GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE CHURCH: THE CASE OF TIlE MAKER'S HOUSE CHAPEL INTERNATIONAL ENOCH AKUOKO MAMM 16006 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH, GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM, IN PARTIAL FUFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE A WARD OF A MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE IN MEDIA MANAGEMENT November, 2017 o DECLARATIONS I ...... ~ ~ .~+! .... ~(~<::,l~qeclare that this di ssertation is the result of my o\\n effort. Sources to which I am indebted are duly referenced. I further declare that this work has never been submitted for any degree . Enoch Akuoko Candidate November 20 17 SUPERVISOR'S DECLARATION J hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of thi s work was supervised in accordance with the guidelines for supervi sion of di ssertation as laid down by the Ghana Institute of Jou mal ism. NAME: 1 Emmanuel A1i'btey-Pappoe ......... .. ............ .. SIGNATURE: ................ .. r .;;.;.:-'1 DATE: ~~Novelllber, 2017. DEDICATION To my late father, Mr. Joseph Riverson Akuoko. HI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank God Almighty for the opportunity and strength to go through the entire course. I wish to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Mr. Joseph Enlnlanuel Allotey-Pappoe for supervising my work. I nlust confess that your expertise in reading and editing nly work was renlarkable. I really appreciate the good work. I would like to acknowledge Mrs Hannah Akuoko (Mother) for her support and encouragement. I would also like to admit the contributions of friends and loved ones who have had a great impact in Iny entire course stay especially the likes of Jennifer Esselfie Donkor, Mr. Felix Dontoh of uniBank Ghana, Mr. Gabriel Bosompem of TV3, Sheila Boafour Agyenlan, Earl Emmanuel Aggrey, Linda Anlarquaye for proof reading nly work and the entire staff of Platinunl Live Multimedia My appreciation also goes to church 111embers of The Maker's House especially the founder of the church, Rev. Michael Boadi Nyamekye (PhD), President of the church, Mr. Douglas Adjei and the Administrator, Mrs Josephine Hooper, for all the help they gave 11le in undertaking this study and to nl)' faIllily for the tremendous assistance given Ine. To you all, I \vish to express Illy gratitude. , \ ABSTRACT Every business venture is in to make profit and therefore every business tries to discover new and improved ways of reaching its customers. Social Media has beconle a popular trend today in all spheres of life, more especially for businesses. It has provided a platform to establish and multiply relationships and to be visible to other people all over the world. In the view of Elliot (2013), social media has closed the gaps between pastors and their congregation and made it easier to reach a larger number of congregants of the church all over the world. Haelein (2010) define social media as a group of internet-based applications that build on ideological and technological foundations of web 2.0 and allow creation and exchange of user generated content. This research takes a deeper look at the ilupact of Social Media on the church through scientific spectacle, considering the benefits it offers the church and the negative inlpacts of it on the individual and the church. TIle survey study design and a sample of 120 respondents was surveyed using the randOlU and purposive sampling techniques. TIle questionnaire and interview techniques were the instnlments used to collect data. TIle data was analysed, interpreted and presented with the aid of Microsoft excel and \vord and presented on charts, tables and graphs. It was revealed that the church had youthful congregants and that, all of thenl luade use of various fonus of the social nledia applications. TIle members used a lot of the Whatsapp and Facebook applications. TIle church also nlade use of social nledia, Juainly Facebook and Y outube. TIle church used Facepook and Y outube because it enabled thenl to post videos and pictures for worldwide viewing. It was also concluded that the church had no written down policies that governed the usagc and management of social nledia application both for the church and the members but rather some convcntional practices which included thc fact that church members could not take pictures and videos while church was on going; that every image or video posted on the church's social media platforms was water marked. Although social media is very useful to the individual church members and the church in that it ,vas a way of connecting to the ,vhole world; that it offered the opportunity to the church to reach nlany people all across the world with the Gospel; that it was cheaper and readily available. However, social nledia had its negative impacts which included the fact that it could be addictive and destnlctive. Also it had the potential oftunling people away from being physically present in the church becausc of the live streaming of service. It is rccomnlcnded that thc Public Relations/Control Roonl and the Media group conle together and draw sonle policies on the Illanagcnlcnt of the social nledia applications of the church. It is cxpected that it will set the parametcrs in place appropriately for the improvement of the church's activities online and gro,vth in general. After these policies are drafted, it is reconuuended that they should all be documented and clearly written down and kept on file for Illanagenlent and administrative purposes. 11lis is to ensure that new 111eInbers can get to know them and abide by theIll. Intennittently the church can serve some gentle reminders by rolling bits and pieces of these policies down the screen during church services or putting printed notices of the policies in wallets provided to the congregants for offertory. Also all efforts 111USt be nlade to restrict network and coverage within the auditorimll of the church during church service even if it lneans enlploying technology to do so. ABBREVIATIONS TMH- The Maker's House VII Content DECLARA TION DEDICATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT ABBREVIA TION TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.0 Background of the Study 1.1 Statement of the Problenl 1.2 Research Objectives 1.3 Research Questions 1.4 Significance of the Study 1.5 Scope and Limitation of the Study 1.6 Organization of Study CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction 2.1 The Social Media 2.2 The History of the Social Media 2.3 Social Media and Social Networks 2.4 Strategies used by the Social Media Page 11 iii IV V vii 1 3 4 5 5 6 7 8 8 8 9 II 14 2.5 2.6 2.7 Benefits of the Social Media Challenges in Adopting the Social Media Benefits of the social media to the Church CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 3.0 Introduction 3.1 Research Design 3.2 Population 3.3 Sample and Sampling Technique 3.4 Instrunlent 3.5 Data Collection Procedure 3.6 Ethical Consideration 3.7 Data Analysis Procedure 3.8 Justification of Methodology 3.9 Limitations of Research Methods CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.0 Introduction 4.1 Demographics 4.2 Social Media 4.3 The Church and Social Media 4.4 Importance of the Social Media 4.5 Negative bnpact of the Social Media 4.6 Results of Interviews held 17 20 29 30 30 30 31 31 32 33 33 35 35 37 38 38 38 40 42 46 48 49 CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 53 5.0 Introduction 5.1 Summary 5.2 Conclusions 5.3 Recommendations 5.4 Suggestions for further studies REFERENCES APPENDICES LIST OF FIGURES Figures 1 2 3 4 Tables 2 3 4 Gender of Respondents Very Active Social Media Application Use of the Social Media While at Church Policies Governing Social Media LIST OF TABLES Age Range of Respondents Social Media Application in Use Use of Social Media by the Church Social Media Application in Use at Church 53 53 55 56 57 58 Page 39 41 43 45 Page 39 40 43 50 1.0 Background to the Study CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Every business venture is in to make profit and therefore every business tries to discover new and improved ways of reaching its customers. The Social Media has becOlue a popular trend today for all spheres of life and especially for businesses. It has provided a platform to establish and multiply relationships and to be visible to other people all over the ,vorld. In the view of Elliot (2013), the social media has closed the gaps between pastors and their congregation and nlade it easier to reach a larger number of congregants of the church all over the world. He £luther notes that the use of the social media has nlade it easy for celebrities and their fans, govenlment and the populace, political parties and their followers. It is inlportant however that we understand fron1 the specialist perspectives what the social nledia is all about. Kaplan and Haelein (2010) define social 11ledia as a group of intenlet-based applications that build on ideological and technological foundations of web 2.0 and allow creation and exchange of user gencrated content. Web 2.0 is also defined by Carlson (2010) as a platfonu on which sociallucdia is based. In IUY own understanding, the Social Media is an interactive platform providing infonllation and which could also sOluehow be infl uenccd. Web 2.0 refers to Internet platfonlls where users can interactively participate in and user generated content enconlpasses the possibilities in which people n1ay use socialllledia (Chan, et aI., 2010). Through Social Media, there is a lot of online COlTIIUUnication where people and also businesses can generate content and share that content. Wright and Hinson (2008) 11lentioned that due to the use of Social Media there has been a change in the ,vay organizations conln1ullicate ,vith their employees, custoll1ers, stockholders, cOl1ullunities, govenlll1ellts and other stakeholders and 1 therefore Social Media could have an impact on the business processes of organizations. Many business-to-consumer organizations are already actively making use of Social Media in their marketing strategies (Alarcon-del-Arno, et aI., 2011) EXaIllples of current day Social Media platfornls are Facebook, Twitter, In stag ram , Snapchat, Skype, Viber, YouTube, Google+, Whatsapp, Blogs, 2go etc. Each of the platfornls are unique in their interface and functionality but basically allows for online interaction based on content generated and controlled by users themselves. It has undoubtedly gained wider acceptability and usability and has been debated to be the most efficient, fastest and cheapest 111eaI1S of coml11unication aIllong friends, relatives, business partners and evell corporate bodies. An Internet research company, Pew Research Centre, claims that "nlore thaIl half of internet users (52%) use two or more of the social 111edia sites lueasured (Face book, Twitter, In stag ralU , Pinterest) to conullunicate with their faIllily or friends" . Social Media is used to infornl, educate, entertain, prOlllote, l11onitor brands, review any fonu of l11aterial (Raackc & Bonds-Raacke, 2008). Its interactive nature aIld power to host sound and sight has boosted its attractiveness and has becOlue the 1110St popular converging platform threatening the collapse of traditional media such as television, radio and print. It has closed the gap between celebrities and their faIlS, pastors and their congregation, govenlll1ent and the populace, political parties aIld their followers (Elliot, 2013) etc. For example, a citizen in the remotest part of Ghana can tweet at or post or evell tag the president, asking questions, coml11ending on projects, soliciting for help in solving a cOll1nlunity's plight, as long as he/she has a phone and an internet facility. For 2 bigger churches where a church member has to go through protocol to meet a busy pastor, social media has bridged the gap, making it easy to reach the pastor anywhere in the world and vice versa. However, these and many more benefits of Social Media has caused its users to be addictive to its ever tempting self Students in a lecture hall are tempted to like, cOinment, post, pout and snap, chat, tweet and ping whiles lectures are ongoing to the extent of disturbing the attentiveness of the serious ones. This scenario repeats itself in the church as well. Though the church takes advantage of Social Media to reach its congregation whiles \velcoming new ones through event prOinotion, live service broadcast on Facebook, Video on Demand especially on Y ouTube, etc., the congregation especially the youth are drifted nlore towards Social Media engagement whiles church service is ongoing. 1.1 Statement of the Problem It is so clear that we are living in times when the Social Media is boonling. TIle nlajority of acadenlic literature discussing Social Media strategy in organizations only researches strategies Arcused by these lnedia but little has been done on how these Social Media strategies impact the perfonnance of large organizations. Other researchers have also researched into the role that the Social Media plays in the lives of people, society and even businesses but as said early on little has been done on how these social l1ledia strategies inlpact the perfomlance of organizations (Pentland, 2012). The church is a converging place for Christians. Families gather at the church and others who have \veaker family ties make the church their family. It is the spiritual hOine for Inany and deserves all 3 the sacred attention it can and should have but due to the easy access~ fantasy and addiction of Social Media, church members find it difficult to pay attention during service especially the sermon (Nielsen, 2012). At church gatherings where nlembers are supposed to relate to each other and socialise, they rather find solace in chatting and surfing social networking site. Even on same sites, it is easy to 'unfollow or unfriend' people just by clicking ,,,hen it would have been difficult as a Christian to say no to friendship in the face (Bala (2014). SOlue churches take advantage of Social Media and broadcast live their service to reach distant congregants, busy professionals, the sick etc. and again, instead of members to conle to church, they stay home and enjoy online broadcast. Social media has made it even easier for church nlembers to be exposed to bad doctrine and according to Martin Beck (2015), Millennials in the US spent 29% of their time on Social Media. If the remaining percentage is spent on work, relaxation, fanlily etc., what percentage will be spent on reading and lueditation. This research takes a deeper look at the inlpact of Social Media on the church through scientific spectacle, considering the benefits it offers the church and the attention it takes away from service not forgetting its deregulatory nature that nlakes it possible to offer church nlcmbers an unending access to unrated content. 1.2 Research Objectives TIle Inain objective of the research is to explore the ilupact of Social Media on the church and the specific objectives are: a. To ascertain how the church in Ghana is using Social Media to aid church growth and the spiritUal enrichment of its congregation 4 b. To find out if the church recognizes any adverse effect of Social Media on its congregation and the church as a whole. c. To explore some of the policies on the use of the Social Media during church service 1.3 Research Questions Based on the objectives of this research, church leadership will be asked; a. How does the church in Ghana (The Maker's House) use Social Media to aid church gro\vth and the spiritual enrichment of its congregation? b. What adverse effect does Social Media have on church service at The Maker's House and the spiritual gro\\rt.h of the congregation? c. Are there any policies on the use of Social Media during church service and if no, is the church considering to regulate how and when to use Social Media during service? 1.31 Selected church members will also be asked: a. What they use Social Media for b. What their favourite Social Media app or platfoml is c. If they use Social Media while at church. 1.4 Significance of the Study Social Media has given birth to nlany Inillionaires and continue to feed lnany hOlnes as it offers jobs especially to the youth. Many business entities including churches now have Social Media lnanagers and teams who prOlnote and protect their brands online. It has numerous advantages which the church enjoys but has some negative sides to it as well. As the Bible puts it, 'All things are lawful,' 5 but not all things are helpful (1 Corinthians 10:23), the significance of this study is to bring to the fore, the vel)' negative effects of Social Media to the church and find out if church leadership is considering to regulate the Social Media amongst its congregation. The findings of this study will go a long way to infonll management and the entire staff and administration of churches on the different strategies that are being used by the differing Social Media they have signed on to and how these strategies impact on their perfornlance as a business. The study is to educate even businesses on how the Social Media strategies impact on their perfonnance. Even users and people who have signed on to these different Social Media platfonns can also learn ways by which these media can help them in their individual lives and any business they intend to do or are doing. The study will also add to existing knowledge on the role of Social Media in the academic world. 1.5 Scope and limitations of the study The study will be conducted at The Maker's House Chapel International (TMH); a charismatic church in Ga- East, Accra. It is anticipated that like every other acadelllic research, this research will have its own difficulties. Because a variety of churches exist, it was unfeasible for the scope of this research to cover all of the population of The Maker's House Chapel Intenlational. Also the limitations of the collected data make it difficult to make just a blant generalizations. Tinle and financial resources are needed to keep contact with the church under study and these are all constraints to the study. Last but not the least, not every church 111enlber knows about sociall11edia and its impact so that will be a challenge but will also give another dinlension to the research. 6 1.6 Organization of Study The dissertation will be in chapters from one to fi ve with sub-sections which give out the details of the dissertation. The organization of the study will begin with preliminary pages such as the preface which will capture all the chapters of the dissertation, acknowledgements will also be included. This will be followed by the background of the study, statement of problem, research objectives, and research questions, significance of study, methodology, literature review, data analysis, conclusion and then referencing. 2.0 Inta'oduction CHAPTER TWO LITERA TURE REVIEW 7 In this chapter the relevant materials on the subject of Social Media will be discussed and analyzed. These will encompass definition of Social Media, understanding Social Media, and the Strategies of Social Media. TIle chapter also delves into the impact of the Social Media on the church including the challenges that are associated with the use of the social media in the church. 2.1 The Social Media A new generation of online tools, applications and approaches such as blogs, wikis, online communities and virtual worlds, commonly referred to as Web 2.0 or social media, are increasingly attracting the attcntion of practitioners and, recently, ofacademics (Davila, et aI., 2003). According to Junco al et (2010), "social media are a collection of internet websites, services, and practices that support collaboration, community building, participation, and sharing". Social nledia can also be described as an intcrnct based application, \vebsite or technology that allows users and subscribers to share content or even participate in social networking. Holding similar view, Weber et al (2009) defined social nledia as the online place where people with a common interest can gather to share thoughts, comments and opinions. TIle various definitions given by this writers and especially the meaning we derive from \\Feber (2009) draw our attention to what we experience lately in our daily lives. TIle Social Media is indeed an online place because it requires the use of the intenlet and we all gather there no 111atter the platfonll to share idcas, thoughts, l1lake our comments and express our opinions, likes and dislikes and sometimes practically argue. Examples of current day social nledia platfonlls are Facebook, Twitter, lnstagrrull, Snapchat, Skype, Viber, YouTube, Google+, Whatsapp, Blogs, 2go, MySpace, BlackPlanet, Gather, Twitter, Eons, Linkedln etc. I gather that the social l1ledia as defined by Weber are places where people with similar interests express themselves and conlmunicate. Each of the platfonns are unique in 8 their interface and functionality but basically allow for online interaction based on content generated and controlled by users themselves. It has undoubtedly gained wider acceptability and usability and has been debated to be the most efficient, fastest and cheapest means of communication among friends, relatives, business partners and even corporate bodies. An Internet research conlpany, Pew Research Centre, claims that "more than half of internet users (52%) use two or more of the social media sites measured (Facebook, Twitter, Instagranl, Pinterest) to communicate with their fanlily or friends" . 2.2 The History of the Social Media Taking a rather biblical perspective, understanding of the social nledia would be viewed in this literature in the light of scripture which was found by the researcher to be vel)' interesting and informative. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dOlninions or rulers or authorities. All things have been created through Him and for Hinl. He is before all things, and in Hinl all things hold together. [Colossians I: 16-17 (NASB). According to the Choknlah Conunental)', "this verse nlcans that everything in the world can be given a true meaning of its existence through God. By the commentary, the everything frOln the clause as also expressed in (John 1 :3; Hebrew 1 :2) refers to both visible and invisible substances in heaven and the earth". Choklnah Conlnlentary further explains that everything can be understood as literally everything in the whole universe both tangible and intangible nlaterials, and even sonlething called the immaterial. TIle world of the Intenlet is a virtual space composed of visible and intangible substances and a place formed by a circulation of innumerable data. This specific place that can 9 only exist on technological grounds can surely be classified under everything. Hence, this intenlet space essentially comes from Jesus Christ, is created by him (directly or indirectly), and nlost importantly should be used for his glory. The ultimate goal of the universe is to show the glol)' of God. It is every Christian's duty to praise the Lord, Creator of evel)1hing, using every nleans within our reach. Christians should be aware of the fact that the Internet is no exception to this rule. They most certainly have to utilize this space as mentioned in the Scripture: For from hinl and through him and to him are all things. Focusing on the importance and challenges of the Social Media in this study, this conlmental)' from Chokmah is essential and an in-depth analysis would be carried out on this commentary later in the result analysis The emergence of the social nledia is quite a recent phenomenon in the natural sense of the word without recourse to what it has always been frOlll the biblical perspective shared above and it only became popularized after the intenlet becanle accessible to conSUlllers all over the world giving rise to what is tenned the Net\vork Society (Castells, 2003). This nleant that there was a shift from the traditional communication and nledia theory or even some nlerging with the traditional conll11unication (Lievrouw and Livingstone 2002). According to Kirkpatrick (2010, p. 68), the first proper service for online communities emerged around the nlid 90s with real people using their real nanles thus creating user personal profiles. It was only in the 2000s that the social networking sites started in Silicon Valley. Friendster paved the way for consumers to interact and represented a real breakthrough as the first social network for consunlers. With time it created the standards and platfoml for ,vhat has becOlne today Social Network. After Friendster, Myspace and Facebook attempted to also penetrate the social nledia 10 platfonn in order to capture the largest amount of users for itself and the process expand the social media network atmosphere (Kirkpatrick, 2010). Many more social media networks evolved spreading widely throughout attracting millions of users and changing the way companies do business and interact with consumers. According to Shirky (2011), the social nledia in 2003 begun to attract the attention of mainstream organisations reaching the point where media theorist refer to as Phenomenon Y ASNS (''Yes Another Social Networking Service"). Myspace was the first to attract mainstream attention after it was acquired by News Corporation followed by the rise of Youtube and Facebook. Facebook offered the platfonn for business consumer comnlunication. Facebook created a personalized user space for each of its users nlaking it acquire a large number of subscribers as at 2004. It also has some other features such as News Feed and User Update etc. that are very appealing to its users (Gerlitz and Helmond 2013). Organisations are starting to exploit social media to nlanage nlore effectively consUluers' interactions with the organisation through their engagement on Facebook and other platfomls, thus building social currency (Boyd and Ellison 2007). 2.3 Social Media and Social Networks Over the past years, socialllledia has grown in its usage, influence and importance. Social media has democratized corporate conlluunications across nlost industries (Kietzmann, Henllkens, McCarthy, & Silvestre, 2011). Furthermore, it has proven to be a powerful conlluunication tool (Fisher, 2011), The nunlbers of active social network users are growing at a constant and impressive rate. For instance, according to Facebook Newsroom (2013), "Facebook boasts nlore than 655 Illillion daily active users on average around the globe and it had a total of 1.1 billion Monthly Active Users (MAU) and 665 nlillion Daily Active Users (DAU) as of March 2013". 11 Given that the research of this thesis will be focused on social media platfonlls~ the researcher considered it useful to give the reader an overview of the reach and influence these networks have on people in general. The first row in the figure focuses on the "social growth" of Facebook that saw an average of 4.5 billion likes and 4.75 billion items shared daily since August 2012 as recorded by the network~s newsroom in 2013. Instagram, a photo-sharing platfonll bought by Facebook for $1 billion in April 2012 (BBC, 2012), has reached 100 million MAU as of February 2013. Another interesting number for the purpose of this thesis shown in the afore-mentioned figure is the number of Local Businesses that have created a "page" on Facebook where they can post content~ interact with users and get immediate feedback; this number has grown to be of 16 million pages as of May 2013: a 100% increase since June 2012 (Facebook Newsroom, 2013). These llUlnbers go hand-in-hand with the nunlber of so- called "prOInoted posts", which are posts that the owner of a page decides to pay for in order for them to be displayed more frequently in a person's llewsfeed and hopefully shared nlore often. This type of promotion has reached the 7.5 million as of May of this year. Furthenllore, since Facebook' s gone public, its ineonles have bOOIlled reaching a $1.46 billion in revenues. Twitter is another widely used online nlicro-blogging social network. Twitter was launched on the 21st of March 2006, Inaking this platform 7 years old (Slnith, 2013). And according to Lunden (2012), "Twitter's users amounted to 517 nlillion accounts as of July 1,2012". As of today, an average of 170 billion tweets are being sent daily by Twitter's 200 nlillion active users, who have 208 followers on average (Smith, 2013). Lunden (2012) writes that Twitter has been ranked as the 12 second-biggest social networking site after Facebook and that around 1.058 billion public tweets were sent only in the month of July 2012. Although most of Twitter"s users are from the U.S. However, the three cities where people tweet the most from are Jakarta, Tokyo and London. These numbers are astonishing and they are meant to make the reader understand the interconnectivity and active involvement of people in today's social media. Linkedln as an online platform focuses more on professional networking. Linkedln (2011) docunlented that the platform counted 100 million menlbers as of 2011. These numbers clearly define the significance and impact that social nledia is persistently having on people across the globe. At a constant growing rate, social nledia have substantially contributed in transfomling custonlers and consunlers in general ''from silent, isolated and invisible individuals, into a noisy. public and even more unmanageable then usual collective" as Sublllitted by (Patterson, 2012, cited in Zaglia 2012; p. 216). As a consequence, the lllallagelllent and successful leveraging of social media have become one of the lllain focuses of industries that need to actively involve consumers in their day-to-day cOllllllunications. Being characterized by lllainly perishable products and services, the tourisnl industry has proven a high interest and involvenlent in conllllunicating through social media. For instance, sport events are a particularly perishable service that requires the presence of the conSUlller in order to be delivered. For this reason, sport events need to nlake the best use of social media cOllllllunications in order to increase ticket sales to their lllaxitnum and avoid enlpty seats/unsold tickets etc. as an "Clnpty" seat s)'lubolizes an irreplaceable loss in revenue. This exanlple can be compared to what typically happens in the church which basically holds church services and other religious progralllS. By these events, the church wishes to have in attendance its members whose presence means that the church Call have nlore people give out their 13 offerings in the form of money. These become like the revenue in the case of the spot event~s ticket sales. The revenue can always be used to help the society in various fonus. 2.4 Strategies used by the Social Media Eager (2005) discussed some strategies used by the social media and mentioned that these strategies help organisations to improve their performances. Eager (2005) called the first strategy "push strategy". In his opinion, this strategy offers a new mediunl which is used as an extension of the existing Internet presence and is used as an additional cOlnmunication channel "to get messages out such as Y outube, facebook and twitter. The second strategy can be called pull strategy: Social media applications are used to bring audiences back to an organization's website, where the news is aggregated (to avoid losing control of what happens with the infonnation). Pull strategies are actively involving audiences using sonle degree of interaction that result in a few conlments as happens on face~ook walls and twitter. The third strategy and the least observable can be called networking strategy. The use of social nledia tools is highly interactive with a lot of back and fonvard between the agency and its diverse constituencies. Companies now usually have a sense of who is following them and who they want to reach. They are using Facebook, Twitter, etc., very strategically not only to control and direct tnessages to their audiences, but also to have their ears and eyes on the ground where the actual issues are being discussed that tuight be of relevance to their business's tnission. Social media tools are not only used for lnere publishing purposes and are not viewed as a titne sink of the already ovenvorked IT staff, but as a strategic infonnation sharing and knowledge creation tool involving social tnedia champions from different content areas. 14 Sharing other views, Chahlrvedi (2012) is of the view that as companies focus on effectively leveraging social media platfonns and that there are four strategies that that organisations may consider. Develop a comprehensive social media strategy. While Facebook And Twitter are the nlost used social media platfonns, a comprehensive social media strategy should incorporate additional social media platfonns where customers, prospects, employees and candidates could be talking about the company. Some examples include: • Business networking and hiring platfonns such as Linkedin • Industry-specific platfonns, e.g. travel forums, automotive nlessage boards • Specialty nlultimedia sharing sites such as Y ouTube and Pinterest • Country-specific platfonns such as Renren.conl To be able to kno\v which social nledia platfonns to incorporate as part of its sociallnedia strategy, a cOlnpany needs to systematically track top platfornls where the COlnpany and its brands are being discussed. Establish a two-way communication model. Conlpanies who usc social media just to disseminate infonnation to cust01ners Inay not see high retunlS from social media usage. Instead, companies who use social nledia platfoffils as a two-way cOlnmunication medium tend to have a nlore successful social nledia approach. There are several tactics that can be used to establish two­ way c01nmunication, including: • Posting questions and surveys related to the conlpany as \vell as general topics of interests • Getting customers, prospects, employees, and candidates to share their queries and experiences related to the COnlpany and its products, as well as thenles related to the 15 company's business (e.g., best travel stories). This can even extend to the sharing of photos and videos • Set up dedicated customer service pages, tabs, or handles, as well as dedicated candidate query pages, with a promise of high responsiveness Doing this requires constant focus on generating new ideas and content for social media, as well as the ability to post content and responses in a highly efficient and streanllined Inanner. Retain control of content being posted on behalf of the company. Some cOlnpanies tend to outsource their social media asset management to their advertising partners. In such situations, however, conlpanies should make sure they retain control of and full editorial rights to what is being posted on their behalf. Companies can do this by putting in placed automated approval workflows and escalation processes between their partners and internal teanlS. Set targets and measure performance. It is critical for companies embarking on social media initiatives to set targets, measure perfonnance against those targets, and COlnpare their perfOT1llCUlCe against competitors. What is nleasured gets improved. Sonle of the key perfornlance indicators to track include: • Share of social media conversations for the company/brand vis-a.-vis competitors • Positive and negative sentilllent for the company/brand vis-a.-vis competitors • Monthly addition in number of social media followers • A verage time taken to respond to conlnlents by social media users by type of COlllment (e.g. positive feedback, custonler service issue) • Percent of resUlnes being sourced via social Inedia, and percent of positions being closed through social media 16 2.5 Benefits of the Social Media Social Media is starting to affect all organisations across different dimensions: organisations' internal communication, the working relationships, the relationship with their stakeholder audiences, conversations with consumers, business model innovation, and organisational reputation and legitimacy. Consumers and organizations alike are increasingly using the web to discuss, share, and collaborate (Jones, 20 I 0). Social media offers an abundance of services on the Internet. This makes it complicated for companies to know which ones to use and how to use them. Each of the platforms are unique in their interface and functionality but basically allows for online interaction based on content generated and controlled by users themselves. It has undoubtedly gained wider acceptability and usability and has been debated to be the most efficient, fastest and cheapest nleans of communication among friends, relatives, business partners and even corporate bodies. An Internet research company, Pew Research Centre, cIainls that "nlore than half of intenlet users (52%) use two or nlore of the social nledia sites nleasured (Facebook, Twitter, Instagranl, Pinterest) to conununicate with their fatuily or friends". Social media networks are enabling businesses to become more socially engaged, exploiting new business nlodel innovation based on finns' ability to 1110netisc and extract value from crowd­ generated data and content. Social media has enabled organisations to establish a stronger relationship with the community of rcference, in order to exploit the network effect atld ha111CSS collective intelligence. Companies such as eBay or Aluazon 111anaged to build a 111arketplace nourished by voluntary contributions (user-driven auction system or user-generated reviews) which allowed the users to actively participate in the 'conlmunication flow' around their products (Kleiner and Wyrick 2007). 17 Social media is used to infonn, educate, entertain, promote, monitor brands, review any fornl of material etc. Its interactive nature and power to host sound and sight has boosted its attractiveness and has become the most popular converging platform threatening the collapse of traditional media such as television, radio and print. It has closed the gap between celebrities and their fans, pastors and their congregation, govenlment and the populace, political parties and their followers etc (Elliott (2013). For example, a citizen in the remotest part of Ghana can tweet at or post or even tag the president, asking questions, comnlending on projects, soliciting for help in solving a community's plight, as long as he/she has a phone and an internet facility. For bigger churches where a churchy member has to go through protocol to nleet a busy pastor, social media has bridged the gap, making it easy to reach the pastor anY'vhere in the ,vorld and vice versa. With the explosion of social media usage around the world, social media web sites have become an important platfonll for businesses to engage ,vith customers, prospects, employees, and candidates. For customer interactions, cOlllpanies use extenlal social media platfonlls to engage with existing and prospective customers, reinforce brand nlessaging, influence custOlller opinions, and provide targeted offers, and service custolller 1110re efficiently(Moriarty, Wells, & Mitchell, 2009). In hiring, cOlllpanies are using these platfonns to reach out to and engage with prospective enlployees in a more targeted and engaging 111anner. In employee engagement, cOlllpanies are deploying internal social nledia tools to drive greater elllployee engagement, collaboration, and productivity. In new product development and launch, cOlllpanies are using a l11ix of intenlal and external social media tools for idea generation, idea evaluation, and fast new product launch (Chaturvedi, 2012). 18 The social media has made it possible for one person to communicate with hundreds or even thousands of other people about products and the companies that provide them. Thus, the impact of consumer-to-consumer communications has been greatly magnified in the marketplace. A social network gives a business the opportunity to inform customers of sales or special offers quickly and simply. It also allows customers to make contacts easily. If a custonler has an issue, she can post on the business's wall or write a short message explaining the problem (Fill (2009). This allows the company to respond quickly and attempt to ameliorate the situation. Customers also can post positive experiences with the company on their page, which is one of the best types of advertising. Businesses can use the site to ask custonlers what they like and dislike about the conlpany's business. The social media also ensures improved efficiency in business. A large number of customers/prospects/candidates reached at a lower cost compared to traditional advertising/communication media, Inarketing canlpaigns executed faster, and faster ability to hire (Pfeiffer & Zinnbauer, 2010). Furtheml0re, social networks have proven themselves to be particularly effective in influencing consumer behavior when it comes to "virtual communities of consumption, which feature characteristics like high consumer knowledge and companionship" (de Valck et aI., 2009; cited in Zaglia, 2012; p. 217). For the purpose of this study it is fundamental to understand that social networks have a strong influence on the behavior of their lnembers (de Valek, van Bruggen & Wierenga, 2009, cited in Zaglia 2012) and on the interpersonal relations that develop between the different nlenlbers of these social networks (Granovetter, 1985). It therefore becomes a logical extension of this though to believe that church events, being social and interpersonal activities, are highly influenced by social networks. In addition, social networks have proven thenlselves as being platforms for strong social interaction between friends, the church, family members, business colleagues as well as 19 members of groups with similar interests (Mizruchi & Galaskiewicz, 1993: Raacke & Bonds­ Raacke, 2008; Rapoport & Horvath, 1996; cited in Zaglia, 2012). This aspect of social networks is crucial to church events, as these are gatherings of people supporting themselves, the poor and needy and the community etc. and social platforms can therefore offer a virtual space to gather these churches and their membcrs and create involvelllent as well as excitement and fellowship to the actual event taking place. 2.6 Challenges in Adopting the Social Media The challenges with the social media can be understood from two different perspectives, one approach looks at the challenges that confront organizations in an effort to adopt the social media for their business and the other looks at the challenges that the usage of the social media brings on bear the business or the organization. The study by Gartner in 2009 (Smith, Cain, Mann, et al 2009) revealed that the failure rate in adopting socialluedia in organizations is as high as 70% and he attributed this high failure rate to various factors amongst thenl being; a lack of a clcar understanding of how sociallnedia works, liluited vision regarding the integration of socialluedia in an organizations' daily work flow, lack of management support for adoption and using social media to help solve business problems. The challenges in adopting social nlcdia in organizations can be broadly divided into four categories, explored below. Lack of management understanding, support and push: Given that social luedia is still a relatively new concept for organizations, Inanagers are very cautious in their approach towards it. A great number of them wish to only introduce the social media when it's in its luatured stage. However, according to experts in the area, taking a step back and waiting until the technology nlatures is not the right move (Kiron, Palnler, Phillips, & Kruschwitz, 2012b). This strategy nlay leave the organization a few steps behind their competitors in innovation, and put them at a 20 disadvantage in customer relations managenlent. Pentland points out, "Like any emergIng technology trend, social business can seem perpetually just out of reach. Let ~ s wait a year: the thinking goes. It's not quite real, not quite ready for prime time. If that's your approach to social business, you may be overestimating the amount of effort it takes to start putting this trend to work for your organization today" (Pentland, 2012). Time required in information sharing: Employees have so much to do and trying to keep up with several social media sites and constantly updating information on them can be very time consuming. 111ere are daunting tasks for employees to car!)' out and nlanagelllent and superiors are often advising and denlanding that employees spend their time attending to more pressing consumer demands and requests other than constantly using the time to update their social nledia status. However they often forget that the demands of consumers are on the social nledia and as such employees need to go there to find out these needs. Tillle and skill needed for using social media can reduce elllployee's lllotivation to share (Yuan, Zhao, Liao, & Chi, 2013). Language barriers: One of the challenges in adopting social nlcdia is a potential language barrier. Since IllOSt of the infonllation online is in English, it is difficult for non-English speaking clllployecs around the \\'orId to access this infomlation (Bertot, Jaeger, Munson, & Glaisyer, 2010), and contribute their opinion via social nledia sites. Hence, it nlight be difficult to get those employees to share and docunlent their knowledge via social llledia (yuan, Zhao, Liao, & Chi, 2013). Risk, security and loss of control in using social media: In adopting social llledia for organizations there is some fear that an enlployee can irresponsibly post confidential infonllation, which may be detrimental to the inlage or success of the company. 111is "loss of control" over 21 what infonnation is posted on social media is noted as another major challenge in employing social media (Macnamara, & Zerfass, 2012). Other challenges in employing social media in public and private organizations include the concern for security, privacy and content control. When a company uses existing social nledia sites for any fonn of conlnlunication among their employees or for public relations, they expose themselves to various security threats and legal risks. Organizations have to rely on the security system employed by social nledia sites and hence any breach in such a systenl may cause a leak of confidential company infonnation (Macnamara, & Zerfass, 2012). Along with the opportunity social media brings and its benefits, it also provides significant risks as noted by Merrill, Lathanl, Santalesa & Navetta (2011). In the nlaking of decisions that are crucial to the competitiveness and success of the organization, the challenges that pertain to the sociallnedia are many and a few have been discussed in this study for to aid businesses to be aware of them and try and nlitigate or nlanage them very well. Unwillingness to share information by employees: Infonnation sharing is very crucial in organizations for decision-nlaking. However while having the right infornlation can give individual employees a conlpetitive edge, sharing that valuable infonnation with others over social nledia can erode that advantage. TI1US, employees Inay be unwilling to put everything they know on social Inedia sites. Employees are 'villing to share their knowledge in a collaborative environnlent, where there is no personal gain. However if it is a nlatter of competitive edge or personal gain they tend to ,vithhold the infonnation or can go as far as misrepresenting the infonnation. Such behavior on social media sites can prove very disadvantageous for the organization (Yuan, Zhao, Liao, & Chi, 2013). 22 Information overload: The second challenge in using social media for decision-making is having too many options. Over the last few years social media technology has grown so much that there is an abundance of information, but it is scattered across multiple applications. It can be an overwhehning task to search for valid information for decision-making. There is simply too much information available; it is difficult for employees to decide \vhere to start and how to discover useful platforms. Loss of Productivity: "Almost 63% of US office workers use social nledia like Facebook or Twitter for personal reasons at least once a day and almost 82% use it a few times per week. Almost 71 % of 18-29 year old UK office workers access social media multiple times over a week for personal usage" (ClearSwift, 2007). As these statistics show, organizations should be very concerned about the employees spending excessive work tinle on these social nledia resulting in poor productivity (Naylor, 2007). Many organizations \vorry that even if social media is used for work-related posting, employees will spend a lot of time updating blog entries or wikis, which decreases productivity. Social networking sites offer many engaging ways for users to stay on their sites such as ganles and quizzes, which can occupy a user for hours. Games like ''Works with friends" and "Fannville" are specifically designed for users to play long hours and visit those gaInes often, at certain tinle intervals, which CaIl distract users from work (Cisco, 2012). Hence one of the Inajor concenlS for orgaIlizations is the loss in productivity caused by the excessive use of social nledia at work. Damage to an organization's reputation: Another 111ajor concenl for orgaIlizations is the potential dal11age to reputation caused by insensitive aIld derogatory comnlents and posts l11ade by employees. Altnost one third of office workers in the US have discussed '''lork related issues aIld stresses on social nledia (ClearSwift, 2007). This can lead to potential daIllage to an orgaIlization's 23 brand. Also, as mentioned before, data created on social media are unrestricted and non-perishable. Hence any negative post can exist on social media forever. An exanlple of social luedia causing huge damage to reputation occurred in April of2009. Two employees of Dominos, one of largest international pizza delivery chains, posted a prank video on Y ouTube (https://W\V\v.youtube.com/watch?v=OhBnlWxQpedI). In this video, they purported to be tainting a sandwich that was supposedly to be delivered to a custonler. The video instantly went viral and reached nlillions of viewers. Within 48 hours of posting the video, the consumer perception of Dominos changed fronl positive to negative. The company attempted to control the danlage done by the video by answering questions posted by angry viewers and consumers. The CEO of Domino's appeared on YouTube, and personally tried to address people's concerns. However the posting dalllaged their reputation to such an extent that a sinlple search of the word DOluino's returned the prank video for a long time. A similar blow was caused to Nestle's reputation when Greenpeace canlpaigned against Nestle for their use of palm oil. Nestle tried to restrict conuuentary on this issue, causing nlore unwanted attention fronl consunlers on social media, and leading to a public relations nightmare (Chaudhary, Frisby-Czerwinski & Del Giudice, 2011). Unpredictability of users on social media Socialluedia provides users with the power of invisibility. Employees and consumers can post content and renlarks about organizations without revealing their true identity. This power of invisibility according to Barbara (2012) provides the user of social nledia with: No Guilt, Mob Mentality, Relative anonYluity and No accountability. 11lerefore, organizations should realize that a cautious approach should be taken with regards to social nledia canlpaigning, since a sluall positive luarketing canlpaign can tunl into a huge public relations nightmare (Hill, 2012). 24 Loss of Confidential Information: Another major disadvantage of using social media in organizations is the potential loss of confidential information. Social media allows employees to gain access to large volumes of organization's confidential information while sitting at their desk. Hence any malicious or even unintentional posting by an employee can result in leakage of this information. This can cause the company embarrassment, financial damage or even expose the organization to major security risks (Van Zyl, 2008). As noted above, carelessness, ignorance and malicious intent on the part of enlployees can cause major embarrassment, financial and security risk and potential loss of intellectual property (Molok, 2010). Virus and Malware Threats Unintentional or nlalicious intent by employees can not only cause the organization loss of confidential information, but can also expose the organization to various viruses and nlahvare. Social nledia exposes businesses to new threats from viruses and mal ware, which are developed specifically to target new social Inedia technologies (ClearSwifi, 2007). These 'hackers' post fake profiles, write fake blogs and post fake content on social Inedia sites, which leads to cmployces downloading viruses and Inalware. Once these viruses or malware enter the organization's network, the hacker can gain access to the entire server, view sensitive infonnation, or even potentially take down a conlpany's entire network (Van Zyl, 2008). A 2009 survey revealed that 24% of small and nledium sized businesses (SMBs) have been victims of 111ultiple hacks due to use of social media by their employees. Even companies which have taken various precautionary nleasures against such viruses by employing strong firewalls and anti-virus software have still reported successful attacks from viruses, spY'vare and phishing (Chi, 2011). 25 As noted, the phenomenon of social media is growing rapidly. Along with that gro\\1h, the benefits and risks associated with sociallnedia grow as well. As more organizations adopt social media for communications, collaborations and decision making, they are exposing themselves to risks (ClearS\vifi, 2007). However, a key strategy to countering the drawbacks of adoption of social media is analyzing the risks and fully understanding them. This will allow organizational leaders, information technology departments, and knowledge workers to take appropriate precautionary measures before adopting social nledia in organizations(Van Zly, 2008). It is important that management realizes that these risks are simply challenges that an organization has to overcome rather than perceiving them as deterrents to the adoption of social media. However, it is not very surprising that organizations stay away fronl social media. A survey of 1400 CIO's across the US by Robert Half Technologies (http://ww\v.rht.conl) revealed that alnlost 54% of organizations have total banned employees from using social media sites in 2009. This number decreased by 20 11, where only 31 % of organizations banned the use of social ll1edia (Brost, 2012) 2.6.1 Challenges of the Social Media in the Church Due to the fact that organizations of all kinds face challenges with the social Inedia and this the researcher as handled in proceeding pages of the study, it is ilnportant to throw nlore light on the problems of the sociallnedia in the church and attelnpt to bring out the special challenges churches are encountering as a result of adoption and usage of the social nledia within the church both Illy church administration and Inanagelnent and Inem bers of the church. Global Village and Audience: McLuhan (1987) Subillitted that socialnledia has introduced to the world what he calls the global village. The globe according to him has been contracted into a village electric technology and instantaneous nlovenlent of information fronl every quarter to 26 every point at the same time. This means that church's members can be reached far and wide via the internet and this is good. However the other side of the same coin is that, if services and church programs are streamed live as people do today, it nleans, very soon we \vould have little to no persons showing up physically in the church building~ now that sounds interesting right? Churches thrive on the voluntal)' giving of members to the organization and having thenl in church makes it easier to mobilize funds. Is that not it? Now what churches should proactively be looking at for the long term is how to get their members to still transfer funds to them without being physically present. The question the researcher wishes to ask is whatever happened to conling together to fellowship physicall y and offer comfort and love to our dear friends and fan1ily? Van Dijck, (2013) has submitted that the use of the social media has its own rules and ways of using it and sometimes this affects the way in which the church would have wanted its members conducting themselves during progratns. Addictions and Distractions: Bala (2014) is of the view that the social media can be addictive atld n10st oftoday's youth are addicted to it. TIle desire for self-gratification is becon1ing serious and leading to peer pressure. Luder (2009) is of the view that the social media is used via n10bile phones, iphones, ipad, computers etc. atId at every point in time there is sonle fonn of online communication with people expressing their candid opinion on something. By adopting the social media in church, people easily get distracted during service as nlany go online to check messages, read thenl and respond to them. Bala (2014) confimls this opinion when he says that checking these nlessages and conlments is what is nlaking the youth addicted to the social nledia. TIle average time spent on social nledia networks per day was 1.72 hours in 2015. TIle average number of hours a teenager spent online per week was 27 in 2015 (McGillivray, 2015). Facebook can hamper the effect of faith- sharing because of its features, such as uploading pictures, chatting with 27 friends, and playing games that can lead to destruction, procrastination and a significant waste of time (Bala, 2014, p. 3). This challenge calls for the guardians of the faith to be watchful and help youths towards the oriented goal of faith sharing. Jeopardizing face to face interaction: The church admits that the social media is jeopardizing face-to-face interaction amongst the nlembers of the church (Nielsen, 2012). The church admits that the social media cannot do everything. For example the social media cannot take care of confession, Holy Mass, Anointing of the sick, Holy Water Sprinkling and sometimes some form of counseling. This has a way of affecting their focus and concentration in church. Instead of fellowshipping with friends and family physically present in church many find themselves doing so with their friends online. Sometimes in a bid to check messages, calls come through during church service which in all shifts the focus of the persons present in church. Infiltration of Wrong Doctrine: There have been submissions to the effect that social media is in a way introducing wrong doctrines into the church as the cultures, belief systenls and nonus of the world are gradually weaving its way into the church. Although a cheerleader for social networking in luinistry, Hendey recognizes that time online can detract fronl other relationships and personal prayer time. "We need to pay attention to our real world relationship and our faith life. She noted that one should not become so busy with the use of technology that we neglect those relationships or that nlost important relationship with God" (Graham, 2011). 2.7 Benefits of the social media to the Church The socialluedia despite its challenges has vast opportunities and benefits. It offers an excellent forunl for the church's visibility and evangelism. Socialtnedia in a sense require constant input and nl0nitoring to make the Church's presence effective (USCCB, 2014, p.2). The social nledia according to USCCB (2014) can be a strong and powerful tool for strengthening the community 28 as it has a way of connecting people as well encouraging an authentic culture of encounter (Morgen, 2012). In fact the use of the social media adds status to religious organizations. The social media helps the youth as well as adults to access issues offaith. If the social media is handled rightly in the church, people will engage in it appropriately, and it can be more successful at keeping people informed than any church bulletin (Makes, 2015). The youths who spend most of the time online will be the first agents to benefit from it. Users of social nledia expect site administrators to allow dialogue, to provide information, and to acknowledge mistakes (USCCB, 2014, p. 2). Social nledia used well infomls the audience, at the satne time should be accountable for any mistake with the principle being to tell the truth and tell it all. To admit mistakes is important as it makes it more authentic. 3.0 Introduction CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY This Chapter discusses the principles and luethods applied in the research study to carry out the stated aims and objectives. It introduces the nlethodological concept adopted in executing the research. This includes, the research designs, population, saIllple and sampling procedure, data gathering instruments, data collection procedure, ethical considerations atnongst others. The chapter provides a continuous platform for linking the extensive literature review to the luethods used to carry out the research. It clearly states that qualitative methods will be used~ surveys and interviews were selected. 29 3.1 Research Design Research design can be qualitative, quantitative or mixed (Fellow and Liu 2008). For the purpose of this research, a combination of both approaches will be adopted. Qualitative approach involves people's understanding, opinions and views, which are usually gathered through interviews or observation (Fellow and Liu 2008). Furthemlore, Merrianl (1998) nlentioned that qualitative method provides the ability to clarify the whole context of an obvious phenomenon. However, concluding a research from a mere qualitative research will only be a hypothesis (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005). Quantitative approach tends to gather factual data and observes the relationships between the facts and previous studies. Quantitative approach involves nlaking nleasurements of collected data (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005). It involves numbers and quantity as a nleans of gathering information to address a research question (Guba and Lincoln, 1994). A combination of the qualitative and quantitative research nlethods also known as Inixed Inethod approach will be used in this study to gather and analyse deeper infonnation on the use of social nledia by church leadership and the congregation as well. According to Neuman (2011, p 574), a mixed method approach can work with different strategies. Such strategies include data comparison, consolidation, and integration. The strength ofnlixed nlethod research is in its use of both induction, specifically discovery of pattenls, and deduction, particularly theory and hypothesis testing (Onwuegbuzie and Leech 2006). The nlixed nlethod approach has nvo research stages; a qualitative stage will feature face-to-face interviews, followed by a quantitative stage which will employ a questionnaire. Interviewing will offer a comprehensive picture on the topic being explored (Creswell 2005, p 471). This infonnation will foml the basis for the next stage and used to develop the questionnaire. This 30 mixed method research approach will be exploratory, descriptive and causal in nature. The mixed method explorato!), approach is most appropriate to address the research questions and achieve the proposed study goals. Qualitative research is vital to this study as it attempts to exanline the use of the social media amongst church leaders and the congregation. 3.2 Population There are Inany churches allover Ghana. The charismatic churches are widely known for the use of social media though the protestant and orthodox churches also do nlake use of this media though not so intensively. For this study, I will focus on The Maker's House Chapel International and its congregants and leadership to obtain empirical study on the impact of the social nledia on the church. The Maker's House is situated at Kwabenya in Accra, Ga-East. According to the government of Ghana, the popUlation of Accra is over four million and out of this, over three million are Christians with 45% of that sample being Charismatic/Pentecostal according to the 2010 census. However, the researcher is unable due to financial and titne constraints take on so nlany of these charismatic churches. TIle researcher is focusing on TIle Maker~ s House Chapel Intenlational; a charismatic church that is robust, full of youthful congregants and which explores the usage of the social media to a very large extent. 3.3 Sample and Sampling Technique Sampling is a slnaller representation of a whole population. TIlis provides a practical l11eans of data collection and processing and therefore it is ilnportant to ensure that the srunple size provides a good representation of the entire population (Bell, 1993). Creswell (2005, p 465) alnongst others elnphasized the ilnportance of selecting a sample criteria prior to conducting research to ensure bias srunpling does not occur. Sanlpiing helps to ensure accuracy of data collected as well as saving 31 time and money. The sampling techniques adopted in this research are the Purposive Sampling and the Random Sampling. The participants will be selected through random sampling and purposive sampling. In random sampling method, each item in the population has the same probability of being selected as part of the sample as any other item. Purposive sampling is a sampling method that involves the researcher deliberately selecting the respondents who would respond to the research questions. In all 120 respondents were selected for the study. TIle researcher adopted this number because the church administrator promised to get through to this number of respondents from departments within the church who he was sure would be willing to respond to the questionnaire. He was entreated to increase the number to 200 but could not promise due to the busy schedule of the population. 3.4 Instruments Questions can be inquired in two fonns (open and close ended). Open ended questions are designed to enable the respondents give detailed answers while closed questions contain a set of options that respondents have to select from (Yin, 2003). An interview is a conversation usually between two people, where in nlost cases the interviewer seeks the responses of the other person (respondent) for a particular purpose and this method is nlostly used in for qualitative research (Wilson, 2010). The interview technique is particularly effective for gathering in depth infonnation and opinion fronl respondents. TIlere are three types of interview nrunely a structured interview, selui­ structured interview and unstnlctured intervie\" (Fellow and Liu 2008). For the purpose of thesis, a structured interview was adopted because the questions asked were directly in line with the research questions; the interview was used to cOlllplinlent the questionnaire. 32 In addition to the types of interview mentioned above there are three ways of conducting the interview namely face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews and focus group interviews (Bryman and Bell 2011; Wilson 2010). The face-to-face interview allows the interview to be conducted directly with the respondent and enables face-to-face communication. The interviews for this research were conducted using face-to-face contact. 3.5 Data Collection Procedure Questionnaires will be distributed amongst the respondents~ afterwards there will be interviews with a number of church leaders and pastors. In all 5 church leaders are willing to answer questions of the researcher. The focus of the questions asked will be the challenges with the use of the social media by the church and its congregants. Neuman (2007) states that a researcher nlust be aware that self-presentation will influence field relations to some degree therefore before data is collected an introductory letter will be sent to the leadership of the respondent church identifying the researcher as a student of the Ghana Institute of Journalism. The questionnaires will then be distributed via email and posted and the completed questionnaires are expected to be retunled in nvo weeks or less. Follow up intervie\vs \vill be conducted face to facc. The interviews and questionnaire were designed to target the business owners, dircctors and 11lanagers. 3.6 Ethical Consideration In recent years, ethical considerations across the research conlnlunity have C01lle to the forefront (Hinmanl, 1997). In this regard, it is vital to consider ethical issues during the course of this research. Fello\\' and Liu (2008, p.247) mentioned that" because research involves the filrtherance of (human) knowledge; the reqUirement ofethical integrity is paramount". The ESRC (2010, p.7) 33 in the UK identifies 'Research Ethics as the moral principles guiding research, from its inception through to its completion and publication of results and beyond'. The infonnation gathered for this research will be kept confidential under the Data Protection Act (1998) to ensure the privacy of the participant is secured. Infonnation gathered from this research was not added to, or subtracted from under any circumstance, and by all fairness was processed without bias. It is important to see that all data are protected, because it enables the research to maintain dignity (Knight and Ruddock, 2008). 3.6.1 Reliability and Validity Reliability can also be lueasured through equivalence, which cOlupares the extent to which two versions of the SaIue paper-and-pencil instrument, or two observations lueasuring the SaIue event, produce the same result (Leedy & Ormrod 2012, P 299). Researchers may check for validity in several v·,rays. These include comparing findings of one instrument with findings from othcr instruments and conducting joint observations or collaborative nlarking of the SaIue tests. Checking validity could also include returning draft reports to respondents for accuracy checks, considering opposing explanations for the issue or question, and conducting multiple observations of the SaIne event. TIle researcher can also enhaI1Ce respondent validity by asking the participants to check their interpretations of the infonnation provided or observed (Onwuegbuzie& Leech 2006,. p 474). Critics of questionnaires and interviews focus on poorly created questions. The researcher in this study considered measures to ensure the quality of data. Questions focused on 34 required assessment of small business. The elements of language, difficulty level, and frame of reference should enhance communications between the researcher and the participants. Researchers should also be aware of participant's vocabulary to ensure that the questions are not too simple or too difficult. 3.7 Data Analysis Procedure Kumar (2002) illustrated that raw data gathered through questionnaires is meaningless and will not benefit both researchers and reader unless they are categorised and analysed. Hence data analysing is one of the most crucial element of this research. It converts raw data gotten from the field, into significant infonnatioll through the statistical process. TIle results from the process then can be interpreted to offer the reliable and understandable knowledge to the readers. Microsoft Excel is one of the prominent statistical software packages used to categorise and analyse raw dat:1. then produces data and output file as well as charts and graphs (Fink 2005). TIle first step in data analysis is descriptive analysis. The study also involves computing percentages, cross-tabulation and drawing histograms or pie charts. This fonn of analysis usually provides a useful evaluation of data obtained from the questionnaires. The focus of the questionnaire was gathering infonnation from 100 respondents. 3.8 Justification of Methodology According to Saunders et al (2009) qualitative data provides us with infomlation specifically related to the topic of the study. In addition, survey is one of the easiest and beneficiallnethods used to identify reasons, issues or challenges cOlnpared to other Inethods of qualitative study. Further, there are different lllethods through which surveys can be conducted for example with the 3S use of telephone, the use of the Skype application, emailing the questionnaire and etc. Thereforc~ survey will be used to help collect first-hand infonnation and to provide us genuine and bias free data. However, the chances of biasness are less using this method, compared to other data collecting methods. The use of qualitative methods is also justified because conducting questionnaire techniques are easy to adopt especially for a broad topic. In the past, surveys were conducted manually but in recent times, technology aids us in contacting the respondents online and they fill the questionnaires in a lesser time. Moreover, there are many service agencies that facilitate researchers in filling up the questionnaires so that first-hand infonnation is collected as soon as possible. Technological advancement has however facilitated the researchers in contacting with the sample population that are living in other parts of the country. There are nlany reasons on the basis of which selection and interview methods are justified especially for this study. TIle qualitative luethod of the study is beneficial as it can be easily manipulated according to the topic of the study. Another justification related to the use of survey method is that it is cost effective compared to other nlethods of the study. However, the responses of the survey cannot be manipulated and thus, the survey has a potential of saving the data from all sorts of biasness. The survey nlethod of research is also justified as it does not allow the researchers to have any kind of control over the environnlent. Also, the data collected frOlu interviews is highly relevant as it is collected directly from the target population of the study. 36 3.9 Limitations of Research Methods There are limitations associated with the use of qualitative methods like surveys, interviews and etc. Survey result may be manipulated according to the topic of the study and responses might be provided in urgency as most of the respondents are employed on high level positions and they have a busy schedule. Apart from survey, interviews conducted can also face communication barriers due to poor perfonnance of some social media platfonns; nlail sent might not be received by the respondents at accurate time and etc. Also, respondents might not understand the real meaning of the questions included in the survey distributed to the sample population. TIlis is because sometimes the researcher may nlean something quite different from the meaning the respondents may get. 37 4.0 Introduction CHAPTER FOUR RESUL TS & DISCUSSION This chapter discusses the findings and results of the study on "TIle Impact of the Social Media on the Church; TIle case of The Maker's House Chapel International". Findings are discussed under clearly described headings that reflect the study's research questions and objectives. In necessary instances, an extended analysis is given to further the discussion. The objectives of the research as outlined in the first chapter of this study include; • To ascertain how the church in Ghana is using social media to aid church growth and the spiritual enrichment of its congregation • To find out if the church recognizes any adverse effect of social media on its congregation and the church as a whole. • To explore some of the policies on the use of the socialilledia during church service 4.1 Demographics This section gives demographic data on respondents that were sanlpled for the study. On the age range of respondents, Table 1 depicts that 50% of the respondents fell within the age range of 30- 34,25% ofthenl fell within 18-25. The age group of 26-29 recorded 13.3% respondents and that of 35-39 recorded respondents' rate of 11.67%. This biographical data on the age range of respondents shows that the church has relatively very young people in it who range nlainly between the ages of 18 to 34 years. It was one of the key reasons why the researcher chose this church because fronl all observation, the church had a lot of young people and this response goes to confirnl that fact. Also buttressing this point, Kirkpatrick (2010) mentioned that a lot of young 38 people made use of the soc ial medi a ve ry o ften to create th eir o\\'n personal profil es anci lO interact with other peop le all over the world. Table I: Age Range of Respondents Age range Frequency Percentage 18-25 30 26-29 16 13.3 30-34 60 50 35-39 14 11.67 Total 120 100 Source: Field Data, 2017 Gender of Respondents On the gender of respondents. the stud y record ed the .-iew af 62.5% of male respondents and 37.5% of fema le respondents as depi cted in Figu re 2. Gender of ResJlondents • ivlal L'S Figure I : Gender of Respondents Source: Field Data, 2017 39 On making a field trip to the church where the researcher undertook the study one Sunday, it was observed by the researcher that the church had more males than females as confirmed by the president of the church who gave the researcher audience on an interview on the management of social media application within the church. 4.2 Social Media Knowledge and Usage of the Social Media According to Junco al et (2010), "social media are a collection of internet websites, services, and practices that support collaboration, community building, participation, and sharing". To start with, the researcher sought to find out if the respondents all had knowledge of the social media and all of them said Yes. In furtherance of this question, respondents were asked if they use the social media and all ofthenl ans\vered in the affinnative. So in time, all of the respondents knew of the social nledia and used the social media and this was a good starter for the researcher as it concretized the study's foundation finnly. Social Media Applications in Use Weber (2009) records that the Social Media is an online place; it requires the use of the intenlet and all gather there no matter the platfornl to share ideas, thoughts, nlake our conunents and express our opinions, likes and dislikes and sOlnetinles practically argue. EXaInples of current day social Inedia platfonns, according to Weber (2009), include; Facebook, Twitter, In stag ram , Snapchat, Skype, Viber, Y ouTube, Google+, Whatsapp, Blogs, 2go, Myspace, Black Planet, Gather, Eons, LinkedIn etc. The researcher sought to find out which of the social media applications the respondents used. 56.66% 111entioned that they use Facebook and Whatsapp 40 together, 32% of them said they used all of the named social media applications including Facebook, In stagram , Twitter, Whatsapp, and YouTube and 16.66% said that they only use Whatsapp. The respondents' social media preferences fall in line with those of Weber (2009) giving a true confirmation on the social media applications used. Supporting these views, an Internet research company, Pew Research Centre, claims that "nlore than half of internet users (52%) use two or more of the social media sites measured (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest) to communicate with their family or friends" as displayed in Table 2. Table 2: Social Media Application in Use Response F acebook+Whatsapp Facebook+ In stag ram + Twitter+ Whatsapp & Y ouTube Whatsapp Only Total Source: Field Data, 2017 Very Active Social Media Application Frequency 68 30 20 120 Percentage 56.66 32 16.66 100 When asked which of the social media applications, they are very active on, 71.66 luentioned Whatsapp and 28.33% luentioned Facebook. An Intenlet research company, Pew Research Centre, claims that "nlore than half of intenlet users (52%) use two or more of the social luedia sites lueasured (Facebook, Twitter, Instagranl, Pinterest) to cOlnnlunicate with their family or friends". The numbers of active social network users are growing at a constant and impressive rate. For instance, according to Facebook Newsroom (2013), "Facebook boasts of more than 655 million daily active users on average around the globe and it had a total of 1.1 billion Monthly Active Users (MAU) and 665 million 41 Daily Acti ve Users (DAU) as of March 2013"". Respond cllls · vic\\ on the most acti ve soc ialmcdia fo r them ment ioned Whatsapp and Facebook. 811.00% 70.()()(!Ii) 6(l.OO% 50.00% -W .OO%J 30.00% 20.00lVo I ().oo~o (WOo;" Whatsapp !\Iosl Activc Appic:llion Figure 2: Very Active Socia l Mcdia Application Source: Field Data, 2017 4.3 The C hurch and Social Media Use of Social Media by the Church _ ivins! i\c li\L' !\p pi C~lti( \ll The respondents were asked if the churc h uses the soc ia l media to communicate with them a nd a ll of them said Yes. that the church uses socia l med ia to co mmunicate with them. They were furthe r asked whi ch of th e soc ia l media applicati ons the chu rch uses to co mmunicate with them as congrega nts and 4 1.66% ind icated only What sapp as the app li cabl e socia l med ia platform the church uses. 33.33% menti oned that the church onl y uses Face book and 25% sa id the ch urch uses both Faceboo k and Whatsapp. As show n on Ta ble 3. Res pondents indicated that the c hu rch uses soc ia l med ia to communicate eve nts to them. and to re mind the m of c hurch programs a nd to re preac h the se rm ons aga in . 42 Table 3: Use of Social Media by the Ch urch Response Freq uency Percentage Whatsapp O nl y 50 4 1.66 Facebook O nl y 40 ............... -'-'.J.,) Whatsapp+ Faceboo k 30 Total 120 100 Source: Field Data, 2017 Use of Social Media While at Church Responde nts ill an altemptto know the altit ude of respondents to\\ ard th e soc ialmcd ia asked them if th ey use soc ial med ia while at church and 53.330/0 said 110. lhe) do 11 00 u se soc ia llll cd ia w hil e at Church and 46.66% said yes. they usc it w hil e at church. Figure 3 di splays these res ponses. Usc of Soc ial l\ }('dia \\ hill' at Church 53.33% . y\.,~ No Figure 3: Use of the Social Media While at C hurch Source: Field Data, 2017 43 When asked which of the social media they use while at church, only those who indicated that they use the social media mentioned which of the social media applications they use. Out of 56 people who said Yes, 25 of them said they use Whatsapp and 31 of them said they use Facebook. Table 4: Social Media Application in Use at Church Response Frequency Percentage Whatsapp 25 44.64 Facebook 31 55.35 Total 56 100 Source: Field Data, 2017 Policies Governing the use of the Social Media in the Church The researcher found it useful to ask if the respondents knew of any policies governing the use of social Jnedia in the church and out of 120 people only 8.33% making just about ten respondents said Yes and 91.66% making about 110 respondents said No, that the church did not have any policies as shown in Figure 4. Eager (2005) discussed some strategies used by social media and mentioned that these strategies help organisations to improve their perfonnances. Eager (2005) discussed three nlain strategies which are the push and pull strategy and the networking strategy which in his opinion are very important in the way social nledia is used. Deriving from the discussions he held on the networking strategy, it can be inferred that this is the strategy that nlost companies, organisations and associations such as churches Inay use in the adoption of policies that will enable them control and nlanage the applications they subscribe to corporately. The networking strategy involves the use of social media tools which are highly interactive with a lot of back and forward between the agency and its diverse constituencies. Companies now usually 44 have a sense of who is fo ll owing them and who they want to reach. They are using Facebook. Twiner. etc .. very strategical ly not on ly to contro l and direct messages to their audiences. but also to have their ears and eyes 011 th e ground where the actUa l issues are be ing di sc lissed Ihalmigill be of relevance to their business 's mi ss ion. Pol icies for Sot' i'll Media /] No 9 1. 66% I Potic il..'s for Sncial Media y~s 7 / / / ./ 0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60 .00% 80.00% 100.00% Figure 4: Policies Governing Social Media Source: Field Data, 2017 Shari ng other views. Chatu rved i (20 12) is of the V le\\ that as companies focus on effecti vely leverag ing socia l media platforms. there are four strateg ies that organi sations may consider. He pos ited that companies should retain contro l ofcolllents be ing placed on beha lfofthe compan y in that companies should make sure they reta in control of and fu ll ed itorial rights to what is being posted on the ir behalf. Companies can do thi s by putting in place automated approva l workllows and esca lat ion processes between the ir partners and internal teams. He also advocated that in the mak ing of policies and strategy setting of the company ill the management of its soc ia l media. it is cr iti ca l for companies embark ing on soc ia l media initiatives to set targets. measure perfo rmance aga in st those targets. and compare the ir performance against competitors. what is measured gelS im proved. 45 The respondents were further asked what these policies are if any and out of the tcn respondents 7 respondents mentioned the policies they know of which is listed below: • Congregants advised to use social media wisely • Should be used to propagate the gospel • Church does not post unverifiable news on the church's platfonn • Encouraged not to use social media during church service • Encouraged not to post anything on the church's social media platfornl which does not concern the church • Not allowed to make calls etc. during church service The views shared by Chaturvedi (2012), confirm the views of the respondents bulleted above and they also are an addition to the various policies and strategies companies including the church may consider in the improvement of the 111anagement of its social nledia applications. The respondents, from their views, also advised that the church should have a team which would have access to the church's platfonn and regulate how it is used and Inanaged. Furthcrmorc, those who said No, that the church did not have policies that govenlcd socialtnedia usage in the church were asked if they think that the church should adopt policies toward its usage of thc social media and all of them said Yes and this was the advice given by Chaturvedi (2012) for organisations that were yet to adopt policies to manage their social media applications and usage. 4.4 Rating the Importance of Social Media Over the past years, social media has grown in its usage, influence and importance. Social media has democratized corporate conIDlunications across most industries (Kielzmarul, Hennkens, McCarthy, & Silvestre, 2011). Furthennore, it has proven to be a powerful communication tool (Fisher, 2011). The social 46 media, according to USCCB (2014), can be a strong and powerful tool for strengthening the community as it has a way of connecting people as well as encouraging an authentic culture of encounter (Morgen, 2012). If the social media is handled rightly in the church, it can be more successful at keeping people infonned than any church bulletin (Makes, 2015). In addition, social networks have proven themselves as being platfonns for strong social interaction between friends, the church, family members, business colleagues as well as members of groups with similar interests (Raacke & Bonds-Raacke, 2008). When asked to rate the inlportance of social media, all the respondents said that social media is very important and that it has had a positive impact on church growth. Naming the positive impact of the social nledia, some of the impacts respondents mentioned are outlined below; • It served to remind congregants of church activities • 111at it brought together the nlembers of the church • Makes it easier for the church to reach its 111embers • It gives infonnation and lnakes cOlnmunication easier • Helps in the gro\vth of the church • Helps in evangelism and mobilization of menlbers • Helps to spread the word and daily devotions • Projecting the image of the church The views ofMakes'(2015) and Morgen (2012) have been duly confimled by the respondents \:vho shared that the social media is illlportant to the church as it reminds nlembers of the church's bulletin and keeps people connected and info nll ed . 47 4.5 Negative Impact of the Social Media Van Dijck, (2013) has subnIitted that the use of social media has its own rules and ways of using it and sometimes this affects the way in which the church would have wanted its members to conduct themselves during programs. In the light of this and other observations of the researcher, the respondents were asked if they think that the social media has negative impacts and 16.66% of the respondents said No and 83.33% of them said Yes. TIIose who said Yes indicated the following as some of the negative impacts of the social nledia; • Interrupts church services • Poor spiritual gro\vth due to lack of concentration • It's destructive • It's addictive • False infonnation and doctrines can be put on the social media • Affect attendance to church and palticipation in church activities McLuhan (1987) submitted that social media has introduced to the \vorld what he calls thc global village. The globe according to him has been contracted into a village electric tcchnology and instantaneous movement of infonnation from evel)' quarter to every point at the satne time. TIlis meatls that church's members Catl be reached far atld wide via the intcnlct and this is good. However, the other side of the sanle coin is that, if services and church programs are streanled live as people do today, it means, very soon we would have little to no persons showing up physically in the church building and that can be a big probleln for the church? Bala (2014) is of the view that the social media can be addictive and most oftoday's youth are addicted to it. TIle desire for self­ gratification is becoming serious and leading to peer pressure. Luder (2009) is of the view that the social Inedia is used via mobile phones, iphones, ipad, cOlnputers etc. and at every point in tinle 48 there is some form of online communication with people expressing their candid opinion on something. By adopting social media in church, people easily get distracted during service as many go online to check messages, read them and respond to them. Bala (2014) confirms this opinion when he says that checking these messages and comments is what is making the youth addicted to social nledia. Facebook can hamper the effect of faith­ sharing because of its features, such as uploading pictures, chatting with friends, and playing games that can lead to destruction, procrastination and a significant waste of time (Bala, 2014, p. 3). The church admits that social media is jeopardizing face-to-face interaction amongst the members of the church (Nielsen, 2012). Grahrun (2011) says that social media leads us to neglecting our relationship with God which is the most important. All these views expressed by the respondents and writers show how negative the social nledia can be ifnot used appropriately. They were further asked if the church should stop using the social nledia because of its negative impacts and all of them said No. 4.6 Results of Interviews held The researcher interacted with the President and Administrator of the church on a few questions that was important for the attainment of the study's objectives. TIle interview was a very interesting one, revealing very important infonnation which goes to buttress and support the responses of the respondents of the questionnaire instrument ruld literature. TIlese responses are analysed and discussed below~ 49 Understanding of Social Media The researcher sought to find out what understanding they had into what social media is and they said that it is a group or collections of applications and websites that allow their users to share information. This is confinned by Junco al et (2010), who also said "social media is a collection of internet websites, services, and practices that support collaboration, community building, participation, and sharing". More Frequently Use of Social Media Compared to Traditional Media The researcher asked if the church uses social media and both interviewees said Yes, that the church actively uses social media. They also indicated that, the church makes frequent use of the social media. The church places sennons and service on social nledia for people to stream live and pictures are updated and placed on the social media during church service. They agreed that the church uses radio but the social media is used more because it is readily available and it is cheaper compared to the traditional media like radio and TV. Social Media Applications used by the Church Respondents were also of the view that even though the church uses nlainly Facebook, Y ouTube, In stag ram and twitter, the church is very active on Facebook and YouTube because with that they are able to reach their viewers with videos which invariably attracts lnore viewers. Use of Social Media during Church Service The respondents answered that sOlne people nlake use of the social nledia during church service because sonletimes the postings and cOlnments that are posted on the church's platfonns are 50 comments made while service is ongoing but the church has some conventional practices of not allowing picture taking and videoing during service. Policies Governing Social Media Usage The respondents mentioned that the church has no written down policies and that what they have are the conventional practices. On SOlne of the practices they could be referring to, the respondents mentioned that the church does not allow picture taking and videoing by individuals during church service except the Church~s media team. Also the nledia team~s work is monitored in the control room and the Public Relations team does not place on the platfomls of the church any pictures and videos having to do with deliverance and ministrations. The protocol department checks to ensure that individual church members also do not take pictures and videos of such incidents during service. Furthennore, they mentioned that the work of the PRlcontrol room team is to screen pictures and vet them before they are placed on the intenlet. They are trained to know what publicity will come out of some pictures or videos that are posted. Also only pictures and videos that carry water marks of the church are posted on the social media. Sharing the views of the respondents, Chaturvedi (2012) is also of the view that the organisation or company should control and manage what is posted on the social nledia on its behalf in order to reduce the adverse effects of how negative its impact can be ifnot well managed. Benefits of the Social Media TIle respondents mentioned that social Inedia is very important and that when people view and follow the church's social media applications, they invite others to watch and listen to the semlon or service. The church has equally registered new Inelnbers who indicated that they first heard 51 about the church through social media and invitations they received through the social media. They also indicated that it is less expensive. Negative Impact Respondents mentioned that the social media has its negative impacts. The Administrator sited an instance in which sonleone created same name and used the picture of the General Overseer of the church. He started posting sennons and devotions and then started asking people to send nloney to him. In that situation the church had to do some correction with Facebook itself, get verified accounts and a disclaimer. Also they indicated that some church nlembers can decide not to be physically present in church because they can stream live and be part of the service. 52 CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.0 Introduction Every business venture is in to make profit and therefore every business tries to discover new and improved ways of reaching its customers. Social media has become a popular trend today for all spheres of life, especially for businesses. It provides a platfonn to establish and multiply relationships and to be visible to other people all ove