The Greens of Finland in social media: Facebook as a communication forum
Leskinen, Hanna (2012)
Leskinen, Hanna
HAAGA-HELIA ammattikorkeakoulu
2012
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201202162270
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201202162270
Tiivistelmä
The Greens of Finland is a Finnish political party which is actively involved in social media in general, and on Facebook in particular. The objectives of this thesis were to assess Facebook as a communication tool for the Greens and to improve the party’s social media strategy. The research was made during the period from February 2011 till January 2012. The research methods used were mainly qualitative – content analysis was made on all data. Furthermore, typology and quantification were used in the analysis conducted on Facebook discussions.
The primary data come from discussions on Facebook during the government negotiations in spring 2011, when the Greens actively communicated on their Facebook page. Different comment types were created, based on the tone of discussion and the complexity of comments. The level of interactivity between people and the influence of communication means were also assessed. Discussion topics were not in the main focus of this research.
The findings from Facebook were compared to the secondary data, interviews with the Greens’ Communication Team on their experiences with Facebook as a communication tool and discussions of a web communication network based on the Green discussion forum regarding their own presence in the social media. Based on my findings and the relevant theory on social media and social media strategies, I have made developmental suggestions regarding the usage of Facebook vis-à-vis the Greens’ social media strategy.
The results indicate that the Greens’ Communication Team knows the contents of their Facebook page quite well and that they use it in various ways. They benefit substantially from social media’s two-way communicational nature, but they could be somewhat more interactive. The discussion on the Greens’ Facebook page is equally analytical and critical; people tend to justify their opinions and not just express a feeling, for instance. Crowdsourcing – asking people to participate – creates the most discussion. As for social media strategy, volunteers’ help could be exploited more efficiently, the discussion online could be directed to a certain forum and different forums could be made more open to the public.
The primary data come from discussions on Facebook during the government negotiations in spring 2011, when the Greens actively communicated on their Facebook page. Different comment types were created, based on the tone of discussion and the complexity of comments. The level of interactivity between people and the influence of communication means were also assessed. Discussion topics were not in the main focus of this research.
The findings from Facebook were compared to the secondary data, interviews with the Greens’ Communication Team on their experiences with Facebook as a communication tool and discussions of a web communication network based on the Green discussion forum regarding their own presence in the social media. Based on my findings and the relevant theory on social media and social media strategies, I have made developmental suggestions regarding the usage of Facebook vis-à-vis the Greens’ social media strategy.
The results indicate that the Greens’ Communication Team knows the contents of their Facebook page quite well and that they use it in various ways. They benefit substantially from social media’s two-way communicational nature, but they could be somewhat more interactive. The discussion on the Greens’ Facebook page is equally analytical and critical; people tend to justify their opinions and not just express a feeling, for instance. Crowdsourcing – asking people to participate – creates the most discussion. As for social media strategy, volunteers’ help could be exploited more efficiently, the discussion online could be directed to a certain forum and different forums could be made more open to the public.