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Leah Hollar COM400 Prof. Sharma

Uses and Gratifications For Liking Brands on Facebook

Introduction Currently, Facebook has amassed over 800 million active users on its social networking site. Nielsens 3Q 2011 Social Media Report showed that Americans spend more time on Facebook than on any other U.S. website. Nielsen also found that active social networkers are 47% more likely to be heavy spenders on clothing, shoes, and accessories. Facebooks value in terms of advertising and brand identity can not be ignored. Social networking sites (SNS) in general have become so influential in our world that jobs such as social media strategy consultant have arisen and the President has a Facebook page. Over 30 government agencies joined Facebook in 2009 alone, further legitimizing the use of the site. Many companies are incorporating social media and SNSs into their integrated marketing plans. While Facebook employs the use of onsite ads, we will not be looking at them. Rather, we will study, using the media uses and gratifications theory, why Facebook users choose to like companies and brands on the site. Textual Analysis From a text-based approach, brands using Facebook can be looked at as a semiotic device. In Advertising Age, Thomas Pardee said, The

3 number of fans a brand can attract on Facebook serves as public indicator of its social worth (Pardee, 2011). This idea of social worth related to brands is an indicator of the direction advertising has gone in: from traditional print media and television advertising now to attracting fans online. Carlos Scolari, speaking about online brands, explains the objective of branding, Economic subjects are no longer trying to sell a product or service by means of persuasive advertising. Now the objectives are much more ambitious, they aim to create a symbolic universe endowed with meaning: brands (Scolari, 2008). Scolari explains that the brand is a semiotic device which is an interpretive contract between companies and consumers. Scolari also addresses the digitalization of communication and the ways in which the flow of information in a virtual environment alters our perceptions of brands. Umberto Eco, in his book A Theory of Semiotics, explains coding in communications, Communicative experience enables us to answer positively, if only insofar as circumstance, understood as the real basis of communication, is also translated constantly into a universe of coding while for its own part communication, in its pragmatic dimension, produces behavioral habits which contribute to the changing of the circumstances (Eco, 1979). These behavioral habits he speaks of can be applied to advertising. When a consumer views an ad, they interpret the meaning and choose to act or not act on the intended message.

4 While reading the signs that make up advertising in general, we can analyze their meanings. In todays world of advertising, doing so becomes much more involved than simply looking at an ad in a magazine. Now, consumers are faced with many layers of information and signs put forth by a brand. Consumers can look up a brand online: they can like them on Facebook, they can read their website and blog, and follow them on Twitter. Now more than ever, the brand as a semiotic device has more responsibility relegated to it to maintain its image throughout these many facets of media. Literature Review Authors of a study on social network sites published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication describe SNSs as web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system (Boyd & Ellison, 2008). It is important to define the parameters of a SNS although we will be using Facebook as an example of one such site. In 2007, Facebooks CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a new advertising plan for the site. Focused on a system called Beacon, it allowed advertisers to send advertisements to Facebook users based on their interests and online activities. Age, sex, location, relationship status, work history, and political leanings were all taken into account so

5 advertisers could target their ads to users. The plan also highlighted user interaction with brands through their pages. The ability to like brands on Facebook became a tool for advertisers. It opened up the possibility to interact and engage with consumers while obtaining information about who is following them. Advertising Age editor Abbey Klaassen highlighted Facebooks new ad plan in the trade journal, quoting one marketing professional who said, The more you enable person-to-person communication, the more opportunities there are for individuals to influence each other. Rob Norman, CEO of Group M Interaction continued, "This phenomenon already existed. [Mr. Zuckerberg] just poured gas on the fire" (Klaassen, 2007). Facebook reports that the average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups, and events. The uses and gratifications theory refers to the how and why of media use: the motivations for use, and the gratifications one gains from using it. (Joinson, 2008). Joinson proposes that the gratifications can be divided into two categories: content gratifications, or those based on the content of the media, and process gratifications which are those based on the experience using the media. (Joinson, 2008). Other researchers proposed a third form of gratification related to Internet use: gratification as a social environment. Like other similar studies done, the Joinson study concluded that the most common reason gratification

6 sought was keeping in touch. Three professors from Texas did a study based on media uses and gratifications theory and proposed and tested a model of content-related structural and socialization factors that affected the attitudes social network users had about social-networking advertising (SNA). In the study, they pointed out the advantages of one-way relationships that are modeled by those who like a page and enlist as a fan. One of the advantages is that while there is a limit to the number of friends a profile may have, the number of fans a page can have are endless. Another advantage is that users can like a page without granting the owner of the page access to their profile (Lewin, Strutton, & Taylor2011). Lewin et al. (2011) used media uses and gratifications theory to propose and empirically test a model of content-related, structural, and socialization factors that affected SNS users attitudes toward SNA. Their study supported both hypotheses that, users views of the brands advertised on SNSs as catering to and consistent with how they see themselves and their view of SNS participation as being exciting and socially desirable were positively related to SNS users attitudes toward advertisements viewed on these sites (Lewin et al., 2011). Other hypotheses supported concluded that SNS participants attitudes towards SNA were that it was invasive, and privacy concerns negatively affected their view. Participants of the study also found SNS

7 advertisements to be informative and entertaining and would positively influence their attitudes toward advertising on SNSs (Lewin et al., 2011). Perhaps most importantly, the authors of the study were able to conclude that, when SNA delivers content that is consistent with the motivations originally expressed in media uses and gratification theory, consumers were more likely to ascribe positive attitudes toward advertising conveyed to them through a SNS medium (Lewin et al., 2011). The media uses and gratifications theory focuses on antecedents to behavior that are synonymous with uses and gratifications sought, and consequents of behavior, which are the gratifications obtained by media use. It may be important to consider, when studying SNSs, what reasons users gave for using SNSs in the first place. A study done in 2008 focused on the uses sought and gratifications obtained of college students whom used (or didnt use) MySpace and Facebook. Along with general information about the participants, the researchers also were able to conclude the most popular reasons users gave for having a friend-networking site account. The top reason users gave for having an account was to keep in touch with old friends (Bonds-Raacke & Raacke, 2008). Hazel Dicken-Garcia, in her essay on the Internet and the culture in which it is used, makes an interesting claim regarding the way Internet users accept information, Users unquestionably accept

8 information via the Internet that they would not accept so readily from another medium (Dicken-Garcia, 1998). In Nielsens 3Q 2011 Social Media Report, it was found that 53% of active social networkers follow a brand. But what motivates them to do so? It has been loosely suggested that offers for anything free will drive the most likes on a Facebook page, however studies have not been done to prove this true. Project Design & Methodology Survey research will be conducted to formulate conclusions on this topic. Observable and quantifiable data will be collected from a representative sample of a larger population. Self-report data will be collected from participants in the field. The survey will be crosssectional, as time constraints will not allow a longitudinal look at the questions. Furthermore, the ever-changing nature of the Internet and SNSs in particular would be best served to be looked at sooner rather than later. Three types of information will be sought in the questionnaires: behaviors participants engage in, demographics, and their motivations. To best understand the uses and gratifications sought and obtained by liking a brand on Facebook, a questionnaire will be issued to Facebook users from various demographic backgrounds. It will be important to first find out how many Facebook users actually follow brands on the site. From there, those who respond that they follow at

9 least one brand will be asked questions related to why they follow brands on Facebook in general (gratifications sought) and what they have obtained by following a brand on Facebook (gratifications obtained). Some questions related to their consumer habits and demographic questions will follow. A factor analysis will be conducted following collection of survey data. Some of the factors for gratification sought (why Facebook users follow brands) will include: Free products, coupons/discounts, news/updates, to identify with a brands image, to support a cause promoted by the brand, to support a friend/family member who works for the brand, and to make suggestions/inquiries. Factors for gratification obtained (what users have obtained by following a brand on Facebook) will include: free products, coupons/discounts, news/updates, identification with a brands image, to be entered in a contest, and a response to suggestions/inquiries. For questions related to gratifications sought and obtained, participants may choose as many answers as they wish. A content analysis of each factor will determine what the driving forces behind the uses and gratifications for following a brand on Facebook are. A ratio scale will be used when participants are asked how many brands they follow on Facebook.

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Works Cited Bonds-Raacke, J., & Raacke, J. (2008) MySpace and Facebook: Applying the uses and gratifications theory to exploring friend-networking sites, CyberPsychology & Behavior, 11(2) 169-174

boyd, d., & Ellison, N. (2008) Social network sites: Definition, history and scholarship. 230 Dicken-Garcia, H. (1998). The Internet and continuing historical Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210-

11 discourse. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 75(1), 19-27 Eco, U. (1979) A theory of semiotics. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. (Original work published 1976).

Joinson, A. (2008) Looking at, Looking up or Keeping up with people? Motives and uses of Facebook, Online Social Networks, 1027-1036 Klaassen, A. (2007) Real revolution isnt Facebooks ad plan. Advertising Age, 78(45), 361. Lewin, J., Strutton, D., & Taylor, D. (2011). Friends, fans, and followers: Do ads works on social networks? How gender and age shape receptivity. Journal of Advertising Research, 51(1), 258-275.

Pardee, T. (2011). Digital marketing guide: How do I get people to like my brand on Facebook? Advertising Age, 82(9), 50-50

Scolari, C. (2008) Online Brands: Branding, possible worlds, and interactive grammars. Semiotica, 169-1/4, 169-188 Internet Resources Facebook statistics. http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics Nielsen 3Q 2011 Social Media Report.

12 http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/social/