Social Media Means
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What are the 7 functional building blocks of social media?

The seven functional blocks of social media. Kietzmann, Hermkens, McCarthy, and Silvestre (2011) developed a honeycomb framework that identifies seven functional building blocks of SM: identity, conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation and groups.

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Digital marketing can be seen as a tool to promote the company more efficiently, and it should be understood effectively by companies so that they are better able to select efficient marketing tactics and strategies ( Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2015 ). Within digital marketing, we can isolate SM as “a group of internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and that allow the creation and exchange of user generated content” ( Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010 , p. 61). Social networking tools (e.g. Twitter and Facebook), professional networking sites (e.g. LinkedIn), media sharing sites (e.g. Instagram and YouTube), commerce communities (e.g. Amazon and eBay), blogs (e.g. Blogger and Bloglines) and discussion forums are examples of SM platforms. SM has changed the way companies have done business over the years ( Ramsaran-Fowdar & Fowdar, 2013 ), and as a result, in recent years, SM sites have become essential for users and companies ( Maecker, Barrot, & Becker, 2016 ). Although the internet has created huge new opportunities for companies over the years, it has also generated new challenges ( Strand, 2011 ). However, there is a lack of understanding of how and why organisations are actually using these platforms ( Tsimonis & Dimitriadis, 2014 ). Through Facebook, companies can connect with many more people, more than through phone calls, e-mails or meetings ( Luke, 2009 ). Moreover, costs of communication have fallen drastically with this SM, generating opportunities for companies to communicate quickly, directly and consistently with millions of customers ( Mize, 2009 ; Palmer & Koenig-Lewis, 2009 ). Consequently, companies invest a lot in SM platforms by creating brand fan pages on which companies publish brand posts that users can like, comment on or share, and where the company can reply to comments ( De Vries, Gensler, & Leeflang, 2012 ; Labrecque, 2004 ). Facebook (2019) , with more than 2.2bn users, is the largest form of SM worldwide. It generated more than $55bn of revenue in 2018, it is the sixth company in the world in market value, with $22bn net income, it is a huge company and an important media to worldwide advertisement, and around 50 per cent of its revenue comes outside USA. Companies need to have a Facebook fan page, which must be well configured and customised ( Valos, Habibi, Casidy, Driesener, & Maplestone, 2006 ; Mangold & Faulds, 2009 ). In 2019, in Portugal, Facebook’s relevance has been seen to be high: about 6.5m of people are its users (65 per cent of the total population) and 90 per cent of all internet users are on Facebook, the first website in the country. Portuguese people, in an international ranking, have taken the first place in looking for information online and 15 per cent have the habit of checking Facebook as long as they are awake ( Hootsuite, 2019 ). Facebook has become a significant tool in engaging with consumers and creating brand awareness ( Malhotra, Kubowicz Malhotra, & See, 2013 ). Approximately 2.2bn people currently have a Facebook profile according to data from 2017. According to a study conducted by Nielsen in 2012, around 53 per cent of Facebook members follow brands at least once per month, learn more about brands (65 per cent) or hear of others’ experiences with brands (70 per cent) ( The Nielsen Company, 2012 ). Social networking sites allow for interaction between consumers and the community and facilitate the “asynchronous, immediate, interactive, low-cost communications” ( Miller et al., 2009 ). According to Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) , SM, Facebook in particular, represent a vast area of opportunities for firms. Facebook has many types of pages and other ways that allow people to connect, but there are, according to Strand (2011) , four main types of Facebook pages: personal pages, fan pages, official pages and community pages.

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The seven functional blocks of social media

Kietzmann, Hermkens, McCarthy, and Silvestre (2011) developed a honeycomb framework that identifies seven functional building blocks of SM: identity, conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation and groups. According to them, each block allows us to unpack and examine a specific facet of SM user experience and its consequences for companies. It is not necessary to include all of the building blocks in any given SM action. They are constructs that allow us to understand the different levels of SM functionality. Identity For Kietzmann et al. (2011), identity represents the extent to which users reveal their identities in an SM setting. On Facebook, users can define the information they share and with whom they share that information. For example, information such as name, age, gender, profession, location and also information that exposes Facebook users in certain ways. For instance, the authors explain that thoughts, feelings, likes and dislikes of users can also be shared, both consciously and unconsciously. One major implication of “identity” is privacy. Users share their identities on SM sites; however, this does not mean they do not care what happens to this information (Kietzmann et al., 2011). Moreover, Machado et al. (2016) stated that on Facebook, trust in brands and in other users who like the same brand can influence consumers’ decisions to engage online with brands. They also mentioned that according to Swani, Milne, and Brown (2013), positive word of mouth (WOM) can be comparable to “liking”. When a user likes certain content, it appears on their Facebook news feed as well as on their friends’ newsfeeds. Conversations The “conversations” block of the framework represents a level of communication on an SM platform with other users, which could be the number of regularity of postings (Kietzmann et al., 2011). According to Machado et al. (2016), on SM platforms, consumers can find out more about a certain company through the knowledge and know-how of other users. Through comments, consumers can also contribute to brand-related content (Shu & Chuang, 2011). One major implication of the “conversations” block is “conversation velocity and the risks of starting and joining” (Kietzmann et al., 2011, p. 243). Sharing “Sharing” refers to the sending and receiving of content between users on the same SM platform, such as photos, comments and videos (Kietzmann et al., 2011). Machado et al. (2016) mentioned that besides “likes” and “comments”, SM metrics should comprise the number of “shares” (Hoffman & Fodor, 2010). By interacting with a brand on SM, consumers can feel an interpersonal social interaction (Hudson, Huang, Roth, & Madden, 2016). According to Kietzmann et al. (2011), the “sharing” block of the honeycomb has two implications for companies with ambition to engage in SM. First, companies need to understand “what objects of sociality their users have in common, or to identify new objects that can mediate their shared interests”. Second, companies need to evaluate “the degree to which the object can or should be shared” (p. 245). Presence Presence refers to the ability of one user to know if other users are available. This includes knowing where other SM users are in virtual and in real life. In the virtual world, we can control this “through status lines like available or hidden” (p. 245). For example, on Facebook, users can click on a chat button to indicate if they are online and available, or do not wish to connect with other users (Kietzmann et al., 2011). Kietzmann et al. (2011) stated that an implication of the framework building block “presence” is that “firms need to pay attention to the relative importance of user availability and user location. A firm might also want to investigate if users have a desire for selective presences, where one can be visible to some people while staying hidden to others” (p. 246). Another implication of “presence” is that it is related to other functional blocks in the honeycomb framework, such as “conversations” and “relationships”. For instance, companies should recognise that “social media presence is influenced by the intimacy and immediacy of the relationship medium, and that higher levels of social presence are likely to make conversations more influential” (p. 246).

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Reputation “Reputation” refers to the ability of users to identify the standing of others (including themselves) within an SM platform. For example, Facebook users can “like” certain content and comment on it. According to Kudeshia, Sikdar and Mittal (2015), online reputation is an important element for the success of a company. An online presence allows companies to understand their customer’s feelings about the brand and it could also be an opportunity to avoid any negative thoughts. Online reputation management is very important for online community marketers (Kietzmann et al., 2011). According to Baxi, Panda, and Karani (2016), one negative comment on company SM platforms can create a negative impact on the minds of other community members. To restrict the negative impact, quick responses to every negative comment are required. Negative WOM publicity has a higher impact than positive WOM publicity. According to Kudeshia et al. (2015), online reputation is an important element for the success of a company. An online presence allows companies to understand their customer’s feelings about the brand and it could also be an opportunity to avoid any negative thoughts.

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