A conceptual framework for an online political brand persona from a social media-based political brand storytelling perspective

Abstract

Little is still known in the South African context regarding how political brands can use political brand storytelling with an online political brand persona on social media to differentiate a political brand from the opposition. What is also not clear is how the online political brand persona can successfully position political issues for the political consumer. To address the current paucity of research, this qualitative cross-sectional study investigated one political brand’s political brand storytelling and use of an online brand persona on social media to propose and empirically verify elements of a conceptual framework as heuristic for political parties to build their online brand personas. In doing so, the study addressed four research questions through semi-structured expert interviews and deductive qualitative content analysis. The findings provide some invaluable insights, firstly, from communication professionals in South Africa’s public relations agencies who are responsible for creating content for political party social media platforms; and secondly, from a South African political brand that is active on the Facebook and Twitter social media platforms. The final proposed elements for the conceptual framework are based on several foundational principles, namely political brand, the political brand strategy, social media political brand voice, creating the in-group, and the online political brand persona. The study’s new theoretical contributions consist of three elements, which form the basis of the final conceptual framework. These elements are the foundation (political offering), the transformational process (political issue ownership, political brand strategy, and creating the in-group), and the creation of an online political brand persona. The elements of the framework change constantly because of the nature of the political environment. Not only does this study address the current paucity of research in South African and African literature, but it also adds to the body of social media research involving South African political parties and the use of political brand storytelling with an online political brand persona on social media.

Min is bekend in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks oor hoe politieke handelsmerke politieke handelsmerkstorievertelling met ’n aanlyn politieke handelsmerkpersona op sosiale media kan gebruik om ’n politieke handelsmerk van die opposisie te onderskei. Dit is ook nie duidelik hoe die aanlyn politieke handelsmerkpersona politieke sake suksesvol kan posisioneer vir politieke verbruikers nie. Om die huidige tekort aan navorsing aan te spreek, het hierdie kruis-seksionele studie een politieke handelsmerk se politieke handelsmerkstorievertelling en gebruik van ’n aanlyn handelsmerkpersona op sosiale media ondersoek om elemente van ’n konseptuele raamwerk as heuristies vir politieke partye om hul aanlyn handelsmerkpersonas te bou voor te stel en empiries te bevestig. Die studie het sodoende vier navorsingsvrae deur middel van semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude met kundiges en deduktiewe kwalitatiewe inhoudsontleding aangespreek. Die bevindinge het waardevolle insigte gelewer; eerstens, vanaf kommunikasiekundiges in Suid-Afrikaanse openbare skakelwese-agentskappe wat verantwoordelik is vir die skepping van inhoud vir politieke partye se sosiale media-platforms; en, tweedens, vanaf ’n Suid-Afrikaanse politieke handelsmerk wat aktief is op die Facebook en Twitter sosiale media-platforms. Die finale voorgestelde elemente vir die konseptuele raamwerk is gebaseer op verskeie grondslagbeginsels, naamlik politieke handelsmerk, die politieke handelsmerkstrategie, sosiale media politieke handelsmerkstem, die skepping van die in-groep, en die aanlyn politieke handelsmerkpersona. Die studie se nuwe teoretiese bydrae bestaan uit drie elemente, wat die basis van die konseptuele raamwerk vorm. Hierdie elemente is die fondament (politieke aanbod), die transformasionele proses (eienaarskap van politiese kwessies, politieke handelsmerkstrategie, en die skepping van die in-groep), en die skepping van ’n aanlyn politieke handelsmerkpersona. Die elemente van die raamwerk verander voortdurend as gevolg van die aard van die politieke omgewing. Hierdie studie spreek nie net die huidige tekort aan navorsing in Suid-Afrikaanse en Afrika-literatuur aan nie, maar dit dra ook by tot die korpus van sosiale media-navorsing rakende Suid-Afrikaanse politieke partye en die gebruik van politieke handelsmerkstorievertelling met ’n aanlyn politieke handelsmerkpersona op sosiale media.

Ho sa na le tsebo e nyenyane lehlakoreng la Afrika Borwa mabapi le hore na mekgatlo ya dipolotiki e ka sebedisa letshwao le phetang diketsahalo/dipale tsa mekgatlo ya dipolotiki ka mokgwa wa mokgatlo oo wa polotiki ka bowona ka tshebediso ya khompiyutha (online), bakeng sa ho bontsha phapang pakeng tsa mokgatlo wa polotiki le bahanyetsi ba wona. Hape, taba e sa hlakang ke ya hore na mokgahlo wa dipolotiki ka bowona, ka tshebediso ya khompiyutha (online), o ka kgona na ho bea ditaba tsa polotiki ka mokgwa o atlehileng bakeng sa bankakarolo ho tsa dipolotiki. Ho lokisa taba ya tlhokeho ya diphuputso, thuto ena e nang le boleng le dikarolo tse ngata (qualitative cross-sectional study) e fuputsa letshwao le phetang diketsahalo/dipale tsa mokgatlo o mong wa dipolotiki le tshebediso ya letshwao mokgatlong ka bowona ka mokgwa wa khompiyutha kgasong ya setjhaba (online brand persona on social media), e le ho hlahisa le ho netefatsa ka botlalo dintlha bakeng sa moralo wa mehopolo e fuputsehang hore mekgatlo ya dipolotiki e kgone ho ikaha ka boyona ka tsela ya khompiyutha (online brand persona). Ka ho etsa jwalo, thuto ena e arabile dipotso tse nne tsa diphuputso/diinthaviu tsa ditsebi (semi-structured expert) le manollo e fetohang ya dintlha tsa boleng (deductive qualitative content analysis). Qalong, diphihlello tsena di fana ka tsebo e senang boleng, ho tloha ho diprofeshenale tsa dipuisano ka hare ho Afrika Borwa ho kemedi ya dikamano tsa botho, e nang le boikarabelo ba ho etsa dihlahiswa bakeng sa diplatefomo tsa kgaso ya setjhaba tsa mekgatlo ya dipolotiki. Sa bobedi, ke ho tswa letshwaong la mokgahlo wa dipolotiki wa Afrika Borwa o sebedisang diplatefomo tsa dikgaso tsa setjhaba tsa Facebook le Twitter. Dikarolo/dintlha tsa ho qetela tse hlahisitsweng tsa meralo ya mehopolo di itshetlehile hodima melao e mmalwa ya motheo, ka mabitso ke: matshwao a mekgatlo ya dipolitiki, leano la mekgatlo ya dipolotiki, lentswe la mekgatlo ya dipolotiki kgasong ya setjhaba, ho etsa dihlopha (in-group) le letshwao le bontshang mokgahlo oo wa dipolotiki ka mokgwa wa khompiyutha. Ditlatsetso tse ntjha tsa dintlha tsa thuto ka ho ikgetha (theoretical contributions) ke dintlha tse tharo, tse etsang motheo wa meralo ya ho qetela ya mehopolo. Dikarolo tsena ke: motheo (kabelo ya polotiki), mokgwa o fetohang wa tsamaiso, maikarabelo dintlheng/ditabeng tsa polotiki, leano la mekgatlo ya dipolotiki le ho etsa dihlopha (in-group), hape le ketso ya (letshwao la mokgatlo ka bowona wa dipolotiki ka tshebediso ya khompiyutha) (online political brand persona). Dintlha/dikarolo tsa moralo di dula di fetoha, ka lebaka la tlhaho/mokgwa wa tikoloho ya tsa dipolotiki. Thuto ena ha e tobane feela le taba ya tlhokeho ya diphuputso dingolweng tsa Afrika Borwa le Afrika, empa e tlatsetsa le mokgatlong wa diphuputso tsa kgaso ya setjhaba o kenyelletsang mekgatlo ya Afrika Borwa ya dipolotiki, tshebediso ya pheto ya diketsahalo/dipale tsa mekgatlo ya dipolotiki ka tshebediso ya letshwao la mokgatlo ka bowona wa dipolotiki ka mokgwa wa tshebediso ya khompiyutha kgasong ya setjhaba (online brand persona on social media).