Netflix's communication strategy on Twitter and Instagram during the unlock in Spain: humour, proximity and information

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS16320222054

Keywords:

Netflix Spain, COVID-19, communication strategy, Twitter, Instagram, lockdown exit

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic and the arrival of Disney + marked the second quarter of 2020 in the Spanish audiovisual market. Thus, the period of home confinement among the Spanish population coincided with the irruption of the new streaming service of one of the best-known and most loved brands worldwide. However, Netflix was the most consumed SVoD during this period. The objective of this research is to find out what the Californian company has done in communicative terms as a market leader and in the face of the need to adapt to the new circumstances of its audiences. The results show how Netflix Spain has integrated COVID-19 in its social media strategy in the pass between the lockdown and maximum consumption to a progressive lessening of social restrictions. The content analysis of Twitter and Instagram found 121 messages regarding pandemic (from a total of 1380). Netflix employed Twitter to connect with its audiences with humor, proximity and information, using taboos in the hardest moments, and an increased frequency of publications as the health situation improved. On the contrary, on Instagram there was no specific strategy, but imitation of the practices on Twitter and scarce references to COVID. Besides, there has been an evolution of the messages more or less parallel to the public health changes, choosing a strategy of proximity with the users, and with a communication closer to an influencer rather than a company.

Author Biographies

Erika Fernández Gómez, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)

Academic Coordinator of the Degree in Advertising of the Faculty of Business and Communication of UNIR. PhD in Communication from the University of Vigo. Accredited as a Senior Lecturer by ANECA. She has been recognized for a six-year term by the CNEAI. She is a member of the UNIR research group in Communication and Digital Society (COYSODI). She coordinates de research project Ad Kids Mobile financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Research. She is part of the NewsSharing project, funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. She has published different articles in academic journals in the field of communication indexed in reference databases. Research lines: television, advertising, social networks, health communication and child and youth audience

Juan Martin-Quevedo, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos.

Adjutant professor at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. Previously in Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (2011-2020). PHD on Media History. Currently interested on Television, Social Media, Media History and Science & Scholarly Communication.

Beatriz Feijoo Fernández, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja

Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Communication of UNIR. PhD in Communication from the University of Vigo. She has been recognized for a six-year term by the CNEAI. She coordinates de research project Ad Kids Mobile financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Research.

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Published

2022-09-30

How to Cite

Gómez, E. F., Martin-Quevedo, J., & Feijoo Fernández, B. (2022). Netflix’s communication strategy on Twitter and Instagram during the unlock in Spain: humour, proximity and information. Observatorio (OBS*), 16(3). https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS16320222054

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Section

Articles