Presentation ECREA 2012 Conference Istanbul

1. Social Media Corporate Reputation Influencers
Wouter Vollenbroek MSc
Dr. Sjoerd de Vries
Dr. Efthymios Constantinides
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2. Quick Overview
 Background social (media) influence
 Traditional perspective
 Social media perspective
 Research questions
 How could influence within the social media be
identified?
 What is the impact of dealing with social media in
corporate communications on the reputation of
organizations?
 Delphi study
 Results & Conclusions
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3. Background Information & Research Questions
Social influence: “Consciously or subconsciously
persuading others from your thoughts, beliefs or
actions” (Kahan et al, 1997).
1). How could influence within the social media be
identified?
2). What is the impact of dealing with social media in
corporate communications on the reputation of
organizations?
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4. Delphi Study
(Dalkey & Helmer, 1963)
 Participants: 12 in the 1st round / 18 in the 2nd round
(marketing- and communication professionals)
 First round: open questions regarding corporate
reputation and the three influence categories: actors,
interactions and networks
 Second round: closed questions regarding corporate
reputation and the three influence categories: actors,
interactions and networks
 Outcome: broad view of the concept „social media
influence‟ and the relation with corporate reputation.
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5. Results & Conclusions
Social media patterns Corporate communication
Actor(s) Public relations
- Active minds Reactive
-Credible communication
-Authority
-Expertise Crisis communication
Corporate Reputation
Network
- Content used by others (Corporate) advertising
-Enable others to consume content Proactive
-Active communication communication
-Number of contacts
Direct marketing
Interactions Webcare
- Message is much shared
-Message has yielded many responses
-Message is often quoted
-Message is relevant Recruitment
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6. Results & Conclusions
 Social media influence exists of:
 Intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of the actor
 Intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of the
interactions
 Intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of the networks
 Effect of social media influence on corporate reputation
 Does this social media influence hold with an Delphi
study with social media users?
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