Expectation gaps in social media communication

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2 Expectation gaps in social media communication A study comparing public relations professionals and the general public in 10 countries Ansgar Zerfass & Markus Wiesenberg

3 Stakeholder expectations and social media

4 Research questions RQ1: What types of content and conversation does the general public expect an organisation to share on social media? RQ2: Which types of behavior does the general public expect organisations to exhibit on social media? RQ3: How do public relations practitioners assess those stakeholder expectations? RQ4: Are there significant gaps between professional assessments and stakeholder expectations? RQ5: Is there a difference between expectations, assessments and gaps across different countries?

5 Methodology Quantitative survey among PR practitioners in 10 European countries Online survey among communication professionals across Europe (n = 1.346) in March 2014 Countries: Germany, Austria, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France. Spain, Italy Gender: 55.8% female, 44.2% male 43.4% head of corporate or organisational communication or agency CEO Average age: 43.2 years Representative poll among internet users in 10 European countries Online survey among internet users across Europe (n = 4.054) in 2014 Demographics: Sample has been weighted for age and gender to accurately represent the population in each country Gender: 50.2% male, 49.8% female Data collection: First part executed by market research specialist IPSOS in January 2014 (UK, FR, GE, IT, ES); second part in May 2014 by GMI (AT, NL, DK, SE, NO)

6 Relevant content for owned social media channels (Q1, Q3 & Q4) Types of social media content and conversation expected to be shared Information on events or crises (e.g. weather, recalls, etc.) that affect customers ** PR professionals Population Phi (Φ) 75.2% 32.8% Responses to comments on the organisation made by others ** 55.8% 29.3% Corporate social responsibility efforts ** 59.7% 36.0% Financial news ** 38.6% 24.4% Product and service information current products ** 62.9% 49.0% Product and service information new or forthcoming products ** 60.7% 48.0% Information about manufacturing processes ** 19.3% 31.7% Personal information about leaders (e.g. their biography) ** 24.5% 17.4% Information on product safety ** 38.0% 42.4% Deals and/or coupons offering reduced pricing for customers/members Information about where the company/organisation sources its products and materials 36.8% 34.7% % 40.5% n = 1,346 public relations practitioners: Q: Which of the following types of content and conversation, if any, do stakeholders expect a company/organisation to share using its own social media? / n = 4,054 internet users. Q: Which of the following types of content and conversation, if any, do you expect a company/organisation to share using its own social media? Select all that apply. ** Highly significant differences (chi-square test, p 0.01).

7 n = 1,346 public relations practitioners: Q: Which of the following types of behaviour, if any, do stakeholders expect companies to exhibit on social media? (Item Non of these = 2.1%). / n = 4,054 internet users. Q: Which of the following types of behaviour, if any, do you expect companies to exhibit on social media? Select all that apply. (Item Non of these = 13.7%). ** Highly significant differences (chi-square test, p 0.01). What companies should do in social media (Q2, Q3, Q4) Interact with consumers and others ** 56,5% 89,2% Gap 33% Phi Allow consumers and others to comment on an experience with the company/organisation or its products and services ** 48,0% 76,4% 28% Offer a direct line of communication with company/organisation management ** 31,0% 56,2% 25% Solicit feedback from consumers and others on product and service improvements and innovations ** 46,4% 66,0% 20% Work interactively/directly with consumers and others on product and service improvements and innovations ** 35,9% 55,1% 19% Communication professionals Population

8 Gaps across different countries (Q5) Europe 60% Information about where the company/ organisation sources its products and materials Spain France 30% United Kingdom Scandinavia 0% Italy Netherlands Communication professionals Population Austria Germany n = 1,346 public relations practitioners: Q: Which of the following types of content and conversation, if any, do stakeholders expect a company/organisation to share using its own social media? / n = 4,054 internet users. Q: Which of the following types of content and conversation, if any, do you expect a company/organisation to share using its own social media? Select all that apply. ** Highly significant differences (chi-square test, p 0.01).

9 Gaps across different countries (Q5) Europe 50% Information about manufacturing processes France 30% United Kingdom Spain Scandinavia 0% Italy Netherlands Communication professionals Population Austria Germany n = 1,346 public relations practitioners: Q: Which of the following types of content and conversation, if any, do stakeholders expect a company/organisation to share using its own social media? / n = 4,054 internet users. Q: Which of the following types of content and conversation, if any, do you expect a company/organisation to share using its own social media? Select all that apply. ** Highly significant differences (chi-square test, p 0.01).

10 Gaps across different countries (Q5) Europe Deals and/or coupons offering reduced pricing for customers/ members France 60% 30% United Kingdom Spain Scandinavia 0% Italy Netherlands Communication professionals Population Austria Germany n = 1,346 public relations practitioners: Q: Which of the following types of content and conversation, if any, do stakeholders expect a company/organisation to share using its own social media? / n = 4,054 internet user. Q: Which of the following types of content and conversation, if any, do you expect a company/organisation to share using its own social media? Select all that apply. ** Highly significant differences (chi-square test, p 0.01).

11 Conclusions and future directions Communication practitioners overestimate the importance of most social media content, especially regarding information about events and crises, responses to third party comments and corporate social responsibility efforts Publics and stakeholders are mostly interested in news related to products and services Differentiated assessment of mass media, social media and personal communication needed Call for advancing organisational listening and research

12 Questions & Answers

13 Dr. Ansgar Zerfass Professor and Chair in Strategic Communication University of Leipzig Markus Wiesenberg Research Associate University of Leipzig