Third International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

Social media has the capabilities to facilitate communication. Several companies have adopted and developed sustainable practices. Yet, the use of the social media to communicate those practices varies among countries, companies, and industries. This paper explores how four companies in the technology industry addressed their environmental practices through official websites and social media platforms. The study covers four companies located in the U.S., Japan, and China. These companies are HP, Apple, NEC, and Lenovo. The study shows the extent social media plays in communicating messages among different cultures. The research uses four case studies and a content analysis as a methodology. The results show that the four companies used their websites and social media in different ways, which is likely to affect how consumers will assess the importance of the effort. For example, Lenovo developed a strategy to reach more audience on social media. The corporation used the language’s preferences to guide consumers toward specific networks, such as Baidu. In contrast, Apple has a minimal presence on social media. Yet, the company addressed its sustainable practices on its website supported by a high number of visuals. Among other things, the four companies varied in their efforts to communicate sustainability in other languages.