Social media users evolve tactics to separate fact from fiction

In the age of social media, individual have partly taken over the job of reporting & creating opinion from traditional media. Unlike large media houses, which often have affiliations, social media is assumed by some to be unbiased. Most people, however, understand that individual’s have their own affiliations. New research from IIM Indore shows that social media users are now evolving their own tactics to judge which information is reliable and which is not. The research has been authored by PhD (FPM) student Payal S. Kapoor, Dr. Jayasimha K.R and Dr. Ashish Sadh. Payal, one of the authors of the research shares the key findings. 

When the clock struck midnight on 31^st December 2013, many cheerful wishes were shared not through calls through a jammed mobile phone network but via social media. According to a recent survey two out of three people are likely to wish friends, family and loved ones a prosperous new year by posting a message on social media. The scale, low cost and convenience of social media enables increased social interaction.

This phenomenon is interesting, not just from a general stand point, but also for marketers. Social media has become a web-of-brand-related-conversations or eWOM. Recommendations and ‘other people’s experience’ is one of the most important factors influencing consumption related decisions.

With the growth of eWOM this phenomenon has increased up significantly. No more is the conversation intimate between two people or a few people: conversations via social media are broadcasted.

Users rely on opinions of those who are outside their immediate social network or with whom they share limited prior relationship. Brand experiences go viral and influence thousands and only a very few people directly know the user whose experience has gone viral.

The starting point of our study was to identify motives that drive eWOM and network-related properties that enable eWOM. Social benefit derived while indulging in brand-related conversations along with opportunity to seek product related advice turned out to be two primary drivers. Both, strong primary ties, (very close friends and family) and weak secondary ties (acquaintances) were found to be significant influencers on social media.[pullquote]Social benefit derived while indulging in brand-related conversations along with opportunity to seek product related advice turned out to be two primary drivers of eWOM[/pullquote]

Users tend to develop perceptions of credibility from all the information available to them; if the information is limited they adjust accordingly. With the help of experiments we identified several heuristics or cues that help users develop perceptions of credibility in the absence of any prior relationship between users.

These heuristics are based on the embedded information within a given social media network: both user-generated information (information contained within a user’s social media profile) or system-generated (friends, followers and who the user is following).

Users rely on two sources of heuristics on social media:

1. Self-generated informational Heuristics – Information derived from the user’s profile which includes educational background, work experience, personal description, information on user’s affiliations like Alumni networks etc

2. System-generated informational Heuristics – Number of friends, follower, following a user has and comments, shares and likes a eWOM message has got. These are also called as social scores.

The results of the study suggest an interesting confounding effect of system-generated cues and also suggest that greater credence is placed on system-generated cues wherever user-generated cues are weak. [pullquote]‘Who’ is saying something often overshadows ‘what’ is being said in the search for reliable information[/pullquote]

The interesting takeaway from the research is that the background of the user transmitting the message has an has a heavy bearing on the assessment of the credibility of the message by the consumer of the message: ‘who’ is saying something often overshadows ‘what’ is being said and the accuracy and informativeness of the message itself.

This study has implications for marketers. Marketers can identify influencers in the category they are operating in who could be used to create positive brand conversations.

As illustrated by the research, finding the right influencer might be equally important as finding the right product or benefit to take to market.