NETNOGRAPHY FOR ADVERTISING
Netnography is the aspect of ethnography that analysis the
free behavior of individuals on the intertnet with the use of online marketing
research techniques to provide useful insights. (Douglas Karr 2020). Netnography
compiles and analyzes data on free social behavior of individuals on the
Internet. The key is that these data are collected when consumers act freely,
as opposed to research surveys in which consumers sometimes respond in order to
avoid embarrassment or please the surveyor.
Netnography is an Internet, or a technological network, of
ethnography. Netnography is an ethnography adapted to the complexities of our
modern, technologically mediated social world.(Kozinets, n.d.)
The approach of Netnography is what makes it different from
other research methods like focus groups, surveys, CRM data models etc. Netnography
is more focused on cultural insights. Netnography treats online communications
not as content but consider it as social interactions, as embedded expressions
of meaning and as cultural artifact.
Netnography is a research method that pays attention to
context; it does not focus on words present in social interactions but also
consider the elements used in the forum or channel. Netnography is used to
examined the communicator characteristics, language, history, type of
interaction as well as the aesthetic elements like; fonts, spacing, text,
symbols videos, images, GIF etc.
Netnography is a powerful way to understand the evolving
online marketplace, to gain an understanding of future’s trends today, and to
gain insights as valuable input into the process of front-end thinking.
Social media channels, and digital media channels at large continuously
provide data for innovation that is relevant, detailed, naturally occurring and
unobstructed. Netnography offers a range
of new insights for end innovation by providing insights into marketplace structure,
communication and cultural comprehension, insight to understanding consumer
choice, consumer’s view of brand and mapping sociocultural online spaces.
A comprehensive, accurate, netnographic study can uncover a
great deal about consumer behaviors, taste, opinions, interactions and
impressions. Synonymous with face-to-face ethnography, netnography provides a
window into the realities of consumer groups as they live their lives.
For advertisers and brand managers, netnography can provide enlightening
on issues like; Advertising reception, alteration and interpretation, brand
community opportunities and negotiations, brand perception, brand positioning
and repositioning opportunities, Community management, Competitive analysis,
Innovation in new products and services, New service models for co-creation of
value, Product and category usage,
Segmentation forms and patterns,
Social media audits and usage, trend identification and much more. (Kozinets, n.d.)
It is a more competitive world than it used to be and marketers
have more to do in order to gain any edge over their competitors. Using
netnography, online interactions are valued as a cultural reflection that
yields deep human understanding. Like in person ethnography, netnography is
naturalistic, immersive, descriptive, multi-method, adaptable, and focused on
context (Kozinets, n.d.) Used to inform consumer insight, netnography is
less intrusive than ethnography or focus groups, and more naturalistic than
surveys, quantitative models, and focus groups. Netnography fits well in the
front-end stages of innovation, and in the discovery phases of marketing and
brand management.
A short video by Robert Kozinets below:
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Martech Zone. 2021. What is Netnography? | Martech Zone.
[ONLINE] Available at: https://martech.zone/what-is-netnography/.
[Accessed 28 February 2021].
Netnography as a tool for understanding customers:
implications for service research and practice | Emerald Insight. 2021.
Netnography as a tool for understanding customers: implications for service
research and practice | Emerald Insight. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JSM-08-2017-0294/full/html.
[Accessed 28 February 2021].
ReplyDeleteBrilliant article, Netnography permits researchers to gather rough data using the observational method by browsing online contents such as photos, posts, videos, stories, reels, reactions, hashtags and related interactions on social media platforms. Netnography enables digital marketers to describe and model a specific community's online behaviours. On the other hand, Netnography is considered a passive non-participatory approach that misses opportunities for ongoing co-creation in online communities and social media platforms. Marketers focus on gathering a large volume of data without engaging in direct real-time interaction, leading to more robust and specific online narratives. Furthermore, Netnography is causing misunderstandings and missed opportunities in the production and management of online networking environments.
In my personal opinion, I really found the entire writing to be extremely helpful, Daniel. But surprisingly there a few scholars, on the other hand, have challenged netnography's inherent existence, especially its ties to ethnographic fieldwork. Netnographic analysis, rather than being an extension of ethnography, is said to be undermining the central tenets of "nice" ethnography. It could be argued that netnography lacks holism, reflexivity, and contextual awareness. Netnography, according to some, is wholeheartedly partial because it lacks meaning. Some even argue that ethnography and netnography are incompatible. So, I believe I need to dig a bit deeper into to it strengthen my stance of leaning in its favour.
ReplyDeleteYour post on this topic is really interesting. I want to add something about the difference between netnography and social listening.
ReplyDeleteThe most important difference between netnography and social listening is that it is possible for the netnographer to blend into the online communities the person who wants to examine, to follow this group closely with its activities and to empathize with this group by using its own initiative. At this point, social listening can show us which groups we should study.
If brands in the developing world want to get detailed information about their target audience, they can develop a brand positioning strategy by examining the behaviors of their target audiences in online groups. Of course, first of all, it is necessary to find out who are the target audiences and where they are located on the internet.