The use of hashtags as a political branding strategy / El uso de los hashtags como una estrategia de marca política
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5783/revrrpp.v9i17.582Palabras clave:
Political brands, Hashtags, Brand community, Social identity, Spanish electionsResumen
Abstract
Political brands are using Twitter intensively during campaigns. The objective of this study is twofold: to build a theoretical framework to pose that the use of hashtags can be a brand strategy; and to analyze how political brands are effectively using hashtags. First, drawing on the social identity approach, this article argues that brands are becoming social identities enacted through horizontal user-to-user relationships. Second, a sample of a million tweets from the last two Spanish elections in 2015 and 2016 is collected to analyze the type of hashtags posted by politicians and the networks of interaction. Results show that political brands mainly used three types of hashtags: party, candidate and branded hashtags; and mainly interacted with their own hashtags. This can be considered as a traditional brand identity strategy. However, a brand community strategy would be more aligned with the horizontal and top-down nature of social networking sites as well as with today’s all-encompassing political debate. Political brands should foster a co-creative brand identity process to build more effectively the organization’s meaningful values.
Keywords: political brands, hashtags, brand community, social identity, Spanish elections
Resumen
Las marcas políticas están usando Twitter intensivamente durante las campañas. El objetivo de este estudio es doble: diseñar un marco teórico para plantear que el uso de hashtags puede responder a una estrategia de marca; y analizar cómo las marcas políticas están utilizando efectivamente los hashtags. En primer lugar, basándose en el enfoque de identidad social, este artículo sostiene que las marcas se están convirtiendo en identidades sociales promulgadas a través de las relaciones horizontales usuario-usuario. En segundo lugar, se recoge una muestra de un millón de tweets de las últimas dos elecciones españolas en 2015 y 2016 para analizar el tipo de hashtags publicados por los políticos y las redes sociales. Los resultados muestran que las marcas políticas utilizaron principalmente tres tipos de hashtags: hashtags del partido, de candidato y de la marca; y principalmente, interactuaron con sus propios hashtags. Esto puede ser considerado como una estrategia tradicional de identidad de marca. Sin embargo, una estrategia de comunidad de marca estaría más alineada con la naturaleza horizontal y descendente de las redes sociales, así como con el debate político que hoy en día lo abarca todo. Las marcas políticas deben fomentar un proceso de identidad de marca co-creativa para construir eficazmente los valores más significativos de la organización.
Palabras clave: marcas políticas, hashtags, comunidad de marca, identidad social, elecciones españolas.
Descargas
Citas
AAKER, D. A. (1996). Building strong brands. New York: The Free Press.
BLACK, I., & Veloutsou, C. (2017). Working consumers: Co-creation of brand identity, consumer identity and brand community identity. Journal of Business Research, 70: 416-429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.07.012
BODE, L., & Dalrymple, K.E. (2016). Politics in 140 Characters or Less: Campaign Communication, Network Interaction, and Political Participation on Twitter. Journal of Political Marketing, 15(4): 311-332. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377857.2014.959686
BOSSETTA, M. (2018) The Digital Architectures of Social Media: Comparing Political Campaigning on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat in the 2016 U.S. Election. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 95(2), 471–496. DOI: 10.1177/1077699018763307
BRODIE, R. J. (2017). Commentary on ‘Working consumers: Co-creation of brand identity, consumer identity, and brand community identity. Journal of Business Research, 70: 430-431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.07.013
BRODIE, R.J., Ilic, A., Juric, B., & Hollebeek, L. (2013) Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: An exploratory analysis. Journal of Business Research, 66: 105–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.07.029
COHEN, R., & Ruths, D. (2013) Classifying Political Orientation on Twitter: It’s Not Easy! Proceedings of the Seventh International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media (pp. 91-99). Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Retrieve from: https://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/ICWSM/ICWSM13/paper/viewFile/6128/6347
CRESWELL, J. (2003) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.DE VALCK, K., Bruggen, G.van, & Wierenga, B. (2009) Virtual communities: a marketing perspective. Decision Support Systems, 47: 185–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2009.02.008
ENLI, G. S., & Skogerbø, E. (2013) Personalized campaigns in party-centred politics. Information. Communication & Society, 16(5): 757-774. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2013.782330
FRAME, A., & Brachotte, G. (2015) Le tweet stratégique: Use of Twitter as a PR tool by French politicians. Public Relations Review, 41: 278–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.005
FRÖHLICH, R., & Schöller, C. (2012) Online brand communities: New public relations challenges through social media. In S. C. Duhe (Ed.), New media and public relations (pp. 86-95). New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc.
FYRBERG, A., & Jüriado, R. (2009). What about interaction?: Networks and brands as integrators within service dominant logic. Journal of Service Management, 20(4): 420-432. https://doi.org/10.1108/09564230910978511
GAO, Q., & Feng, C. (2016). Branding with social media: User gratifications, usage patterns, and brand message content strategies. Computers in Human Behavior, 63: 868-890. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.06.022
GUERRERO-SOLÉ, F. (2017). Community detection in political discussions on Twitter. An application of the Retweet Overlap Network method to the Catalan process towards independence. Social Science Computer Review, 35(2): 244–261. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439315617254
GUERRERO-SOLÉ, F., COROMINAS-MURTRA, B., & LOPEZ-GONZALEZ, H. (2014). Pacts with Twitter. Predicting voters’ indecision and preferences for coalitions in multiparty systems. Information, Communication and Society, 17(10): 1280-1297. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2014.920040
GRAHAM, M. M. A., & Johnson Avery, E. J. (2013). Government Public Relations and Social Media. Public Relations Journal, 7(4).
GRUNIG, J. E., & Dozier, D. M. (2002). Excellent public relations and effective organizations: A study of communication management in three countries. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
GUZMÁN, F., Paswan, A.K., & Steenburg, E.V. (2015). Self-referencing and political candidate brands: A congruency perspective. Journal of Political Marketing, 14: 175-199. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377857.2014.990837
HABIBI, M. R., Laroche, M., & Richard, M. O. (2014). The roles of brand community and community engagement in building brand trust on social media. Computers in Human Behavior, 37: 152–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.04.016
HARO-DE-ROSARIO, A., Sáez-Martín, A., & del Carmen Caba-Pérez, M. (2018) Using social media to enhance citizen engagement with local government: Twitter or Facebook? New Media & Society, 20(1), 29–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444816645652
HOGG, M. A., & Rei, S. A. (2006). Social Identity, Self-Categorization, and the Communication of Group Norms. Communication Theory, 16(1): 7–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2006.00003.x
HORNSEY, M. J. (2008). Social Identity Theory and Self-categorization. Theory: A Historical Review. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2/1: 204–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2007.00066.x
KAPFERER, J. N. (2012). The new strategic brand management: Advanced insights and strategic thinking (5th edition). London: Kogan Page.
KARLSSON, M., Clerwall, C., & Buskqvist, U. (2013). Political Public Relations on the Net: A Relationship Management Perspective. Public Relations Journal, 7(4).
KENT, M. L. (2013). Using Social Media Dialogically: Public Relations Role in Reviving Democracy. Public Relations Review, 39(4): 337-345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2013.07.024
KENSKI, K., Filer, C.R., & Conway-Silva, B.A. (2017). Communicating Party Labels and Names on Twitter During the 2016 Presidential Invisible Primary and Primary Campaigns. Journal of Political Marketing, 16: 267–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377857.2017.1334253
KORNUM, N., Gyrd-Jones, R., Al Zagir, N., & Brandis, K.A. (2017). Interplay between intended brand identity and identities in a Nike related brand community: Co-existing synergies and tensions in a nested system. Journal of Business Research, 70: 432–440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.06.019
MARUYAMA, M., Suthers, D.D., & Robertson, S.P. (2014, January 6-9). Characterizing Communication Networks Associated with Political Hashtags. Paper presented at the 47th Hawaii International Conference on System Science. IEEE: Waikoloa, HI, USA. doi: 10.1109/HICSS.2014.199
MCALEXANDER, J. H., Schouten, J.W., & Koenig, H.F. (2002) Building Brand Community. Journal of Marketing, 66(1): 38-54. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.66.1.38.18451
MICHEL, G. (2017). From brand identity to polysemous brands: Commentary on ‘Performing identities: Processes of brand and stakeholder identity co-construction’. Journal of Business Research, 70: 453–455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.06.022
NEUMAN, W. L. (2003). The Meanings of Methodology: Social Research Methods. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
ORRIOLS, LL., & Cordero, G. (2016) The breakdown of the Spanish two-party system: the upsurge of Podemos and Ciudadanos in the 2015 general election. South European Society and Politics, 21(4): 469-492. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2016.1198454
ORTH, U. R., & Rose, G. (2017). Consumers’ Brand Identity Complexity: Conceptualization and Initial Evidence. In C. L. Campbell (Ed.), The Customer is NOT Always Right? Marketing Orientations in a Dynamic Business World. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science (pp. 64-64). Springer, Cham.
POPP, B., & Woratschek, H. (2017) “Consumers’ relationships with brands and brand communities – The multifaceted roles of identification and satisfaction. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 35: 46-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2016.11.006SAFFER, A. J., Taylor, M., & Yang, A. (2013). Political Public Relations in Advocacy: Building Online Influence and Social Capital. Public Relations Journal, 7(4): 1-35.
SCHAU, H. J., & Muniz, A. M. (2002). Brand communities and personal identities: Negotiations in cyberspace. Adv Consum Res, 29: 344–9. http://acrwebsite.org/volumes/8673/volumes/v29/NA-29
SELTZER, T., & Zhang, W. (2011). Toward a Model of Political Organization-Public Relationships: Antecedent and Cultivation Strategy Influence on Citizens’ Relationships with Political Parties. Journal of Public Relations Research, 23(1): 24-45. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2010.504791
SIMÓN, P. (2017). The Challenges of the New Spanish Multipartism: Government Formation Failure and the 2016 General Election. South European Society and Politics, 21(4): 493-517. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2016.1268292
SMALL, T. A. (2011). What the hashtag? A content analysis of Canadian politics on Twitter. Journal. Information, Communication & Society, 14(6): 872-895. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2011.554572
SMITH, M. A., Rainie, L., Shneiderman, B., & Himelboim, I. (2014). Mapping twitter topic networks: From polarized crowds to community clusters. Pew Research Center. http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/02/20/mapping-twitter-topic-networks-from-polarized-crowds-to-community-clusters/ STRÖMBÄCK, J., Mitrook, M. A., & Kiousis, S. (2010). Bridging Two Schools of Thought: Applications of Public Relations Theory to Political Marketing. Journal of Political Marketing, 9(1): 73-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377850903472547
STIEGLITZ, S., & Dang-Xuan, L. (2013). Social media and political communication: a social media analytics framework. Soc. Netw. Anal. Min., 3: 1277–1291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13278-012-0079-3
TAJFEL, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict. In W. G. Austin and S. Worchel (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations (pp. 33-47). Monterey, CA: Brooks-Cole.
VARGO, C. J., Guo, L., McCombs, M., & Shaw, D. L. (2014). Network Issue Agendas on Twitter During the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election. Journal of Communication, 64: 296–316. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12089
YAN, J. (2011). Social media in branding: Fulfilling a need. Journal of Brand Management, 18(9): 688-696. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2011.19
WALLPACH, S. VON, Hemetsberger, A., & Espersen, P. (2017). Performing identities: Processes of brand and stakeholder identity co-construction. Journal of Business Research, 70: 443–452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.06.021
XIFRA, J. (2010). Linkages Between Public Relations Models and Communication Managers’ Roles in Spanish Political Parties. Journal of Political Marketing, 9(3), 167-185. doi: 10.1080/15377857.2010.497734
WINTHER NIELSEN, S. (2015) On Political Brands: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Journal of Political Marketing, 0: 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377857.2014.959694
ZHOU, Z., Zhang, Q., Su, C., & Zhou, N. (2012). How do brand communities generate brand relationships? Intermediate mechanisms. Journal of Business Research, 65(7): 890–895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.06.034
Descargas
Publicado
Cómo citar
Número
Sección
Licencia
Los autores que publican en esta revista están de acuerdo con los siguientes términos:- Los autores conservan los derechos de autor y garantizan a la revista el derecho de ser la primera publicación del trabajo al igual que licenciado bajo una Creative Commons Attribution License que permite a otros compartir el trabajo con un reconocimiento de la autoría del trabajo y la publicación inicial en esta revista.
- Los autores pueden establecer por separado acuerdos adicionales para la distribución no exclusiva de la versión de la obra publicada en la revista (por ejemplo, situarlo en un repositorio institucional o publicarlo en un libro), con un reconocimiento de su publicación inicial en esta revista.
- Se permite y se anima a los autores a difundir sus trabajos electrónicamente (por ejemplo, en repositorios institucionales o en su propio sitio web) antes y durante el proceso de envío, ya que puede dar lugar a intercambios productivos, así como a una citación más temprana y mayor de los trabajos publicados (Véase The Effect of Open Access) (en inglés).
