Matching Items (17)
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- All Subjects: Social Media
- Creators: School of Community Resources and Development
Description
Few studies have examined the correlations between individual characteristics and other popular forms of social media other than Facebook. This study explored the ways emerging adults use Instagram and Snapchat and examined the relationships between social media and individual characteristics. A sample of 393 participants were recruited from a large university in the Southwestern United States. The participants completed an online questionnaire that included a newly developed social media measure along with established measures that examined the individual characteristics of social comparison orientation, self-esteem, loneliness, contingent self-worth, narcissism, and life satisfaction. In the present study, more participants reported having an active Instagram account than an active Facebook or Snapchat account. Additionally, a higher number of participants also reported preferring Instagram and Snapchat compared to Facebook. Significant correlations were found between various individual characteristics and three aspects of social media use: overall time spent on social media, whether the individual felt that their time spent on social media was meaningful, and how the individual felt emotionally after comparing themselves to others' photos and posts. Potential explanations and implications of the results are discussed.
ContributorsArndorfer, Sydney (Author) / Field, Ryan (Thesis director) / Sechler, Casey (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Nonprofits often struggle in fully implementing a successful social media strategy. These organizations neglect to create and maintain relationships with stakeholders, engage their audience, and build brand awareness in an online setting. As social media has essentially become one of the largest sources of information dissemination and one of the most populated platforms in the online world, a nonprofit's online presence has become increasingly important. Through a 22-day content analysis and 43-question survey that was distributed to the general public on Twitter and Facebook, this paper looks comprehensively into the elements and tactics used by Make-A-Wish, Halo and ALS Association. Based off of the research findings from this study, important aspects of these nonprofits' online strategy will be identified and analyzed.
ContributorsJoseph, Teresa Marie (Author) / Wu, Xu (Thesis director) / Thornton, Leslie (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This project is a strategic online media proposal for aBloom Salon. In order to provide the salon with a successful social media proposal, there must be an analysis of the current situation informed by secondary and primary research. aBloom in Latin means transformation; this salon specializes in holistic beauty. At this salon all the products are organic, natural and raw. They use a non-toxic ammonia-free color line and have a Raw Beauty Bar where clients can create all-natural custom products. This proposal aims to increase aBloom Salon's brand awareness in the most effective way possible. The project started by analyzing the salon's website, Facebook page and Instagram content and following-up with recommendations for improvement. In addition to that analysis, research was conducted on current clients to gage their social media habits and purpose for using social media. Salon owner, Alejandra Martinez, currently averages 20 to 30 clients a week and said she would like to increase to 25 to 35 clients a week. Martinez was promoting her salon through her website, word-of-mouth, Facebook, Yelp, Instagram and cross-promoting efforts with likeminded businesses.
ContributorsHashemian, Sepeedeh (Author) / Wu, Xu (Thesis director) / Roschke, Kristy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
BACKGROUND: Biotechnology can improve vitamin deficiencies, farming practices and yields, yet it is surrounded by controversy. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to better understand opinions Americans have about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), across multiple perspectives including scientists, farmers, and perceptions shared via social media. METHODS: A Google Scholar search for the term "genetically modified" (GM) produced 1,420,000 results in 0.05 seconds from the year 1988 to present, a portion of this literature was used for this study. In addition a quasi-experimental study on social media (i.e. a blog and Twitter) was performed to inspire reactions of social media users who followed the accounts @Biofortified and @BiotechFood. The study lasted for approximately three months. The analytics website, Topsy was also used to track the number of conversations that included terms like "GMO". Furthermore a plant biologist, sustainability scientist, and local farmers were interviewed to gain insights on their perceptions of GM products. RESULTS: Results generally suggest that there was no stance shared by social media users, local farmers, and researchers. It was clear however that conversation about GMOs happens daily on social media. These conversations however lack the evidence that can be learned through literature and conversations with local farmers. DISCUSSION: A plausible possible reason for the confusion and mixed opinions is that regardless of the resources (like scientific literature and agriculture workers available on GMOs), individuals appear to use moral reasoning \u2014 as defined by Jonathan Haidt \u2014 to defend their stance on GMOs, not necessarily any empirical evidence.
ContributorsHubbard, Shayla Briann (Author) / Hekler, Eric (Thesis director) / Wharton, Christopher (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This researcher set out to determine whether small businesses can achieve considerable business success by utilizing social media as a public relations tool to create a brand image. There is a substantial breadth of research regarding the social media successes of large companies, but the same is not true for small businesses. This researcher aims to add to the existing pool of literature dealing with small businesses and creating social media success. First, relevant literature was examined to determine the state of the small business landscape online and to identify best practices for social media. Then the researcher analyzed three published case studies that detailed social media campaigns from three different small businesses. The researcher used the information obtained in the literature review and case study analysis to create a comprehensive social media strategy for Crosswim, a small business based in Tempe, Arizona. The culmination of this research showed that small businesses can indeed create success and brand equity by implementing a strategic social media plan. It was uncovered that social media gives small business owners the tools to create a strategy that works best for them in terms of their business and in terms of the time the owners can devote to monitoring social media.
ContributorsHolmes, Taylor Elizabeth (Author) / Wu, Xu (Thesis director) / Thornton, Leslie (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Social media is changing the way journalists operate; their use of Twitter is potentially representational of that change. Because of Twitter, journalists can connect to stories, sources, and audiences in ways they never could before. Because this is an evolving practice, role models can be difficult to find, which presents a problem for journalism students. In broadcast journalism, the challenge is even more pronounced when it comes to finding women exemplars for female students; female students are more likely to relate to female role models.This study, using in-depth interviews and textual analysis, examines how Twitter is being used by four prominent journalists in one competitive market. The Twitter feeds of four female TV news anchors in Phoenix, Arizona, the 12th largest broadcast market in the United States, are explored in terms of content and practice. The results show that they used Twitter daily and for more than just tweeting out the day's news, suggesting that Twitter has become a standard journalistic tool and a practice worth emulating.
ContributorsMolina, Tara Lea (Author) / Lodato, Mark (Thesis director) / Thornton, Leslie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This honors thesis study aimed to gain a better understanding of millennials and how to effectively use interactive marketing to advertise to this generation. The thesis was broken up into three segments. The first segment includes a literature review on: identifying and comparing within the millennial generation, millennials impacts on marketing, and an introduction to interactive marketing. The second segment covered the methodology study including the application of the research findings to analyze the effectiveness of interactive marketing and the shift brands have made to reach millennials. Lastly, the final section covered an overall conclusion and recommendations. This paper first identified who the millennial generation is and discussed the differences between the older and younger millennials among the generation as a whole. Then the paper moved into defining what interactive marketing is and how it is being used and targeted towards the millennial generation. The next section identified the key differences within the millennial generation and the main areas in which this generation impacted brands and the company's interactive marketing efforts. The research suggests what the most influential take-a-ways from the millennial generation are and how brands shifted in order to better target the new types of consumers. Additionally, the information obtained from understanding the millennials' perspective on interactive marketing provide companies a better idea of how to market to them. Lastly, the recommendation checklist for companies to follow on how to create a successful interactive marketing advertising campaign helped to position brands in the most efficient way possible when entering this new form of marketing and specifically targeting millennials.
ContributorsRamsey, Victoria Rebecca (Author) / Eaton, Kathryn (Thesis director) / Montoya, Detra (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Organ, cornea and tissue donation is a widespread public health need that has high rates of public approval, but lower rates of action. In Arizona, an individual can register as an organ donor at 15 years and six months old, and this ever-growing demographic is a hard-to-influence, yet important part of the pool of registered donors. There are many factors that serve to influence or dissuade adolescents from registering, and it is the duty of organ procurement organizations (OPOs) and others involved in the donation process to appeal to this audience. This undergraduate research project explores the overall idea of what makes someone register as an organ, cornea and tissue donor by looking into several factors of the decision-making process, such as social media usage and engagement, hesitation or support surrounding spiritual beliefs, and how personal opinions and beliefs shape views and action toward organ donation. Based on the data collected, the researcher found relationships between the registration status of adolescents and their social media use, spiritual beliefs and personal relationships and opinions.
ContributorsReddy, Miranda Adelyn (Author) / Wu, Xu (Thesis director) / Bovio, Sonia (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
This project is a case study of the how The New York Times metro desk and its journalists used Twitter throughout the duration of Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy affected the East Coast of the United States in late October and early November 2012. The study specifically focuses on a random sampling of journalists' individual Twitter accounts as listed on the Times website directory and the official New York Times Metro account, which tweets breaking news in the New York City metro area of five New York City boroughs and New Jersey. This study categorizes the tweets according to types of tweet, with regard to whether individual tweets were "retweets" (reposting of another Twitter user's tweet) as well as the tweet's contents by categories relevant to the storm. This case study utilizes a qualitative approach. The categories were determined based on theme as a contextual analysis to synthesize information more broadly to be more inclusive of tweets occurring during the time frame of October 27 to November 3, 2012. The study then analyzes the tweets through the lens of the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics, a code voluntarily embraced by thousands of journalists as a guideline for ethical behavior in the profession, and the New York Times informal guidelines for its journalists' social media use. The study seeks to explore the ethical implications of Twitter's use during breaking news and how the message is delivered can be framed by as a tweet or retweet rather than shared through traditional journalism methods (via print or a news organization's website.)
ContributorsSteffan, Sara (Author) / Matera, Fran (Thesis director) / Thornton, Leslie (Committee member) / Gilpin, Dawn (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
This study investigates the use and perception of communications efforts among 197 animal-related and human services nonprofit organizations. Several facets of nonprofit communication such as traditional communication usage, social media adoption and usage, and the overall perception of the organizations' communications efforts were examined using a survey and Form 990 analysis. More in-depth analysis was conducted on the participating organizations' Facebook and Twitter accounts as well. After analyzing this data, the study found significant differences in how these two types of nonprofit organizations conduct their communications efforts. Animal-related organizations were much more active and saw higher levels of engagement on Facebook than human services organizations; however, there were no differences in how both types of organizations used Twitter. This study also found that human services organizations are more likely to have full-time or part-time staff members in charge of their communications, while animal-related organizations were more likely to assign this responsibility to a volunteer. These findings contribute valuable insight into how different types of nonprofit organizations are communicating with their stakeholders.
ContributorsColeman, Alexandria Elizabeth (Author) / Wu, Xu (Thesis director) / Taj, Torrie (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05