Signaling Theory and Its Impacts on Consumer Perceptions and Engagement With Online Brands

Rationale/Motivations
With the emergence of the Internet came a flood of information that, frankly, I don’t think we were all ready for. Companies frantically created an online presence and have evolved over time to become more interactive (some just in an effort to “keep up with the Jones’).” I seek to uncover why companies and individuals should be cognizant of the signals they’re sending to consumers through their online presence.
With every design, piece of content, photograph, tweet, and status update, a signal is delivered. I want to understand how audiences internalize those signals so companies can better focus on reaching their target audience.

I’m interested in this topic for a number of reasons. Here are the two primary reasons:

First, I’ve learned first-hand from someone in the interactive communication industry that developing a personal online brand is key to drawing attention from potential employers. But how much of our online brand (i.e. our online selves) is an accurate reflection of who we are? How much can you really learn about someone by the way they tweet or write their LinkedIn profile?

Second, I might pursue the interactive communications/advertising sector myself, so I’m interested in why some online brands are more appealing to others and what the key influencers are. More specifically, I want to understand why and how audiences engage with online brands and upon which signals they build their perceptions.

Engagement With Social Theory I’ll be drawing from the work of Judith Donath and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, just to name a few.

My first step will be to research the process of identity, both in terms of one’s personal identity (i.e. brand) and a company’s online presence. I want to dissect the strategy behind those online signals. Donath said, “Signaling theory…shows how the cost of many seemingly extravagant displays is no wasteful expenditure, but useful for ensuring the reliability of the display as a signal.” But what makes a signal honest? What are the methods signal receivers use to sift through the dishonest signals to find the true meaning?

Twenty-first century technology has given all of us a keen BS detectors. I’d like to know what signals trigger that alarm. I also want to understand why some signals are more reliable than others.

Methods
For my secondary research, in addition to the sources mentioned above, I’ll investigate research that focuses on the following topics:
• The history of online branding
• What makes people trust one brand over another (specifically, what about their web presence seems more honest)
• What about the company/organization captures audiences
• What about the design/content of a site means to the consumer (i.e., what’s a turn-off and what’s a hook)

I may also conduct primary research via social media networks (facebook, twitter) and interview people in marketing/advertising leadership positions.

Outcomes/Novelty
This topic is considered novel because the avenues and technologies by which we communicate and present ourselves online is always changing. At the conclusion of my research, I’d like to be able to give insight to companies and individuals on what their brand may be signaling to target audiences.

Tags: research proposal