Media brands in social network sites: Problems German media companies have faced and lessons they have learned

Abstract

This paper describes a study aimed at understanding how representatives of media organisations in Germany manage their brands on social network sites (SNSs). The study is based on a series of in-depth interviews with media managers conducted in 2011 and 2013/2014 in which the interviewees were encouraged to discuss the problems they had faced and the lessons they had learned. The transcripts show that many media companies have difficulties navigating the social networking environment as the rules for how media brands are presented are set by the SNSs and their users rather than the media companies themselves. Most crucially, the interviews reveal that SNS profiles for media brands are predominantly created and maintained by editors and journalists, with little or no involvement from their marketing departments. The paper emphasises the role of integrated brand communication in order to fully leverage the many branding possibilities associated with the social networking environment.