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- The pandemic impact in a higher education school: students perceptionsPublication . Valente, Bianor; Gama, Ana; Antunes, Ana Cristina; Miranda, SandraThe pandemic situation since 2020 originated the reorganization of teaching and learning processes at various levels, being higher education no exception. Such circumstances presented a set of constraints, but at the same time opportunities, not only for students but also for teachers. The goal of this research is to characterize the student's perception in a High School of Education on the impact of the pandemic in the process of teaching and learning. Following a qualitative methodology, a group focus was organized, being the sample constituted by 5 students from the second year and 5 students from the third year of all undergraduate courses. The preliminary data here presented lay on the following analysis dimensions: classes organization in the first semester of 2020/2021, change in the interactions, teacher’s adaption and students' concerns about the professional practices. The available data point to a diversity of organization of curricular units Intra and inter graduations. It's also evident that the most predominant factor considered in the adaption is the teacher's performance. Changes have been identified with the mode of interaction, whether between colleagues of the same class or with colleagues of other courses. At least we underline the preoccupation about professional practices and subsequent consequences and meantal health issues affecting students.
- The (not so) secret life of senior social media influencers: an analysis of the top five 'granfluencers', on InstagramPublication . Antunes, Ana Cristina; Miranda, Sandra; Gama, AnaThe changing media landscape and consumption along with the decreased efficacy of traditional advertising have confronted brands with the challenge to unravel different and innovative ways to effectively communicate with their targets. Influencer marketing is one of the strategies that is thriving and proved valuable for marketeers in this pursuit of new ways of reaching out to their audiences. Despite the relevance that digital influencer communication has recently gained for brands, academic research has been slow to catch up and some of the aspects related to digital influencers remain understudied. Within this context little is known about this exercise of influence by senior digital influencers and how they communicate with their followers. Traditionally associated with a more passive role of content receivers, some of the older citizens have been developing their digital knowledge and skills and are now active content creators on social networking sites and even, in some cases, building up a vast audience and a wide range of interested, involved, and engaged followers. Yet, there is scarce evidence regarding these elderly digital content creators. To help fill this gap, this exploratory study aims to study the Instagram profile of the top five older influencers and examine their personal brand subjectivities, communicative styles, and social media practices. A qualitative methodology was adopted, involving a set of dimension analyses such as the tone of communication, posting frequency, themes/subjects of interest, audiovisual and multimedia resources, as well as their interaction and engagement with followers. The results challenge the negative stereotype associated with old age and suggest that senior influencers already take part in the influencer economy. Academic and business implications of the study are examined for influencer marketing.
- Navegar por redes nunca antes navegadas: motivações e engagement dos seniores ibéricosPublication . Miranda, Sandra; Antunes, Ana Cristina; Gama, Ana; Di Fátima, Branco; Machado, Ana TeresaA sociedade ocidental contemporânea é caracterizada pelo envelhecimento demográfico, pelo empoderamento do consumidor sénior (65+) e pela popularização das tecnologias digitais, sobretudo da internet e dos media sociais. Porém, o conhecimento científico sobre a relação dos seniores com as plataformas digitais ainda apresenta numerosas lacunas, principalmente na Península Ibérica - uma das regiões mais envelhecidas do planeta. Este artigo problematiza essa relação, em Portugal e Espanha, escrutinando os motivos de adesão e permanência dos mais velhos nos media sociais, aferindo quais as páginas das marcas (na rede social Facebook) que os seniores mais visitam e interagem e, descortinando o papel das fanpages das marcas no processo de tomada de decisão de consumo. A investigação, de cariz exploratório, seguiu uma metodologia mista. Os dados qualitativos foram obtidos a partir de cinco Focus Group (FG) realizados nos dois países em estudo. Já os dados quantitativos foram extraídos do Facebook Audience Insights, a partir de uma amostra oficialmente representativa dos seniores na região. Os resultados mostram evidentes sinais de “fractura digital” com os seniores a configurarem apenas 17,8% (10% PT e 7,8% ES) dos perfis activos na Península Ibérica, destacando se uma maior presença das mulheres. Os portugueses tendem a gostar, comentar e partilhar conteúdos com mais frequência do que os espanhóis. No que se prende com os motivos de adesão e permanência na rede social, verifica-se unanimidade ibérica na indicação do incentivo dos familiares próximos, tal como na constatação de que se trata de um espaço potenciador do reforço e multiplicação dos laços sociais. A procura e o envolvimento com as páginas de marcas comerciais serve, sobretudo, como ferramenta de apoio e redução da incerteza no processo de tomada de decisão de compra on e offline.
- Can Facebook Support Senior's Consumer Decision Process?: A qualitative studyPublication . Antunes, Ana Cristina; Gama, Ana; Miranda, SandraThe Iberian Peninsula is experiencing a context of generalized demographic aging combined with the progressive adherence of elderly to ICT and social media. However, as organizations acknowledge seniors as an increasingly attractive digital market segment due to their economic power, free time and their high longevity, there remains a paucity of studies that focus on the online shopping behavior of the elderly consumers. Using a qualitative methodology, which involved 5 focus groups and 45 Portuguese and Spanish elderly, the present research has the main objectives to understand how seniors behave throughout the online purchase decision making process and to examine the role and relevance that the elderly attribute to the brands in social media. The results suggest a widespread resistance of the Iberian Peninsula seniors to make online purchases, although some of the Portuguese seniors do it in low-involvement purchases and more regularly than the Spanish ones. Seniors’ digital involvement with brand webpages serves to support their purchase decision-making process, from information search about characteristics, features or products’ prices of the product they intend to purchase, but also for the evaluation of alternatives, based on the opinions of other internet users until the purchase decision and post-purchase. Their information search frequency in the Facebook pages of the brands is variable and their perception about these pages is negative, due to the presence of advertising, to brand pressure but also to their contents (photographs and products descriptions) presented on those pages.
- Age 2.0: Motivations and Brand EngagementPublication . Miranda, Sandra; Machado, Ana Teresa; Antunes, Ana Cristina; Gama, AnaThe demographic winter that is widespread throughout Europe, along with the spread of network society, has brought to contemporary societies a striking new world of opportunity and challenge. The growing adherence of the senior population to Information and Communication Technologies, with a focus on digital social networks, is perceived as a positive sign of inclusion and digital literacy. In this context and given the potential of this segment as a marketing target, brands need to understand the interests, motivations, and profiles of these users to achieve greater interaction and proximity with this audience. Taking into account two countries, Portugal and Spain, the aim of this research is 1) to discuss the role of social networks in promoting active aging; 2) to understand the level of importance and how this senior segment interacts with the brands on social networks and 3) to compare the results among the two sociocultural realities. Methodologically, an exploratory qualitative investigation was carried out based on the realization of a Focus Group in which users of social networks residing in Spain and Portugal participated. Results point out that more than seeking and get information about brands, seniors navigate the social networks in search of affiliation, support, and socialization not only broadening their network of contacts in the virtual world but mainly by networking with their "acquaintances" to retrieve memories and strengthen bonds of friendship. As little research has been undertaken so far into the ways that older consumers are adopting or rejecting new digital technologies, this study contributes to the academic literature regarding this subject. Furthermore, for marketers, it is important to tailor their strategies and to convey appropriate messages as there is evidence that seniors have still to be pushed to join and use pages of brands on Facebook as a platform to interact with brands.
- A different type of influencer? Examining senior Instagram influencers communicationPublication . Miranda, Sandra; Antunes, Ana Cristina; Gama, AnaThe aging of the population, the advance of ICT, and the opening of social networks have allowed the reception of massive phenomena led by the so-called digital immigrants. Indeed, despite the digital divide and a lesser predisposition of older people to deal with technology, it turns out that the market for senior digital influencers begins, gradually, to be marked by its growth, revealing specificities, and differentiating elements. This means that in addition to the traditional role of content receivers, older people are now active content creators, occupying a space that for a long time was restricted to younger generations, contributing to the building up of a vast audience and a wide range of interested, engaged and interactive followers. Using an exploratory approach, this research aims to study the Instagram profile of the top ten most popular elderly influencers and compare the posts of the top two digital influencers (man and women, each). For this purpose, a qualitative methodology was carried out, we examined and compared the posts of @Baddie Winkle, @Iris Apfel, @ George Takei and @dinneranddance, using several dimensions of analysis such as the topics covered, the tone of communication, and the audiovisual and multimedia resources used to create interaction and engagement with followers. The results show that fashion is one of the central themes, punctuated by a communication full of humor, fun, and eccentricity, challenging the paradigm and negative stereotype related to aging and breaking with the traditional image of decline, frailty, and disability associated with old age.
- Age 2.0: motivations and brand engagementPublication . Miranda, Sandra; Machado, Ana Teresa; Antunes, Ana Cristina; Gama, AnaThe demographic winter that is widespread throughout Europe, along with the spread of network society, has brought to contemporary societies a striking new world of opportunity and challenge. The increasing adhesion of seniors to the Information and Communication Technologies and, in particular, to digital social networks while being seen as a positive sign of inclusion and digital literacy, has led brands to embark on an accurate process of understanding the interests, motivations and profile of these users, as well as developing communication and interaction strategies according to their specificities. Drawn upon on a qualitative study through Focus Groups made up of senior Internet users and social networks and conducted in Portugal and Spain, the aim of this research is, on the one hand, to discuss the role of social networks in promoting active aging and their implications on relevant dimensions of the elderly's life, and on the other hand, to understand the level of importance and how this senior segment relates and interacts with the brands that populate social networks. Results point out that more than seeking and get information about brands, seniors navigate the social networks in search of affiliation, support and socialization not only broadening their network of contacts in the virtual world, but mainly by networking with their "acquaintances" with the goal of retrieving memories and strengthening bonds of friendship.
- Challenging old paradigms about aging and social networks: seniors as social influencersPublication . Miranda, Sandra; Antunes, Ana Cristina; Gama, AnaThe advances of the Network Society and the dissemination of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are associated with potential phenomena of exclusion, such as a set of skills and predispositions less present among older generations – the so-called digital immigrants. Despite the difficulties widely portrayed in the literature, it appears that in addition to the growing adherence of seniors to ICT and the internet, older people are gradually appropriating social networks and digital tools to give voice to content channels starting to stand out as digital influencers. Using an exploratory approach, this research aims to study the Instagram profile and analyze the posts of the top two most popular elderly women digital influencers: @Baddie Winkle (4 million followers and considered, in 2020, by Forbes one of the most influential people on the network) and @Iris Apfel (2 million followers). For this purpose, a qualitative methodology was carried out, where thought a content analysis of the posts, we examined several dimensions such as: the topics covered, the signs, the tone of communication and the audiovisual and multimedia resources used to create interaction and engagement with followers. In total 47 posts were analyzed. The results show that fashion and arts are the central themes of Baddie and Iris posts, allied to the rupture of the image of weakness and fragility of seniors, punctuated by a communication full of humor, fun, grace, and some emotional tone. Artistic photography is the dominant visual resource, some of them in a sponsorship format. In addition to the high (young) number of followers that senior influencers have, there is a high engagement with followers who interact mostly through likes, views, and comments. In relation to these last ones, it is verified the presence of an extremely positive and friendly feedback marked by respect and admiration.