Information:
This dissertation was part of my MA (SocSci) Business & Management and Sociology degree at University of Glasgow. The research focused on qualitative content analysis (a netnographic approach) of videos and the conversations below them (also known as eWOM or electronic word-of-mouth) on Facebook. This was done in order to categorize these concepts. I taught myself how to work with Facebook API in order to extract both the videos and the comments.
Tasks:
- Research past research and develop a theoretical framework (literature review) alongside a full categorization of online content such as videos
- Created systematic way to analyze branded videos and their engagement for future research
- Collected data from Facebook
- Analyzed the collected data using netnography and content analysis based on the above-mentioned generation of categories (21 videos and 10K comments)
- Analyzed concepts of social media and marketing communications, electronic word-of-mouth, brand communities, brand roles and engagement, consumer engagement within brand communities, and videos as marketing communications tools
- Created brand community role definitions based on consumer engagement
- Offered future suggestions for social media marketers on how to create relevant video content and how to engage with those that comment below branded videos
Results:
- Received 91% with supervisor commendation
- First research to compile and propose a comprehensive list of categories for content analysis of videos and the post descriptions attached to them
- First research to focus on video content
- First research to focus on video-initiated eWOM, which should be understood as comprising both brand and consumer responses
- The meanings of the visuals within online video content should derive as a combination with the text descriptions attached
- Video-initiated eWOM produced two types of engagement – brand and consumer
- Brand engagement was categorized based on type, volume, and exhibited brand personality traits
- Consumers engaged in eWOM by employing a variety of functions within the online brand community and performing roles such as brand defenders, brand accusers, jokers, narcissists, jokers, product consumers, brand admirers, rejecters, co-creators, oversharers, engagers, inquirers, socializers, informants, spammers, gate-crashers
- Brand managers are advised to continue utilizing videos as part of their marketing communication strategies, not to ignore video-initiated eWOM, and participate in consumer conversations in order to be perceived more favorably by brand fans