Humanising of the brand voice on social media: The case of government agencies and semi-state bodies

Anita Mullan and Etain Kidney
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Anita Mullan: Behaviour & Attitudes, Milltown House, Milltown
Etain Kidney: School of Marketing, City Campus, TU Dublin — College of Business, Aungier Street

Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing, 2020, vol. 7, issue 4, 344-354

Abstract: With the growth of social media, many government agencies and semi-state bodies have started conversing with the public in a much more humanised voice than the bureaucratic tone that would traditionally have been expected. This humanised voice is much more colloquial in its language and conveys a personality behind the brand. This article examines how the tone of voice used by Irish government agencies and semi-state bodies impacts upon their relationship with the public. The research proposes that government agencies, which typically experience a more polarising brand loyalty, are enjoying higher levels of trust, satisfaction, commitment and control mutuality among the public who follow them on social media since their adoption of a humanised brand voice. This in turn has a more positive impact on attitudes towards the government agencies responsible for those organisations. The results build upon the limited literature related to the use of a humanised brand voice by government agencies and semi-state bodies on their social media accounts, and presents practical recommendations to help such organisations benefit fully from social media.

Keywords: social media; public administration; brand voice; digital marketing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aza:jdsmm0:y:2020:v:7:i:4:p:344-354

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