social web to share their passions about the brand and seek out
recommendations (MLSGROUP 2014). Also according to Nielsen (2014) cus-
tomer references are significantly more reliable than the marketing messages
by companies.
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It appears that on the company’s point of view one of the biggest reasons for
being in social media is marketing and selling products and engaging custom-
ers. However, a successful company is present in social media also when con-
sumers are spending time there and not purchasing. More and more customers
spend time in social media, also after work in the evenings. Many companies
use social media as a marketing tool, but it could be used more comprehensive-
ly when managing customer relationships. (Kortesuo & Patjas 2011, 123.) Ac-
cording to Statistics Finland (2013) over one-third of Finnish companies use
social media, mostly to market products or develop company’s image. The utili-
sation of social media appears to be diversified in companies, since social me-
dia is also used for example for customer feedback, recruiting, customer en-
gagement and sharing information. (Statistics Finland 2013.)
Social media has enabled the change of direction from business to consumer to
other way around. Consumers expect transparent and real-time experience,
where customer experience is built through a constant and active dialogue be-
tween consumers and companies (Kananen 2013, 11). According to Stratten
(2013, 26) loosing the control over the messages is one of the biggest fairs.
Representatives of companies are used to discussing with layers and having
approvals before releasing anything to the public. Leino (2010, 288) suggests
that companies should be open, honest and sharing, because those are the
elements of social media. There are on going conversations about companies
and brands in social media. Sernovitz (2012,168) recommends companies
should rather have dialogue with consumers than let them discuss about the
companies. It is said that social media shoots holes in the walls of the compa-
nies. Companies cannot prevent public conversation in social media, but they
can affect on it. It is possible to adapt to the new situation and take the ad-
vantage of it or let the social media just cause problems. (Isonkangas & Kank-
kunen, 2011, 12.)
According to many social media experts like Meltwater (2014) and AC Sanator
(2013) managing social media conversations requires understanding concepts
TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Annukka Tolkki
8
functional social media customer support and crisis management. Accordingly,
monitoring and controlling social media conversations might prevent crises ris-
ing. In social media crisis spread easily as it is easy to share emotional content.
Company can be aware of the conversations and topics being talked about by
systematically monitoring social media. As a result, company can notice the
upcoming crises and act upon. In addition to the crises management, case
companies in this thesis emphasized that company can deliver interesting and
relevant content around the popular and current topics. Monitoring social media
should be every day business these days, as companies’ products and services
are being talked about in social media networks regardless companies’ own
participation. (Luukkonen, AC Sanator, 2013.) There are few ways to monitor
the social media conversations, by the company or as an outsourced service.
Inevitably, companies lack of resources in social media management. In small
and middle-sized companies there might be just one person taking care of the
social media, beside her other duties like managing marketing and communica-
tion. (Louhimies, Someco, 2014). However, social media is a cost-efficient
channel and fast growing its popularity of the brand presences. Many wonder
should company respond and reply to every argument on them in social media?
How much effort and time should be allocated to comment and discuss on so-
cial media networks? (Isokangas & Kankkunen, 2011, 2, 21.) It is not enough
just to have a presence in social media, but it is relevant to have insight and
common goals what company wants to achieve in social media. It is necessary
to have a social media strategy that gives methods and means to achieve these
goals. According to Seppälä (2011) the key thing to succeed in implementing
social media strategy is to get the whole organisation involved and learn as you
follow and analyse your own action in the social media. The best way to learn to
control social media seems to be trying, learning, trying and developing. The
firm-error method is a good way to find out the optimized way and efficient
means achieving success.
To sum the introduction up in a nutshell, this thesis focuses on revealing rea-
sons and practises for companies how they could manage social media conver-
TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Annukka Tolkki
9
sations. Companies and their brands are being talked about in social media and
in order to be aware of the discussions and if necessary, take actions for exam-
ple prevent crises spreading, it is important that the companies manage social
media conversations.
1.1 Research objectives and questions
It is hardly at all yet researched how companies can manage social media con-
versations. According to Social media consultant from Someco (PL) social me-
dia is still rather a new phenomenon to most companies and practices vary a lot
in companies, depending for example on the industry, size of the company and
the corporate attitude towards social media. The purpose of this research is
therefore to bring empirical insights on how companies can manage social me-
dia conversations. At first, does social media have an important role and how it
is integrated into the business activities? How companies can monitor the con-
versation and is it possible to have a control over the conversations?
Thesis is organized as follows: First, the concept social media is introduced.
Second, the theory for the framework of managing social media conversation is
presented. Then, the methodology of the field study is presented, followed by
the presentation of the findings. Moreover, in the end the results are being dis-
cussed and related to the theory and in addition, limitations of the research and
suggestions for the future research.
Research objectives and questions are as follows:
- Why is the management of social media conversations important?
- How should the management be done?
o What are the means for monitoring social media conversations?
o What are the means for controlling social media conversations?
o What are the roles, by which the management should be done?
TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Annukka Tolkki
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As a result this research aims to gain and describe findings that can be
related to the theory concerning managing social media conversations.
2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
What does ”managing social media conversations,” mean? Probably most of us
are familiar with the term “social media”. “Managing the conversation” refers to
getting awareness of relevant discussions by monitoring social media and tak-
ing actions upon. Aware company is able to effect on the conversations, lead
the discussions in the desired direction. For example, company might prevent
crises spreading or boost sales. By revealing what it takes for a company to
manage social media conversations, the information is wished to give more in-
sight and be related to the research results as well.
Concept “managing social media conversations” is split in three parts: first of all,
why should companies participate in social media? Then, how they can monitor
social media conversations and is it possible to control conversations? Moreo-
ver, there will be some discussion about the role of social media and social me-
dia strategy. This thesis aims to describe why social media and social media
strategy are important for companies. It needs to be understood why it is not
enough for companies to just sign in different social media communities, but
what is needed to utilize their presence in the optimal way? For companies the
final goal of the presence in social media is often the sales, but at first consum-
ers should be engaged to the company. Kortesuo (2014, 156) strongly feels that
it is not anymore relevant for companies to think whether to participate in social
media or not. Most companies are involved already. Instead, objective is more
relevant, what organisation should do in social media? According to Kortesuo,
operating in social media should concern building and developing relationships
that support company’s business.
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2.1 Concept of social media
There appears to be plenty of different kinds of definitions for social media.
Some emphasise networking, where some look at social media from the tech-
nical point of view. In journal “Attitudes toward Product messages on social me-
dia” (2012) social media is described by various definitions:
- “the media that is published, created and shared by individuals on
the Internet” (Stokes, 2008, p.350)
- “online tools and platforms that allow internet users to collabo-
rate on content, share insights and experiences, and connect for
business or pleasure” (Strauss and Frost, 2009, 326)
- “Social media can be called a strategy and an outlet for broad-
casting, while social networking is a tool and a utility for connecting
with others” (Cohen, 2011).
Social media and web 2.0 are often thought as the same. Constantinides and
Fountain (2008, p. 232-233, Bowen Gordon 2015) use the term Web 2.0 as an
umbrella term for web applications, stating that:
“Web 2.0 applications support the creation of informal users’ net-
works facilitating the flow of ideas and knowledge by allowing effi-
cient generation, dissemination, sharing and editing/refining of in-
formational content.”
Web 2.0 gives businesses new opportunities for communicating with the mar-
kets, finding out the customer needs and opinions, and interacting with con-
sumers in a direct and personalized way. Apparently companies have noticed
these opportunities and are increasingly involving social media into their mar-
keting strategies.
There is no definitive typology of the various types of social media, but it is
common to differentiate among social networking (e.g. Facebook), professional
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networking (e.g. LinkedIn), video-sharing (e.g. YouTube), picture sharing (e.g.
Flickr), social bookmarking (e.g. Delicious), social sharing of knowledge (e.g.
Wikipedia), microblogging (e.g. Twitter), blogs (e.g. Blogger), and user forums.
The common feature is that these social media allow individuals and entrepre-
neurs to engage in social interactions, in a way and on a scale that were not
possible before. (Fischer and Reuber, 2011.) Social media can be used for
many functions such as for corporate PR, marketing, customer service, sales
and HR.
Indeed, social media is often defined by technologies and services, but Isokan-
gas & Vassinen (2010, 153-155) suggest it is more constructive to define phe-
nomenon by what is done in social media. Some users are active and some are
followers. People have a need to share interesting experiences, for example
previously jokes were distributed by e-mail and nowadays they are shared in
social media networks. (Isokangas & Vassinen 2010.) Social media is internally
used to foster communication and team working. Externally it can be used for
example to create new markets, build relationships with customers and recruit-
ment. In order to get the best out of social networking, organizations should
strategically plan how it will be utilised and effectively managed. (Mandelli &
Fuduric 2014).
Because this thesis studies the management of social media conversations be-
tween the company and the consumers, it is relevant to differ and define inter-
nal and external social media. By external social media is often referred to so-
cial media forums outside the company, such as Facebook and Twitter. On the
contrary, internal social media refers to internal social media forum that is man-
aged by the company and is usually open only for the employees of the compa-
ny.
2.1.1 Why social media?
According to Kortesuo & Patjas (2011, 38) the most important attribute of the
social media is interaction. Interaction is based on the company’s wish to net-
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work. It appears that social media is superior as a communication tool.
By communicating in social media it is possible to both sell products and ser-
vices and engage customers. Most importantly, the company aims to deliver
emotional experience with the consumer.
Interaction differs social media from traditional media. Social media is based on
conversation, dialogue, not on one-way communication. In social media feed-
back is immediate. To be able to network, company must be present in social
media. It should deliver content or/and share it. Kortesuo & Patjas (2011, 39)
argue that social media should not be thought just as a marketing channel, be-
cause delivering emotional contact to consumer requires real dialogue and in-
teresting content. Moreover, it appears that by generating continual dialogue,
companies raise the profiles of their brands (Emerald 2014, 37).
Technological developments have obviously facilitated the growth of social me-
dia. It appears that companies have embraced the social media phenomenon
because consumers prefer online media at the expense of traditional media
channels. Social media campaigns are considerably cheaper than TV advertis-
ing and engaging to broader audience is easier. In addition, customer trust to-
wards other social media users is significant. (Emerald 2014, 35.) Furthermore,
astute operators in social media have noticed that Web 2.0 significantly en-
hances marketing activities. By using different applications companies can in-
crease knowledge of market developments and customer opinions and needs.
It is possible to personalize communication with consumers and engage with
them more directly. (Emerald 2014, 35-36.) Because companies are now able
to interact with customer via social networks, the importance of online word of
mouth (eWOM) has risen.
Recent research shows that the marketing budgets directed toward social me-
dia are increasingly growing. This suggests that companies are more and more
interested in establishing a presence in social media, interacting with their cus-
tomers and even leveraging consumers’ voices for a greater marketing impact.
(Tsimonis & Dimitriadis 2013, 330-331.) Given these trends and the high poten-
tial for marketing use of social media, the key question for marketing managers
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became how to take full advantage of social media and find ways in which so-
cial media can contribute to marketing objectives and support marketing strate-
gies.
Internet and social media have overcome geographical boundaries and thus it is
easier for companies to reach a wider range of consumers via social media. It is
evident, that social media can boost sales and therefore the company presence
in social media is desirable. Companies’ websites are often the next step after
visiting the company brand pages on social media platforms, such as Twitter or
Facebook. As a result while visiting the homepages, the likelihood to purchase
grows.
The soaring popularity of social media is illustrated by the fact that 87 per cent
of the Fortune 100 Best Companies uses at least one social media platform.
The list consists the world’s top 100 companies (2012) across Europe, USA,
Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Most significant reasons for success of social
media are cost-effectiveness and increasing popularity of social media. In addi-
tion, competitors’ presence and the headquarters’ strategy make companies to
join in social media. (Tsimonis & Dimitriadis 2013.) Social media is much used
also by the Finnish companies. According to the survey data by Statistics Fin-
land (2013) 38 per cent of the companies use social media, social networks be-
ing most commonly used social media. The most common purpose of use for
social media is to develop company’s image or market products. In addition,
responding to customer opinions, questions or reviews in social media are also
very common. The utilisation of social media appears to be diversified in com-
panies, because over one-third of the companies using social media are also
using it for recruiting employees, cooperation with business partners or other
organisation, engaging customers and within the company to innovation or de-
velopment, sharing insights, opinions or knowledge (Statistics Finland 2013). In
particular in company’s social media brand pages the main actions of the com-
pany are making prize competitions, announcing new products/ services, inter-
acting with fans, providing advice and useful information, and handling custom-
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er service issues (Tsimonis and Dimitriadis 2013).
2.1.2 Social media forms
Company does not have to be present in every social media forum, but in those
specific where their customer segments spend time. Thanks to social media, it
is possible for companies to monitor and join in the conversations concerning
them and their industry. (Kortesuo & Patjas 2011, 79-80.)
Facebook fan pages are popular and used by companies of variety of sectors.
In addition, Twitter accounts, YouTube channels and other platforms can be
used too. People are using increasingly social media with their mobile phones.
For example, over one billion people use Facebook on a mobile device monthly.
Of the total number of users of Facebook (1.32 billion) 30% log in only via mo-
bile phones. (Hamburger 2014.)
There are many ways of classifying social media forms. Kortesuo (2014, 63)
lists most relevant social media application based on her own professional ex-
perience:
1. Blogs – enable versatile communications such as news, idea develop-
ment, entertainment, marketing, networking, self-development and infor-
mation sharing (Kortesuo, 2011, 63). Companies could use a year clock
plan to publish bloggings. Clock includes the biggest events of the indus-
try, statistical releases, publication of the annual report, publications and
launches of the organisation, public holidays and other topics. (Kortesuo
2014, 46.)
2. Facebook is the biggest of all social media channels, active users being
over billion, in Finland almost 2 million (Statistics Finland 2013. In Face-
book it is possible to share any content. Companies can have their own
brand pages to promote their products and communicate in different ac-
tions. Kortesuo & Patjas (2011, 81) feel that more companies could use
Facebook to manage their customer service because it is a suitable
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channel to have a dialogue with customer. In addition, social media suits
well for sharing customer experiences. It is recommended to have rules
for conversation, so company is able to do post-moderation (Kortesuo
2014, 38).
3. Twitter is a public blog, where it is possible to write short messages,
tweets. Twitter is the most used social media after Facebook, globally ac-
tive users 100 million and accounts being 200 million. Also in Finland the
number of users is growing. (Kortesuo & Patjas 2011, 82.)
4. LinkedIn – professionals should be present in this social media. It is a
community for networking and recruiting. LinkedIn offers a contact sur-
face for professionals. It is also possible to publish blogs in the forum.
(Kortesuo, 2014, 38 and 78.)
5. Wiki – Wiki means together produced, constantly up-dating encyclope-
dia. Most known wikiservice is Wikipedia. It is worthwhile for profession-
als to have an up-dated Wikipedia profile.
6. Google Plus (Google +) – if company uses Google products, it is worth-
while to be active in Google plus. In addition, Google plus profile in-
creases visibility in search engines. In the service it is possible to allow
people see updates by adding them to “circles”. (Kortesuo 2014, 81.)
7. Foresquare – Foresquare is based on the information of the location.
Consumers tell their location and discuss the products and offerings.
Companies that run a place such as restaurant or gym, should follow
Foresquare. As a result they find out is the company recommended and
who are the loyal customers. (Kortesuo 2014, 44.) In addition to
Foresquare, Instagram lets the place to be tagged with the location.
8. Viral campaigns – enables a marketing message to spread like a virus by
users sharing it. Company delivers material including video or photos to
be shared.
a. Video: channels for sharing video are YouTube and Vimeo.
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b. Photos: channels for sharing photos are for example Instagram,
Flickr and Twitpic.
c. Presentations: Slideshare is used for sharing professional slide
presentations such as powerpoint. Prezi is an internet-based ap-
plication that offers various functions that lack from Powerpoint
and Keynote. (Kortesuo 2014, 79-81.). Search engines lift presen-
tations up. Therefore it is wise to produce presentations on the
core knowledge and as a result, the visibility in search engines is
most probably better. (Kortesuo, 2014b, 44).
2.1.3 Social media strategy
Company’s strategy should include social media because without planning and
goals nothing will be reached with digital marketing (Kananen 2013, 17). It ap-
pears to be more important for companies to make themselves found on social
media, rather than to try reaching all the potential customers. Choice of appro-
priate social media application depends on the target audience and the busi-
ness type, but the best strategy could be established by a simultaneous pres-
ence in different platforms. Creating synergies with online and offline motions
might maximize the impact of social media. Key performance indicators and
monitoring action of competitors on platforms can be helpful when evaluating
the overall strategy. (Emerald 2014, 37.)
Guy Clapperton (2009, 3) also emphasizes the importance of desired outcome,
an objective for social media presence. Business plan looks at the best desired
outcome and means how to best get there. Companies should ask what they
want to achieve for their business through new technology? Some companies
log on to social media communities such as Facebook just for the sake of it.
(Clapperton 2009). However, signing in is insufficient. Companies are expected
to take part in the conversation and to interact with consumers. Stratten (2013,
25-28) recommends that companies should find time to have conversations with
customers, also in social media.
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18
There should always be goals when building the community, according to Ka-
nanen (2013, 117) for a company it’s ultimately sales. Sales in social media are
based on the networks and the personalities. Kortesuo & Patjas (2011, 102-
103) suggest companies should change into more human way of being present
in social media, which means acting in a polite, but relaxed way. Some compa-
nies participate in social media, but lack strategy. Companies tend to utilize so-
cial media in marketing and communications and forget customer service. It is
necessary to participate and practise the behaviour in social media. It is wiser to
have practice how to deal with social media conversations and presence before
possible sensations and crises arise. (Kortesuo and Patjas 2010, 9-10.) How-
ever, social media is not suitable for communication that is of private nature.
Many companies state in their social media network sites such as Facebook
what kind of conversation they wish. Customers can be directed to continue
their conversation with the company from the public channel to more secure
private channel such as e-mail. (Kortesuo & Patjas 2011, 22-24.) Customer
care in social media is a good way of taking care of general questions. In evi-
dently there is also a risk of negative communication that also has to be paid
attention to. (Kortesuo & Patjas 2011, 25.)
2.1.4 Engaging consumers
It is challenging to succeed in social media, but Leino (2010, 290) recommends
the best way is to start by listening. If there is positive conversation going on in
social media about the company in question, it could be encouraged by the
company. For example, companies could contact bloggers. Companies can al-
so learn from the negative conversations and attitudes towards them. Infor-
mation can be used for example to improve products and services. Also, dia-
logue often aims to make the customer relationship better. According to Leino
(2010, 290) companies should worry if there is no conversation about them,
since the brands are not created of invisibility.
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Consumers use social media to share things that interest them, to boost or criti-
cize brands, to deal and search for recommendations. Companies should not
only listen to general conversation, but also participate and create it.
(MSLGROUP Finland 2014.) Also Ruuskanen (2014) agrees with the im-
portance of dialogue in social media. At its best, public discussion can affect on
consumers’ decision making process. In contrast, at worst the discussion in so-
cial media is just shouting and negative hate speech behind the screen name.
There has been a shift from broadcasting to discussion with consumers and
customers. Possibility to give feedback in social media makes it superior. Suc-
cess of the consumer brands is more and more dependent on customer experi-
ences and increasingly, the purchasing decision is preceded by other consum-
ers’ opinions. Also Vassinen (2011, 28) shares the similar opinion that by partic-
ipating in conversations, companies often wish that customers would recom-
mend it for each other.
Admittedly, it is important to consider how to use social media effectively. It is
easier to make more money out of existing customers than acquiring new cus-
tomers, so it would be useful to plan how to manage social media. Companies
wish to make existing customers spend more or even become an advocate of
the brand in question. Evidently, by encouraging customers to somehow partici-
pate in social media, makes them to engage also with other potential custom-
ers. (Clapperton Guy 2009, 3 - 11.) When the brand is known, engagement with
the users would benefit companies more than informing of discounts or asking
someone to become a fan of company Facebook site. Engaged consumer will
become a fan without asking. (Stratten 2013, 28.)
Louhimies (2014) argues that engagement is yet often thought as a technical
thing. Many see engagement as a response, an action to companies’ messag-
es. For example in Facebook consumers are wished to like and share compa-
nies’ campaigns and messages. In addition to those key figures, engagement
should be seen as a wider concept, relating to the company branding issues.
There can be found few basic tips for building engagement. Most importantly,
company should build relationship to the members and between them. It takes
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20
time to build the trust and relationship, whether it is a blog, Facebook or any
other social media channel. Trust itself is not enough but the community has to
produce value to its members. In social media sharing information is often the
reason for being part of the community in question. (Kananen 2013, 115-116.)
Also Stratten (2013, 29) sees investing in social currency of the company re-
quests time and knowledge. In social networks consumers share and tell each
other knowledge, not advertisements. Therefore companies should plan content
and the way to communicate in social networks. In time by discussing and
commenting conversations, company might gain consumers’ trust. Companies
should participate more in conversations with interesting content rather than
delivering news and newsletters (Isokangas & Vassinen 2010, 147).
Kananen (2013, 116) lists few basic points to take in account when building
trust and relationships in social media community:
• Transparency: Company should state who is hosting the community. At
its best, also members of the community discuss on behalf of the com-
pany.
• Consistency: Company’s external communication should be consistent
despite of chosen media. (Ydinviestin sisäistäminen)
• Diplomatic influencing (Vaikuttamisen hienovaraisuus): Community mar-
keting needs to be done in a diplomatic way. Despite the ultimate goal is
the sales, operating in social media must be based on sharing infor-
mation and problem solving. Sharing experiences efficiently promotes
sales.
• Value the member of the community: Feedback in community has taken
its’ members time and that should be valued by the company. Even when
the feedback is negative, company should react, since it could even add
customer loyalty. (Kananen 2013, 117.)
As already discussed, companies should aim to take own initiative and engage
consumers by creating interesting content. Communication in social media is
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21
usually public. Thus, often also other consumers than fans notice a good ser-
vice and interaction in company social media channel. Servicing one consumer
well, makes also others in the network experience good customer experience.
Writing a blog is an efficient channel for interactive customer communication.
(Kortesuo& Patjas 2011, 40.) Several tactics for content creation is described by
Isokangas & Vassinen (2010, 86-87):
1. Company itself creates interesting content.
2. Company encourages consumers to create content. Encouraging can be
done for example offering rewards. It is easier to invoke consumers who
are already engaged with the company brand. Fashion blogs are a good
example of co-created content.
3. Company exchanges news streams with existing medias. This way it is
possible to make the content of the company sites more interesting and
gain more traffic.
It is useful for the writer to use her own and company name, because company
is not sympathized whereas people are (Isokangas & Vassinen 2010, 147). In
addition, writing with your own name, grows the professional reputation be-
cause nowadays Google is a good referrer. It is the professionals who present
their employer company, regardless of disclaimers. Therefore employees
should be loyal and not put their employer down. (Kortesuo, 2014b, 19-20.) It is
relevant to think the style of writing in social media. Interaction and two-way
communication are the key elements in social media and therefore, content
should be communicative, short and easy to read. Content should leave pace
for readers to comment and fulfil. In addition, it is good to use humour because
social media channels are more relaxed compared to many others such as
press release and official documents. (Kortesuo 2014b, 16-17.)
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2.2 Monitoring social media conversations
Social media offers an interactive platform for dialogue between users, both
individuals and companies. Companies have diverse objectives for being active
in social media, which serves not only early identification of issues but also in-
teraction with stakeholders. Attention has shifted from passive one-way com-
munication on the company web site to more vivid two-way corporate communi-
cation. The increasing activity in social media also calls for methods to follow
online consumer interaction regarding the brands. Consequently, researchers
have shown increasing interest in what is measured and how, when monitoring
and tracking interaction in social media.
Monitoring includes listening, interpreting and taking action on what consumers
are saying. Monitoring can be defined as finding out what is expressed online in
social media. Monitoring social media interaction has apparent advantages, but
it also incurs significant costs. Good data of monitoring is required in order to
companies be able to use the data to decide how to intervene in social media.
(Zhang & Vos 2013, 372.)
The viral nature of social media makes it typical for the publications to spread
instantly without upfront control. Evidently, this is a challenge for companies
because news, especially negative, can spread without any warning. (Kananen
2013, 14.) Social media affects the company’s commercial value. In order to
maintain profitable relationships, companies have to identify issues early, moni-
tor and predict their growth. Issues are social constructions that are perceived
differently by consumers. Early prognosis of issue interaction might prevent fi-
nancial or reputational losses. Therefore, today, monitoring social media inter-
action has become very important for international companies. (Zan & Vos
2013, 371.) Moreover, by monitoring and taking part in the relevant conversa-
tions, companies can improve their customer satisfaction. As a result compa-
nies can react effectively to the issues and limit the possible damage. In fact, it
is argued that negative word-of-mouth (WOM) should be seen as an opportuni-
ty. The way that company responds is often perceived as the more critical per-
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23
spective. (Emerald 2014.) According to social media agency Meltwater (2014),
by utilizing the monitoring of social media, companies can also improve their
customer care and add customer satisfaction. This is because companies are
able to handle the problems and complaints of the social customer care before
conversations become prolonged negative discussions in social media. In the
event of the crises, companies that participate in social media conversations
have the change to steer the conversation about them. By managing social cus-
tomer care it is possible to turn negative conversations into positive publicity.
(Meltwater 2014.)
2.2.1 Objectives of monitoring
Companies collect and interpret feedback from social media conversations. This
creates the basis for the interaction that might benefit the brand image. By mon-
itoring companies are able to evaluate online interaction that affects their
brands and see how these results relate to the their values and mission. Addi-
tionally, the effects of communication strategies can be followed. In general, it is
considered important to listen, interact, influence and reflect on social media
interaction from a stakeholder perspective. (Zhang & Vos 2013, 374).
Zhang & Vos (2013, 373-374) present four aims at monitoring:
1) Listen and interact via social media
Companies are active in monitoring social media to gather information from cus-
tomer and co-operate through networks. Discussion in social media offers more
personalized information on services and products. Consumers can post posi-
tive or negative experiences on the brand’s home page. Expanded discussions
caused by not resolved problems calls for social media monitoring.
2) Brand protection
It is common that companies open official brand home pages in social media. In
addition, there are also unauthorized fan sites. This suggests, that influencers
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are eager to express their opinions. Crises in social media cause significant
threats to normal business activities and corporate reputation. In the process of
social media monitoring, analyses of the online environment and the competi-
tion are necessary. Therefore, monitoring management framework is imperative
to protecting brand by following how it is mentioned.
3) Brand values
There is a need to track current conversation on the brand and predict future
buzz. By observing blog data company might forecast the spread patterns of
bloggers. Companies would like to identify influencers in order to reinforce them
or at least gain the benefit of early warning for the brand management. Compa-
nies seek to promote the attention given to the brand and its values in social
media and transfer interested consumers to their linked product or service web
sites.
4) Scholarly aims
Identifying issues early and monitoring their development might help predicting
the growth of a relevant issue. For example, the subsequent citation of tweets
has been researched to see if this can predict behaviour in social media. By
monitoring interpersonal conversation more effective communication interven-
tions can be developed.
There are tools and services for the management of the conversations, which
will be discussed in the following sections.
2.2.2 Monitoring tools
There is a diversity in social media measurement methods. There are various
solutions to monitor social media, including search engines and media-
monitoring offerings, text-analytics software companies that use semantic anal-
ysis, full-service listening-platform vendors and private branded communities
(Zhang & Vos 2013, 375).
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25
There are also agency services available. These new integral services have
sprung from a variety of businesses, from creative and media agencies to cus-
tomer relationship agencies, consultancies and technology vendors, combining
various skills, including data analytics, planning and creative work in collabora-
tion with support agencies. Full-service social media agencies may add much
value to companies, but the costs can be high, especially for small or medium
size entrepreneurs. Since social media form a dynamic environment, monitoring
methods also need to develop fast. (Zan & Von 2013, 377.)
Companies should follow what is discussed in the Internet. As presented at a
previous section, there are software to be used for monitoring, but an overall
picture can be made free in ten minutes a day. Isokangas and Vassinen (2010,
144) suggest company should at first check search engines by self googling. If
company’s websites is not mentioned in the top of the search engine results, its’
websites are not produced in an optimal way. It is recommended to follow con-
versations about the company, competitors, industry, customers and general
discussions. For example Google Alerts -service is a usable tool, which delivers
data on chosen conversations.
There are few ways how company can look for themselves in social media,
since social networks are searchable:
• For example, in Twitter a hashtag makes interesting words easier to pick
up in searches and users can have discussion around the topics that in-
clude a certain keyword, a hashtag. By searching company name with a
help of hashtag tells whether there is anything being said about the com-
pany. Hashtag in discussions is often related to some event, topic or
company (Kortesuo & Patjas 2011, 34).
• Companies can search for their company on Google or other search en-
gines.
• Companies can investigate whether they are being blogged about.
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In keyword search companies can set the topics to be monitored in a way that is
suitable for their products, brand image and management features. Search in-
cludes general search engines, certain social media tools and also real-time
dashboard overviews of social media. (Zan & Von 2013, 375.) Moreover, a reg-
ular search by using search engines to track a brand name is useful and can be
outsourced.
In addition to keyword search, monitoring can include thematic and sentiment
analysis, analysis of spread patterns and combinations of methods. In order to
make thorough inquiries in social media, it seems that next to knowledge of the-
se methods a spirit of inquiry that will lead to their further development is also
needed. Monitoring is also used to analyse how messages spread in social me-
dia.
2.2.3 Who manages social media conversations?
It request resources to manage social media efficiently. It appears that it is
commonly thought that communication in social media is best managed by the
companies’ own employees instead of PR agencies. This is because interaction
is one of the most important features of social media. Customers expect that the
conversations with companies are communicated with their own employees in
the name of the company and feel disappointed if contrarily. Companies’ own
employee is able to communicate on their products and services faster, more
credible and truthful way than an outsider. (Kortesuo & Patjas 2011, 15.)
In a centralized model there is a department or a person in a company who is
signed to take care of social media. In bigger companies marketing and com-
munications division is often responsible for tasks related to social media. (Ka-
nanen 2013, 20.) In contrast, in decentralized model social media is everyone’s
responsibility, which requires skills to be able to operate in social media. Em-
ployees are often encouraged to take part in social media, but it is recommend-
ed that personal opinions are not published in the name of the company. Rules
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27
for employee using company e-mail is similar to use of social media. (Kananen
2013, 20-21.)
According to the research “Reputation: With or without” about the decentralizing
corporate communications responsibilities, most of the directors of communica-
tions believe that employees should be encouraged to communicate. It is rec-
ommended to have guidelines for steering external communications. Education,
clear instructions and support of communication officer enable efficient expert
communication. (MLSGROUP 2014.)
Therefore it is worthwhile to engage employees, prompt them to be active in
communication and become business advocates. They should be equipped with
the right skills and stories and feel that communication is part of their work and
supported by the management. Who else would know the organisation better?
(Marttinen Meri, MLS Group 2014.) It might be challenging for companies to
recruit employees who are good at writing in social media. But they can be
trained to blog. Kortesuo & Patjas (2011, 124) suggest customer care should be
involved in social media and employees should be allowed to use social media
in their work.
2.3 Controlling social media conversations
It might be generally thought that conversations about the companies in social
media are above their control. Social media consultant (PL) from Someco ar-
gues it is impossible for companies to literally have a control, but instead com-
panies have an opportunity to be present in social media networks, affect and
steer the conversations. With relation to social media communication, compa-
nies are able to control their own presence, but otherwise content and reactions
are above the control. A display advertisement can be bought in the media, but
it is not possible in the forehand to define the news about the company.
(Isokangas & Vassinen, 2010, 86.)
According to Sernovitz (2012,164) there is two risks companies face if they ig-
nore social media conversations: word of mouth dying or going negative. In the
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28
contrary, when the company participates, enthusiastic conversation might bring
a lot of free business. Thus, it seems that controlling or actually steering social
media conversation requires company’s participation. Many social media ex-
perts seem to agree with Sernovitz. For example Meltwater (2014) discusses
about turning negative social media conversations into positive publicity by
managing the social customer care . This means early response and dialogue
with social media users. Previously companies were out bounding messages,
nowadays they are expected to listen to consumers and react quickly (inbound)
in social media. Operating in social media is often related to a traditional cus-
tomer service. (Kananen 2013, 23.)
Social media can be thought as a simple, straightforward business,
fundamentally about the dialogue between people. It is not about the
technological revolution, but revolution between people. This is why Isokangas
and Vassinen (2010, 26) argue employees should first be committed to this
change and just then company should choose the necessary technologies. It is
predicted that in the future corporate marketing and communication will be split
in two: some actions are automatized, made by robots such as advertisements
in media and other part includes interactive communication between company
and the customers. (Isokangas and Vassinen, 2010, 26-27.)
2.3.1 Guidelines for managing conversations
The way to react to different social media conversations should be defined in
the social media guidelines of the company (Isokangas & Vassinen 2010, 146).
The expected response time to messages is short as social media is open and
used all the time. Conversation is no longer interactive if it takes days to reply. It
is impossible for companies to hide behind the rush hours since operations in
social media are public. (Kortesuo & Patjas 2011, 123.) Social media strategy
should define who manages the social media conversation and who replies to
the postings (Kananen 2013, 134).
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When the company has its own blog or another social media forum such as Fa-
cebook site, it acts as the chairman of the forum. Thus, the companies activate
conversation by producing content with interesting topics. The one that updates
the channel, is responsible for the content as a monitoring officer. Inevitably,
illegal content must be deleted and conversation should be equalized. Repre-
sentatives of the company act as an example. (Kortesuo & Patjas 2011, 30)
2.3.2 Responding to conversations
Social customer support improves company’s customer service. Just a decade
ago disappointment for the product was handled between the customer and the
customer service. Nowadays a customer might tweet about his dissatisfaction to
the whole world and produce a storm of negative publicity. There are software
that help companies to recognize problems by following social media conversa-
tions concerning relevant brands and dissatisfaction on them. As a result com-
panies can take action and deal with the arising problems before letting them
get bigger. (Meltwater 2014.) Early participation seems to be an efficient mean
for managing social media conversations, since the company can turn negative
social media conversations into success stories. When there is social customer
support crises bursting, participating company can react to it quickly and com-
prehensively. At first the problem in the bottom should be dealt in order to let
the customer feel valued and relieved. The next step is to reply publicly in the
original conversation. In conclusion, company should turn the tone of the social
media conversation into positive by encouraging customers to share their cus-
tomer support experiences.
Negative feedback is challenging to handle because of the situation’s unique-
ness. According to Kananen (2013, 134) it is wise to admit the obvious mistakes
and strive to develop. In some cases it might be difficult to choose the right tac-
tic. For example, by replying to some negative feedback might lead to endless
dispute. Some might think that company disregards consumers when not reply-
ing at all. (Kananen 2013, 134.) Moreover, Clapperton (2009, 22) adds that
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30
sometimes the critic becomes the advocate. Clapperton among many others
sees that companies should respond quickly, almost immediately. This is be-
cause complainers on public social networks might do a lot of damage and
therefore companies should deal with complaints. Customer Care could add
social media to their strategy. For example according to Clapperton (2009, 25)
company’s customer care is able to reply to complaints and as a result, could
turn the situation around in public.
2.3.3 Social media usage policy
Over one third of the companies using social media have an official usage poli-
cy of social media (Statistics Finland, 2013). Ministry of Finance (2010) offers
information security instructions for social media, which outlines the main infor-
mation security threats connected with social media. In addition, instructions
guide organisations in planning their social media usage policy. A key issue
presented is the organisation’s approach to the use of social media services
during working time. In addition, there are reputation issues to be considered.
Companies should think about an appropriate behaviour in social media. If the
organisation itself offers or uses social media services, instructions based on
the approved usage policy must be given to employees how they are expected
to act as representatives.
Companies should have a crises communication guideline ready in of case
scandals that spread in the Internet (Isokangas and Vassinen, 2010, 136).
Moreover, the policy should reinforce the fact that if an employee is bringing the
company into disrepute in social media, as in any medium, even in his own
time, gives a reason to take action against (Clapperton 2009, 167). Social me-
dia is often thought as public communication tool, even if the consumer writes
something in her own personal profile. This is because of the attributes of the
media such as “share button”. (Koivumäki 2014.) Internet is a public pace. Leino
(2010, 324) agrees that social media users must keep in mind that they repre-
sent their employers in social media networks and should act accordingly.
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3 METHODOLODY
In this chapter the chosen approach to research study is introduced. Qualitative
approach with semi-structured interviews was applied, where the case compa-
nies were wished to give more insight on the role of social media and in particu-
lar on managing social media conversations.
After presenting the case companies and data collection, the research method-
ology used to gather empirical data is presented and the validity and reliability
are being estimated.
3.1 Case selection criteria and data collection
For the background information and outlining the theory, material from the litera-
ture and other written sources, primarily digital information from the webpages
of social media agencies, was collected (as presented in chapters 1 and 2). In
addition, an interview with Social media consultant from Someco, a social me-
dia agency, gave insight to the selection criteria of the interviewees. According
to them, experience and social media utilisation varies a lot between compa-
nies, depending for example of the size of the company and the industry (Lou-
himies, Someco 2014). Therefore, the chosen four empirical organisations of
this research were selected by the size of the company. They ought to be big
and well-known Finnish companies and brands that operate in business to con-
sumers sector. B-to-c sector was chosen because it seems to be more active in
social media compared to b-to-b. Also, the case companies had to have an em-
ployee, who works as a social media specialist. They must be active in social
media, in order to take part and be able to answer to the interview. The re-
searcher stated their activeness by previewing their social media presence be-
forehand. These cases suit well in this research, because digital communication
obviously has an important role in these companies and they are actively in-
volved with social media.
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32
Interviewees were contacted by the researcher, who at first took contact to the
switchboards of these corporations, which lead her to the ones responsible for
managing social media. Despite the hectic business times, fortunately four of
several contacted social media specialists were happy to meet up and share
their experiences.
The questionnaires were sent beforehand to the interviewees, specialists who
are responsible of social media accordingly. Case companies were interviewed
in Finnish in their premises in Helsinki and Turku during April and May 2015.
Interviews were recorded and each lasted approximately an hour.
3.2 Research methods
Qualitative research methodology is used to this research, because it strives to
explain the meanings for the behaviour and its’ context (Hirsjärvi & Hurme,
2004, 27). The aim is to gain more insight on questions “why” and “how” related
to social media.
In order to control if conclusions found in the theoretical part can be verified in
the reality, semi-structured interviews were chosen to be conducted by the qual-
itative method. This was thought to be the most relevant method to add value to
the research.
3.2.1 Semi-structured interviews
Semi- structured interviews were chosen to support the interview. The theoreti-
cal background information became the inspiration and guideline for the struc-
ture of the interview. The questions were built on the same structure as the lit-
erature review (see questionnaire as an appendix 1). The themes and questions
arose from the literature review, but semi-structured interview gave freedom to
discuss on the issues. As a researcher I wanted to be able to have flexibility for
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33
the conversation and be able to ask more about the issues arising during the
interview.
Questions were divided into three categories. At first, there was a general dis-
cussion about the role of social media in companies’ business and strategy.
Then, the questions were about monitoring social media conversations, such as
“Why is it important to monitor what is being discussed in social media”? “How
companies monitor the conversation, what are the tools and how it is done in
practice”? At the end of the interview, the questions concerned about controlling
social media conversation. “How can companies affect on discussions”? In ad-
dition, it was researched how employees are engaged and guided with the use
of social media.
According to Sanders (et al, 2009, 320) one typology that is commonly used is
related to the level of formality and structure, where semi-structured interviews
are positioned intermediate. They are “non- standardized” and are often re-
ferred to as “qualitative research interviews”. Interview had a list of themes and
questions to be covered, but as characterized to a semi-structured interview
some questions could have been be omitted and the order of questions may
also vary depending on the flow of the conversation. On the other hand, addi-
tional questions may be required to explore the research question and objec-
tives depending on particular organization (Sanders et al 2009, 320).
In this research, the data of the interviews was audio recorded and notes were
taken. The purpose of the research could be classified as exploratory and ex-
planatory studies. In an exploratory study, in-depth interviews help in finding out
what is happening and seeking new insights. Whereas in an explanatory study,
semi-structured interviews may be used in order to understand the relationships
between variables (Sanders et al 2009, 322). Semi-structured interviews have
been used in this research to both explore and explain themes related to social
media.
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34
3.2.2 Qualitative approach
Qualitative interview is often conducted if the purpose is to understand the rea-
sons for the decisions that research participants have taken or the reasons for
their opinions and attitudes. As already stated, semi-structured interviews gave
the opportunity to probe answers, as it was wished that the interviewees would
explain their responses. With this approach, it is possible to collect a rich and detailed set of data. According to Sanders (et all 2009, 324) it has been found
that managers are more willing to be interviewed, rather than complete a ques-
tionnaire. In this research, social media specialists were interviewed in person,
where the interview topic was seen interesting and relevant to their work.
The nature of the questions also influences whether to choose a qualitative or
quantitative approach. A semi-structured interview is the most advantageous
approach to collect data when the questions are either complex or open-ended
(Sanders et al 2009, 355), as this was the case.
Four communications professionals, responsible for social media, were inter-
viewed with semi-structured interview, where a researcher gives the questions
and interviewees could reply with her own words. (Hirsjärvi & Hurme, 2004, 47).
Efficiency of this thematic interview is based on the fact, that the researcher can
steer the interview without fully controlling it. (Koskinen et al 2005, 104-105).
As noted before, the purpose of these interviews was to gain more insight how
the companies in practice manage the social media conversations. Also, the
aim was to find out the context – what kind of role social media has in the busi-
ness and how is it utilized?
3.3 Data quality issues - reliability and validity
The lack of standardisation in a qualitative semi-structured interview might lead
to concerns on reliability. By this Sanders (et al, 2009, 357) mean the relation of
reliability to be concerned with alternative researchers would reveal similar in-
formation. There are various types of bias to be taken into account: interviewer
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35
bias, where she creates bias in the way interviewees respond to the questions.
The other type is related to interviewee or response bias, where she chooses
whether or not to reveal and discuss on certain issues.
Validity refers to the extent to which the researcher accesses to the interview-
ee’s knowledge and experience. The high level of validity can be obtained by
carefully conducted interviews, where questions can be clarified and replies
probed and discussed from different angles. Nevertheless, qualitative research
using a semi-structured interview cannot be used to make statistical generalisa-
tions about the entire population, where the number of cases is small. (Sanders
et al 2009, 358). However, the findings in a case study using a nonstandardised
research methods, is not necessarily intended to be repeatable. This is because
the findings reflect reality at the time they were collected, where the circum-
stances to be explored are dynamic and complex (Sanders et al 2009, 328).
In this thesis, the topic social media develops quickly and therefore situations
might be subject to change. It is possible to relate the research to existing theo-
ry and establish the relationship to theory in order to be able to demonstrate the
broader significance of the case study findings. According to Sanders (et al
2009, 366) relationship makes it possible to test the applicability of existing the-
ory to the examined settings. In addition, theoretical propositions can be ad-
vanced and tested in another context.
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36
4 FINDINGS OF EMPIRICAL DATA
The findings of the interviews are being compared to each other. Moreover, the
interviews also aimed to get more insight of the role of social media in the busi-
ness. Do the interviewed companies agree on the fundamental factors with the
theory presented in chapters 1 and 2?
In order to analyse the collected data, the data is compared in a comparative
case analysis through a table. Under the table the findings are presented. There
are quotes used to make responses more vivid, but they are not exactly word-
by-word because the interviews were conducted in Finnish and then translated
into English.
In the following chapter 5, the findings will also be reflected to the theoretical
findings.
4.1 The role of social media
The interviews began by discussing on the role of social media in the case
companies. In addition, it was studied who in these organisations is responsible
for social media and do companies have social media strategies?
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Table 1: Comparative case analysis of the interviews led for the research. Introduction and
background information for the topic: the role of social media in business and responsibilities.
Question Company A Company B (VALIO) Company C (CLOETTA) Company D (SOK)
Role of
social media
Big role: both busi-‐ ness and the brand -‐ how seen by consumers. One communica-‐ tion channel.
Important, a versatile tool in a daily business -‐ serving customers. Ideas for the product development. One and the fastest channel of marketing communica-‐ tion.
Very important, for the consumer com-‐ munications, sales, customer care and intra social media.
Very important, communication is mainly digital and connected to social media.
Customer
service in
social media
Not yet through social media. Con-‐ sumers' direct messages in social media are re-‐ sponded.
Most messages go through traditional channels (however, customer service re-‐ plies to consumers also in social media).
No, traditional chan-‐ nels (but consumers also responded in social media).
No, traditional channels (also responded in social media).
Social media
strategy Action plan
Digital marketing strat-‐ egy
Brand specific strate-‐ gies, in line with the company strategy.
Marketing strategy, including commu-‐ nications and social media
Responsible
for social
media
One communica-‐ tion officer admin-‐ istrates (follows and consults) social media.
Team of digital mar-‐ keting specialists. Con-‐ trolled decentraliza-‐ tion, well-‐defined op-‐ erations. Tasks and responsibilities of so-‐ cial media are expand-‐ ed to organisation.
One community manager coordinates brand specific.
Two communica-‐ tions specialists in the business unit. Many employees also participate.
Expert
services
Yes, brands have outsourced con-‐ tent production and follow-‐up.
No. (except optimiza-‐ tion of advertising)
No. (except photo services are for the most outsourced. Advertising and me-‐ dia agencies are in-‐ volved in bigger cam-‐ paigns.)
No.
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The first point that all interviewed agreed is, that social media has a very im-
portant role, for the daily business and for the brands. Communication these
days seem to be mainly digital and social media is part of it. Most of the inter-
viewed emphasized that like communication in general, also social media, is
about how to communicate about things to customers.
Communications Manager from company A emphasised the importance of vari-
ous social media channels and segments. It is important to consider what kind
of consumers use the channel in question and whom company aims to reach.
The interviewed communication manager clarifies:
“ For us, social media is about how were are seen as a company
and brands. We want to be there where the consumers are - in so-
cial media. Eventually, in social media like in a traditional communi-
cation channels, it is about communicating the company core mes-
sage”.
Actually, this perspective came up with other interviewed as well. For example
SOK’s Communications Manager (OH) discussed that they see one way of
managing social media conversation, is to stay calm and toot the company's
core message. For them the interactive communication with consumers is most-
ly digital and in social media.
Valio’s Community Manager (PR) and Cloetta’s Community Manager (TH)
pointed out the versatility of social media. However, eventually the main func-
tion is seen in consumer communication.
“ Social media serves consumers and customers, where the target
is to solve their problems and offer inspiration for their lives. In addi-
tion, social media can be used to bring ideas to product develop-
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39
ment and be used in consumer service” Valio’s Community Manag-
er explains.
In addition, intra social media among employees is used at least in Cloetta.
Other key points that came up while discussing the role of social media is the
difference of various social media channels and their user base. In particular, as
already referred, company A emphasized that it is very decisive to think what
kind of consumers use certain social media channels, as their user bases varies
considerably. Planning the content and the intended target group is essential.
Also SOK’s Communications Manager (OH) mentioned that for example the
usage and users of Facebook and Twitter are like a night and a day. Facebook
is usually for more private and social usage and Twitter for sharing expertise
and information.
4.1.1 Customer service in social media
As stated in the table 1, customer service in the case companies is still merely
operated by the traditional channels, meaning mainly through forms in the com-
pany webpages, e-mail and phone service. However, all interviewed state that
direct customer messages in the company social media pages are responded.
According to other interviewed (than company A) consumers increasingly take
contact and give feedback through their social media pages (especially Face-
book). According to Valio’s Community Manager (PR) by replying to messages
in social media, company has a change to communicate the issues and serve
many at the same time. However, sometimes one reply is not covering the tar-
get.
“ We often receive a lot of similar messages and questions in Face-
book. But you have to behave and answer to same questions as
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many pairs of eyes are watching”, SOK’s Communications Manager
(OH) explains.
On the contrary, one company (A) clarified that customer service does not play
one of the key roles for the company. It is yet relatively small as their most sig-
nificant direct customers are retail and other companies and do not yet use so-
cial media as a channel for customer service.
“Conversation company” defines our target. We want to be ap-
proachable”, Cloetta’s Community Manager (TH) explains and con-
tinues, “We wish the threshold to take contact and communicate
with consumers in social media to be low and easy. Social media
gives a change to participate in the coffee table discussions with
consumers and gain insight how they feel about the product
launches, for instance.”
4.1.2 Expert services
Most of the interviewed strongly felt they would not outsource social media, for
example content production, because the amount and the scale of consumer
communication. As an exception, company A has a communication officer, who
follows and consults social media, but social media of the brands (monitoring
and producing content in Facebook and Instagram) is outsourced. According to
her, the key thing in managing social media is to comprehend that it is one of
the communication channels. It is important to distinguish the various social
media channels and their profiles. Thus, the messages should be differentiated
and not be posted as such to all channels.
SOK has two communication specialists responsible for social media within the
business. Although according to SOK’s Communications Manager (OH) some-
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41
times there are challenges to keep threads in the own hands because of the
limited resources. Luckily they have many employees as their ambassadors.
She says their employees do a major work with their daily presences in social
media. They want to be in direct connection with consumers and manage social
media inside the house. However, the nature of social media is fast and irregu-
lar, which causes hectic pressure at times.
Valio has controlled decentralization where digital marketing specialists are to-
gether with the consumer service team. Social media related tasks are well co-
ordinated and defined in the organisation. Valio’s Community Manager (PR)
argues that it is important to understand the business and the relevant issues to
be monitored in social media. Therefore he doubts the competence of an out-
sider to be able to distinguish these relevant issues. Furthermore, the dialogue
and questions to be answered in social media are wide and diverse.
“ We are moving in a direction where social media is just not a re-
sponsibility for marketing team, but it is expanded, which means in
practise that many employees have a role in social media”, Valio’s
Community Manager (PR) explains.
However, in some cases, they might ask the opinion of the communication or
advertising agency. Also, the digital advertising optimization is done by the
company’s media agency.
Likewise, Cloetta’s Community Manager (TH) agrees Cloetta wants to have a
direct dialogue with consumers in social media. They also consider it is easier
themselves to reply to customer feedback, since questions might sometimes be
rather tricky. Halsvaha is a community manager and responsible for social me-
dia, for brand specific coordination. Photo services related to social media are
outsourced.
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42
4.1.3 Social media strategy
All interviewed have some kind of social media strategy; call it a strategy or action plan. To one, social media strategy is a part of the marketing strategy,
which includes communication including social media. For one, a digital market-
ing strategy includes social media. All agree that social media plans should be
in line with the company strategy.
4.2. Monitoring social media
After finding out background information about the role of social media in the
companies, topic monitoring social media conversations was studied (Table 2).
Why monitoring social media is concerned to be important and how it could be
done in practise?
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Table 2. Monitoring social media conversations. Why to monitor and how is it done?
Question Company A Company B
(VALIO)
Company C
(CLOETTA)
Company D
(SOK)
Why it is im-‐
portant to moni-‐
tor social media
conversation?
Follow the trends
and current themes
related to the com-‐
pany, brand and
products
(knowledge can be
used in product
development, repu-‐
tation and crisis
management).
Follow what is
being discussed.
To assess the
impact of the
company's own
actions on con-‐
sumers. Dialogue
with consumers
per channels.
Access to the coffee
table discussions,
product development
and predictability of
situations, crisis pre-‐
vention.
Prevent sensa-‐
tions and crises,
chains-‐effects. To
react quickly in
situations per
channels.
How to monitor
conversations?
Monitoring systems
deliver reports from
social media, blogs
and other discussion
forums, using cer-‐
tain key word
sources. Analytics of
company social
media channels.
A variety of
tools, automated
reports (relevant
keyword
phrases). Analyt-‐
ics of social me-‐
dia per channels.
Systems, keywords.
Own analytics of so-‐
cial media channels.
Different indicators
such as word clouds,
scales, categorization.
Bloggers advocates.
Monitoring sys-‐
tems, tools,
through personal
brands as well.
Customer en-‐
gagement
Deliver interesting
content and get
reactions. Follow
engagement rate
(retweets, likes,
clicks, shares, etc.).
Develop content and
postings by the
analysis.
Operations in
social media: 1.
Increase and
steer traffic be-‐
tween homepage
and social media
2. Engaging con-‐
tent (question-‐
naires, dialogue
etc.)
Deliver interesting
content. Develop it on
the basis of analysing,
reach and engage-‐
ment rate
(like/comment/share)
.
Deliver interest-‐
ing content. Met-‐
rics aid in analys-‐
ing the data.
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4.2.1 Importance of the monitoring conversations
The interviewed gave many reasons for why they think it is important to monitor
conversation on them in social media. For the first one, all agreed that by moni-
toring they are able to follow the trends and what themes (related to the busi-
ness) are being currently discussed. Companies are thus able to participate
conversations and produce postings about the current interests. Cloetta’s
Community Manager (TH) sums it up:
“ We are able to flexibly join into consumers’ coffee table conversa-
tions in social media… and can in an agile way react and respond
them accordingly”.
In addition to receiving feedback on companies product launches and other ac-
tions, following discussions and upraising themes give also ideas to product
development.
In fact, by monitoring conversations, finding out what is being discussed on the
business and the products, is part of managing brand and reputation, company
A pointed out. Also, all mentioned that by being aware about the discussions
might help in preventing possible sensations and crises. SOK’s Communica-
tions Manager (OH) has experienced that nowadays customers are increasingly
posting messages to their own social media pages, where things might cumu-
late very fast and get easily out of hand. She argues, it is more difficult after-
wards to analyse sensations and crises, the chain-effects, if you have not been
earlier involved with monitoring and social media.
What is notable, all interviewed agreed on the value: organisations join into
conversations just if it brings added value. This means, for example, companies
do not automatically join in every discussion in blogs, where they or brands are
mentioned. It is worthwhile replying when for example correcting some false
facts, not opinions. Direct questions or messages addressed to the company in
their own social media pages are of course responded.
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45
Furthermore, Valio’s Community Manager (PR) mentioned that by monitoring
(social media conversations), they are able to evaluate their own operations and
the influences among the consumers and orbit.
4.2.2 The means to monitor
All interviewed use some tools and software for monitoring conversation in so-
cial media. Reports are automated and delivered into the e-mail in a regular
basis. In addition, Valio’s Community Manager (PR) highlighted the importance
of the analysing results and understanding the relevant big picture. It is not
enough to just monitor and look at the reports, but in order to understand and
utilize the data, you must have the knowledge and competence to analyse it.
Most interviewed (all apart from company A) discussed about the challenges in
combining data from various sources of information. Moreover, sometimes for
certain software and keyword searches Finnish language might be too prob-
lematic to submit to. It is also challenging to decide the relevant key words for
searches, as the scale of the business and conversations is wide. In addition,
social media channels differ, for example Twitter is a very fast-paced channel,
which affects also for the following. Although consumers are increasingly com-
municating and giving feedback through social media, interviewed reminded
social media is just a one tool, channel to have a conversation with consumers.
4.2.3 Engagement
All specialists agreed that the engagement rate is an important indicator when
monitoring and analysing social media. In order to get engagement rates high,
they advice delivering interesting content is the key issue. Monitoring and ana-
lysing the postings afterwards help in content development. Metrics such as
”reach” and ”engagement” are good indicators when analysing the reports. Hal-
savaha in Cloetta sees it is rather simple to decide what kind of postings to do:
if the content engages and gains attention (many likings, sharings or comments
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46
on posting), the engagement rate is high. As a result, it is wise to make more
similar postings and other content. She has discovered that the fans are more
engaged, compared to other visitors in the company’s’ social media pages.
According to Valio’s Community Manager (PR) they aim to make consumers
active and engaged also by linking the contents in in their webpages and social
media. It is often being wished that for example a posting in a company homep-
age generates traffic to social media pages as well, and vice versa. In addition,
consumers are activated in their social media pages for instance by discus-
sions, chats and questionnaires. As already mentioned, metrics such as re-
tweet, clicks, reach and engagement percentages, help in analysing what kind
of topics and themes interests readers.
4.3 Controlling social media conversation
The third section of the interview was about controlling social media conversa-
tions (Table 3). Few key elements arose in answers, while asking, “how compa-
nies can control the social media conversation”? All agreed it is not possible to
wholly control it, but you can steer the conversation. Companies and brands
should make own perspectives clear and have active dialogue with consumers.
Communications Manager in company A and SOK’s Communications Manager
(OH) discussed about communicating the core message also in social media
and Cloetta’s Community Manager (TH) used almost the same words as they
think social media enables them to get actively into discussions and spotlight
their perspectives.
Indeed, Valio’s Community Manager (PR) talked about purposeful façade build-
ing. They boost themes and postings that are meaningful for them and consum-
ers, which stimulate discussions as a result. Likewise company A is actively
importing interesting themes and other content in social media. When publish-
ing specific content to company’s homepages, it is often hoped to generate dis-
cussion among consumers, also in social media. Also, it is possible to steer dis-
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47
cussions going to certain direction. Valio’s Community Manager (PR) gave an
example where Valio had to finish a certain product, which was communicated
to consumers in forehand through a company blog. Consequently, the reactions
of the consumers were relieved.
Table 3. How to control social media conversations?
Question Company A Company B (VALIO)
Company C (CLOETTA)
Company D (SOK)
Can company control conver-‐ sation?
No No No No
Means for "controlling" conversation
Steer and make own points of views clear. Respond quickly to the direct inquiries and prevent possi-‐ ble crisis situa-‐ tions.
Purposeful fa-‐ cade building. Highlight themes, im-‐ portant to the company and consumers (create discus-‐ sions).
Active involve-‐ ments in dis-‐ cussions, through dia-‐ logue com-‐ municate com-‐ pany/brand perspectives.
Identify and communicate the core mes-‐ sage. Get in-‐ volved in dis-‐ cussions.
Actively pro-‐ duce themes and content to social media (create discus-‐ sions). The core message mat-‐ ters. Be genuine and honest, also in social media.
Brands are spe-‐ cial for con-‐ sumers and create feelings and discussions. Communicate key issues in advance (e.g. changes in product line) and relieve the reactions.
Conversation is free, only foul language (for example, swearing) is deleted in the company social media pages.
Produce con-‐ tent with inter-‐ esting themes (arising in dis-‐ cussions).
Social media policy, guide-‐ lines
Yes. Duty of secrecy con-‐ cerns also social media.
Yes. Employees are encouraged to be active.
Yes, employees encouraged to use social me-‐ dia.
Yes, employees encouraged to use social me-‐ dia.
Few key speak-‐ ers (employee advocacy).
Keep in mind that audience is wider than own circle of friends.
Employees can participate as a consumer; keep in mind the dual role. Few speakers.
Follow social media; be awake what is happening around.
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In addition to communicating issues in advance, also honesty is appreciated.
Company A brought up that it is important to be open and honest, since one
gets caught even faster for actions in social media. All agreed that it might be
possible to avoid sensations or crises accelerating by reacting and replying fast
to consumers in social media.
However, sometimes it is impossible to prevent sensations arising.
“ Once we saw the warning signs in the air, when our TV-campaign
started to have critical comments in social media. Even though, we
responded immediately, consumers did not listen or believe us.”
SOK’s Communications Manager (OH) sighs.
She and company A thought that by monitoring social media, it is possible to
notice what themes and trends are arising and it is wise to react accordingly, for
example make an article or another posting around the issue.
4.3.1 Social media policy, guidelines
All interviewed have a guideline for social media policy. It concerns usage of
social media as a private person and an employee. Duty of secrecy concerns
social media as well, but employees are encouraged to be active in social me-
dia. Valio’s Community Manager (PR) reminds that in social media the audience
of messages is wider than the own circle of friends. Cloetta’s Community Man-
ager (TH) states that employees are urged to take part in discussions. However,
they must remember the dual role and participate as a consumer, not speak for
the company. There are just few key persons, who communicate in the name of
the company. According to SOK’s Communications Manager (OH) employees
nowadays follow social media and are awake for what is happening around.
She receives a lot of messages and observations about the company related
issues in social media.
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4.4 Summary of empirical results
According to the case companies, nowadays the main focus in communications
and marketing is in digitalization. Social media is a very important, versatile tool
and communication channel for them. While interviewing the specialists, all
brought it up that social media is just a one channel for communication. One of
the interviewees outlined the thought:
“ What applies to managing communication in general suits to so-
cial media as well. In the end, it is about the core message: how
does the company and brands want to be seen and whom they
want to reach? There are various channels and user base in social
media, which has to be taken in consideration in the management”.
Companies want to be there, where the consumers are – in social media. Inter-
viewed consider it is important to be active and get involved with discussions.
However, it is notable, that participation should add value. Thus, companies
have to constantly weight balance with their involvement. Correcting false in-
formation and replying to direct questions in social media, for example, is usual-
ly done by the companies. Principally nothing should be deleted in social media,
as conversation is free. People can have their opinions, but very rude language
for example cursing, can be removed. The rules for communication are good to
be described in their own social media pages. Social media is a fast channel,
where companies are often expected to react and reply within few hours. This is
one of the challenges mentioned in the interviews. Discussions are irregular and
sometimes there can be plenty of messages for company in social media, which
inevitably causes pressure. Discussions should be reacted quickly also in order
to let possible negative chain-effects and crises rising. In addition to crises
management and prevention, companies are managing brand and building the
façade in social media. In particular in social media, things evolve fast and can
get out of the hands. Thus, it is crucial to be open and honest in communication.
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50
In addition to dialogue with consumers, customers and media, social media has
other functions as well. For some, it is serving consumers by dialogue and de-
livering other interesting content that gives inspiration for their daily lives. Still,
customer service is mainly operated through traditional channels such as forms
in webpages, telephone and e-mail. However, consumers are increasingly giv-
ing feedback and comments on social media. In the future, it might be expected
that customer service will be run more through social media channels.
By following social media conversations you gain more insight and feedback on
company’s actions, for example product launches and other campaigns. Prod-
uct development and ideas might form from these experiences and with the
help of arising trends and themes. Some engage consumers on development
work for instance asking comments or answers to questionnaires. Moreover,
social media can be used as an intra communication system for employees.
There are tools and systems for monitoring social media. Specialists of the case
companies receive reports daily into their e-mails and analyse the data. Accord-
ing to many, it is challenging to combine information from different sources. In a
way it is constant development to fine-tune the right key word phrases and other
relevant issues that should be monitored. Analysing the data, for example reach
and engagement rate of the postings, help in developing the optimal content.
One of the interviewed summed it up:
” It is simple: the higher the engagement rate, the more interesting
the content is found. Thus, we make more that, what interests con-
sumers. ”
Producing interesting content is the key for getting readers engaged. Various
actions are often wished to get traffic and reactions in and between social me-
dia and company home page.
The majority of the interviewed strongly though they want to be responsible for
their social media and in direct dialogue with the consumers. In their opinion,
since they have the big picture, vision and knowledge of the business, it is easi-
er for them to operate with social media, consumer dialogue and in specific
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51
wide scale of consumer questions. However, there are expert services availa-
ble. Like one of the interviewed does, it is possible to outsource social media or
part of the related operations. There are agencies to help out in a wide scale of
tasks, from consulting to content production.
To put this all in a nutshell, it is evident, that social media has an important role
in organisations. The main function is seen to be in communication and dia-
logue with consumers. Managing social media conversation requires systematic
approach. There are systems available for monitoring and as a result, data
analysis can be utilized in various ways, for example for the development work,
concerning products, services, content production, brand and crises manage-
ment and so on. It is impossible to wholly control social media, but with active
involvement it is possible to create, generate and steer the conversations. Spot-
lighting the meaningful themes for the company and consumers can stimulate
dialogue. According to the case companies, operating in social media has to be
customer serving, quick, honest and open. The interviewed companies have
social media specialists and they are developing functions further. It appears
that social media is going to the direction, where the responsibilities and tasks
are expanded from the marketing teams for more divisions in organisations
such as customer service.
5 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY (RESEARCH AND THEORY)
In this chapter the results are being analysed and compared to the theory.
Based on the answers from the interviewees, researcher was able to identify
similar findings to reflect the theoretical propositions formulated prior to the in-
terviews. It seems, in the light of the research results and the theoretical find-
ings that social media in general has an increasingly important role in the busi-
nesses and there is an awareness of the research theme “managing social me-
dia conversation”.
In theory many similar key concepts and issues were mentioned than was found
out with the empirical findings. On the basis of the theory and the empirical re-
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52
search results the research objectives are being answered. The purpose of the
research was to bring empirical insights on how companies are managing social
media conversations? In addition, it was investigated why is it important to
manage these conversations and how it should be done? How companies can
monitor social media and is it possible to have a control over these conversa-
tions? Results of this study indicate that the case companies manage social
media quite a similar way to each other and as advised in the theoretical
sources of this thesis. Most findings of the research are corresponding with the
ones described in the theory. Accordingly, it is justified to state that many find-
ings of the study are reflecting the reality. The conclusion could be that the
companies have understood the important and versatile role of social media
and managing the conversation. Case companies seem to put the advices in
practise. However, it can be also seen that social media is rather a new phe-
nomenon and it is looking for the best practise. Many experts suggest that the
best way to get going with managing social media and conversation, is by being
trying and learning; being at present in social media and trying how different
channels and ways work. Findings revealed that the management, analysing
and optimising social media requires a lot of work.
5.1. Role of social media in business
Over one third of the companies using social media have an official usage poli-
cy of social media (Statistics Finland 2013). Ministry of Finance (2010) offers
information security instructions for social media and instructions for guiding
organisations in planning their social media. Many social media experts urge
that the policy should be defined and employees be guided how to react to dif-
ferent social media conversations (Isokangas & Vassinen 2010, 146). All case
companies have a guideline for social media policy. They are being encouraged
to be active in social media. These findings indicate that social media is being
taken seriously in the Finnish companies and its’ role in everyday work is grow-
ing.
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53
Case companies thought that social media has an important role in their busi-
ness and in specific in marketing communication. Social media is most of all
seen as a channel to communicate with consumers. Therefore managing con-
versation is important. It is also found in the written sources as well that social
media is based on conversation, where the feedback is immediate. For that
reason organisations should be present in social media and have thus the abil-
ity to network and communicate. (See for example Kortesuo & Patjas (2011,
39.)
According to the findings, social media has been adopted well in the practise in
the case companies. They are utilizing the versatile functions of social media,
for example brand management, consumer service and product development.
Indeed, Social media can be used in a very diverse ways, as described in
Chapter 2, for example by Statistics Finland (2013). Customer care in the case
companies was still merely taken care by the traditional channels. Nonetheless,
consumers are being answered in social media channels, but they could be di-
rected to continue their conversation from the public social media channel to
more secure private channel such as e-mail. According to the interviewed cus-
tomer care in social media is a good way of taking care of general questions.
Servicing one consumer well might also make others in the network experience
good customer experience. It will be seen whether social customer care will be
developed in the future.
Study aimed to reveal what is thought as the best way for managing social me-
dia? Most of those interviewed agreed that content production and other man-
agement should not be outsourced. It was thought that own employees are able
to communicate on their business faster and more credible compared to an out-
sourced expert. This might also reflect to the employee advocacy, where em-
ployees are wished to operate in social media and communicate about the
company related issues. According to the research (MLS 2014) most communi-
cation directors encourage corporate communications responsibilities to be de-
centralized. Then, employees would be offered an education and guidelines for
steering external communication. Efficient external communication requires en-
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54
gaging employees and prompting them to be active also in social media com-
munication. Finding suggest that these case companies seem to be in the right
way of urging employees to be active and take part in social media. However,
employee advocacy seem to be its early stages in the most case companies,
but the concept came up in few interviews. Two companies are encouraging
employees to be ambassadors and communicate on behalf of the company. All
experts of the research were interested to further develop the concept.
5.2. Monitoring conversations
There are several reasons found out why monitoring social media conversation
is important. For the first one, all agreed they are able to follow trends and what
themes (related to the business) are being currently discussed. Companies are
thus able to participate conversations and produce postings about the current
interests. Similar findings are found in the written sources. Zhang & Vos (2013,
373-374) also present that by monitoring, company is able to collect information
from customers and co-operate through networks. By being aware what is cur-
rently discussed helps in protecting and reinforcing the company brand. This
fact also came up with the case companies. Identifying issues early and moni-
toring their development might help in predicting the growth of the issues.
Based on the findings, companies are then able to produce content that inter-
ests consumers and affect on their behaviour for example by building traffic
from social media communities to their websites, where specific content could
also be found. It was seen more difficult afterwards to analyse sensations and
crises, the chain-effects, if you have not been earlier involved with monitoring
social media. Therefore, today, monitoring social media interaction has become
very important for companies. (See for example, Zan & Vos 2013, 371.) Also
Meltwater (2014) suggested that problems of consumers in social media could
be handled with customer care before conversations become prolonged nega-
tive discussions in social media. In the event of the crises, companies that par-
ticipate in the conversations have the change to steer the conversations. As a
result negative conversations could be turned into positive publicity.
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55
There are various solutions for monitoring social media, including search en-
gines and media-monitoring offerings, text-analytics software companies and
other agencies. (Zhang & Vos 2013, 375). All interviewed use some tools and
software for monitoring conversation in social media. In addition to have statis-
tics, it is important to analyse the results and understand the big picture. It was
found challenging to combine data from various sources of information. Optimiz-
ing monitoring solution including the chosen tools and chosen target what to
search and which keywords to use, is seen as on going process.
Findings indicate that monitoring social media is crucial for being efficiently able
to take part, affect and modify conversation. In addition, collecting relevant in-
formation on the trends and how the consumers experience the company help
in developing the social media communication. In fact, when monitoring and
analysing social media, engagement rate was seen as an important indicator for
finding out what kind of content interest consumers. Delivering interesting con-
tent is also supported by theory. In order to get consumers engaged, they need
to be addressed with interesting topics and themes that interest readers (for
example Kananen 2013, 116. Isonkagas & Vassinen 2010, 147.)
5.3 Controlling conversations
It was strongly thought by the interviewed and the theory also indicates that so-
cial media can not be fully controlled. However, it was emphasised in the find-
ings and in theory that the companies have a change to affect and steer con-
versations in social media (for example Isokangas & Vassinen 2010, 86,
Sernovitz 2012,164). Companies are required to be present in social media in
order to be able to participate in conversations.
A certain type of dialogue and the way companies operate in social media were
highlighted concerning the management of the conversations. Interviewed
though that the company communication in social media should be consistent,
systematic and honest. Because issues spread and build up quickly in social
media, openness and honesty are appreciated. It was agreed that it might be
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56
possible to avoid sensations accelerating by reacting and replying fast to con-
sumers in social media. Also according to Leino (2010, 288) companies should
be open, honest and sharing, because those are also the elements of social
media.
Findings on the challenges in managing social media conversation were parallel
to the theory. For example, it was found out that despite it is usually wise to re-
ply to feedback, sometimes it can lead to prolonged dispute in social media
Companies should respond quickly, almost immediately. This challenge of the
response times also came up with the case companies. Customers expect that
they are being replied within hours. (Kananen 2013, 134. Clapperton 2009, 22).
One of the main reasons why case companies monitor social media is to follow
trends and the rising themes that need to be responded. So, in order to be able
to manage conversations, they must be monitored as described in the previous
chapter. There is a change to steer the conversation towards wanted direction.
The information could be utilized in a way where for example, companies pro-
duce certain content of the rising themes to their websites and steer traffic from
other channels to their websites. It was also supported by the theory, for exam-
ple Zhang & Vos (2013, 373-374) sees monitoring as a possibility to track the
current conversations on the brand and predicting the future buzz. Companies
seek to identify influencers and reinforce them and collect brand management
related information. The aim is to promote the attention given to the brand and
its values in social media.
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6 CONCLUSION
In this chapter the findings are shortly being described and analysed in addition
to the presentations in the previous chapters. Based on the answers from the
interviewees, researcher was able to identify similar findings to reflect the theo-
retical propositions formulated prior to the interviews. On the basis of the theory
and the empirical research results, the research objectives were answered.
How does companies manage social media conversations and why it is im-
portant? Furthermore, limitations of the research are stated now and the ideas
for the future research are suggested.
6.1. Research summary
During this thesis process and getting familiar with the topic social media, it be-
came clear to the researcher that the field is constantly developing in a fast
space. It seems in the light of the research results and the theoretical findings
that social media in general has an increasingly important role in the businesses
and there is an awareness of the research theme “managing social media con-
versation”. It was eyes opening to find out that managing social media conver-
sations serves many functions, not only corporate communication, but for ex-
ample facade building for the company, development work and content produc-
tion on the basis of the feedback on current trends and themes that interest
consumers.
It was interesting to reveal what is thought as the best way for managing social
media conversations? Most of those interviewed agreed that content production
and other management should not be outsourced. Case companies seem to be
in the right track of urging employees to be active and take part in social media.
In particular one company thought that employees have a major role for com-
municating in social media on behalf of the company. In addition, they value the
information that the staff delivers to the business. Employees are being aware
what is being discussed and as a result, everybody wins. All companies also
have some kind of guideline and social media policy. However, employee advo-
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58
cacy seem to be its early stages in the most case companies, but there is an
interest to further develop the concept and take it in the practise. The research-
er also reckons that the lack of resources for managing social media could be
relieved with the help of involving more employees.
To summarize the key findings researcher would state that managing social
media conversations is seen as very important for different reasons, such as
brand management and protection, crises management and customer dialogue.
Management requires systematic work, producing relevant content and monitor-
ing publications and conversations. More and more it is seen that employees
are also wished to be actively present in social media. Social media policy
guides and encourages employees to take part in monitoring and delivering
content social media channels. The findings also support theoretical insights of
the thesis. It is essential to monitor social media, in order to know what is being
discussed about the company in question and related issues. Knowledge of the
rising themes and trends in social media conversations can be utilized, for ex-
ample when producing content that might be of consumers’ current interests.
On the basis of monitoring and analysing the content, company is able to de-
velop and create more interesting content. In the light of the findings it seems to
require much effort and fine toning to find the optimal ways for monitoring social
media conversations.
It is not possible to wholly control social media conversations, but with an active
presence in social media, the direction of conversation could be steered. It is
essential to react quickly, since social media is of that nature and consumers
expect quick respond particularly in social media. Most case companies had not
established customer service in social media, but they did state that customer
messages are taken care also in social media. At least one of the interviewed
thought that responsibilities of managing social media will be expanding and
more employees will have tasks in their job description for social media. Also
other sources support that decentralization of corporate communication is en-
couraged by most of communication directors.
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6.2. Statement of limitations and ideas for further research
Because of the nature of social media, it is good to keep in mind that the re-
search data describes the current situation. Social media is developing fast and
thus most probably the interviewed companies are developing their functions
concerning social media. It could be valuable to update the status of social me-
dia management in the companies once a year.
Given the extent to social media management, a more in-depth analysis on
several topics such as producing and delivering the optimal content, decentrali-
zation of social media responsibilities and employee advocacy could be good
continuum to gain more in-depth analysis on the topics covered in the study. It
could be research how to support employees as ambassadors. Since the use of
different social media channels is arising, employees can spread the company
messages via their own social media profiles. In addition, it could also be seen
in the literature that the presence of employees as representatives of the com-
pany is important. Companies are not sympathized whereas people are, which
makes employees a great asset for companies. In addition, writing with your
own name, grows the professional reputation.
The focus of this research was managing social media conversations in external
social media networks. External social media refers to social media networks
outside the company, such as communities Facebook and Twitter. Other limita-
tion was that the thesis is about dialogue between consumers and companies.
Therefore, managing internal social media communication could be an interest-
ing research topic. How to integrate and utilize social media into internal com-
munication? There is software such as Yammer and Company Facebook that
allow internal social communication.
Moreover, while discussing with the case companies, one of the current topics
that arose is the customer service and how to integrate it to social media? It
appears, that traditional channels (forms in the homepages, e-mail, phone) are
still the main channels when handling customer contacts. However, case com-
panies thought that consumers are increasingly giving feedback through social
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60
media and they are replied also in social media or advised to give feedback
through a form in company homepage. Replying in social media should happen
almost immediately, since those forums are fast and conversations grow and
spread rapidly. It would be interesting to research the interfaces with social me-
dia and customer service. How customer service is best practised these days?
Researcher’s impression, based on the findings through the research is that
much of the social media management related theory is applicable to variety of
companies, them operating in b-to-c or b-to-b sectors. It would be interesting to
research more in-depth how do the companies in different sectors behave dif-
ferently in social media? In particular, in business-to-business sector companies
seem to communicate mostly via traditional channels and perhaps social media
is not yet thought as a relevant channel for them. It will be interesting to see
how utilising social media also in that sector will develop. Since in the end, the
employers of these b-to-b companies, decision makers, use social media in
their private lives.
In addition, analysing the data and information is a wide topic itself. While read-
ing the current news and following up the conversations, it appears that
“knowledge management and leadership” are the current hot themes. Monitor-
ing social media, analysing the findings, optimizing and acting upon could be
researched more, in a profound way. Like Valio’s Community Manager (PR)
emphasized, there is much data available, but it needs to be analysed and uti-
lized. That requires analytical skills. Also Cloetta’s Community Manager (TH)
shared that monitoring is on going process that need fine toning.
Social media seem to touch many different functions and it really inspires the
researcher. Therefore many ideas for the future research came up. To add one
more, there is a very interesting interface with the customer experience, in so-
cial media. In the bottom, the main function to act both in traditional channels
and in social media is to serve the customer and make her happy. How social
communication can help to serve the customer better? How to develop the cus-
tomer experience in social media?
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REFERENCES
Clapperton Guy (2009) This is social media, how to tweet, post, link and blog your way to busi- ness success, Capstone.
Forsgård Christina, Frey Juha (2010) Suhde: sosiaalinen media muuttaa johtamista, markki- nointia ja viestintää.
Bowen Gordon (2015) Computer-mediated marketing strategies: social media and online brand communities (ref : Constantinides and Fountain 2008, 232).
Isokangas Antti, Vassinen Riku (2010) Digitaalinen jalanjälki, Helsinki:Talentum.
Isokangas Antti, Kankkunen Petteri (2011) Suora yhteys, Näin sosiaalinen media muuttaa yri- tykset, Taloustieto Oy.
Kananen Jorma (2013) Digimarkkinointi ja sosiaalinen media liiketoiminnassa: Miten yritykset voivat saavuttaa tuloksia digimarkkinoinnilla ja sosiaalisella medialla? Jyväskylän ammattikor- keakoulu.
Kortesuo, Katleena (2014) Sano se someksi 1, ammattilaisen käsikirja sosiaaliseen mediaan. Helsinki:Kauppakamari.
Kortesuo Katleena, Patjas Liisa-Maria (2011) Kuka vastaa? Asiakaspalvelu sosiaalisessa medi- assa, Helsinki: Infor Oy.
Leino Antti (2010) Dialogin aika : markkinoinnin & viestinnän digitaaliset mahdollisuudet, Helsin- ki:Infor Oy.
Saunders Mark, Lewis Philip and Thornhill Adrian (2009) Research methods for business stu- dents, fifth edition.
Seppälä Piritta (2011) Kiinnostu ja kiinnosta, Näin markkinoit järjestöäsi sosiaalisessa medias- sa.
Sernovitz Andy (2012) World of mouth marketing, How Smart Companies Get People Talking.
Stratten Scott (2012) Unmarketing, Stop Marketing, Start Engaging.
Journals
Attitudes Toward Product Messages on Social Media: An Examination of Online Shopping Perspectives Among Young Consumers, International Journal of E-Services and Mobile Appli- cations (2012).
Getting closer to the customer, Emerald Insight (2014) Vol. 30 NO.11, pp.35-38. Review based upon “Brand strategies in social media” by Georgios Tsimonis & Sergios Dimitriadis Tsimonis.
Mandelli Andreina, Fuduric Morana Fuduric (2014) Communicating social media policies: eval- uation of current practices, Journal of Communication Management, Vol. 18 Iss 2 pp. 158 –175.
Social networking gets serious: Social networking moves beyond timewasting to become a powerful business tool (2013), Emerald, Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 21 number 3.
Zhang Boyang, Vos Marita (2013) Social media monitoring: aims, methods, and challenges for international companies, Department of Communication, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
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62
Internet
Hamburger Ellis (2014) The Verge, Facebook's new stats: 1.32 billion users, 30 percent only use it on their phone (referred 17.12.2014), Available at www.theverge.com
Koivumäki Elina (2014) Somenkieliset uutiset #9: Sosiaalinen media ja juridiikka, 18.10.2014 (referred 20.10.2014), available at www.somekoulutus.fi
Luukkonen Riku, AC Sanator (8.11.2013) Tunnista kriisit systemaattisella sosiaalisen median seurannalla, (referred online 20.8.2014), Available at http://www.acsanafor.fi/2013/11/tunnista- kriisit-systemaattisella-sosiaalisen-median-seurannalla/
Meltwater (referred online 25.9.2014), http://www.meltwater.com/fi/ Ministry of finance (2010) Information security instructions for social media, (referred online 28.9.2014), Available at: https://www.vm.fi/vm/en/04_publications_and_documents/01_publications/05_government_infor mation_management/20101222Inform/name.jsp
MSLGROUP, Digital & Social media, (referred online 27.8.2014), Available at http://mslgroup.com/what/practices/digital-social-media/
MSL Helsinki, Sosiaalinen media, (referred online 27.8.2014), Available at http://mslgroup.fi/palvelut/sosiaalinen-media/ MSL Group, Marttinen Meri, Kuka vie yrityksesi viestiä, (referred online 24.11.2014), Available at http://mslgroup.fi/news/kuka-vie-yrityksesi-viestia/
Ruuskanen Antti (27.2.2014), Sosiaalinen media tulee, olethan valmis! (referred online 27.8.2014), Available at http://lehtiarkisto.talentum.com
Statistics Finland 2013, Use of social media popular in enterprises, (referred 15.12.2014), Available at http://tilastokeskus.fi
Interviews
Petra Louhimies, Social media consultant, Someco Oy (12.12.2014)
Communications Manager, “company a” refers to a Finnish corporation in food industry (16.4.2015)
Terhi Halsvaha, Community Manager, Cloetta Suomi Oy (21.4.2015)
Pekka Rantamoijanen, Community Manager, Valio Oy (11.5.2015)
Outi Hohti, Communications Manager, Suomen Osuuskauppojen Keskuskunta (SOK) (11.5.2015)
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APPENDIX 1.
semi-structured interview questionnaire
MANAGING SOCIAL MEDIA CONVERSATIONS – YRITYSTÄ KOSKEVAN KESKUSTELUN TUNNISTAMINEN SOSIAALISESSA MEDIASSA JA KESKUSTELUN HALLINTA
Aluksi
1. Minkälainen rooli sosiaalisella medialla on yrityksessänne? Miten siihen suhtaudutaan (tärkeys)? Onko some osana markkinointiviestintää, asiakaspalvelua vai miten in- tegroitu liiketoimintaan?
2. Onko yrityksellä sosiaalisen median strategia, erikseen tai osana yrityk- sen liiketoimintastrategiaa?
3. Miksi yrityksenne mielestä on tärkeää seurata yritystä koskevaa keskus- telua sosiaalisessa mediassa?
4. Miten yrityksenne voi sitouttaa käyttäjiä (asiakkaita) sosiaalisen median yhteisöissä? (engagement) Toteutetaanko käytännössä?
Keskustelun tunnistus, monitorointi (Monitoring social media conversa- tions)
5. Miten yrityksenne tunnistaa sitä koskevaa keskustelua sosiaalisessa mediassa?
6. Olen oheen listannut keinoja, jotka auttavat monitoroinnissa. Mitä mieltä olette :
A. Manuaalinen haku -‐ Hakukoneet (Google, medioiden omat; hashtagit ja työkalut) -‐ Blogien lukeminen -‐ Muu mikä?
B. Työkalut / järjestelmät
- Oma tai ulkopuolisen toimiston tarjoama palvelu ( sosiaalisen median seurantajärjestelmät ja työkalut) - Mitä tunnuslukuja tai tietoa järjestelmät antavat? - Mitä sosiaalisia medioita järjestelmät koskevat? (FB, Twitter, blogit, uu- tiset, muu?)
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- avoin keskustelu
C. Sosiaalisen median experttiapu - Hyödyntääkö yrityksenne ulkopuolista palvelua sosiaalisen median joh- tamisessa? (Mediatoimiston, viestintätoimiston, pr toimiston tai vastaa- van toimiston asiantuntijuus?)
D. Roolit - Kuka tekee työn yrityksessänne, talon sisällä joku vai ulkopuolinen toi- misto (viestintä- tai mainostoimisto)? - Kuinka vastuutettua ja systemaattista sosiaalisen median seuranta on? - Avoin keskustelu:
7. avoin keskustelu koskien keskustelun monitorointia
Keskustelun hallinta (Controlling social media conversations)
8. Voiko mielestänne yrityksenne hallita sitä keskustelua (= yritystä, sen tuotteita ja/tai palvelua, brändiä, toimialaa, kilpailijoita) koskevaa keskus- telua sosiaalisessa mediassa?
9. Jos voi niin miten, mitkä ovat keinot?
10. Hoitaako yrityksenne asiakaspalautteita (asiakaspalvelua) somessa? Onko asiakaspalautteiden hoito somessa osa kriisiviestintäänne?
11. Onko yrityksellänne ohjeistusta (social media policy, guidelines) työnteki- jöille miten sosiaalista mediaa tulisi käyttää : - työtehtävien kannalta (yrityksen edustajana) ja - onko ohjeistettu somen käyttöä yksityishenkilönä (yrityksen edustaja- na)?
Avoin keskustelu liittyen yritystä koskevan keskustelun johtamiseen sosiaali-
sessa mediassa
