Inadequate Use of Facebook as an Interactive Tool with the Dimensions of Participation, Feedback and Responsiveness for Corporate Communications: A Survey on Airline Companies with Domestic Capital in Turkey
Ezel TürkTechnological developments have grown quickly, thanks to the internet and web-based applications. They have changed the means of communication and created an interactive environment that enables new ways of developing relationships between corporations and their target groups. Today, social media, especially social networking sites, have penetrated into every area of social life, creating even more interactive communication between corporations and target groups. Thus, it is useful to determine how Facebook, the largest and most popular social networking site, can be best used by corporations as an interactive medium. For that reason, firstly the purpose of Facebook use and contents of Facebook posts need
to be examined and then the interactivity component should be researched. That is why the study, which aims to examine Facebook use by airline companies with domestic capital operating in Turkey, has been arranged in two parts. The first part of the study, entitled “A content analysis of Facebook posts by airlines companies”, was published by the researcher and revealed that Facebook was mostly used for publicity and promotion (Türk, 2018). As a followup study, this study is the second part, whose aim is to determine whether Facebook is used interactively. The Facebook accounts of six different airline companies were analyzed through a content analysis technique and the data colleted were analyzed through descriptive statistics. The results reveal that corporations are unable to use Facebook adequately for corporate communications, since they are ineffective in encouraging users to participate in Facebook with the contents they share, to provide a cycle of feedback by asking questions and to respond to the questions and comments of the users.
Katılımcılık, Geribildirim ve Cevap Verebilirlik Boyutlarıyla Facebook’un Kurumsal İletişimde Etkileşimli Bir Mecra Olarak Kullanım Yetersizliği: Türkiye Menşeli Hava Yolları Şirketleri Üzerine Bir Değerlendirme
Ezel Türkİnternet ve Web tabanlı uygulamalarla hız kazanan teknolojik gelişmeler, iletişimin boyutunu değiştirmiş ve etkileşimli bir iletişim ortamını ortaya çıkarmıştır. Kuşkusuz bu durum kurumlarla hedef kitleleri arasındaki ilişkilerin geliştirilmesi için de yeni olanaklar sunmaktadır. Bugün sosyal medyanın özellikle de sosyal paylaşım ağlarının, hayatın her alanına nüfuz etmesiyle birlikte kurumla hedef kitleleri arasında daha etkileşimli bir iletişimin gerçekleşmesi mümkün hale gelmiştir. Bu nedenle sosyal paylaşım ağlarının başında gelen Facebook’un kurumsal iletişim aracı olarak etkileşimli bir şekilde nasıl kullanılması gerektiğinin belirlenmesi oldukça önem taşımaktadır. Bunun için de öncelikle Facebook’un kullanım amacının ve paylaşılan içeriklerin belirlenmesi gerekmekte daha sonra ise etkileşim unsurunun araştırılması gerekmektedir. Bu nedenle Türkiye’de faaliyet gösteren yerli sermayeli havayolu şirketlerinin Facebook kullanımlarının ortaya konulmasının amaçlandığı çalışma iki aşamadan oluşmaktadır. Çalışmanın ilk aşaması olan, Facebook’un kurumlar tarafından daha ziyade tanıtım ve promosyon amaçlı olarak kullanıldığına yönelik tespit, “Türkiye’deki havayolu şirketlerinin Facebook’u kurumsal amaçlı olarak kullanımı” başlığı ile araştırmacı tarafından yayımlanmıştır (Türk, 2018). Bir takip çalışması niteliğinde olan, çalışmanın ikinci kısmını oluşturan bu araştırmada ise Facebook’un etkileşimli bir mecra olarak kullanılmasındaki yeterliliğin tespit edilmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Altı hava yolu şirketinin kurumsal Facebook hesapları; nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden içerik analizi tekniği ile analize tabi tutulmuş ve toplanan veriler betimsel istatistiğe başvurma yoluyla değerlendirilmiştir. Buna göre; kurumların paylaştıkları içeriklerle kullanıcıları katılımcılığa teşvik etmede, onlara sorular sorarak geri bildirim döngüsünü sağlamada ve onlardan gelen soru ve yorumlara cevap vermedeki yetersizliklerinden dolayı Facebook’u etkin ve yeterince etkileşimli bir mecra olarak kurumsal iletişimde kullanamadıkları sonucuna ulaşılmıştır
Internet and web-based applications have created an interactive environment for communication that enables new means of developing relationships between corporations and their target groups. Today, social media has penetrated into every aspect of life, creating more interactive communication between corporations and their target groups. Thanks to social media, especially social networking sites, target groups no longer consider themselves just as consumers and no longer receive corporate messages passively. That is why it is valuable to determine how Facebook can be best used by corporations as an interactive medium. To reveal this, the purpose of Facebook use and contents of Facebook posts need to be examined first and then the interactivity should be studied. For that reason the study has been designed in two parts, one of which was published by the researcher and revealed that Facebook was mostly used for publicity and promotion. In particular, product and service promotion rose into prominence together with campaigns and special offers (Türk, 2018).
Besides publicity and promotion, social networking sites can be used for building and retaining relationships with target groups through their interactive structure. It is worthwhile to determine how Facebook, having the leading role among social networking sites, can be used by corporations as an interactive medium. That is why this study, as a follow-up study and the second part of the study, aims to reveal the use of Facebook as an interactive tool by airline companies with domestic capital operating in Turkey. It attempts to reveal whether these corporations take advantage of Facebook for corporate communication by using it in an interactive way including participation, responsiveness and feedback. Specifically, the study aims to answer these two questions: 1) Do corporations use Facebook interactively and encourage users to participate in Facebook with the content they share? 2) Are they able to provide a cycle of feedback by asking questions and are they able to respond to the questions and comments of the users?
worthwhile to determine how Facebook, having the leading role among social networking sites, can be used by corporations as an interactive medium. That is why this study, as a follow-up study and the second part of the study, aims to reveal the use of Facebook as an interactive tool by airline companies with domestic capital operating in Turkey. It attempts to reveal whether these corporations take advantage of Facebook for corporate communication by using it in an interactive way including participation, responsiveness and feedback. Specifically, the study aims to answer these two questions: 1) Do corporations use Facebook interactively and encourage users to participate in Facebook with the content they share? 2) Are they able to provide a cycle of feedback by asking questions and are they able to respond to the questions and comments of the users?
The results revealed that corporations have used Facebook inadequately within the scope of interactivity for corporate communications. The airlines studied failed to provide participation on their corporate Facebook accounts, leading to a failure to fulfill the participation component of interactivity. Nor did the corporations ask users any questions about their products, services, or the users’ preferences for providing feedback, which is the other component of interactivity. Communication via feedback and responses are other significant components in ensuring interaction. Since corporations responded to a mere one-fourth of their user comments and questions, it can be asserted that they did not adequately communicate with their target groups. Responses given by corporations were informative, however, which indicates that people who seek information from the companies were sincerely considered. The companies tried to meet the need for information through Facebook. They also attempted to provide answers to either solve problems on Facebook or direct them to the relevant units for professional support.
Since they are ineffective in encouraging users to participate via Facebook, to provide a cycle of feedback and to be responsive on Facebook, which social media platform is used interactively? There is no doubt that social networking sites are popping up by the day, thanks to mobile technologies, and it is clear that in the near future this trend will continue even more intensively. Therefore, future research could investigate which social media platform is used to engage with target groups in an interactive way. Likewise, future studies should also find out how Facebook can be best used for engagement, not only by providing feedback and responsiveness but also encouraging participation. Only if corporations appreciate the use of Facebook will they be able to interact and communicate effectively with target groups. Thus, building and maintaining positive relationships between corporations and target groups will become more feasible.
