Main Article Content
Abstract
Building relationships with stakeholders through interactive communication on social media is imperative in corporate communication practice. The study set out to examine interactive communication on social media between GSM companies in Nigeria and stakeholders. Specific objectives sought to identify social media platforms deployed by GSM companies in Nigeria for corporate communication and also identify corporate communication themes which formed the basis for interaction with stakeholders. Anchored on actor-network and system theories, the research design was content analysis. The sample size of 376 was determined using Cochran’s statistical formula. The instrument for data collection was the coding sheet. A coefficient of 0.69 derived using Cohen’s Kappa ascertained the reliability of the instrument. Findings showed Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube were visible social media tools deployed for corporate communication by GSM companies in Nigeria. Significantly, blogs were absent with Airtel Nigeria the only GSM company to have a corporate blog for stakeholder communication. There was a preponderance of one-way communication in social media use archetypical of web 1.0. This was interspersed with a fair bit of transactional interactivity while interactive communication was absent. The study recommended that GSM companies initiate conversations and interact with stakeholders on social media platforms on programmes, policies, and issues through extensive information exchange.