posted on 2018-08-17, 10:43authored byRobert Cluley, William Green
Purpose
Informed by social representation theory, the study explores how marketing workers represent
their activities on social media.
Design/methodology/approach
A naturalistic dataset of 17,553 messages posted on Twitter by advertising workers was
collected. A sample of over 1,000 unique messages from this dataset, incorporating all external
links and images, was analysed inductively using structured thematic analysis.
Findings
Advertising workers represent marketing work as a series of fun yet constrained activities
involving relationships with clients and colleagues. They engage in cognitive polyphasia by
evaluating these productive differences in both a positive and negative light.
Research limitations/implications
The study marks a novel use of social representation theory and innovative social media analysis.
Further research should explore these relations in greater depth by considering the networks that
marketing workers create on social media, and establish how, when and why marketing workers
turn to social media in their everyday activities.
Practical implications Marketing workers choose to represent aspects of their work to each other using social media.
Marketing managers should support such activities and consider social media as a way to
understand the lives and experiences of marketing workers.
Originality and value
Marketing researchers have embraced digital media as a route to understanding consumers. This
study demonstrates the value of analysing digital media to develop an understanding of
marketing work. It sheds new light on the ways marketing workers create social relationships
and enables marketing managers to understand and observe the social aspects of effective
marketing.
History
Citation
European Journal of Marketing, 2019
Author affiliation
/Organisation/COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, ARTS AND HUMANITIES/School of Business