vol 18 no 1,2018

The Usage of Facebook as Advertising Medium by the Mobile Phone Companies Analytical Study

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The Usage of Facebook as Advertising Medium by the Mobile Phone Companies
Analytical Study

Dr. Hardan Hadi Sayel Al-Janabi

Department of Public Relations & Advertising

Faculty of Mass Communication

Aliraqia University – Baghdad

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Received 15/11/2016                                              Accepted 27/02/2017

https://doi.org/10.12816/0054747

Abstract:

This study is am attempt to explore how Jordanian mobile phone companies employ Facebook to promote their services and interact with their audiences by analyzing the content of official Facebook pages of these companies (Orange,Zain, andUmniah) from 1st – 30th  November 2016. The current study was guided by media richness theory.

The results highlighted some differences and similarities among the three companies' Facebook pages, the differences were: 1) Regarding the fans number, the study found that Orange Facebook page was the highest compared to Umniah and Zain pages. 2) As for information richness, it revealed that Umniah page showed more information richness than Zain and Orange pages did, and 3) concerning the audiences' interaction with these pages, it indicated that the audience' interaction with Zain page content was the highest compared to the audiences interactions with Orange and Umniah pages.

The results also found some similarities among these pages, such as: 1) the study showed that the pages' contents related to the three companies' services were the highest compared to contents related to the competitions and the companies' activities. 2) It also indicated that the offers on pages were the most important promotional methods that have been adopted by the three companies to promote their different services and activities, and 3) it highlighted the success of the companies in interacting with their audiences through responding to their comments in the light of the theory of media richness.

Keywords:Facebook, mobile phone companies, online advertising, media richness theory

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