Industry and agency views of social media: Issues implementing dialogic communication

Abstract

The technologies and culture of social media present issues for organisations implementing dialogic communication. The ubiquity of social media and the dialogic nature of communications in the digital age are raising awareness of the necessity of a total stakeholder approach to integrated communications. Yet, while the Marketing discipline argues that dialogic communication represent communication par excellence, this research finds that implementing a total stakeholder approach to dialogic communication is proving to be extremely elusive for many organisations exploring social media applications. The empirical findings of this research explore how marketing and communications professionals from a diverse range of industry and agency role contexts view social media, and presents issues that organisations face in implementing dialogic communication. It is suggested that these implementation issues inhibit the ability of organisations to move beyond ‘control’ and implement a total stakeholder approach to social media for dialogic communication that can engage with an organisation's stakeholders to gain their support.

Keywords:

• social media
• stakeholder engagement
• dialogic communication
• total communications
• integrated marketing communications

Notes

^1. Email: [email protected]

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Margo Buchanan-Oliver

Margo Buchanan-Oliver is Professor and Head of Marketing at The University of Auckland. Her research investigates consumer responses to communications, brands and digital experiences.

Emma May Fitzgerald

Emma May Fitzgerald is a graduate of the Department of Marketing at The University of Auckland. Her research investigates stakeholder views of social media, following from her experiences and observations as a marketing and communications practitioner. She is currently an Account Executive at Heinz Watties in Auckland, New Zealand.