Amanda O’Shaughnessy Independent Research 2 April 2015 Primary Research Analysis

Methods: Participants Participants were originally selected by a random sample of all students at Reservoir High School. Letters were delivered to these students to ask their participation to be interviewed, but none of the students responded. Therefore, participants were selected on a volunteer basis. All of the participants attend high school in Howard County. Eleven students were interviewed, seven female and four male. There was a range in the academic grades of the participants. However, there was a bias in the sample toward students in the researcher’s classes and after school activities.

Materials The interviews conducted had two parts. Materials used included interview questions, printouts of social media examples, and an online survey. There were thirteen open ended questions for part one of the interview that explored how teenagers use social media and their knowledge and thoughts on data collection and profiling. The company posts from social media used as examples included content from Instagram and Twitter. These posts ranged from follower-submitted images to sale promotions. The examples were printed in color for the participants to view when answering the survey questions. Participants were asked to respond to four statements for each post. The statements were: • “I would read this if I saw it on my feed” • “I would be annoyed if I saw this on my feed” • “I would share/like/favorite/reblog/tag/mention this if I saw it on my feed” • “I think that this post is advertising a product/brand to me” The four possible responses were “definitely,” “maybe,” “probably not,” and “absolutely not.” All of these questions were online, accessed through a smart phone.

Procedure Participants were interviewed individually in a quiet area. They were asked the open ended questions, and responses were recorded in brief on paper and also audio recorded. For the next part of the interview, participants were given the social media posts and asked to respond to each of the statements. This process was repeated for each of the eleven participants.

Results: The qualitative data was analyzed comparatively. There was a good representation of different social media accounts across the board. Participants as a whole had the following accounts: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Vine, Snapchat, Flickr, Google+, Pinterest, and Tumblr. Six of the eleven participants followed accounts created by companies. The participants followed restaurant accounts, clothing stores, shoes companies, television stations,

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beverage companies, and food stores. Additionally, all of the participants who followed company accounts thought that their friends followed these accounts, and non followers did not think their friends followed company accounts. The followers of company accounts did so for a variety of reasons, including the account being humorous, to get the latest updates on products, for deals or sales, to see what is “in,” to see images of products, and to keep updated with the news. Five participants have participated in a contest. Another five said that they respond to or comment on company accounts. All were familiar with accounts that companies created on social media even if they did not follow the account. The participants all thought that companies can gain something from having a social media account. The most popular answer was publicity and attention. The next most popular answer was advertising. Several participants also thought companies gained quick feedback on products and opinions of consumers. Other answers include keeping consumers updated and to keep up with what is popular among social media users. Although some participants thought companies could use social media to advertise, five of the participants had not heard or read anything about companies advertising over social media. Together, the other participants could piece together the many aspects of social media advertising, but no one person’s knowledge seemed to encompass the whole of marketer’s actions. Individual aspects of advertising that were mentioned included interacting with the consumer, consumer tendency of wanting t a product more because they see it on their phone or mobile device, paying attention to what people are liking and commenting on their posts, reaching out to consumers, and creating hashtags to get consumers excited. The next few questions addressed what the participants knew and thought about data collection over social media. One participant was not aware that companies could collect a lot of information about her over social media, two were unsure about what information was accessible, and one thought that companies can only collect information about her demographic, not specifically about her as an individual. The other seven participants knew about data collection and some gave examples of how search engines monitor history to provide advertisements the individual would most likely want to see. In terms of participant feeling about data collection for targeted marketing, most were not bothered by it. Some said that it could get annoying, others thought it helpful. A few participants mentioned that it is a good, maybe even necessary, marketing practice to help in selling a product. Those who were bothered by data collection for targeted marketing said it was either a violation of privacy, or it creates an inaccurate representation of the product. Nine participants were bothered with data profiling. They said it is a violation of privacy, makes it seem like the consumer is being tracked down, illegal (if no permission is granted), concerning, alarming, creepy, and inaccurately defining the consumer. A few participants did not know that companies could do this. One participant suggested that if marketers let consumers know that data profiling was occurring, it would be less bothersome. The two participants who were not bothered by data profiling had two different standpoints. One said that he was informed enough to make decisions about products he wants to buy, and understands that the same products that appeal to him do not appeal to eighty year old women. The other participant thought that companies would not have enough time to make detailed profiles about individual consumers, and that she was fine with demographic profiling.

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To end part one of the interview, participants were asked to define advertising. Most answers were very similar, along the lines of giving consumers information to make them buy their product, or used the word “marketing” in their definition. One definition stood out in that it included the use of groups to market a product or change a lifestyle. Part two of the interview asked each participant to respond to four statements for each social media post. Responses to each statement were analyzed overall. Additionally, a few examples that stood out were analyzed individually and compared to the averages. The participants would definitely or maybe read a post 80% of the time. Only 4% of the time participants would absolutely not read something they saw on their feed. Similarly, 87% of the time, they thought a post was definitely or maybe advertising to them. 64% of the time, they would probably or absolutely not be annoyed by a post. This demonstrates that even if the participants recognize an advertisement most of the time, they still take no action to avoid it. In terms of sharing the post, opinions were split. Participants said that 20% of the time they would definitely share it, 25% maybe, 20% probably not, 36% absolutely not. Therefore, even if a participant did not follow an account created by a company, they still had a 45% chance of seeing a company post on their own feed. For every example, at least one participant would definitely read the post. Similarly, at least one participant would absolutely not be annoyed by each post. There was only one post that no one would definitely share, and all other posts had at least two participants definitely sharing. The post no one would definitely share was Krispy Kreme’s Instagram post that asked a fundraising trivia question. For every example, at least five participants thought it was advertising something to them. For eight of the examples, there was at least one participant thinking that the post was probably or absolutely not advertising something. This shows that most posts on social media by companies can be interpreted in many different ways, either as advertisement or not. Next, responses to posts number six and number eight were analyzed individually. Example number six, Cheesecake Factory’s post on Instagram, pictured a chocolate cheesecake with the caption, “May your day be filled with peace, love, and an abundance of chocolate. #Chocolate #Cheesecake #Dessert #Yum.” The post has over four thousand likes. All of the participants thought that this post was definitely advertising something to them, but also, all of the participants would definitely or maybe read the post. No participant would be annoyed by the post. Also, this post had a higher definitely and maybe share rate than the average, totaling 81% (versus the 45% average). Example number eight, a tweet by Sonic Drive-In, promoted a sale of fifty cent corn dogs for best friends day and prompted the viewer to tag their best friend so they could buy corn dogs the next day. The tweet had 114 retweets and 96 favorites. Nine of the participants thought that it definitely was advertising, but two thought it absolutely was not advertising. 27% of the participants would definitely be annoyed with the post, as opposed to the 16% average. 55% would absolutely not share this, where on average, participants would absolutely not share 36% of posts. This post that specifically prompted followers to share or mention the content was the least likely to be shared.

Discussion:

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The hypothesis was that teenagers do not perceive advertisements on social media to be advertisements, and therefore are more susceptible to social media advertising than traditional advertising. The participants were aware of data collection but did not include it as part of advertising. When asked to define advertising, only one participant included collection of information as part of the advertising process. Participants were able to identify advertising in a social media example post 87% of the time. Although they perceived this portion of the advertising as advertising, they would only be annoyed by a post 36% of the time. Therefore, they are making no effort to avoid the advertising, as consumers tend to do for traditional types of advertising. This may make social media advertising more effective. However, it is unclear whether the advertising is more effective for teenagers than it is for adults. The participants in this study had a 45% share rate, and this might be higher than it would be for adults because social media fulfills teenagers’ developmental and social needs. There is minimal research on how teenagers perceive social media advertising, and as they are the primary targets of said advertising, this research is important. The research done in this study helps to show that social media advertising warrants additional research. As the weakness of this study is primarily in its participant sample, professional research in this area is important. The sample in this study was not random, and thus lacked the diversity a random might potentially have. Additionally, only eleven teenagers participated. The research probably would benefit from having a larger sample size. As teenagers may be more susceptible to social media advertising, they should be protected. One solution is to create new or improved self-regulatory pledges to protect teenagers. In this study, the ages of the participants were not recorded and used in analysis. Some researchers suggest that teenagers up to age fifteen need to be protected, while others think that teenagers up to eighteen need protection. If actions to protect teenagers is taken, more research should be done to evaluate what ages of teenagers are substantially more susceptible to social media advertising as compared to adults. This research should also test adults. This information would help validate any laws or self-regulatory pledges.

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Summarized Student Interview Questions

1. The participant has a Tumblr account. She does not follow any accounts created by companies and does not think her friends follow these accounts either. One of her friends participated in an art contest over social media. She thought that companies established themselves over social media, especially newer companies could get there name and products out to consumers. She also thought they could use social media to keep up with the times and consumers. She knows that companies will create a hashtag about a new product or get followers to participate in a contest to advertise. She said that it would absolutely bother her if companies collected information about her to directly advertise. She said it was a violation of privacy and it was bad that so much information is easily accessible over the internet. She also thought it could get annoying, because if she gives a company her email address, they tend to spam her, and she thinks a similar situation could occur over social media. She said it was extremely bothersome that companies can use information to create a data profile about her because it is an absolute violation of her privacy and is just not right. Her definition of advertising is, “…getting like a product and basically trying to sell that and in some way.”

2. The participant has Vine, Twitter, Instagram, Google +, and YouTube. She does not follow any accounts created by companies, mainly accounts of other individuals. However, afterwards, she pointed out that she follows accounts created by colleges and admissions offices. She did not think her friends followed company accounts. She has not participated in a contest. She thought companies created accounts on social media for advertising, and gave the example of coca-cola. The companies gain publicity and spread awareness of their product. She was aware that companies can collect a lot of information about consumers over social media and cited an example of Google and YouTube monitoring history and using this information to provide specialized advertisements about what she searched. They see your interests and use this informations to make more profit. She said it happens to her a lot on YouTube. It did not bother her that companies use collected information to directly advertise to her. Sometimes the advertisements are a little offensive. She said she looks up cooking shows and YouTube will provide her with advertisements for new cooking shows, and she likes this. However, it is bothersome if advertisements are inappropriate. She said it was definitely not okay for companies to create a profile about her as a consumer. She said she was uncomfortable with that because she would feel like someone is tracking her down. She does not mind if she is advertised to towards her interests, but it is not okay for companies to track her down. Her definition of advertising is, "A way to convince consumers to buy your product."

3. The participant has Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and pretty much all of the social media accounts available. She follows some company accounts on Tumblr including Samsung, Fx, Target, and Coca-Cola. She follows these accounts to keep updated with new products and to see what they are posting, as some posts may relate to current news. She buys products about once a week from the brands she follows. She rarely buys Coca-Cola. She is not sure if her friends follow any brand accounts. She has participated in Coca-Cola’s scholarship program

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contest, where you sign up and provide a summary of why you deserve the scholarship. She reblogs and likes posts of company accounts. Companies can gain other people's opinions and outlooks on products. She gave an example that if someone was posting something negative about a product, the company could talk to them and ask them why and use this to change the product. She is aware that anyone can collect a lot of information about her over social media. She knows that companies use social media to reach out to people and advertise to them, but otherwise does not know a lot. She knows they advertise, but she just does not recognize it. It does not bother her that companies can use collected information to directly advertise to her because she does not think it affects her or annoys her. She also thinks companies have to use data collection to advertise. One way to advertise is to go to the people, and now companies can directly ask them. If companies create a profile about her without her permission, then that is a legal issue because she did not agree to that. She defined advertising as, “…gathering and putting out information on, um, a topic to an audience."

4. The participant has Instagram and Twitter accounts. He does not follow any accounts created by companies. He does not think his friends follow any of these accounts. He is currently participating in a March madness tournament challenge over social media. He does not respond to company accounts. He thinks companies can get a lot of attention through social media. Additionally, they can get feedback easily and instantly, without having people call the company. He is aware that companies can collect a lot of information about him over social media. Nothing stands out to him as to information he has heard or read about how companies use social media to advertise. Although collecting data to target marketing is a little creepy, he thinks it is a good marketing idea. However, he would be concerned if companies used data to create a profile on him. His definition of advertising is,”…when companies market their products to people so they'll get more money, and more people will buy it."

5. The participant has Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Google+. She does not think she follows any accounts created by companies and does not think her friends follow these accounts. She does not think she has ever participated in a contest. She has not responded to company accounts. Companies have social media accounts to advertise to consumers. She kind of knew that companies can collect a lot of information about her over social media. She has heard that companies use social media to pay attention to what types of people are liking and commenting on their posts. She said that it depends about how the companies are using collected information. If they use it in an exploitative way, that is not okay. It is fine if companies use the information just to see what types of groups to market different products to, that is fine. She said it is alarming that companies use collected information to create a profile about her as a consumer. Her definition of advertising is, “…marketing to a consumer to encourage them to buy a product."

6. The participant has an Instagram and Pinterest account. She follows Kelsey's Closet, Speedo, Chick-Fil-A, and a few others she could not remember. She follows these accounts because she likes to see pictures of when sale occur and to see products. She sometimes buys products from these companies if she sees there is a sale. She believes that her friends follow these accounts.

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She participated in a contest for Kelsey's closet once where she commented on a photo to try to win clothes. However, she has never won one. She responds to some accounts. For example, Kelsey's closet will ask followers what product they think should be in stores, and she will comment which one she likes best. Companies can get opinions of consumers about their products through commenting on posts. She was aware that companies can collect a lot of information about her over social media. She has heard that companies use social media to advertise because you may want a product more if you see it on your phone and it is easier than going to the store. She thinks it is kind of creepy for companies to collect information to directly advertise to her and to create a profile about her. Her definition of advertising is,”…making something, like, showing it to someone, to make them want to buy it.”

7. The participant has social media accounts under an alias. She follows many clothing accounts on social media to see what is in and although she may not purchase the product, to see what is cute. She rarely buys products from these companies. She thought her friends probably follow these accounts. She has never participated in a contest. She has responded to company accounts before. She thinks that a lot of people who follow these accounts buy the company's products and help with the publicity of the company through retweets. So other people will see the post even if they are not following. She was not aware that companies can collect a lot of information about her over social media, and has not heard or read any information about how companies advertise over social media, other than adults forewarning her about what to post on social media. She thinks that companies collecting data to directly advertise gets annoying. For example, if she looks for a north face once, now whenever she opens her laptop there is advertising everywhere for north face. It bothers her that companies can use collected information to create a profile about her as a consumer because it's an invasion of privacy. She did not know that they could do this, but maybe if companies let consumers be aware of this or ask for permission, it would be less bothersome. Her definition of advertising is,"The use of other groups, like ethnic groups, maybe social, anything to try to get you to buy their products or change your lifestyle, or make a change in your life, pretty much."

8. The participant had Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Vine, Pinterest, Snapchat, and YouTube. He follows Netflix, Chick-Fil-A, Microsoft, and other food accounts. He follows these accounts mainly for deals. He does not often buy products from these companies. His friends also follow these accounts. He has never participated in a contest, but does respond to company accounts. He thinks companies gain publicity from these accounts. He was aware that companies can collect a lot of information about him. He knows that if you mention a company, they may tweet you back. It does not bother him that companies use information collected over social media to directly advertise to him because if the advertising is geared toward him, it is probably something he would be interested in anyway. It does bother him that companies use collected information to create a profile about him as a consumer because it is an invasion of privacy. His definition of advertising is, “Making other people wear your product, and trying to…”

9. The participant has Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Vine. He follows Jordan, Nike, Motely, and Fox. He follows these accounts because he wants to get the latest updates on what they are

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selling, and he buys their products about every two weeks. His friends also follow these accounts. He and his friends have participated in the ALS Ice Bucket challenge. He does not respond to company accounts. He thinks companies maintain these accounts to gain profit and have a way to get their ideas out about their products. He is aware of company data collection. Companies advertise over social media because they want people to buy their products, and to achieve this, they need to put out the best information about them. It bothers him that companies use collected information to directly advertise products to him because they are only providing him the best, most appealing information about the product, without mentioning flaws, to get him to purchase it. The companies only tell you what you want to hear. It bothers him that companies use this information to create a profile about him as a consumer because it reflects what the company thinks he is and they are not using real information to define him. His definition of advertising is, “…a way companies sell their product and, and, they basically, the way they…define the good things about their company, and don’t show bad, the bad side.”

10. The participant has Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr. He follows Denny’s Tumblr account because it is humorous. He does not often buy products from this brand. He also does not think his friends follow this account. He has never participated in a contest. He does reblog some of their posts but does not comment. Advertising is the main thing companies gain from setting up social media accounts. He thinks he is pretty aware of the information companies can collect about him through social media. He has not heard a lot about how companies advertise over social media. It does not bother him that companies use collected information to advertise directly to him. He thinks this is an appropriate tactic because companies need to make money and his is informed enough to make his own decisions about what products he wants to buy. It does not bother him that companies use collected information to create a profile about him as a consumer. Certain demographics enjoy different things, and he understands that a product he might be interested in would not appeal to and eighty year old Asian grandmother. His definition of advertising is, “…putting information about a service or product out in order to generate interest in the public.”

11. The participant has a Flickr and a Snapchat account. She does not follow any accounts created by companies or participate in contests. She is familiar with accounts that companies set up, and thinks that they put out information about what they are doing to keep the public updated, or the set up contests to give consumers prizes. She is aware that companies can collect information about trending things on social media and look at demographics, but she was not aware that they can collect information about specifically her. She has not heard or read anything about how companies can use social media to advertise. It does not bother her that companies use collected information to directly advertise because if their data says a certain individual is more likely to buy a product, it is more useful to the consumer as well. Data profiling does not bother her if it is just demographic information, but if companies are

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specifically picking out her, then that is not okay. She said that she does not think companies have time to single individual consumers out, however. Her definition of advertising is, “…a tactic that companies use to get people to buy their products.”

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Full Quantitative Data Table

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Summarized Quantitative Data Chart

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Quantitative Data Charts and Tables \

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Individual Analysis of Questions Six and Eight

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Interview Questions Part 1

1. Do you have any social media accounts? If so, which ones?

2. Do you follow any accounts created by companies? If so, which ones?

3. Why do you follow these accounts? (For content, because your friends do, for contests, for coupons…)

4. How often do you buy products from the brands you follow on social media?

5. As far as you know, do your friends follow these accounts?

6. Have you or a friend ever participated in a contest? Which one? For example, Applebee’s #burgerselfie

7. Do you ever respond to a company’s account? (Like, Retweet, Favorite, Reblog, Comment)

8. What do you think companies gain from setting up these accounts?

9. Are you aware that companies can collect a lot of information about you over social media?

10. What information have you heard or read about how companies use social media to advertise their products?

11. Would it bother you if companies used this information to directly advertise their products to you? Why or why not?

12.Would it bother you if companies used this information to create a profile about you as a consumer? Why or why not?

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Google+

Pintrest

Tumblr

Other

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13. In your own words, can you define “advertising?”

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Part 2

For the interview, I will create a slideshow of about 10 different posts to show the interviewees and ask the following questions:

(Please See attached slides.)

(Ad 1)

Chances are: 1. I would read this if I saw it on my feed. Definitely Maybe Probably not Absolutely Not

2. I would be annoyed if I saw this on my feed. Definitely Maybe Probably not Absolutely Not

3. I would share/like/favorite/reblog/tag/mention this if I saw this on my feed. Definitely Maybe Probably not Absolutely Not

4. I think that this post is advertising a product/brand to me. Definitely Maybe Not really Absolutely Not

(Ad 2)

Chances are:

5. I would read this if I saw it on my feed. Definitely Maybe Probably not Absolutely Not

6. I would be annoyed if I saw this on my feed. Definitely Maybe Probably not Absolutely Not

7. I would share/like/favorite/reblog/tag/mention this if I saw this on my feed. Definitely Maybe Probably not Absolutely Not

8. I think that this post is advertising a product/brand to me. Definitely Maybe Not really Absolutely Not

(This would continue for ads 3-10)

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Social Media Examples

Example 1 Example 2

Example 3 Example 4

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Example 5 Example 6

Example 7 Example 8

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Example 9 Example 10

Example 11