Segmenting Social Media Audiences of Radio Stations: Identification, Mood, and Self-Regulation

Abstract

In contemporary research, there are studies that investigate the social media presence of radio stations; however, to the best of our knowledge no study has examined the homogeneity of their audiences. The purpose of the present study was to examine the profile of individuals who follow radio stations on social media. A questionnaire assessing key concepts related to social media usage, including mood, self-regulation, and identification with the preferred social media of radio station was developed along with several demographic characteristics. In the study participated 494 individuals who follow radio stations on social media. Latent Profile Analysis identified three distinct user profiles: (1) "Dedicated Fans" (11,2%), characterized by strong emotional and cognitive identification with the radio stations’ social media, high levels of negative mood during browsing, and low self-regulation; (2) "Occasional Engagers" (27,2%), who exhibited these traits to a moderate extent; and (3) "Distant Observers" (61,6%), who showed minimal connection with social media and demonstrated high levels of self-regulation. Further analysis revealed that "Dedicated Fans", compared to the other two groups, had the lowest levels of educational attainment, predominantly followed sports radio stations, and engaged most frequently with their preferred radio stations' social media. These findings contribute significantly to the existing literature. Future research could benefit from conducting similar analyses on the social media platforms of companies promoting products, thereby facilitating a comparative exploration of the concepts of identification, mood, and self-regulation.