Digital audiences of union organising: A social media analysis

• Published date: 01 July 2021
• Author: Panos Panagiotopoulos
• Date: 01 July 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12184

New Technol Work Employ. 2021;36:201–218.

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INTRODUCTION

As part of their renewal efforts, unions in Britain have gradually changed the level and scope of

their activities over the last decades (e.g. Heery et al., 2003; Fiorito, 2004; Ibsen and Tapia, 2017).

Digital engagement presents a strong new direction for organising with unions managing their pres-

ence on multiple platforms where they interact with audiences like Facebook friends, Twitter follow-

ers, YouTube viewers or participants in a LinkedIn group. The rapid pace and engagement features

of digital networking challenge the common assumptions that underpin unions’ relationships with

DOI: 10.1111/ntwe.12184

SPECIAL ISSUE

Digital audiences of union organising: A social

media analysis

PanosPanagiotopoulos

© 2021 Brian Towers (BRITOW) and John Wiley & Sons Ltd

School of Business and Management,

Queen Mary University of London,

London, UK

Correspondence

Panos Panagiotopoulos, School of Business

and Management, Queen Mary University

of London, Mile End road, London, E1

4NS, UK.

Email: P.Panagiotopoulos@qmul.ac.uk

Abstract

The article offers a novel conceptualisation of unions’ digi-

tal audiences and considers how their characteristics affect

the practice of organising. Data were collected from the

central Twitter accounts of 33 British unions resulting in

167,658 tweets and information from their 357,687 fol-

lowers. Using textual and network methods, the analysis

shows how unions interact with large, diverse and unex-

pected audiences including members, other individuals and

organisations within their stakeholder groups. The findings

support Twitter’s role as a tool for organising in directions

like stakeholder engagement and reaching new audiences.

The article further discusses how unions can respond to

the imagined characteristics of their digital audiences and

develop an approach to engagement that builds on the rela-

tionship between audiences and content.

KEYWORDS

audience analysis, digital engagement, mixed methods, organising,

social media, trade unions, Twitter

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traditional audiences. Unions will engage on social media not only with their members and other

immediate audiences but possibly with a variety of unexpected individuals and organisations. Unions’

new digital audiences come with potential to support organising strategies like membership engage-

ment, recruitment, coalition building and other network- based models (Fiorito, 2004; Frege and Kelly,

2004; Hickey et al., 2010; Engeman, 2015). How unions are engaging with these new audiences has

large implications (Diamond and Freeman, 2002; Bryson et al., 2010; Panagiotopoulos, 2012) but so

far these have not been adequately conceptualised.

The article aims to contribute to our understanding of unions’ digital audiences and how their

imagined characteristics shape aspects of organising. Research on how unions are using social media

has focused on adoption, mobilisation, campaigning, transnational activism and workplace conflict

(e.g. Hodder and Houghton, 2015; Panagiotopoulos and Barnett, 2015; Wood, 2015; Upchurch and

Grassman, 2016; Geelan and Hodder, 2017). Beyond supporting union actions, digital audiences can

make significant contributions to organising strategies in directions like coalition building and mem-

bership growth. This represents a new research agenda about the role of unions’ digital audiences in

the practice, variation and effectiveness of organising (de Turberville, 2004; Fiorito, 2004; Simms and

Holgate, 2010; Ibsen and Tapia, 2017; Holgate et al., 2018).

The study employs digital research methods using Twitter data combined with union officials’

perceptions of social media audiences. Two datasets were collected from the central accounts of 33

unions affiliated with the British Trades Union Congress (TUC): (a) 167,658 tweets posted within

2013 – 2016 and (b) data from 357,687 followers of the accounts as of June 2016. The data offer a new

perspective on unions’ active and implied audiences through content analysis and network mapping

(e.g. who is mentioned in conversations initiated by unions, in what conversational contexts unions

refer to their members, who follows union accounts). The outputs from the social media analysis were

discussed in follow- up interviews and a workshop with union communication officers. Based on the

combined findings, the article discusses how the labour movement is engaging with digital audiences

and how new methods can contribute to understanding social media interactions.

CONCEPTUALISING UNIONS’ DIGITAL AUDIENCES

Social media and organising

Since the 2000s, digital communications have become a topic of increased relevance to union re-

newal (Diamond and Freeman, 2002; Greene et al., 2003; Martinez Lucio et al., 2009; Kerr and

Waddington, 2013; Murray, 2017). Social media are an even stronger catalyst as a set of applications

with features that enable individuals and organisations to connect and share content. Different op-

portunities for promoting unionism can emerge from networking (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn), content

sharing (e.g. YouTube, Pinterest), information sharing (e.g. Twitter) or blogging applications (e.g.

WordPress). A global survey of social media adoption showed that unions were using a variety of

platforms despite medium uptake of most of them individually (Panagiotopoulos and Barnett, 2015).

As social media have become more established, new questions arise about their contribution to union

organising.

In the new landscape of digital engagement, the emphasis of recent work has been on event- based

activities like campaigning, striking and mass mobilisation (Wood, 2015; Dahlberg- Grundberg et al.,

2016; Upchurch and Grassman, 2016; Frangi et al., 2020). Social media can support several other

functions of union organising that remain less explored. Organising itself is not a straightforward

concept as it varies based on context, geography, politics and many other conditions – the practice