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Journal of Applied Communications

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Full-Text Articles in Social Media

Minnesota State Parks And Trails’ Use Of Facebook To Communicate Health And Safety Information During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Garrett M. Steede, Sahil S. Kamat Dec 2023

Minnesota State Parks And Trails’ Use Of Facebook To Communicate Health And Safety Information During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Garrett M. Steede, Sahil S. Kamat

Journal of Applied Communications

During the COVID-19 pandemic, state park visitation increased to levels above previous years. While navigating the pandemic, natural resource communicators took to social media to communicate about how COVID-19 was impacting park services and operations. We examined how the Minnesota State Parks and Trails (MSPT) engaged in health communication using Facebook over the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used quantitative content analysis to measure content and engagement on the N = 105 posts made by the MSPT from 2020 - 2022 regarding COVID-19. Results provide an understanding as to how natural resource communicators engaged in health communication …


Flower Power: Testing Social Media Advertising Strategies For Floral Products, Rachel Corry, William R. Taylor, Jessica Holt, Hailey Bittles, Benjamin L. Campbell, Julie Campbell Sep 2023

Flower Power: Testing Social Media Advertising Strategies For Floral Products, Rachel Corry, William R. Taylor, Jessica Holt, Hailey Bittles, Benjamin L. Campbell, Julie Campbell

Journal of Applied Communications

Social media and the internet have impacted how companies and organizations advertise to consumers. Digital advertising has created the opportunity to engage with consumers, target specific groups, and capture metrics of use to help build effective advertising strategies. The floral industry is a large sector within the agricultural arena, which is primed to engage with young consumers. This research examined the effectiveness of utilizing static and animated social media advertisements to increase consumers’ intention to purchase floral products. Using an online survey and an experimental design, this study examined 8,488 respondents’ intention to purchase floral products after viewing static and …


Community Attitudes Toward Local Foods And Producers: The Role Of Warmth Versus Competence Across Demographics For Social Media Engagement., Danielle L. Eiseman, Andrea Stevenson Won Apr 2023

Community Attitudes Toward Local Foods And Producers: The Role Of Warmth Versus Competence Across Demographics For Social Media Engagement., Danielle L. Eiseman, Andrea Stevenson Won

Journal of Applied Communications

Connecting local food producers with consumers is useful for ensuring individuals have access to healthy, fresh, foods. Small farmers, however, lack the resources to effectively connecting with consumers through traditional forms of marketing. Marketing to consumers through social media is a low-cost method that local food producers can use to promote their products. Creating engaging content on social media can be challenging, thus there is a need for guidance on how to effectively engage with local consumers through social media. Studies in advertising have shown dimensions of warmth and competence can be useful frames for engaging consumers across a variety …


The Steaks Are High: Covid-19’S Impact On Direct-To-Consumer Marketing In The Oklahoma Beef Industry, Linnea Langusch, Dwayne Cartmell, Quisto Settle Apr 2023

The Steaks Are High: Covid-19’S Impact On Direct-To-Consumer Marketing In The Oklahoma Beef Industry, Linnea Langusch, Dwayne Cartmell, Quisto Settle

Journal of Applied Communications

The COVID-19 pandemic encouraged some beef producers to market their products directly to consumers. For many consumers the idea of buying beef products from local sources is appealing. Relationship management theory framed this study, as beef producers used relationship building as a path to product promotion. This study explored Oklahoma beef producers’ perceptions of changes that have occurred in direct-to-consumer marketing and consumer communications in the beef industry during the COVID-19 pandemic using semi-structured interviews. This study consisted of 16 participants found via snowball sampling. Participants were Oklahoma cattle ranchers over 18 years old who used one or more channels …


Show Me And What Will I Remember? Exploring Recall In Response To Nws Tornado Warning Graphics, Laura Morgan Fischer, Ginger Orton, Jeannette Sutton, Madison Wallace Nov 2022

Show Me And What Will I Remember? Exploring Recall In Response To Nws Tornado Warning Graphics, Laura Morgan Fischer, Ginger Orton, Jeannette Sutton, Madison Wallace

Journal of Applied Communications

It is critical that organizations deliver timely, effective communication about potential risks and life-saving information. The National Weather Service (NWS) developed a suite of messages known as “experimental graphic products” to be automatically distributed through their local official Twitter accounts at the onset of fast-moving, severe weather events such as tornadoes. However, recent research has suggested messages need to be carefully constructed for audiences to place attention to the content, remember the content, and later act in response to the content. The purpose of this study is to explore what people recall of the NWS Twitter message. We used an …


Exploring Source Credibility When Communicating About Agricultural Science On Twitter, Allison R. Fortner, Alexa J. Lamm, Abigail Borron, Jessica Holt, Allen J. Moore Nov 2022

Exploring Source Credibility When Communicating About Agricultural Science On Twitter, Allison R. Fortner, Alexa J. Lamm, Abigail Borron, Jessica Holt, Allen J. Moore

Journal of Applied Communications

Universities must strategically communicate agricultural science to effectively reach millennials skeptical of agricultural innovations and constantly assessing the credibility of online information. Universities are trusted information sources and must maintain credibility on social media platforms such as Twitter, used by millennials to receive and share information. Source credibility seeks to understand message source and recipient characteristics that influence recipients’ perceptions of a source’s expertise and trustworthiness. The purpose of this study was to explore differences in engagement when specific factors affecting source credibility were emphasized when communicating with millennials about agricultural science on Twitter. The purpose was accomplished by describing …


Framing Friction: A Content Analysis Investigating How The Cdc Framed Social Media Communication With The Public During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Michaela Kandzer, Valentina Castano, Lauri M. Baker, Ashley Mcleod-Morin Feb 2022

Framing Friction: A Content Analysis Investigating How The Cdc Framed Social Media Communication With The Public During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Michaela Kandzer, Valentina Castano, Lauri M. Baker, Ashley Mcleod-Morin

Journal of Applied Communications

The novel coronavirus was first discovered in Wuhan, China in December 2019. This zoonotic disease quickly spread through over 100 countries, including the U.S. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency by the end of January 2020. Soon after, many U.S. states issued mandatory stay-at-home orders, which caused adverse effects for agricultural businesses and food supply chains. During this crisis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shared information through social media platforms such as Facebook. This study sought to understand how the CDC framed direct communication to the public about issues related to COVID-19 using …


Arguing For Argument’S Sake? Exploring Public Conversations Around Climate Change On Twitter, Kennedy Mayfield-Smith, Alexa Lamm, Fallys Masambuka-Kanchewa, Abigail Borron, Jessica Holt Dec 2021

Arguing For Argument’S Sake? Exploring Public Conversations Around Climate Change On Twitter, Kennedy Mayfield-Smith, Alexa Lamm, Fallys Masambuka-Kanchewa, Abigail Borron, Jessica Holt

Journal of Applied Communications

Audience-facilitated information flow has become the new norm created by a public divergence from traditional media sources. Mobile device advancements and partnerships have changed how audiences view news media and the sources relied upon to obtain information. With these advancements, social media users have become primary information providers and information gatekeepers. Twitter specifically has become a news media platform for some based on its effectiveness in facilitating information flow and triggering reorganization as it provides a platform for collaboration and coordination. Despite widespread acceptance of the threat climate change poses by the scientific community, it is still a topic of …


Emotion And Virality Of Food Safety Risk Communication Messages On Social Media, Xiaojing (Romy) Wang, Xiaoli Nan, Samantha J. Stanley, Yuan Wang, Leah Waks, David Broniatowski Sep 2021

Emotion And Virality Of Food Safety Risk Communication Messages On Social Media, Xiaojing (Romy) Wang, Xiaoli Nan, Samantha J. Stanley, Yuan Wang, Leah Waks, David Broniatowski

Journal of Applied Communications

This study investigates how the emotional tone of food safety risk communication messages predicts message virality on social media. Through a professional Internet content tracking service, we gathered news articles written about the 2018 romaine lettuce recall published online between October 30th and November 29th, 2018. We retrieved the number of times each article was shared on Twitter and Pinterest, and the number of engagements (shares, likes, and comments) for each article on Facebook and Reddit. We randomly selected 10% of the articles (n = 377) and characterized the emotional tone of each article using machine learning, …


A Systematic Literature Review Of The Intersection Between Social Media And Cultural Identity: Implications For Agricultural And Environmental Communication, Catherine E. Dobbins, Fallys Masambuka-Kanchewa, Alexa J. Lamm May 2021

A Systematic Literature Review Of The Intersection Between Social Media And Cultural Identity: Implications For Agricultural And Environmental Communication, Catherine E. Dobbins, Fallys Masambuka-Kanchewa, Alexa J. Lamm

Journal of Applied Communications

Social media has radically changed human communication patterns, impacting how people perceive scientific information. This study sought to explore how cultural identity impacts the use of, and engagement with, social media content related to agriculture and the environment. Informed by Social Representation Theory, a systematic qualitative literature review was conducted to investigate how cultural identity impacted engagement with social media sources of agricultural and environmental information. Several studies indicated differences in social media engagement between people from different cultures. However, different definitions and perspectives on cultural identity emerged with some researchers describing culture in relation to nationality and others in …


Visualizing Values: A Content Analysis To Conceptualize Value Congruent Video Messages Used In Agricultural Communications, Laura Morgan Fischer, Kelsi Opat, Kayla Jennings, Courtney Meyers May 2021

Visualizing Values: A Content Analysis To Conceptualize Value Congruent Video Messages Used In Agricultural Communications, Laura Morgan Fischer, Kelsi Opat, Kayla Jennings, Courtney Meyers

Journal of Applied Communications

Visual messaging is becoming the new avenue to connect with consumers. The majority of the American public is not connected with agriculture and often questions procedures, practices, and tactics within the industry. Practitioners and researchers have suggested value congruent messages, a type of emotional appeal, may increase attention to agricultural messages. However, limited research has been conducted to define and investigate value congruent messages in agricultural communications. The purpose of this study was to describe the presented messages in videos used in one agricultural advocacy effort, CommonGround’s “Nothing to Fear Here” campaign. This content analysis described the video’s message content …


Perceptions Of Social Media Use Among U.S. Women Farmers, Kerry Daigle, Sarah Noel Heiss Feb 2021

Perceptions Of Social Media Use Among U.S. Women Farmers, Kerry Daigle, Sarah Noel Heiss

Journal of Applied Communications

Communication networks and knowledge sharing are important for the persistence of small farms that operate outside of industrial agriculture. In past years, internet platforms have been promoted as a tool for farm businesses to connect with customers and other farmers. Social media in particular has gained attention as a user friendly and accessible tool for small business viability. Drawing on Uses and Gratifications Theory, this study uses examines interviews with women farmers' in the United States to explore how they view the role of social media for their agricultural practice. Results demonstrate that women farmers report using social media to …


To Post Or Not To Post? Factors Influencing State Ffa Officers’ Social Media Behaviors, Tiffany Rogers-Randolph, Lisa K. Lundy, Ricky W. Telg, Joy N. Rumble, Brian Myers, Angela B. Lindsey Feb 2021

To Post Or Not To Post? Factors Influencing State Ffa Officers’ Social Media Behaviors, Tiffany Rogers-Randolph, Lisa K. Lundy, Ricky W. Telg, Joy N. Rumble, Brian Myers, Angela B. Lindsey

Journal of Applied Communications

The demand for agriculture, food, and natural resource (AFNR) messages to be conveyed via channels of social media provides a natural inclination to seek out digital natives, such as state FFA officers, to fill the present gap of agriculturalists in online environments. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence state FFA officers’ behaviors of communicating about AFNR issues on social networking sites. The theoretical framework that guided this study of communication behaviors was the theory of planned behavior. A census of the accessible population of 276 state officers was attempted, and 97 usable responses were …


Building Engagement In Facebook: A Case Study With Utah State University Extension Sustainability, Kenna R. Kesler, Kelsey Hall, Debra Spielmaker, Roslynn G. H. Brain Mccann Feb 2021

Building Engagement In Facebook: A Case Study With Utah State University Extension Sustainability, Kenna R. Kesler, Kelsey Hall, Debra Spielmaker, Roslynn G. H. Brain Mccann

Journal of Applied Communications

In order to stay relevant in an online world, Extension must properly use social networking platforms to effectively reach diverse audiences regarding agricultural and natural resource issues. However, few studies have focused on how Extension uses Facebook to effectively accomplish its goal. This study’s purpose was to explore how Utah State University Extension Sustainability uses Facebook to engage followers. The researchers conducted a quantitative content analysis of 504 messages posted to the USU Extension Sustainability Facebook page. Graphics and links were the most common post characteristics used by the organization. Text-only posts and posts containing videos were utilized the least. …


Examining The Social Properties Of Oklahoma Agricultural Facebook Pages: A Quantitative Content Analysis, Audrey E. H. King, Quisto Settle Dec 2020

Examining The Social Properties Of Oklahoma Agricultural Facebook Pages: A Quantitative Content Analysis, Audrey E. H. King, Quisto Settle

Journal of Applied Communications

Social media is used by millions of people in the United States, and producers are often encouraged to maintain a social media presence to promote their businesses and agriculture in general. Farmers have deeply entrenched identities. Social identity theory states people self-sort into certain groups. Social comparison and positive distinction are two principles of social identity theory. There is a need to research how agricultural operations are portraying those identities, including how they portray the identities of dissimilar agricultural operations online. This study compared Oklahoma mainstream and alternative producers in a quantitative content analysis of their Facebook pages. The following …


Crisis Communications In A Natural Agricultural Disaster, Erica Irlbeck, Austin Moore Dec 2020

Crisis Communications In A Natural Agricultural Disaster, Erica Irlbeck, Austin Moore

Journal of Applied Communications

Wildfires in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas in the late 2010s caused seven deaths and catastrophic damage to millions of acres of ranch and farmland. Because of the rural location of these disasters, agricultural communicators were releasing information to media, internal stakeholders, social media, and other agricultural audiences. The purpose of this study was to explore the communications efforts made and subsequent lessons learned from agricultural communicators during the fires. Through a qualitative case study, researchers interviewed 14 agricultural communicators about their experiences in disseminating information about the fires. Most of the findings align with pre-existing literature; however the researchers found …


Facebook Activity Of Oklahoma Agritourism Facebook Pages, Brittany L. Bowman, Quisto Settle, Stacy Tomas, Angel Riggs May 2020

Facebook Activity Of Oklahoma Agritourism Facebook Pages, Brittany L. Bowman, Quisto Settle, Stacy Tomas, Angel Riggs

Journal of Applied Communications

Agritourism is recreational travel for agricultural activities. Agricultural operations benefit from income diversification, the public receives hands-on agricultural experiences, and rural communities benefit from economic development. However, agritourism operators have reported challenges in marketing. As social media becomes increasingly important in tourism marketing, the purpose of this research is to describe overall Facebook activity related to Oklahoma agritourism. A quantitative content analysis was conducted on 174 Facebook pages of Oklahoma agritourism operations to describe posts, public interaction, events, and advertisements. Oklahoma agritourism operations had a mean of 1,330 page likes, and 69% of Facebook pages had posts during the sample …


Characteristics Of Oklahoma Agritourism Facebook Posts, Brittany Bowman, Quisto Settle, Angel Riggs, Stacy Tomas, Audrey E. H. King Feb 2020

Characteristics Of Oklahoma Agritourism Facebook Posts, Brittany Bowman, Quisto Settle, Angel Riggs, Stacy Tomas, Audrey E. H. King

Journal of Applied Communications

Agritourism is recreational travel for agricultural activities. While it provides many benefits, such as rural development and heritage preservation, many agritourism operators express challenges in marketing their operations. Social media is increasingly common in tourism marketing, but little research exists describing current marketing practices. Quantitative content analysis was used to describe 174 Oklahoma agritourism operations’ Facebook page activity in June 2018. Original posts created by the agritourism operations and community posts created by the general public had similar amounts of public interaction. Post interactions were not related to post length, and original post interactions were also not related to overall …


Exploring Social Media Engagement Of A Mosquito Control Campaign: Comparing Engagement Rates Per Content Type And Content Frame, Ashley Mcleod-Morin, Peyton Beattie, Shelli Rampold, Ricky Telg Feb 2020

Exploring Social Media Engagement Of A Mosquito Control Campaign: Comparing Engagement Rates Per Content Type And Content Frame, Ashley Mcleod-Morin, Peyton Beattie, Shelli Rampold, Ricky Telg

Journal of Applied Communications

This study explored the social media follower engagement of a campaign with the intention to inform Florida residents about mosquito-related topics, specifically mosquito control. Engagement rates were compared between social media content type and content frames. Text graphics without characters were the most engaged content type, while the personal responsibility frame was the most engaged frame. The social media campaign examined in this study had overall low engagement rates, which could have been attributed to factors outside the scope of this study. Future recommendations for research should determine what factors most contribute to the engagement of social media content. In-depth …


Utilizing Extension As A Resource In Disaster Response: Florida Extension’S Communication Efforts During The 2017 Hurricane Season, Moses R. Mike, Shelli D. Rampold, Ricky W. Telg, Angela B. Lindsey Feb 2020

Utilizing Extension As A Resource In Disaster Response: Florida Extension’S Communication Efforts During The 2017 Hurricane Season, Moses R. Mike, Shelli D. Rampold, Ricky W. Telg, Angela B. Lindsey

Journal of Applied Communications

Crisis communication plays a significant role for the different audiences for which it is designed. Hurricanes and other disasters have resulted in major economic damage and disruption of social norms for extended periods of time in communities across the globe. In such circumstances, the Cooperative Extension Service is often called to take an active role in preparation, response, and recovery. As part of the local emergency management team, local Extension offices are positioned to provide a research base, relevant information, and faculty. As such, citizens often look to Extension faculty members for emergency resources and expertise. However, standard communication methods …


“You Call That Meat?” Investigating Social Media Conversations And Influencers Surrounding Cultured Meat, Annie R. Specht, Joy N. Rumble, Emily B. Buck Feb 2020

“You Call That Meat?” Investigating Social Media Conversations And Influencers Surrounding Cultured Meat, Annie R. Specht, Joy N. Rumble, Emily B. Buck

Journal of Applied Communications

Cultured meat has yet to reach store shelves but is nonetheless a growing issue for consumers, producers, and government regulators, many of whom have taken to social media to discuss it. Using a conceptual framework of social cognitive theory and issues management, this qualitative content analysis investigated social-media discourse surrounding the topic of cultured meat in the United States by describing the content of the discussion in late 2018 and identifying individual influencers and communities of influencers engaged in the discussion. Data were collected from Twitter using listening platform Sysomos MAP. The thematic analysis revealed eight themes: legality and marketing …


An Investigation Of Agricultural Crisis Communications Via Social Media, Courtney Gibson, Erica Irlbeck, Courtney Meyers, Cindy Akers, Peggy Price Nov 2019

An Investigation Of Agricultural Crisis Communications Via Social Media, Courtney Gibson, Erica Irlbeck, Courtney Meyers, Cindy Akers, Peggy Price

Journal of Applied Communications

How an agricultural organization handles the way the media reports a crisis can have an impact on the public’s perceptions of the organization, and sometimes the industry as a whole. The popularity of social media outlets as a venue for disseminating and gathering information and news makes the use of social media surrounding agricultural crises an important topic to investigate (Glynn, Huge, & Hoffman 2012; Hermida, 2010). A qualitative case study was conducted to investigate the use of social media tools during an agricultural crisis. The participants – communications directors, social media managers, and individuals with a close connection to …


Exploring The Impact Of Ohio Agricultural Organizations’ Social Media Use On Traditional Media Coverage Of Agriculture, Leigha Haller, Annie R. Specht, Emily B. Buck Nov 2019

Exploring The Impact Of Ohio Agricultural Organizations’ Social Media Use On Traditional Media Coverage Of Agriculture, Leigha Haller, Annie R. Specht, Emily B. Buck

Journal of Applied Communications

One of the nation’s most important industries, agriculture, has adopted social media to communicate with consumers and the public. At the same time, traditional news media remains important to the agriculture industry because many consumers still receive information about agriculture from sources such as newspapers and television. Little literature at the time of this study explored how social media is used specifically as a media relations tool. The purpose of this study is to examine how agricultural organizations in Ohio communicate via social media and how the messages could impact central Ohio traditional media outlets’ coverage of agricultural issues. The …


A Pilot Qualitative Case Study Of Agricultural And Natural Resources Scientists’ Twitter Usage For Engaging Public Audiences, Jamie Loizzo, Catherine Jones, Abby Steffen Nov 2019

A Pilot Qualitative Case Study Of Agricultural And Natural Resources Scientists’ Twitter Usage For Engaging Public Audiences, Jamie Loizzo, Catherine Jones, Abby Steffen

Journal of Applied Communications

Scientists are frequently asked to broadly share their expertise and research with a variety of audiences, beyond typical academic circles in their home disciplines. That could include developing community engagement programs, school outreach, leveraging online social networks, and other activities. The purpose of this study was to examine U.S. agricultural and natural resources (ANR) scientists’ typical science communication channels, their experiences utilizing Twitter for sharing their knowledge, research, and engaging in online public science discussion. Diffusion of Innovations theory and the model of science in-reach versus outreach guided this study. Researchers used a qualitative case study design. Data collection included …


Crowdsourcing Change: An Analysis Of Twitter Discourse On Food Waste And Reduction Strategies, Annie R. Specht, Emily B. Buck May 2019

Crowdsourcing Change: An Analysis Of Twitter Discourse On Food Waste And Reduction Strategies, Annie R. Specht, Emily B. Buck

Journal of Applied Communications

Food waste has emerged as a major issue in the United States as the nation collectively sends more than 133 billion pounds of food to its landfills every year. In September 2015, the USDA and EPA announced an initiative to cut U.S. food waste in half by 2030. Between 2015 and 2016, nearly 100,000 posts about food waste have been published on Twitter, a microblogging platform that has been a hub of “slacktivism” since its inception in 2006. Using a conceptual framework of social cognitive theory, online activism, and crowdsourcing, we analyzed food waste conversation participants’ demographics, online communities, and …


Comparison Of Extension Personnel And Supervisor Perceptions Of Communications Activities, Brittany Bowman, Quisto Settle, Elizabeth Gregory North, Keri Collins Lewis Dec 2018

Comparison Of Extension Personnel And Supervisor Perceptions Of Communications Activities, Brittany Bowman, Quisto Settle, Elizabeth Gregory North, Keri Collins Lewis

Journal of Applied Communications

Extension is often called the “best-kept secret” having low awareness with the public but high satisfaction with clientele. Extension services nationwide have faced budget cuts, creating a need for the organization to re-evaluate its activities, including how it communicates with its stakeholders. While Extension personnel are the ones who will do most of the communicating, their supervisors impact the personnel’s actions, which means it is important to assess both groups. A survey was conducted with Extension personnel and their supervisors in Mississippi assessing engagement in communications activities and perceptions of those activities, as well as personnel’s preference of professional development …


The Communication Effectiveness Of Scientist-Stakeholder Partnerships Addressing Agriculture And Natural Resources Issues: An Analysis Of The Media Attention And Media Framing Of The Florida Water And Climate Alliance, Shuyang Qu, Tracy Irani Dec 2018

The Communication Effectiveness Of Scientist-Stakeholder Partnerships Addressing Agriculture And Natural Resources Issues: An Analysis Of The Media Attention And Media Framing Of The Florida Water And Climate Alliance, Shuyang Qu, Tracy Irani

Journal of Applied Communications

Scientist-stakeholder partnerships are formed by scientists from academic institutions and industry representatives in an effort to address contingent science issues such as climate change, inform the public and influence public policies. Such organizations often lack expertise in communicating to the public and conducting outreach which are crucial components to building a good reputation. This study selected Florida Water and Climate Alliance [FWCA] as an example of such an organization, exploring its media attention and media framing to assess the visibility and reputation of [FWCA]. Results showed very limited media attention had been devoted to [FWCA]. The framing analysis results indicated …


Blue Bell's Facebook Posts And Responses During The 2015 Listeria Crisis: A Case Study, Kelsi Opat, Haley Magness, Erica Irlbeck Dec 2018

Blue Bell's Facebook Posts And Responses During The 2015 Listeria Crisis: A Case Study, Kelsi Opat, Haley Magness, Erica Irlbeck

Journal of Applied Communications

Blue Bell Creameries faced an unprecedented situation when it pulled all of its products during a Listeria outbreak in 2015. Despite a very public crisis that resulted in three deaths, Blue Bell survived the disaster and maintained a large and loyal customer base. A content analysis of the Blue Bell Ice Cream Facebook page was conducted to evaluate Blue Bell’s public communications, and its followers’ public reactions to the Facebook communication during the crisis. Results indicated that Blue Bell primarily posted messages that included recall and restocking information, thankfulness to stakeholders, and details about improvements to food safety during the …


#Transformffa: An Analysis Of Social Media Content During The 2016 National Ffa Convention, Tiffany M. Rogers-Randolph, Lisa K. Lundy, Jessica L. Harsh, Raychel Rabon Mar 2018

#Transformffa: An Analysis Of Social Media Content During The 2016 National Ffa Convention, Tiffany M. Rogers-Randolph, Lisa K. Lundy, Jessica L. Harsh, Raychel Rabon

Journal of Applied Communications

The proliferation of social media has the ability to considerably impact stakeholders’ perspective of an organization’s brand. Due to this relationship, social media analysis is crucial to executing informed brand communication strategies. In October 2016, the brand communication strategies of the National FFA Organization were focused on promoting the 89th National FFA Convention. A large portion of these efforts and resources were dedicated towards the utilization of social media. This study was designed as a content analysis of the National FFA Organization’s social media presence during the dates of the convention. The goal was to identify the prominent themes …


The Effects Of Online Video On Consumers’ Attitudes Toward Local Food, Shuyang Qu, Alexa J. Lamm, Joy N. Rumble, Ricky W. Telg Jan 2017

The Effects Of Online Video On Consumers’ Attitudes Toward Local Food, Shuyang Qu, Alexa J. Lamm, Joy N. Rumble, Ricky W. Telg

Journal of Applied Communications

Marketers rate online video as their most utilized content medium. This study used a between-subject control group post-test-only experiment to investigate the effect of three local food messages delivered via online video on U.S. consumers’ attitudes toward local food. The three 30-second videos each featured one of the documented benefits of local food: high quality, support of local economy, and strengthening of social connection. Results indicated all three video treatments yielded a positive attitude toward local food, while respondents in the control group had a neutral attitude. The video treatment featuring local food’s high quality generated a significantly more favorable …