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thesociallibrarian · 1 year

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3 Peer-reviewed Reasons You Should Be Using Vertical Video

Unless you don’t own a smartphone there is a good chance you’ve seen vertical video. Vertical video used to be mocked but now has become the standard for mobile video. If you’ve not switched to vertical video, it’s time to turn the screen around, and here are three peer-reviewed reasons why.

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1) Vertical Video Performs Better on Mobile Phones

The creator of the Vertical Video PSA is correct - most of the screens we've been watching are horizontal. However, this is a case of correlation does not equal causation. Horizontal video works for those places because the screen itself is horizontal (Mulier et al., 2021). In the case of our smartphones, the screen is vertical, so a vertical video fits best. This is because it takes more effort to turn your phone horizontal. In fact, in 2017 only 30% of mobile users will willing to turn their phone to watch a video (Martin, 2017).

2) Vertical Video is Native

There are ethical concerns with Native Advertising, a form of advertising that seeks to blend in with its surroundings. While we denounce the unethical uses of this form of advertising it does demonstrate that there is power in blending into the platform. Studies have found that ad congruence, or how well the ad visually and thematically matches, increase attention, favorable attitudes, and favorable behaviors (Kim et al., 2019; Lee et al., 2016). Yet, it’s not visuals that need to match for it to be the most effective, but this alone does help (Huang & Yoon, 2022).

A lot of social media content you’ll produce will not be advertising. Regardless, native advertising illustrates the importance of fitting in wherever you’re posting. With the popularity of mobile phones, fitting in is fitting on a vertical screen.

3) Content Marketing is King

Audiences no longer want to be marketed to. This has led to the rise of content marketing, marketing that provides its audience with valuable information or entertaining content. A lot of social media and blog posts are a kind of content marketing. In a study of approximately 1,400 marketers from across the globe, the Content Marketing Institute found that 60% said they successfully used content marketing to improve loyalty with existing customers while 42% said they used it to successfully add to their bottom line (Institute, 2021). Vertical video is a great way to delve into this marketing tactic that encompasses the power of web 2.0.

References

Huang, Y., & Yoon, H. J. (2022). Prosocial native advertising on social media: effects of ad-context congruence, ad position and ad type. Journal of social marketing, 12(2), 105-123. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-05-2021-0105

Institute, C. M. (2021). 12th Annual B2B Content Marketing: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends. https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/B2B_2022_Research.pdf

Janssens, W., De Pelsmacker, P., & Geuens, M. (2012). Online advertising and congruency effects: It depends on how you look at it. International journal of advertising, 31(3), 579-604. https://doi.org/10.2501/IJA-31-3-579-604

Kim, J., Choi, D., & Kim, H. (2019). Advertising nativeness as a function of content and design congruence. International journal of advertising, 38(6), 845-866. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2018.1535224

Koob, C. (2021). Determinants of content marketing effectiveness: Conceptual framework and empirical findings from a managerial perspective. PloS one, 16(4), e0249457-e0249457. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249457

Lee, J., Kim, S., & Ham, C.-D. (2016). A Double-Edged Sword? Predicting Consumers’ Attitudes Toward and Sharing Intention of Native Advertising on Social Media. The American behavioral scientist (Beverly Hills), 60(12), 1425-1441. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764216660137

Martin, E. J. (2017). Marketers Turn Up the Volume on Vertical Video. EContent, 40(6), 6-8.

Mulier, L., Slabbinck, H., & Vermeir, I. (2021). This Way Up: The Effectiveness of Mobile Vertical Video Marketing. Journal of interactive marketing, 55(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2020.12.002

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thesociallibrarian · 1 year

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Pros and Cons of User-Generated Content

In chapter three of Privacy and Freedom of Information in 21st Century Libraries, chapter author, Eli Neiburger, discusses all the potential pitfalls of user-generated content (UGC). While these concerns are valid the chapter neglects to mention all the benefits of cultivating user-generated content.

Upsides of UGC

UGC is Effective

Many studies have found that positive or neutral UGC positively impacts many business metrics such as sales and purchase intention (Duan, 2022) (Tang et al., 2014). Potential consumers that see UGC are more likely to trust UGC compared to traditional marketing (Chari et al., 2016).

UGC is FREE and Not Time Consuming

UGC is Free and not time-consuming to gather! In fact, studies have proven that adding money into the equation actually reduces the chances that people will give UGC (Sun et al., 2017). They also found that UGC is rarely given in response to an advertising campaign and even less so in response to marketing messages (Roma & Aloini, 2019).

UGC Creates a Greater Sense of Community

Many people contribute to UGC because they want to help their fellow community members (Huang et al., 2019). Several studies have found this is one of main reasons people contribute UGC, but other motivators are audience size, popularity, and even jealousy (Zhang & Wang, 2012; Zhang & Zhu, 2011).

Downsides of UGC

Data Privacy Concerns

With data privacy being a part of the ALA code of Ethics (Association, May 19, 2017), it is important for libraries to be able to protect the privacy of the patrons even in the realm of UGC. In many social media cases there is no expectation of privacy since users understand it to be a public forum. In cases where they can comment anonymously or even if they’re using an account under a fake name, other users still may be able to find out their identity through tracking their IP address (Griffey et al., 2010). This is something the library is powerless to stop.

When using UGC there are some concerns that those who contributed it may feel as though their copyright was violated if it is used in marketing materials or used in more public places than its already was (Griffey et al., 2010). The chances of this happening are low, but it is still a possibility.

People Can Be Plain Mean

The National Center for Education Statistics found that approximately 16% of students age 12-17 had experience cyberbullying and this is not a problem that goes away with age (Statistics, 2021). We would like to think that people would not use a library’s media presence to bully others but it is a real possibility (Griffey et al., 2010).

Best Practices for UGC

From all this information we can suggest the following best practices for cultivating and using UGC:

Create a social media policy that outlines appropriate behavior for the library and patrons.

Always ask the contributor for permission before reusing UGC

Cultivate community to cultivate UGC.

References

Association, A. L. (May 19, 2017). Professional Ethics. http://www.ala.org/tools/ethics

Chari, S., Christodoulides, G., Presi, C., Wenhold, J., & Casaletto, J. P. (2016). Consumer Trust in User-Generated Brand Recommendations on Facebook. Psychology & marketing, 33(12), 1071-1081. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20941

Duan, J. (2022). The Impact of Positive Purchase-Centered UGC on Audience’s Purchase Intention: Roles of Tie Strength, Benign Envy and Purchase Type. Journal of Internet Commerce, 21(4), 393-417. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332861.2021.2001737

Griffey, J., Houghton-Jan, S., Neiburger, E., & Office for Intellectual, F. (2010). Privacy and Freedom of Information in 21st-Century Libraries : A Library Technology Report. American Library Association. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utk/detail.action?docID=680166

Huang, N., Burtch, G., Gu, B., Hong, Y., Liang, C., Wang, K., Fu, D., & Yang, B. (2019). Motivating User-Generated Content with Performance Feedback: Evidence from Randomized Field Experiments. Management science, 65(1), 327-345. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2944

Roma, P., & Aloini, D. (2019). How does brand-related user-generated content differ across social media? Evidence reloaded. Journal of business research, 96, 322-339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.11.055

Statistics, N. C. f. E. (2021, May 2021). Bullying at School and Electronic Bullying. National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/a10#suggested-citation

Sun, Y., Dong, X., & McIntyre, S. (2017). Motivation of User-Generated Content: Social Connectedness Moderates the Effects of Monetary Rewards. Marketing science (Providence, R.I.), 36(3), 329-337. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2016.1022

Tang, T., Fang, E., & Wang, F. (2014). Is Neutral Really Neutral? The Effects of Neutral User-Generated Content on Product Sales. Journal of Marketing, 78(4), 41-58. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.13.0301

Zhang, X., & Wang, C. (2012). Network Positions and Contributions to Online Public Goods: The Case of Chinese Wikipedia [Article]. Journal of Management Information Systems, 29(2), 11-40. https://doi.org/10.2753/MIS0742-1222290202

Zhang, X., & Zhu, F. (2011). Group Size and Incentives to Contribute: A Natural Experiment at Chinese Wikipedia. American Economic Review, 101(4), 1601-1615. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.101.4.1601

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thesociallibrarian · 1 year

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Is Social Media Its Own World?

Is social media a continuance of the surrounding society, does it exist separate from society, or do the two influence each other? This is the heart of the question that Amanda Alencar set out to answer in Refugee Integration and Social Media: A Local and Experiential Perspective.

THE STUDY

In this study Alencar did interviews with 18 refugees about the way social media helped them integrate into their new culture. From these interviews she concluded that the social media and offline communities intermingle. Her subjects proved this in their preferences for getting different types of information. They preferred advice from peers for information about employment, housing, education, and other personal problems. They found social media was useful in helping them connect to both their previous community and their new community. Social media also helped the refugees learn the language as well as the nuances of the culture.

Alencar summed up her findings as well as those of researchers before her in the following graphic:

THROUGH THE PERSPECTIVE OF COMMUNITY BUILDING

Community is a slippery term with definitions in various research niches. Most of the goals of online communities fit best with the sense of community expressed within learning communities. In ‘‘I don’t Think That Word Means What You Think it Means”: A Proposed Framework for Defining Learning Communities authors West and Williams explore the term through four basic characteristics: access, relationships, vision, and function (West & Williams, 2017).

Social media networks offer access to a group of people by connecting them across geographic barriers. Followers of a certain group or page have a predefined vision by way of the goal of the page or group. How social media influences relationships has been up for debate with some arguing it leads to loneliness (Hunt et al., 2018). Others, such as the author of the initial article, argue the opposite. Some researchers have found that social media leads to higher social trust (Valenzuela et al., 2009) and creating a sense of belonging (Lee et al., 2014). Functionality refers to the shared actions of the community which seems to tie back to vision.

Through this multifaceted definition, we can confirm that social media is able to exist as a separate community. It is important to remember that communities consist of people that are bringing biases and lived experiences influenced by offline communities. Oh et. Al (2014) supports this claim with their findings that platforms are not a direct indicator of life satisfaction, but positive online interactions do influence life satisfaction (Oh et al., 2014).

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETERS

The main takeaway for social media marketers is to remember that social media does not exist in a vacuum. Like the refugees in Alencar’s study, your audience members will interact with your organization, or community offline. But, if you can use your social media to not only create virtual community but bridge the gap between the offline and online communities, you will achieve greater success in creating a useful, informational social media presence that will pay dividends to you and your audience.

References

Hunt, M. G., Marx, R., Lipson, C., & Young, J. (2018). No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 37(10), 751-768. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2018.37.10.751

Lee, M. R., Yen, D. C., & Hsiao, C. Y. (2014). Understanding the perceived community value of Facebook users. Computers in Human Behavior, 35, 350-358. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.03.018

Oh, H. J., Ozkaya, E., & LaRose, R. (2014). How does online social networking enhance life satisfaction? The relationships among online supportive interaction, affect, perceived social support, sense of community, and life satisfaction. Computers in Human Behavior, 30, 69-78. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.07.053

Valenzuela, S., Park, N., & Kee, K. F. (2009). Is There Social Capital in a Social Network Site?: Facebook Use and College Students' Life Satisfaction, Trust, and Participation1. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14(4), 875-901. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2009.01474.x

West, R. E., & Williams, G. S. (2017). "I don't think that word means what you think it means": A proposed framework for defining learning communities. Educational technology research and development, 65(6), 1569-1582. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-017-9535-0

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