Updating Corporate Facebook Statuses: Content Analyzing Corporate Facebook Profiles with an Excellence Approach.

摘要

With marketing in social media receiving "surprisingly little academic attention" (Colliander & Dahlen, 2011, p. 313), organizations are failing to effectively utilize social networks (Bortree & Seltzer, 2009). This study seeks to help close this gap in the literature by applying the Excellence Theory toward the identification of Facebook best practices for corporations. Social media provides a forum for symmetrical communication, an important public relations function, according to the Excellence theory (Avery, Lariscy, & Sweetser, 2010). Additionally, social media can positively impact sales (Colliander & Dahlen, 2011), provide an avenue for advertising and marketing (Moran & Gossieaux, 2010), present a forum to conduct market research (Brown & Vaughn, 2011), and offers aid for human resources functions (Brown & Vaughn, 2011). Content analysis of the Fortune 50's corporate Facebook profiles compared to the top 50 corporate Facebook profiles with the most fans, as identified by All Facebook, revealed companies should provide products and services information in the Info tab, content exclusively available to Facebook fans, store apps, event apps, video apps, and games. Companies should post on their Walls almost twice per day, post photos at least four times per week, and post a variety of content and posts, including statuses, links, and questions.