The role of hyperpersonal communication to the selective self-presentation and community management practice of selected community managers on Facebook brand pages

Abstract

Drawing inspiration from the Hyperpersonal Communication Model of CMC by Joseph B Walther (1996), this research poses to determine the roles of hyperpersonal communication in a community manager's (CM's) self-presentation and practice of community management. Guided by a semi-structured questionnaire, conducting oneshot interviews is researcher's stance in obtaining phenomenological data. A modified conceptual framework of Walther's Hyperpersonal Communication Model is used in analyzing the accounts of the eight (8) selected CMs from different advertising and digital organizations in the Philippines. Findings reveal that hyperpersonal processes allow community managers to be more selective, malleable, and subject to self-censorship. The CMs online behaviors are reciprocated, confirmed, and magnified through the feedback process. The messages created and sent in an asynchronous and cues-filtered out message channel are more controlled. These messages foster to the CMs' selective self-presentation and community management strategies. Because a community is built around a common interest among its members, messages created and sent by the CMs are related to the brand based on the information CMs send, it is also found out that the usage of the brand's language and personality contribute to the success the CMs' community management practice and selective selfpresentation.. The study claims that CMs are agents who create and maintains healthy relationship between the brands and the communities. Despite the affordances of hyperpersonal communication, the study also found difficulties being experienced by the CMs because of several factors in the offline world such as the CMs' competency which includes one's insufficient knowledge and experiences with regards to the brand and community being handled. However, CMs gave solutions on how they manage these difficulties they encounter.