to like or not to like - au purepure.au.dk/portal/files/36333087/to_like_or_not_to_like.pdfmarketing...

TO LIKE OR

NOT TO LIKE

How political communicators could benefit from making it personal

Line Bisgaard Nielsen May 5, 2011 Supervisor: Eva Aas Søndergaard

Total characters of BACHELOR thesis excluding spaces:54,646

Marketing and Management Communication

Department of Language and Business Communication Aarhus School of Business

To like or not to like How political Communicators could benefit from making it personal

Line Bisgaard Nielsen May 5, 2011 2 of 42

Executive Summary

Politicalcommunicationsurroundsuseverywherewego.Itisinthewaterwedrink,thecars

wedriveandtheclotheswewear.Notlongago,politicalcommunicatorsstillhadtosendtheir

messagethroughthebigmassmediamachine,riskingitwouldbetwistedandendupbeing

somethingfarfromwhattheyhadplanned.Today,thetableshaveturnedandpoliticianscan

communicate directly with their voters on social media platforms such as Facebook. An

opportunity like this brings a lot of possibilities but a lot of responsibility aswell. For can

politicianscommunicateonaplatformthatwascreatedwiththeintentionofsocializingand

yetstillemploytheirtraditionalapproachtorhetoricaltoolsandmeans?Aretheypermitted

tochoosewhenandwhattheywanttoshareandcommenton,ordotheyhaveanobligation

toengageineverything?

Thisthesishassetouttogainnewtheoreticalinsightonwhetherornotemployingprinciples

fromstorytellingandsocialnetworkingoptimizationtostatusupdatecommunicationwould

be efficient andmake sense, considering traditional communicative rhetoric. Itwill as such

not seek to explain anything, but base its conclusions on the theoretical framework and

constructedexamples.

Storytelling as a concept is discussed in the third chapter and initiates in the theoretical

approach that all communication canbe storytelling, as longas it is adapted to the specific

situation, audience andpurpose.Anoverall understanding andbasic frameworkhavebeen

provided for the analysis in chapter five and brief sections on the emergence and cultural

importanceofStorytellingandthetextualandstructuralelements,whichcanbeemployedfor

composingastatusupdateforpoliticalcommunicativepurposes,areconsidered.Thechapter

endswith theElaborationLikelihoodModel,whichwill in theanalysisprovideameans for

measuringtheeffectivenessofthestatusupdates.

ChapterfourinvestigatesseveraldifferentconceptsundertheoveralltermSocialNetworking

Optimization. Aaker’s self‐expression model has been incorporated to provide theoretical

supportforthelaterreviewonthelikefeatureonFacebook.Complementingthat,istheoryon

viral marketing, buzz‐worthiness and word of mouth to provide further background for

aspectsintheanalysis.



Thecollectionoftipstoachievesocialnetworkingoptimizationiscombinedwithasectionon

Aristotle’s art of Rhetoric to provide tangible points to include and analyse on in the later

analysis.ThechapterisconcludedwithMartinJoos’theoryonstyleandlinguistics.Joos’scale

offormalityisanimportantfactorinthelateranalysisandisthereforescrutinized.

The fifth and sixth chapters investigate and analyse status update examples from the

AustralianPrimeMinisterJuliaGillardandtheAmericanPresidentBarackObama.Arguments

fromthetheoreticalbackgroundsectionaredrawninandprovidetheframeworkonwhich

the analysis is conducted. To analyse on the theoretical possibility of achieving effective

communication by incorporating social networking optimization and storytelling, three

examples of successful status update communication have been constructed, based on

recommendationsfromthetheoreticalchapters.

Inordertosupplywell‐foundedtheoreticalconclusions,oneissuehadtobesolved;Successful

statusupdates couldgeneratewordofmouthandensure importantmessageswere spread

via the share function on Facebook but as it has not been possible to uncover any kind of

suitable evaluativemeans to concludewhether status update communication on Facebook

canberegardedsuccessfulornot, thethesishasdevelopeditsown:the likeparameter.The

amountoflikesoneachstatusupdatecanbeproportionallycomparedtothenumberofstatic

followers, and thereby indicate how well the status update has been received. The like

parameterhasestablishedanaveragelikerateandthecircumstancesthatcombinelikesand

effectiveness.Basedontheestablishedtheoreticalframeworkitwillbestronglyadvisedthat

politicians consider incorporating storytelling and social networking optimization and

incorporate them in their communicative strategy to make their status updates more

invigoratingandrelevanttothereaders.

Totalnumberofcharactersexcl.blanks:3645



TableofContent

1.INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................................... 5

1.1THESISSTATEMENT.................................................................................................................................................................51.2STATEMENTOFINTENT ..........................................................................................................................................................61.3SCIENTIFICMETHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................................................................61.4THEORETICALFRAMEWORKANDSTRUCTURE ...................................................................................................................71.5DELIMITATIONS........................................................................................................................................................................8

2.BACKGROUND........................................................................................................................................................ 9

2.1POLITICALCOMMUNICATION .................................................................................................................................................92.2FACEBOOK .............................................................................................................................................................................. 102.2.1Statusupdates ................................................................................................................................................................ 102.2.2Commentsandlikes...................................................................................................................................................... 11

3STORYTELLING:TELLINGTHERIGHTSTORYORTELLINGTHESTORYRIGHT? .......................... 12

3.1STORYTELLINGSTRUCTURE ................................................................................................................................................ 133.2IDIOMSANDSAYINGS ............................................................................................................................................................ 153.3THEFIVELANGUAGESOFSTORYTELLING ......................................................................................................................... 163.4THEELABORATIONLIKELIHOODMODEL......................................................................................................................... 17

4.SOCIALNETWORKINGOPTIMIZATION:THEKNOWLEDGEOFHOWTOCREATECONSENT

WILLALTEREVERYPOLITICALPREMISE ...................................................................................................... 19

4.1THESELF‐EXPRESSIONMODEL ........................................................................................................................................... 194.2WORDOFMOUTHMARKETING‐BUZZITUP! ................................................................................................................ 214.3SOCIALNETWORKINGOPTIMIZATION .............................................................................................................................. 234.4ETHOS,PATHOSANDLOGOS‐ARISTOTLE’SARTOFRHETORIC ................................................................................... 244.5MARTINJOOSANDTHEFIVECLOCKS ............................................................................................................................... 25

5AUSTRALIANPRIMEMINISTERJULIAGILLARDONTHERECENTFLOODINGOFEAST

AUSTRALIA............................................................................................................................................................... 28

6.AMERICANPRESIDENTBARACKOBAMAONTHEARIZONASHOOTINGS ...................................... 34

7.CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................................ 38

8.BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................................................................... 40

BOOKS: ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 40WEBSITES: ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 41

APPENDIXA:THE“LIKE”PARAMETER...................................... FEJL!BOGMÆRKEERIKKEDEFINERET.



1.Introduction

In today’s ever changing society, communication is never just communication. As long as

humansandthenotionofpowerhaveexistedsidebyside,communicativeeffortstoacquire

authorityhavebeenmade.WalterLippmannoncesaidthat“theknowledgeofhowtocreate

consentwillaltereverypoliticalpremise1”,anditisbasedonthatclaim,thisreportwilltryto

map out tools for optimizing the results of successful political communication via social

media.

The thesis will investigate political communication on social networks exemplified by

Facebook and analyze this through specific examples from the American president Barack

ObamaandtheAustralianPrimeMinisterJuliaGillard.

The thesis incorporates storytelling principles, self‐staging concepts from the field of

branding and clues for social networkingoptimization. Furthermore, the thesiswill shortly

considerhowonlinemassmediamessagesaremostoftenreceivedandreactedupon.Finally,

aconclusionwillbemadeinregardtowhetherpoliticalcommunicationonsocialmediacan

beconsideredsuccessful.

1.1Thesisstatement

Froma theoreticalpointofview, the thesissetsout todiscuss thepossibilitiesofachieving

effectiveandsuccessfulpoliticalcommunication,whenemployingelementsfromstorytelling

and social networking optimization. The analysis will be made based on the theoretical

framework andwill incorporate points from the specially developed like parameter, which

will be discussed later.With the emergence of overwhelminglymany new communication

platforms,abasicunderstandingforcommunicativepatternscanbedifficulttomaintain.This

hasledtothefollowingthesisstatement:

1 McNair, Brian (1995) An introduction to Political Communication. Page vii



Basedonthetheoreticalframework,andthediscussedexamples,howcouldpoliticians

theoreticallyimprovetheeffectivenessoftheircommunicationbyemployingprinciplesof

storytellingandsocialnetworkingoptimization?

1.2Statementofintent

Political communication is relevant and important to all of us. It affects us, whether we

acknowledgeitornot,promptsustomakedecisionsprooragainst,approvalordisapproval,

importantorun‐important.Buthowisittheydo,thesepolitical“masterminds”?Aretheyall

equally good at communicating, and which communicative tools can improve the

effectiveness of their efforts? The fields of corporate storytelling and social networking

optimization have increased over the latest years and to create a united platform for

communication from these two would be both relevant, new and interesting. Therefore, a

combinationofelementsfromthesetwosectorshasbeenconstructed,andspecificexamples

fromtherealpoliticalstageonFacebookwillbeanalyzedbasedonthis.Theaimistoendup

in conclusions as towhethermeans of storytelling and social networking optimization can

improvetheeffectivenessofpoliticalcommunication.

1.3ScientificMethodology

Thethesiswillbewrittentakingintoaccountthescientificmethodologyofhermeneutics.To

specify, the investigative and analytical parts of the thesis will be based on classical

hermeneutics,whichfocusonthemessageandthesenders’partandmeansofconveyingthe

message.ThehermeneuticalmethodologymostoftenreferstotheGermanphilosopherHans‐

GeorgGadamer’swork,whichpresentedtheconceptoftabularasa;nobodyenterstheworld

as a clean slate, we all hold presumptions and prejudices based on our prior gained

knowledge2.Thismeans,thatcontradictingtoforexamplethepositivistictheory,twominds

will never reach the same conclusion; two pairs of eyesmight see the same thing, but the

reasoningpartoftwobrainswillmost likelyneverdrawthesameconclusions,andthereby

differentopinionsarecreated.

2 Warnke, Georgia (1987) Gadamer: Hermeneutics, Tradition, and Reason. Page 76



The different opinions on a politician’s appearance will therefore also be individually

constructed,and this iswhyahermeneuticalapproach isevident inunderstandingpolitical

communicationonsocialmedia.

As the basic approach to classical hermeneutics is that understanding is created not only

basedonobjectiveexperiencesbutalsobypriorgainedknowledge3, classicalhermeneutics

will serve as a methodological departure for this thesis and supply a basic framework of

understandingastohowthereadersmayindividuallyunderstandandabstractmeaningfrom

thepoliticians’statusupdates.

1.4TheoreticalframeworkandStructure

In order to answer the thesis statement, the thesis has been divided into six chapters and

structured in a background chapter, two theoretical chapters, an analytical chapter and

conclusion,whereallthefindingsfromtheprevioussectionscometogether.

The background sectionwill begin by briefly defining political communication, to supply a

frameofunderstanding so the readers can comprehend the later chapters.Then, the thesis

willturntoFacebookandashortdescriptionofrelevantfeatures.Thisisdonetoestablishthe

basiccircumstancesofcommunicatingonFacebook4.Asithasbeendifficulttoobtainspecific

published sources for the section about Facebook, this sectionhas beenbasedon statistics

fromFacebook’sowninformationpage.

Moving on from the descriptive parts, the thesis has two theoretical chapters, which

scrutinize communicative means of storytelling and social networking optimization, both

fields representing relevant theories to support the following analysis. As it has not been

possibletoobtainanysuitablepublishedsourcesonelectors’receptionandattitudetowards

statusupdatesonFacebook,thethesiswillbelimitedtoothersourcesofinformation,suchas

books thatwill supply the theoretical framework,andonlinesurveys,blogsand interviews,

whichwillprovideinformationaboutstorytellingandsocialnetworkingoptimization.

3 Ibid. 4 http://socialmediatoday.com/index.php?q=soravjain/195917/40-most-popular-social-networking-sites-world



The analysis is divided into two sections; the first part scrutinizes an example of a status

update from the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the effectiveness of her

communicativemeans.Thisisfollowedbyananalysisofacomparablestatusupdateexample

fromtheAmericanpresidentBarackObama.Intheconclusion,thedifferentpartsofthethesis

aretiedtogetherandconclusionsontheanalysiswillprovideaframeworkforansweringthe

thesisstatement.

1.5Delimitations

Consideringtherestrictivenatureofthethesisstatement,thethesiswilluseitsfindingsfrom

Facebooktomakespecificassumptionsaboutsocialmediaingeneral.Theconsiderationswill

however not include neither Youtube, LinkedIn, Twitter or the likes but accept that they

possesotherdimensionsofthesamecommunicativeplatformandcouldberelevanthaditnot

beentooextensive.

The analysis will be based on the content of written status updates, thus, not take into

considerationaspectssuchasfont,sizeandcolour,astheseareconsideredirrelevant,given

thatFacebookhas anoverall graphic look.Any considerations aboutoral storytellingor its

endorsingmeansasforexamplebodylanguagehavebeenleftouttoensurethefocusiskept

onthewrittenaspect.Personalexpressionssuchasvisualappearance,profilepicturesetc.are

acknowledgedandacceptedas important factorsof this typeofonline communication, and

will therefore shortly be considered in the initial background section of Facebook, but no

further than that. This is done, as the overall focus is on the possibilities for optimizing

communicationbyemployingalternateviewsontheconstructionofmessages.

Noattentionhasbeenappointed to the risksof thewordofmouthconcept, suchas lossof

controlorbadonlinebehaviourandnoemphasizewillbeputoncrowdsandtheirbehaviour,

asthemethodologicalapproachisclassicalhermeneutics,whichstrictlyfocusesonthesender

ofamessageandthemessageitself.



2.Background

2.1Politicalcommunication

Politicalcommunicationsurroundsuseverywherewego.Itisinthewaterwedrink,thecars

we drive and the clothes we wear. You cannot go through one day without feeling the

implicationsofpoliticaldecisions.Assuch,politicalcommunicationisanevidentplayerinthe

modernsocietyandshouldthereforebeinvestigatedandconsideredcarefullyandtoaneven

higherextentthanitalreadyis.

Even though most newspapers and broadcasting channels are usually open about which

politicalpartiestheysupport,itisnotalwayseasyfortheeverydayconsumertolookthrough

these somewhat “hidden” layers of opinion creation. Furthermore, it can be hard to

distinguishbetweenthecommunicationandthecommunicator,whichiswhysocialmediais

brilliantforpoliticalcommunication.

Communicationisneverjustaboutthemessage;whatisbeingcommunicated.Farfrom.Toa

higherandhigherdegreemoreemphasisisbeingputonthechoiceofmedium.Gonearethe

dayswhenpoliticalmessageshadtogothroughthebigmediamachinetoreachtheirtarget

audience. The risk of the message being twisted, concluded upon or presented in an

unattractivemannerdoesnotexistinsocialmedia.Here,itisthepoliticiansthemselves(orat

leasttheadministrationbehind)whosendthemessageandgettheresponsedirectlythrown

intotheirinbox.Butthatopensupfornewchallenges,becausewherearetheguidelinesfor

what is feasible and what is wrong?Which tools should be implemented in order for the

communicationtohavetheplannedresults?

Kaidetal.speaksofthreedifferentcategorieswithinthepoliticalreality;theobjectivepolitical

reality, the subjective political reality, and the constructed political reality5. The constructed

political reality is the one peoplemost often learn about politics through;when themedia

coverastory,theywillconstructthatstorytofittheirprogrammeorformerstories,thereby

making conclusions for the audience before they get the change to do so themselves. The

subjective reality is constituted of the opinion making that happens, when people attend

politicalgatheringsandmeetingsandcreatememoriesbasedonpriorgainedknowledge.As

5 Op.cit. 1. Page 11



the costs of campaigning have increased dramatically over the last decade6, the search for

alternativewaysofpromotionhasincreasedproportionally.Pitfallscanemergewherenoone

thoughtpossible,iftheplayersofthepoliticalgamearenotverycarefultoplaybytherules

and regulations created by a consensus between the three key players; the political

organisations,themediaandthecitizens.Startingout,thepossibilitiesofreachingyourtarget

audiencewith therightmessagecanseemclose to impossible.Findingthesecretrhetorical

weaponsandmasteringthemtoperfectionwouldprobablybeeveryspin‐doctor’sdream,but

theroadis longanddifficult.Thisthesis investigatestheuseofapersonallyangledpolitical

typeofcommunication,primarilydrawingonthesectorsofpersuasivetextualelementsand

storytelling.

2.2Facebook

IfFacebookwereacountry,itwouldbethethird‐largestintheworld7.Morethan500active

users regularly log in to get anupdate on their networks’ social lives, blog, spam, or share

pictures or the latest news from their small part of the world8. The social network has

expanded toadegree that50%of theusershave to log ineveryday9 to checkupon their

average130friendsandspendashockinglyaccumulated700billionminutespermonth10.

2.2.1Statusupdates

AkeyfeatureonFacebookisthatyouareabletopoststatusupdates,tellingyourfriendsor

followers what you are up to, sharing your view on different issues and depicting certain

points in your life. The general tone on Facebook is and has always been very informally

connoted as this “can create a sense of belonging11” rather than other official channels of

communication, which often have a formal manner. The status‐updating feature is

constructedtoresembleabloginmanyways,andis“postedinchronologicalorder,likeadiary

6 Op. cit. 1 Page 37 7 http://www.purchase.com/blog/social-media/if-facebook-were-a-country 8 http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics 9 http://smedio.com/2011/04/25/now-that-nearly-every-one-is-social-how-do-you-differentiate-yourself/ 10 Op. Cit. 8 11 http://www.docstoc.com/docs/33259476/Formal-and-informal-communication-channels



or a journal, with the most recent posting appearing at the top of the blog12”. This specific

possibility is great for politicians, as it allows them to share their viewpoints on different

topics and do so in a medium that is traditionally very informal. Should the political

strategistswishtoemploythefullpotentialeffectsofthestatus‐updatingfeature,theyshould

strivetomakethetoneasinformalaspossible,continuingthelaid‐backtone“normal”users

employ. Unfortunately, this is often not the case; a lot of political communication is

constructedratherformally,andpoliticians’Facebookpagesarenoexception;statusupdates

quickly become very reserved and impersonal, working against the original purpose of

Facebookasamedium.

2.2.2Commentsandlikes

Included in the status‐updating feature is a possibility for the followers or peoplewho are

simplyviewingthepagetolikeandcommentonthese.Thisdimensionhasbeeninvestigated

inmoredetail,andwillbeincorporatedintheanalysisinchapter5.Thelikefunctionshould

beincorporatedintoanypoliticalcommunicativestrategyasitcangenerateabuzzandlead

to a word of mouth effect. This happens because the status update will be posted on the

profilesandwallsofthepeoplewhohavelikedit,alongwiththefullamountoflikes,thereby

showingittoentirenetworks,givingthemapossibilitytoread,likeandcommentthemselves.

12 Paxson, Peyton (2010) Mass Communication and Media Studies - An Introduction. Page 154



3Storytelling:Tellingtherightstoryortellingthestoryright?

“Tomasterpowerfulandeffectivecommunication,toengagepeopleandensuretheyremember

facts, or tobreakdownbarriers of isolationwithinorbetweengroups, telling stories in some

formisessential13.

Asa concept, storytellinghasexisted formany thousandsofyears.It iswidelyknown from

ancientAustralia,China,India,Indonesia,Italy14andGreece15.Oneofthebestgloballyknown

stories inmodernday,arethegreattalesofTheOdysseyandTheIliad,whichit isbelieved

both stem from the great Greek storytelling tradition, andwas onlywritten down by now

famous Homer16. Oral storytelling remains today the primary tool of learning and

understanding values inmany tribal cultures,whichhave low literacy rates17, but is in our

Westernculturetodaymoreconspicuousasacorporatecommunicativetool18.

Storytellingisatool,whichcanbeincorporatedtoshareimportantinformationwith,inthis

case, followers on social media. Instead of providing them with the full picture, the

communicatorgives themmetaphoricalcuesso that theywill reach theirownconclusion19.

Storytellingcanbeverysuccessfulforthecommunicatortoincorporateaseither“atemplate

for creating the future20” or “as part of a sensemaking process21”. The possibilities for

politicians to employ storytelling are obvious; rather than trying to sell new stories in the

sameoldmanner,withtraditionalbroadcastingandlonganddullspeeches,moreandmore

politiciansincorporatestorytellingpractises,whichcan“useverbalpicturestocreateinterest,

(…)andcanhelpbridgethegapbetweendataandknowledge22”.Inshort,storytellingmakesit

13 http://www.timsheppard.co.uk/story/faq.html#Introduction 14 http://www.timsheppard.co.uk/story/faq.html#Books 15 http://www.yourdiscovery.com/greece/entertainment/index.shtml 16 Ibid 17 http://www.leraconteur.scriptmania.com/hints.htm 18 Denning, Stephen (2005) The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling. Page vii 19 Windahl, Sven et al. (2008) Using Communication Theory - an Introduction to Planned Communication. Page 177 20 http://www.12manage.com/description_storytelling.html#userforum 21 Weick, Karl E.: Sensemaking in organisations. Page 172 22 Op. Cit. 20



easier for thepoliticalcommunicatorstoconnectwiththeaudienceandfortheaudienceto

graspthemessage23.

Storytelling often makes use of improvisation and exaggeration and paints a picture of a

situationthatholdselementsvaluabletothelearningofthepeoplelistening24.Itspurposecan

beeverythingfromsharingmoralvaluestohandlingcrisiscommunication.

Thegeneral ideathatonecouldsitatapersonalcomputerandwritesomethingthatwould

reachandappealtopeopledirectly,invigoratethemandsparkaction,almostsoundstoogood

to be true. The key is to make the message relevant to the receivers, get them to work

togetherthroughaunitedandeasy‐adaptablecause. Itwouldbeobviousthat inanelection

situationmany“followers”onTwitter,Facebookorothersocialmediacouldbegentlypushed

intobeing truespokesmen for thecause; continuouslydoing thebest theycan to reach the

commongoal.

3.1Storytellingstructure

Withinthefieldofstorytellingmanypeopletendtodisagreeontheextentof limitationsfor

structuring a story25. Fog et al. argue that tobe efficient, storytellingneeds tohave certain

parameterstobebuildupwithinandincludespecificelements;message,conflict,characters

andplot26,whereassometheoristsdisagreeandpostulatethatastoryisbasicallyeverything

that canportray adeepermeaning27.Manypractitioners emphasizeoral storytelling as the

bestwaytoreachresultsbutothers,suchastheAfricanpractitionerFenyanNiaferdisagrees

bysayingthatwrittenstorytellingcanbejustasefficient,thestorytellerjustneedstoemploy

other tools and ways to reach the same rate of efficiency28. This thesis will employ a

theoretical platform based on Stephen Denning’s approach, that everything can be

storytelling,aslongasthereisastorytotellandthestoryisadoptedtothesituationathand

23 Op. Cit. 19 page 177. 24 http://www.eldrbarry.net/roos/eest.htm 25 Op. Cit. 13 26 Fog, Klaus et al. (2004) Storytelling - Branding in Practice. Page 33 27 Op. Cit. 18 28 http://www.ancientsites.com/aw/Post/164873



as this is considered to be the theoretical approach that corresponds best with the thesis

statement29.

So,howcanstorytellingbestructuredthen?Ifnospecificguidelinescanbeagreedupon,the

task of employing successful storytelling can appear immensely difficult, when millions of

messagesarebeingsenteveryday,andyouneedtomakesurepeoplewillrememberyours30.

Luckily, basic principles collected from a broad mix of storytelling practitioners can be

incorporated:

• Concentratethestoryononesimplemessage,tomakesurefocusiskeptandpeopledo

notgetconfusedandremembertohaveanintriguingopening31.

• “Avoid describing feelings. Help your listeners actually experience the emotions of the

story”32.Vividwordsandexpressionscanbeusedtopaintmetaphoricalpicturesand

pleasing sounds, feelings, smells, touches,whichwill support the story’sobjective in

thereaders’mindsandmakethestorycomealive.,therebyenablingthemtorelatetoa

higherdegree33.

• Present characters and settings with expressions that are familiar to the readers,

whichwillmakethemsympathizewiththedisplayedfeelings,whichwillinturngivea

higherrelatednessrate34.Whenpeoplerelatetothestory,itservesasacentralcuein

theELMmodel,whichwillbediscussedlaterinthechapter.

• Thestoryshouldalwaysbewrittensoitisappropriate35,appealingandevocativeand

makessense36totheaudienceyouarewritingto37.

• Besincereandenthusiasticanduseyourown“normal”languagewhenyoutellastory.

Makesureyourreaderswillgraspthatyouwrotethispiece,andnobodyelse‐share

somethingofyourself,alittlepartofyourpersonalityandtheyaremuchmorelikelyto

relate!

29 Op. Cit. 18. Page 7 30 Op. Cit. 19 31 MacDonald, Margaret R. (2006) The Storyteller’s start-up book: finding, learning, performing and using. Page 2432 Kevin, Jim. Scary Stories: Information for Tellers. 33 Greene, Ellin (1996) Storytelling - Art and Technique. Page 28 34 Op. Cit. 24 35 Vos, Gail de. Storytelling for young adults. A guide to tales for teens. Page 28 36 http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/mla/speak014.html 37 Op. Cit. 24



• Asastoryteller,therearedistincttoolsyoucanemploy;theseareemphasis,repetition,

exaggeration,transition,pauseandproportion38.

• Tellastoryyoulike39andknowbyheart40,andthenemployan“intimate”toneinyour

writing41.Chancesarepeoplewiththesameculturalbackgroundandtherebyframeof

referencewillalsofeelfamiliarityandreachthesameconnotedmessageasyoudid42,

allowingthemtobeabletorelatetothemessagebetter43.

• Roundingupthestory,donotconcludeanythingorgivethereadersasumup.Lettheir

mindshoverandlingeroverit44.Donotexplaineverything45,insteadletthemconsider

thestoriesanddrawtheirownconclusionsfromit46.

3.2Idiomsandsayings

IdiomsandsayingscanoftenbefoundinStorytelling.Theyserveasameansofpresentingthe

do’sanddon’t’sofacompany,corporationorsocialsituation47.Byusingidiomsorsayings,a

communicatorismuchmorelikelytoreachapointwherehisreaderscanrelatetowhatheis

saying, because a new association to something already well‐known is likely to trigger a

stimulus‐responseeffectandtherebycreateaconnectionbetweenthecommunicatorandthe

memory.ShouldBarackObamaforexamplechoosetotellastoryfromtheelectionnightand

use the saying “The eveningwasoneof a kind”, chances are the readerswill automatically

applythissentencetotheirunconsciousboxwithperceptionsofhim,whentheyhearorread

abouthiminthefuture48.

As the functionofemployingstorytelling isprimarilyperipheralandwill as suchnot cause

any long‐termchange, itcanonlybeadvisedtoemploy it inrathersimplecasesor initially,

where the level of response is typically very low49.One scenerywhere it is very successful

38 Op. Cit. 24 39 Op. Cit. 24 40 http://www.timsheppard.co.uk/story/faq.html#Being 41 Op. Cit. 35. Page 53 42 http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/mla/speak014.html 43 Op. Cit. 35. Page 23 44 Op. Cit. 35. Page 27 45 Ibid 46 Op. Cit. 24 47 Op. Cit. 20 48 Newsom, Doug & Haynes, Jim (2005) Public Relations Writing - Form and Style. Page 41 49 Ibid



however, is when politicians are running for an election, and wish to create a connection

between the political brand and a certain buzzword, such as for example the Obama for

Change2008presidencycampaign50.Thereasonwhyusingidiomsandsayingsissoefficient,

isthat“theyrefertooursubconsciousandthey“willwork”inthefutureforaverylongtime51”.

3.3Thefivelanguagesofstorytelling

In the renowned storyteller Donald Davis’ book Telling your own stories, discusses five

differentcommunicationplatformstermedlanguagesthatareallaspectsofStorytelling.Davis

argues that storytelling shouldalwaysbe constructedwith “the suggestionofactions rather

thantheactingoutofanactionitself52.Theflowofthestoryshouldbenaturalandfluid,and

will, if perfectlyperformed, serveas a tool tokeep the audience’s attentionalluredat your

words53. An important point to consider is the variation in cultural non‐verbal

communication. Should your audience have a notably different cultural background and

therebyreactionparameter,itisevidenttoinvestigatethisbeforeyouconstructyourstory54

and adapt it to their relational pattern.Feedback is the reactions of the readers,which the

storytellershouldbeabletofocuson, inbetweencreatingdifferentstories.IntheFacebook

regime,feedbackwouldbethelikeorcommentfunction,earlierdescribedinthisthesis.Any

expression, however small, that people show an interest in what you are trying to

communicate, shouldbe incorporated into thenext story. It is important to consider every

expression of interest as something positive, it means that people are engaging in your

messageandcanrelatetoit,onewayoranother‐beitpositiveornegative55.Wordsarethe

mostimportantpartofstorytelling.Forthestorytocomealive,thestorytellerneedstofind

appropriatewordsandexpressionsthatcomenaturaltohisnormalstyleofcommunication56,

andwhichtheaudiencecanrelateto.

50 Op. cit. 12. Page 154 51 Op. cit. 20 52 Davis, Donald (2005) Telling your own stories. Page 56 53 http://www.boddunan.com/education/61-english-language/9560-the-art-of-story-writing-and-story-telling.html 54 Op.cit. 35 Page 20 55 Op. Cit. 35 Page 21 56 Op. Cit. 52 page 80-81



3.4TheElaborationLikelihoodModel

TheElaborationLikelihoodModelofpersuasionwasfirst

coined in1986byRichardPettyand JohnCacioppo,but

remainsasimportanttodayasbackthen.Itpresentstwo

different routes of processing information, and focuses

ontheextenttowhichanindividualneedstodevelopand

refine informationnecessary fordecisionmakingtooccur

given the circumstances the information is acquired

through. The possibility of achieving long‐term attitude

changedependsonanadoptionandelaborationprocess

ofthepresentedarguments.

Themodelpresentstwocognitiveroutes,thecentraland

the peripheral. Each route will end up in an attitude

change, but with different durations; is it achieved

throughuseofperipheralcues,theresultwillaccordingtothemodelbeshort‐term,whereas

the central processing sends the receiver into thorough engagement and involvement, and

therebycausespermanentresults57.Twofactorsareimportanttoconsiderinone’splanning

process:whetherthereceiversaremotivatedandabletoengageincentralprocessing.AsGass

andSeiterputit:“Becausecentralprocessingrequiresmorementaleffort,apersonwithgreater

motivationismorelikelytorelyoncentralprocessing(…)but(…)mustnotonlybewillingbut

alsoabletoprocessinformation”58.

Central processing focuses on the rational, compelling and logical angles of argumentation,

suchasforexamplethevalidity(qualitativeratherthanquantitative)ofthepointspresented,

acomparisontopriorgainedknowledgeetc,whereastheperipheralrouteisconcentratedon

superficialcharacteristics“thataren’tdirectlyrelatedtothesubstanceofthemessage59”such

ashumour, thespeaker’sappearance, titlesor formalityandhowappealinghe isperceived,

57 Source: http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/elaboration_likelihood.htm 58 Gass, Robert H. & Seiter, John S. (2003) Persuasion - Social Influence and Compliance gaining. Page 34 59 Ibid

Figure1:TheElaborationLikelihoodModel



eye contact or use of “credibility boosters” (e.g. leading statements such as “Dr. Med. said

this”,celebrityendorsersetc.).

TheElaborationLikelihoodModel’sdepictionofthecentralprocessingrouteisconsequently

the one any communication planner aims to achieve, as this will ensure lasting results, a

betterrecognitionofthepresentedsubjectinthefutureandahigherrateofattitudechange

andcompliancegaininginnon‐interpersonalrelationships60.Inthepoliticalcommunications

context considered in this thesis, the relevance should be obvious. If the political

communicatorcanfigureoutwhichcentralcuestofocusoninanyspeech,statementorstatus

update success is almost guaranteed for obtaining permanent results in terms of support,

loyalty, consistent election behaviour and involvement. To what extent the effects are

obtaineddependsontheeffectivenessandsuccessofthecommunicativemeansemployed.

60 Ibid Page 225-33



4.SocialNetworkingOptimization:Theknowledgeofhowtocreateconsentwillaltereverypoliticalpremise61

In this section the thesis will investigate what means the political communicator should

engageintoachievesocialnetworkingoptimizationincommunicationstrategies.Inorderto

be able to communicate a brand strongly, it is necessary to knowdifferent techniques and

skills and which values should be emphasized. In the following section the thesis will

investigatethedifferentpossibilitiesofdifferentiatingabrand,andhowtocreateasuccessful

brandingstrategy.

4.1Theself‐expressionmodel

David Aaker describes what he calls the self‐expression model in his 1996 book Building

StrongBrands,amodelthattriestoexplainwhypeopleengageinbuzzmarketingorwordof

mouth,whichwillbedealtwithlaterinthischapter.Themainideais,that“peopleusegoods

andpossessionsnotonlytosatisfyfunctionalneedsbuttoprovidemeaningandorganisationto

their lives62”. We all define and express our personalities and lifestyles by the choices we

make, the brands we promote, and the ways we choose to endorse these choices. Our

promotionalattributescanbewhatwewear,wherewelive,whomweloveandwhatweeat

andwemayactuallyexperiencediscomfort if theyarenotsustained63.Besidesthe fact that

vegansdonoteatmeat,thehopeistoconnotethemessagethattheywillnotexploitanimals

forfood,clothingandanyotherpurpose64thusbeingabetterpersonintheirterminology65.

By pressing “like” or sharing a status update promoting vegan ideology, a practitionerwill

showhissocialnetworkthathepromotestheseideas,therebyexpressinghisactualidentity

tohisentourage66.

61 Lippmann, Walter (1946) Public Opinion. Page 248. 62 Aaker, David A. (1996) Building Strong Brands. Page 153 63 Ibid 64 http://www.vegansociety.com/about/who-we-are.aspx 65 http://skreened.com/veganshopforvegans/vegans-are-better-people 66 Op. cit. 62



Tosomepeople“brandsbecomevehiclestoexpressapartoftheirselfidentity67”andtheywill

incorporate aspirational brand attributes to construct, sustain and express their ideal self

picture68.This isespeciallyobviousonthesocialnetworkingplatform,wherepeoplerepost

andcommentonpostingstheylikeandrelateto,andthesepostingsarethenpostedontheir

ownprofile in a thumbnail version.The followers alsohave thepossibility to share a liked

postwithdistinctmembersoftheirownnetworkviagroupmessages69.Thiswordofmouth

effect,whichwillbedealtwith later in thechapter, canbeachieved if thebrand is cleverly

communicated, and people regard the brand values as relevant to themselves, or even an

extensionoftheirownpersonality.

Acompetentandskilledbrandmanagermaybeabletocreateabrandstrategythatiscredible

enoughtobecomeagreatsuccesstotheextentthatthebrands“therebyserveasvehiclesfor

selfexpression70” for the followers. This can be achieved if the brand is cleverly

communicated,andpeoplecanrelatetothebrandvaluesasrelevanttothemselves,oreven

anextensionoftheirownpersonality.

Brand awareness is the intensity of a brand’s recollection, the extent towhich peoplewill

rememberaformerexposuretothebrand.Aaker’sresearchfromthe1996editionofBuilding

StrongBrandsconcludedthatpeoplewouldalwayspreferabrand“”theyhavepreviouslyseen

toonethatisnewtothem71”.Ifthatistrue,theprimaryeffortofanycommunicatorshouldbe

in the initial phase; tomake a lasting first impression.On the socialmedia platform, fonts,

colours and layout are typically fixed, but there is some obvious places to differentiate

yourself andmakea lasting impressing; the firstone is topromoteyourbrandbyhavinga

differentprofilepicture.Researchhaslongindicatedthatapicturesaysmorethanathousand

wordsandspeakstoapersononanentirelydifferentlevelthanwordscan72.Consideringthat

pictures in combination with text will most often function as peripheral cues73, a radical

picturecandoagreatjobatgainingthefirstattention,leavingthemessagestopushpeople

throughtothecentralroute.Theprofilepicturewillbeshowneverytimesomeonereadsan67 Ibid 68 Op. cit. 58 page 53 69 http://www.webanalyticsworld.net/2007/09/successful-facebook-groups.html 70 Op. cit. 58 page 53 71 Op. cit. 58 page 10 72 Kensinger, Elizabeth A. & Corkin, Suzanne (2003) Memory enhancement for emotional words: Are emotional words more vividly remembered than neutral words? Page 1177 73 Pagani, Margherita (2005) Encyclopedia of Multimedia Technology and Networking. Page 268



update fromyou,whenyoucommentonotherpeople’sstatusesorwhentheycommenton

yoursanditisshownintheirnewsfeed.Oneshouldnotgoforatoodifferentlayoutorpose,

as thiscouldbeperceivedasweird74,but therearesomebasic thingsyoucando, themost

dominant being colours. If you choose a profile picture with different and limit‐breaking

colouring, chances are it is more likely to stick around in

people’sminds.

This portrait of Barack Obama from the 2008 presidential

campaignwouldbegreatasaprofilepictureduetothedifferent

colour pattern ‐ which at the same time connotes patriotic

valueswiththecoloursoftheAmericanflag.Apicturelikethis

would be a lot more effective at gaining that first important

attention than his current, which is charismatic but still looks

likeatypicalpoliticalportrait.

4.2WordOfMouthMarketing‐Buzzitup!

Intoday’ssociety,peopleconstantlyevaluateandcomment

ontheirexperiencesasconsumers‐goodorbad75.Wordof

mouthis,initsmostbasicform,theoralorwrittenpassing

of stories, reviews, and evaluations from one consumer to

another. Ithasgrown from theneedofnewways to reach

peoplesince today’sgreatestchallengewithinmarketing is

that modern consumers “no longer trust traditional

marketing76”duetoageneraladvertisingoverloadandscepticism.Traditionalmarketingno

longer has the same influence, but research has shown that people trust their friends and

families’ evaluations over anything else77. To accomplish a WOM effect, viral marketing

techniques could be employed. Using pre‐existing online social networks to make people74 http://www.wikihow.com/Get-More-Followers-on-Twitter 75 http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/friending-the-social-consumer/ 76 Op.cit. 58 Page 5 77 Op.cit. 117

Picture1&2:http://www.facebook.com/barackobama



share a certain message, a message is spread from one person’s entire social network to

another’s, somewhat resembling the approach of a physical or technical virus, hence the

name.

AnimportantaspectofWOMisthatitis100%unpaid78,aspeoplewhodonotgainanything

personallyrisktheirnametoshareanexperience.Somewhatresemblingtheself‐expressive

modeldiscussed inthe formersection,WOMtheorysuggests that“people liketosharetheir

experiences(…)andwhenthoseexperiencesarefavorable,therecommendationscansnowball,

resulting in runaway

success”79.

One example could be

when Australian Prime

Minister Julia Gillard was

running for office in

August2010.Sheposteda

status update to her

Facebook page informing

peoplethattheycouldget

a twibbon sticker80 added to theirprofilepicture toproudly show theirpolitical conviction.

Theideafromherpointofviewisobvious;whenpeoplewereexpressingtheiropinionsand

stagingtheir idealized identity81asdiscussed in the formersection, theywouldat thesame

timebepromotingherpoliticalcampaigningtofriendsandfamily,resultinginaWOMeffect

as “consumers trust family and friends significantly more than other sources82” This would

naturallygenerateabuzzandpeoplewoulddrawattentiontoherpagebythemselves.

The goal of the communications planner is to create viral messages with high social

networkingappeal. If thegoal is successful, abuzzwill emerge ‐ tremendousattentionwill

surround and amplify the message, so the advertising efforts will become a self‐

78 http://webdesignerwall.com/general/word-of-mouth-marketing 79 http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/1956.html 80 http://www.facebook.com/juliagillard 81 Op.cit. 62 82 http://heidicohen.com/consumer-trust/

StatusUpdate1http://www.facebook.com/juliagillardasofJanuary3rd2011



augmentative83.Theidealbuzzeffectmakespeoplesokeentobethefirsttoknowandnotthe

leastsharesomethingthatacompetitivegroupwillwillinglyspreadalmostanythingtotheir

social networks. Whether or not the campaign will be a success, relies on the peoplespreadingthemessage’sinfluencewithintheirownsocialnetwork84.

4.3SocialNetworkingOptimization

• Updateregularlyandoften85, tokeepyourpage freshandnewsworthy86.Remember

thatwhensomeoneinteractsonyourpostingsitappearsonthatperson’snewsfeed,

promotingyou to their friends87.Avoid“spamming”people toomuch ‐ find theright

balance, which will typically be nomore than two updates a day (more for special

occasions)88.

• Catchuponfollowers’orfellowpoliticians’relevantpostsandcommentorre‐postone

ormore.Shareinterestinglinks,involveyourfollowers,asktheiropinion89andanswer

the followers commenting on your postings Make them feel like their opinion

matters!

• “Do something unexpected and worth talking about!90” and differentiate yourself

throughapersonalandpassionateapproach91.

• Share personal news about your life92 by posting photos and videos of friends and

family93on a regular basis94. This will give your followers a reason to relate and

connect with you95 and share your postsmore often; “the oddmindless post can be

entertainingandendearyouasahumanbeingtoyourfollowers96”.

• Adjust static all‐text postings to incorporate viral elements such as pictures, videos,

83 Op.cit. 62 84 http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/definition/buzz-marketing 85 http://robmaguire.com/2008/12/13-ways-promote-your-facebook-page/ 86 Owyang, Jeremiah (2010) The 8 success criteria for Facebook Page Marketing. Page 6 87 Op.cit. 75 88 http://ezinearticles.com/?Social-Network-Marketing-Strategies-and-Techniques&id=5499700 89 http://seanseo.com/social-media/social-media-optimisation-broadcasting-vs-connecting/ 90 Sernovitz, Andy (2009) Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking. Page 181 91 http://www.stephaniesammons.com/marketing-for-professionals/differentiate-yourself-with-the-new-ps/ 92 Op.cit. 74 93 http://EzineArticles.com/5499700 94 http://marketing.about.com//od/marketingmethods/tp/wordofmouth.htm 95 Op.cit 81 96 http://seanseo.com/twitter/interacting-with-your-tweeps/



andevensoundclipsor linkyourcontent toablogorpress releasewithelaborated

information97.• Ask,“Isthisbuzzworthy?”beforeeverypost98.

• Engage a vitalizing and varied language with a verb driven sentence structure99 to

avoidmonotony100andbecarefultomakethestatusupdatesneithertoolongnortoo

short,asitcanbeconfusingtoreadatextlikethat101.

4.4Ethos,pathosandlogos‐Aristotle’sartofRhetoric

Aristotle’sArtofRhetoricisanancientGreekworkbymanybelievedtobethecornerstonein

anylaterworkonpersuasivemeansandthemostimportantsingleworkonpersuasionever

written. It has often been accused of holding certain manipulative means102, but is, in its

original form, a guide to persuade for example a political audience to comply with the

speaker’sopinionandholdsassuchnoevilagenda103.ThemainessenceofAristotle’stheory

is, that persuasive appeals can be divided into three different categories; ethos (credibility

appeal),pathos (emotional appeal) and logos (logical appeal). This division is still relevant

today, and is employedbymanypoliticians tohelpmakepersuasivemessages104. Lateron,

the thesis will investigate the effects of a combination of the communicative tool of

storytellingandanemploymentofpathos.

Aritstotle’sapproachisinbynomeanstheonlyworkonmotivationalappeals.Accordingto

Gass and Seiter argue that a text constructed on warmth appeals will play primarily on

emotionalbenefits.Warmthappealsemphasizefamily,friendsandasenseofbelonging105and

willoftenspeaktoself‐efficacyandemotionalmeans.However,eventhoughtheirdescription

of a warmth corresponds well with Aristotle’s term pathos, the question his reasoning in

sayingthatwhen“peopleagreewithamessage,theytendtoperceiveitasbeingmorelogicalor

97http://www.carinafranco.com/blog/online-marketing/becoming-a-leader/how-to-differentiate-yourself-in-network-marketing-and-create-influence-in-your-audience/ 98 Op. Cit. 83 99 Op.cit 19 page 181 100 Op.cit 19 page 181 101 Op.cit 19 page 181 102 Garver, Eugene (1995) Aristotle’s Rhetoric: An art of Character. Page 83. 103 Ibid Page 78. 104 http://www.philosophypages.com/hype/2t.htm 105 Op.cit. 58 Page 283



rational innature.When theydisagreewithamessage, they tend to thinkof itasbeingmore

emotional in nature106” and by that question the enormous impact, stated by others to be

everlasting.Itisnotpossibletoreachafinalconclusiononthematter,asitdependsonwhich

theoreticalapproachoneemploysasascholar.

4.5MartinJoosandTheFiveClocks

Inordertounderstandwhypeoplecommunicatethewaytheydoandhowtheychoosefrom

thedifferentgrammaticalforms,stylisticsmustbetakenintoaccount.Followinguponearly

linguisticpapersontheusageoftheBritishlanguage,MartinJoosdecidedtomakeafullstop

attherightorwrongpractisethatruledinthebeginningofthepastcentury107.Joosargued

thatatoosimplifiedviewontheuseoflanguagecouldnevergiveafullandadequatepicture

for an analysis and should therefore be discarded. In order to set up sufficient tools and

guidelinesforcompetentandcorrectprofessionalcommunication,MartinJoospresentedhis

workTheFiveClocksin1962,arguingthatthenativeEnglishlanguageholdsmanydistinctive

usage scales and presenting the four he found most important; age, style, breath and

responsibility108.Intheworkitisbyfarthestylisticsthatareemphasized,anditwillalsobe

this section the thesis will employ. According to Joos, formality could be fitted into five

distinct stylistic categories; frozen, formal, consultative, casual and intimate109. These terms

havelaterbecomewidelyknownasJoos’scaleofformality.

Frozen serves as theextreme110 formal and isusuallyonly employed in staticwritten texts

suchastheoretical,biblicalandlegalworksanddeclamations111.Itisastaticstyleunchained

by all intonation, listeners’ engagement and is employed in texts that provides information

anddatatothereaderandnothingmore.MartinJoossaysitveryclearly:“Thefrozenstyleis

forpeoplewhoaretoremainsocialstrangers112”.

106 Op.cit. 58 Page 271. 107 Joos, Martin (1962) The Five Clocks. Page viii 108 Ibid page 11 109 Ibid 110 Albrecht, Lone (2000) Textual Analysis and the Production of texts. Page 109 111 Op.cit. 97 Page 39 112 Op.cit. 97 Page 41



Formal is one step down on the scale of formality, but it is still restricted in terms of

effectiveness. This is due to the fact that the intention is to inform ‐ not communicate ‐ as

listeners’participationisstructurallynotapartofit113.Thiswouldtypicallyhappenwhenthe

numberofpeoplehasgottentoobig tocommunicatewithonapersonal level. “Background

informationiswovenintothetextincomplexsentences114.Thestructureisstrictlydividedinto

speakerandlistener;speakingtimeispermittedandappointedandassuchnotaninteractive

form of communication115. Formal stylistics will typically be employed when elucidating

complexdataorperformingspeeches116andhaveageneralabsenceofpersonalpronouns117.

Consultativeis“normal”language,themostusedandisoftenemployedwhencommunicating

withpeopleyouarenotfamiliarwith118.Itisimportanttoemphasizethatasufficientamount

of background knowledge should be applied, but that the listener’s active “participation

insuresthatthereshallbeneithertoolittle,nortoomuchbackgroundgiven119”.Itwilltherefore

beargued,thatinemployingtheconsultativestyle,thespeakercan,bylimitingtheamountof

background information given, engage the listeners to a stage where they are somewhat

“forced”intobecomingavividpartoftheconversation.

Casual style is fortherelationshipswithpeopleyouknow,butwhoyoudomaybenothave

theintimacywithtohaveajargonwithimplicitmeanings.Itcanhowever,bequiteuseful if

onewishestoestablishanothertypeofrelationshipwithanewacquaintance;“Casualstyleis

for friends, acquaintances, insiders; addressed to a stranger, it serves tomake himan insider

simply by treating as an insider120.” It is also important tonote that this stylemakesuse of

simple sentence structure121 and relies heavily on listeners’ participation and involvement,

and can be termed dialogue over information sharing. Contradicting the frozen style, the

speaker’sandlisteners’“personalitiescomplementeachotherinsteadofclashing122”.

113 Op.cit. 97 Page 37 114 Op.cit. 97 Page 37 115 Op.cit. 97 Page 36 116 Op.cit. 97 Page 34 117 Op.cit. 97 Page 37 118 Op.cit. 97 Page 23 119 Op.cit. 97 Page 33 120 Op.cit. 97 Page 23 121 Op.cit. 100 Page 110 122 Op.cit. 97 Page 40



The intimatestyleprimarilyconsistsof jargonand isonlyemployed inwell‐knownsettings

wherenoonecandoubttheimplicitconnotation123.Thetypicalintimatestylewillconsistof

extractions of words from sentences, where the focus is put on intonation and facial

expressions rather than explanatory sentence structure and thereby rely on the

listener/receiver’sabilitytoabstracttheintendedmeaning124.Joosemphasiseshowever,that

it is not due to rudeness, but simply because there is an implicit understanding between

peopleengaginginanintimateconversationalpattern.Thismeansthat“eachintimategroup

mustinventitsowncode”125.

Martin Joos andhisworkTheFiveClocks from1962 iswidely respectedandwell‐known in

areasof linguisticprofoundness, andhas servedas themeansof successful communication

formality‐wise formany people throughout the years. Critique on his works could be that

differentformalpatternsfollowdifferentculturesanditisassuchnotpossibletocreateever‐

relevant guidelines, and that “Joos’ particular gradation may not always be workable in

practicalanalysis126”asLoneAlbrechtputit,stipulatingthatasabasicframework,Joos’works

aregreat,butthatthecommunicationsplannershouldalwaysbearthedifferencesofculture,

socialclassetc.inmindtodefinethesituationalcontext127.

123 Op.cit. 97 Page 30 124 Op.cit. 97 Page 31 125 Op.cit. 97 Page 32 126 Op.cit. 100 Page 111 127 Op.cit. 100 Page 107



5AustralianPrimeMinister JuliaGillardon the recent floodingofEast

Australia

DuringlateDecember2010andearlyJanuary2011,theAustralianEastcoastwashithardby

flooding,whichdeclared75%of thestatedisasterzone128.WhileAustralianPrimeMinister

Julia Gillard (who will in the following analysis be referred to as JG) was holding press

conferences, giving statements to news broadcasting and setting up emergencywebpages,

therewas one field she neglected in particular; Facebook. Below is her first status update

sincethecatastrophe,fromDecember292010.

128 http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/

StatusUpdate1:http://www.facebook.com/juliagillardasofFebruary192011



Toachievesuccessfulcommunicationonsocialmedia,ithasbeenfoundthatitisimportantto

update often129, and this status update has clearly been down‐prioritized over the other

media, as they have seemedmore urgent to deal with. The problem is that if JG does not

prioritizeherfollowersonthismediumaswell,theyarelikelytosimplystopfollowingher130.

Ideally, she should update on Facebook every time she presents new information on other

media, so people were assured that this page and her followers there, were equally

important131. If that were the case, she would quickly get more followers, because a) her

followerswouldgetabroaderselectionofstatusupdates,andwouldtherebybemorelikely

toshareahigherpercentageandb)themagazinesandnewspaperswoulddiscoverthatshe

was in fact using this medium for personal communication and start quoting her from

Facebook,whichwouldensurethatc)newpeoplewhohavenotbeenfollowersbeforewould

realizeshehadaFacebookpageandbegintofollowher.

As thisstatusupdate is JG’s initialresponseto thecatastropheonFacebook, it issurprising

howsimpleitis;infact,itcanalmostnotbecalledastatusupdate,butratherastatement.If

anybodyhadhopedforalittlepersonality,theydidnotgetit.WhatJGistryingtodohere,is

toimposeauthorityandcredibilitytoherstatement,connotinganoverallsignificanceof“We

canhandlethis!”Shedoesthisbytryingtoemphasizetheextentofthefundsandauthorityin

herchoiceof“TheCommonwealthGovernment”insteadof“we”and“communities”insteadof

Australians.

InMartinJoos’terminology,thestylisticmethodemployedtoconstructthistextistheformal

style,astheintentionisstrictlyinformative132.Theevidentchoiceofstyleinacaselikethis

wouldbeconsultative,maybeevenincludingelementsfromthecasualstyle,asitwouldthen

have appeared as if JG was in fact trying to communicate with her followers, and was

interestedintheirresponsestoherpostings,duetothemorepersonaltone.Theformaltone

shouldactuallynotevenbe foundonasocialnetworkingpage,as thisdoesnotcorrespond

with theoverall purposeof this typeofpersonal communicationsplatform.Theabsenceof

129 Op.cit. 76 130 Op.cit. 86 131 Op.cit. 76 132 Op.cit. 97 Page 37



personal pronouns, emotional appeals and a simple sentence structure makes it far less

efficientthanitcouldhavebeen133.

Consider insteadthisconstructedexample,drawingonpreciselypersonalpronouns,simple

sentencestructureandanemotionalappeal:

“IamdeeplyaffectedbytheterribletragediesinQueenslandoverChristmas.Intimeslikethese

itbecomesobvioustomewhatitreallymeanstobeanAustralianIamproudtobeoneofmany

peoplecontinuouslyworkingsidebysidetohelpwherehelpisneededandshowthesuffering

peopleandtherestoftheworldthatweAustraliansstandtogether!”

The personal pronouns support the warmth appeal and Aristotle’s principles of pathos,

ensuringthatpeopleconsiderthemessagerelevant.Whatunfortunatelyoftenhappenswhen

politicians have social network pages is an over intentional structuring of status updates.

Ratherthanemployingtheformaltonethemostpoliticalprofilesuse,theintentionshouldbe

focussed on making it personal. This is probably because the politicians rarely make the

statusupdates themselves.Theyareratherput togetherbyagroupofstaff,whose job is to

makeitasflawlessaspossible.Asideaitcanworkbutinreallife,thelanguagegetstoostiff

andnotasrelevanttothepeoplefollowingthepoliticianasitcouldhavebeen.Therefore,it

shouldbe evident to consider thepersonal aspect as anything elsewill potentiallybackfire

and appear less trustworthy, thereby clashing with the original intentions of having the

profileatall.

Writing froma frameofreferencethatwillbe familiar tomostAustralians, it ismuchmore

likelythatpeoplewillsympathizewiththemessage,presslikeandshareittotheirnetwork.It

wouldbeavehicleofself‐expression134,sopeoplecouldshowtheirnetworkthatIcareaswell

thesecouldjustaswellbemywords.

IfJGcannotfindthetimeandefforttoupdateherpagesondifferentplatformscontinuously,

she could add applications thatdraw the content fromone social networkingplatformand133 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 134 Op.cit 62



sharesitwiththeothers.Thatwillbringnewcontenttoalltheplatforms,withouthavingto

updateoneachone,whilepromotingyourpresenceonothersitesatthesametime135.

In a crisis situation like this, it should be obvious to draw on some of the elements from

storytelling.Ashasbeendescribedinanearlierchapter,storytellingisallaboutinvigorating

pictures,smells,soundsandfeelingsinthereaders’minds,makethemcomealiveandenable

thereadertoexperienceamemoryinsteadoflistentoastory.WhenJGmakesastatusupdate

like the one shown above, she is in no way relying on listener participation136, and will

thereforenotbeawardedwithpermanentsupport137,whichwouldbetheobjectiveinacase

likethis.

EngaginginStorytellingtools,JG’sfirstpostafterthefloodingcouldhavesoundedlikethis:

“Icanonlyimaginehowitmusthavefelttostandthereandseethosebigwavesclaimour

coasts.Totastethesaltyairandseemyhousemyhomebeirreparabledestroyedintheblink

ofaneye.ThenervebreakingsoundofsolidwallsbeingtorndownandnothingIcandoexcept

fearingformylife.Helpmetohelptheheroesofthebigtragedybydonatingwhatyoucan.Ican

onlypraythatintimewecangivebackwhatthewatertook”.

Thisfictitiousstatusupdateisconstructedwithasimpleconnotedmeaning138,sothemessage

is emphasized. An emotional departure is taken in well‐known environments and vivid

descriptions,whichusedasrecognitionofscenerysparksrelatedness139andinvigoratesthe

message.Ratherthantellingthereaderswhattothinkorfeelbysupplyingexcessivedetailor

conclusions,individualscancontemplatefreely140andaretherebylikelytoengage;itwillno

longerjustbewordsandsentences,butpicturesandfeelingsinsidetheirmind,connotingthe

135 http://robmaguire.com/2008/12/13-ways-promote-your-facebook-page/ 136 Op.cit. 97 Page 23 137 Op.cit. 97 Page 35 138 Op.cit. 31 139 http://www.eldrbarry.net/roos/eest.htm 140 Op.cit. 35



perceptionofapersonalmemory141.Thelinguisticstyleissincere,openandnottooformal,so

thereadersarelikelytobelieveJGhasactuallywrittenitherself.

Byusingthesayingintheblinkofaneye,theintentionistocreateaconnectionbetweenthis

metaphorical expression and the readers’ own experiences of having something turned

aroundveryquickly142.Again, the incorporationofpersonalpronounsmakes the textmore

relatableandportraysJGassomebodywhoispersonallyinvolved143.

ThefloodingisrelevanttoallAustralians,andwiththecorrectlystructuredstatusupdate,JG

wouldbeabletoshowpeopletherelevancetothem,therebyensuringtheyengageincentral

processing, which will in turn make sure the efforts will be long lasting. Furthermore,

potentialdangersshouldalwaysbecommunicatedtomakesurepeopleareawareoftherisk

andthefactthatsheasarepresentativeofthegovernmentisawareofit144.

Duringtheresearchperiod,itwasnotpossibletofindsuitableevaluativemeanstoconclude

whether status update communication on Facebook can be regarded successful. Therefore,

thethesishasconstructed itsownparameter,hereafterreferredtoas the likeparameter145.

The methodology is that the amount of likes on a status upgrade can be proportionally

comparedtothefixedamountofpeople,whohavepressedlikeonthepage,andtherebygets

informed every time a new status update is posted. Analyzing the numbers from the like

parameter146,thisspecificstatusupdatefromJGisoneoftheleastsuccessful.Withageneral

averageof508,34likesperupdate,thisstatus,whichonlyachieved315,isinthelowpartof

theparameter.ConsideringthatJGactuallyhas99.472peoplefollowingheronFacebook,this

numberisshockinglylow.

Based on the theoretical framework it will be argued that the suggestions made in the

conductedanalysiscouldmakethestatusupdateappealingandrelevant,sopeoplearemore

likely to findthat theyarebothableandpersonallymotivatedtoelaborateandprocess the

141 Op.cit. 32 142 Op.cit. 48 143 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17005211 144 Op.cit. 58 Page 351 145 See Appendix A 146 See Appendix A



presented message147. If they take on this adoption process, they will engage in central

processing,whichwillcausepermanentresults.

147 Petty, R. E. & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986) Communication and Persuasion: Central and peripheral routes to attitude change.



6.AmericanPresidentBarackObamaontheArizonashootings

OnJanuary8th2011,Americawitnessedaterribletragedy,whentwentypeoplewereshotin

Arizona, among others the US Representative Gabrielle Giffords148. Crises call for crisis

communication, and the President of the United States Barack Obama (who will in the

followinganalysisbereferredtoasBO)wasquicktoupdateonthesocialnetworkingpages.

Hisstatusupdateread:

StatusUpdate2:http://www.facebook.com/barackobamaasofJanuary102011

BO has rightly seen that Facebook is a great opportunity “to connectwith people at a time

whensomanycitizenstendtofeeldisconnectedfromthepoliticalprocess”149andjumpswisely

at itwith a statusupdate almost immediately after the incident150.Theuseof thepersonal

pronounme shows that he is personally affected and cares151 and in mentioning his wife

Michelle Obama he emphasizes a connoted message of warmth, family and a sense of

belonging, which are all cues to an emotional appeal according to Artistotle152. The

mentioning of prayers, which is a religious cue153, supports the emotional appeal and

148 http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2041465,00.html 149 http://www.nbcbayarea.com/blogs/press-here/Obama-Facebook-and-2012-119569954.html 150 Op.cit. 76 151 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17005211 152 http://www.philosophypage.com/hype/2.htm 153 http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/ultimate_terms.htm



establishes a connectionbetween the establishedunited goal (of fighting injustice) and the

president.

By incorporating the saying154has no place in a free societyBO draws onpatriotic cues to

connoteafeelingoftogethernessandasenseofsharedbeliefs.Indoingso,hecleverlydepicts

anenemyofbasicAmericanbeliefsandvalues,stronglyemphasizingtothereadersthatthis

issomethingrelevanttothecoreofbeingAmerican;toallofthem.Furthermore,itshouldbe

noted that BO does not describe a personified villain, but instead focuses on the act and

feelingsofinjustice,therebycreatingalinguisticframeperfectforthemessagewecanhandle

thistogether!

WhatBOdoes in thestatusupdate is todepictaunited feelingofgriefyetstill connote the

message of a world leader who has authority. Had BO enhanced the sense‐approach and

includedrelevantandappealingfeaturesfromstorytelling,themessagewasmuchmorelikely

toinvolvehisaudience,andtherebycausingthemtogodownacentralrouteofprocessing155.

Today,IamnotthePresidentoftheUnitedStatestodayIamanAmerican.WhenIheardthe

terriblenewsIfeltthefearslipundermyskinandheardthescreamsforhelpechointhehallsof

theWhiteHouse.Today,Americahasbeenhurt!Todaywehavebeenhurt!

Letsusnolongertolerateinjusticeorfear,letusmakesuretodaywillbethefirstdayonthe

journeytoabettersociety.

Inthisfictitiousexample,BOemployssuccessfulrhetoricaltoolstogaincompliancefromhis

audience;theoverallmessageisdepictingfeelingsofempathyandtogethernessinjointgrief,

tostandupforcorevaluesandfightforacommongoal156.

The stylistic tone has moved down on the scale of formality and would by Martin Joos’

definition be consultative, as opposed to the original status update, but casual. By

incorporatinganewmoreintimatelinguisticstyleandemploythepersonalpronounsweand154 Op.cit. 58 page 145 155 Op.cit. 18 page 162 156 Op.cit. 31



us,BOautomaticallyportraysacloserandmorepersonalrelationshipbetweenhimassender

and the readers157. This corresponds well with the emotional appeal, the simple sentence

structureandtheuseofrepetitionandemphasisasrhetoricalcues158.

The statusupdatehasbeen constructed enhancing the resemblance to other great political

speeches,suchastheformerBritishPrimeMinisterWinstonChurchill’sWeshallfightonthe

Beaches159from1940.ThisincombinationwiththementioningoftheWhiteHouseisdoneto

createa familiar, safe andwell‐known frameof referenceand to remind the readersof the

valuesnormallycombinedwithpatrioticsymbolslikethese.

Byincorporatingmeansofstorytellingsuchasvividlydescriptivelanguageanddetailedsense

enhancements,BO guides the readers to experience the feelings themselves160, rather than

telling them what to feel161, which will trigger reader participation and initiate central

processing162.

Consideringthe likeparameter forBO, thisexactstatusupdateby farexceededBO’s typical

likelevel.Theaverageof15.549,41ofhis19.537.102followerswasovertakenbythe59.287

likes,anobviousexampleofasuccessfulself‐expressivechannel163.Peoplesharedthisstatus

updatemorethantheyusuallywould,becauseitwassuccessful inbeingrelevanttoagreat

amountofpeopleandObamadescribedthefeelingseverybodywasfightingtoputwordson.

Basedontheanalysis’findings,itwillbearguedthatthesuggestionssuppliedcouldenhance

theeffectivenessand increase the levelofbuzz‐worthiness forBO tonewheights.Theself‐

expressivemodel inchapter4, suggested thatpeoplearemore likely topromoteandshare

messages they find personally relevant. When they feel the a status update’s message

correspondswiththeirpersonallyconstructedself‐identityandatthesametimeenhancesthe

connectiontotheperceivedimage164theywillbemoremotivatedtoengageinadoptionand

157 Op.cit. 97 page 23 158 eldrbarry.net 159 http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/20rhet/chill.html 160 Op.cit. 32 161 Op.cit. 35 162 Op.cit. 58 163 Op.cit. 62 Page 154 164 Op.cit. 26 Page 80



elaboration165. If they become involved, they will engage in central processing, which will

triggerpermanentresults166.

165 Op.cit. 58 166 Op.cit. 147



7.Conclusion

This thesis set out to gain new theoretical insight onwhether or not employing principles

fromstorytellingandsocialnetworkingoptimizationtostatusupdatecommunicationwould

be efficient. As the thesis objectives are strictly theoretical, a great amount of different

theories have been scrutinized to create a theoretical framework suitable for hypothetical

conclusionstobemade.

Theory from the field of Storytelling has created a framework for understanding how

narratives can help to convey feelings or events and depict a sense of personality and

relatedness,whichmightotherwisebedifficulttocommunicatebytraditionalpoliticalmeans.

Despite the limitations in the rather fixed layout, Storytelling enablesnewpossibilities and

allowsthestatusupdatetoappealtoreadersonanentirenewlevel,duetothenewcontext

and the comparison to other theories. The Elaboration Likelihood Model has been

incorporated into this field as well, offering other ways to “measure” effectiveness of the

statusupdatecommunicationbyfocussingonlimitedaspectsofreceptionanalysis.

Thechapteronsocialnetworkingoptimizationisamixtureofdifferentrhetoricaltools,which

united represent a well‐arranged and instructive theoretical platform to guide the textual

constructionofstatusupdatesandprovidemeansforexplainingtheeffectivenessintermsof

motivationalappeals,grammaticalelementssuchasformalityandtheviralmarketingterms

word of mouth and buzz worthiness. The analysis has showed that incorporating these

elements into the communications strategy can hypothetically be very efficient to make a

statement appear more personally relevant to the readers and invigorate communication,

whichwouldotherwisehavebeendullandstatic.

Successful status updates could generate a word of mouth effect; ensuring important

messages were spread via the share function on Facebook. As it has not been possible to

uncover any kind of suitable evaluative means to conclude whether status update

communication on Facebook can be regarded successful, the thesis has developed its own.

The amount of likes on each status update proportionally compared to the number of

followers, indicate how well the status update has been received. The like parameter has

establishedanaveragelikerateandthecircumstancesthatcombinelikesandeffectiveness.



Finally, the thesis has, based on the newly obtained theoretical insight, presented specific

criteria for achieving greater effectiveness in political status update communication. These

criteria or guidelines for Storytelling and Social Networking Optimization can, if correctly

implemented, increase the amount of likes and followers and from a theoretical viewpoint

engage thereadersbysupplyingcentral cues toelaboration,ensuring long termresultsare

achieved.

To justify the argument of how important narrative, emotional clues and vivid expressions

are,theemploymentofthesefeaturesintheconstructedexampleshasbeenexaggerated.The

thesis acknowledges that it might at first appear too extreme compared to what political

Facebook pages would normally contain, but it is fully intentional and has been done to

emphasizethetheoreticalarguments.

Basedontheanalysisandthethoroughandevidenttheoreticalfoundations,itwillbeargued

that the basis for achieving effective status update communication by the means of the

presented recommendations is theoretically likely. The thesis contends further that only a

verysmallpartofthepeoplewhofollowpoliticiansonFacebookactuallyengageintheposted

status updates and show their opinions or commitment by commenting or pressing like so

thereisroomforimprovement.

Thefinalnotemustbethatitisnotaquestionastowhetheritispossibletoincorporatethe

principles of storytelling and social networking optimization, it is whether politicians are

willingandabletoacceptthatanewmediumcallsfornewrules.

Wouldyoulikeonthat…?



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