Information Activity of a Large European Project in Social Media
DRAGUN ŁUKASZ
Faculty of Management Engineering
Bialystok University of Technology
Wiejska 45A, 15-351 Bialystok
POLAND
Abstract: - Purpose: The aim of the article is to present the information activity of a large European project
based on information policy in social media. Social media are an excellent means of reaching a wide audience,
while activity in this sphere reflects the degree of organisation of project partners and their involvement in
achieving the project's objectives. Design/methodology/approach: The present paper makes use of the
experience gained while promoting the results of the GoSmart BSR project via social media. The GoSmart
BSR project is concerned with enhancing the low capacity for innovation in less developed Baltic Sea Regions
(BSR) through mutual learning, translating smart specialisation strategies (S3) into practical joint activities of
small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and applying best practices used in better developed regions. The
project is fully integrated with 3S and aims at promoting efficient co-operation between the industrial sector,
the R&D sector, and the authorities, following a transnational approach. Findings: Social media play a
significant role in the three phases of the project life, i.e. disseminating knowledge (raising awareness),
collecting and verifying information that has been acquired during the project, and storing and disseminating
the knowledge acquired during the project.
Originality/value: research on Social Media profiles is predominantly descriptive and focused on the
organizational perspective all projects R&D. This research paper contributes to both theory and practice by
studying the causal impact of these guidelines on research teams.
Key-Words: - GoSmart BSR, communication management, project management, information technologies,
innovation
Received: May 25, 2021. Revised: November 5, 2021. Accepted: December 2, 2021. Published: January 3, 2022.
1 Introduction
The European Territorial Cooperation program -
Interreg - is a community initiative that has been
launched by the European Commission. The main
tasks of this initiative include helping internal
border regions and promoting the creation and
development of cooperation networks along internal
borders. The European project is therefore a large
undertaking characterized mainly by the one-off
specificity of the jointly determining conditions [1].
During its implementation, a specific goal is to be
achieved, a specific result is to be obtained, but its
final form is initially unknown. The start and end
schedule set for a project determines its time
limitations. During its implementation, various
resources are used: human, financial, materials,
devices, and digital resources.
audience? Does the activity of project profiles
reflect the degree of organization of the project
partners and their involvement in the achievement
of the goals set in the project?
The present work presents the experience in
promoting the results of the GoSmart BSR project
according to the Interreg program with the use of
social media.
1.1 Synthetic description of the GoSmart
BSR project
The GoSmart BSR project focuses on enhancing the
low capacity for innovation in less developed Baltic
Sea Regions (BSR) through mutual learning,
translating smart specialization strategies (S3) into
practical joint activities of small and medium
enterprises (SMEs), and application of best practices
used in better developed regions. The project is fully
integrated with 3S and is aimed at promoting
efficient co-operation between the industrial sector,
the R&D sector, and the authorities, following a
transnational approach.
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The aim of the paper is to present the information
activity of a large European project in social media
- GoSmart BSR (project acronym), using project
profiles. The work attempts to answer the questions
posed, identifying the research gap: Do social
media have an impact on reaching a wide
The main objective of the GoSmart BSR project
is to increase the capability of innovating entities
(innovation intermediaries, authorities, research
institutions) to apply smart specialisation strategies.
The expected outcomes include developing a
working and sustainable Transnational Innovation
Brokerage System (TIBS), as well as joint smart
strategies of small and medium enterprises
implemented in partner regions.
The project, entitled "Strengthening smart
specialization by fostering transnational cooperation
- GoSmart BSR", is implemented with the financial
support of the European Regional Development
Fund Baltic Sea Region Programme 2014-2020.
The main objective of the GoSmart BSR project
is to increase the capability of innovating entities
(innovation intermediaries, authorities, research
institutions) to apply smart specialization strategies.
The project, entitled "Strengthening smart
specialization by fostering transnational cooperation
- GoSmart BSR", has been implemented with the
financial support of the European Regional
Development Fund Baltic Sea Region Programme
2014-2020. The obtained findings reveal a marked
upward trend, as well as an interest on the part of
various international projects, in publicizing the
accomplished results via social media channels.
From October 2017 to September 2020, the
project brought together 8 partners from 7 countries
- Bialystok University of Technology (lead partner,
Poland), Podlaska Regional Development
Foundation (Poland), Vidzeme Planning Region
(Latvia), Valga Town Government (Estonia), Public
Institution Lithuanian Innovation Centre
(Lithuania), Kouvola Innovation Ltd. (Finland),
Hamburg Institute of International Economics
(HWWI) (Germany), Business Aabenraa
(Denmark).
2 Communication Channels and
Instruments in GoSmart BSR Project
Internal processes among the partners of GoSmart
BSR are also a significant part of the project's
communication efforts. Mutual communication
methods include e-mail messages, telephone
conversations, Skype chats, online meetings, and
face-to-face meetings. Obviously, for the project's
partners, engagement in internal communication is
obligatory.
The meetings of all the partners are organized in
every period and are combined with international
conferences, sessions of the Steering Committee and
the Advisory Board, with a view to ensuring
efficient and economical use of the financial
resources.
The leader of a work package or an activities
package, as well as the project's lead partner, can
initiate an online meeting, or a telephone/email
communication should any advice, contribution,
information, or suggestion be required of some or
all the other partners. A face-to-face meeting can be
initiated by the leader of a work package and by the
project's lead partners.
Regular communication and updates on the
implementation of each package of activities are
held between a project partner and the lead partner,
as well as between a project partner and the leader
of a work package or of an activity package. At each
meeting, electronic notes are taken to make all the
partners, whether they have participated in the
meeting or not, aware of the project implementation
process. Creating partial reports makes it possible to
retain the knowledge acquired through 'small'
activities, which comprise the future successful
implementation of the project. Notes (index cards)
contain information about conversations,
participants, places, and topics discussed at
meetings.
The GoSmart BSR project specifically mentions
what channels and instruments should warrant
effective communication. The communication
channels and instruments have been chosen
depending on the defined target groups in each
partner region. To each instrument, the obligations
of project partners have been matched. All the
external and internal communication materials are
prepared in accordance with the visibility
requirements and the guidelines on the visual
strategy of the Baltic Sea Region Programme.
For communication purposes, the Internet
website of GoSmart BSR is a platform for
publishing project messages from all the three
perspectives (local, national, and international). It
serves as a platform which contains information
pertaining exclusively to the project, unlike social
media accounts on, e.g., Facebook, where other
information on partial activities is published. Social
media keep the public constantly updated on the
project's progress. The website and all the
information posted there is in English. Also, after
the project has been completed, the website will
remain a source of information on the project, the
measures it involves and their outcomes.
Media coverage is crucial for raising the project's
profile and facilitate access to the project's outcomes
by a wider public. Press releases are sent not only to
the general media, but also to magazines
specializing in business, innovation, economy, as
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well as specialist Internet websites. Press releases
are published on the GoSmart BSR project website
and in the GoSmart BSR section or the news section
on each partner's websites.
The social media profiles of the GoSmart BSR
project – on Facebook (FB), Instagram, LinkedIn
(LI), Twitter (TT), and YouTube (YT) – were
designed and launched already in the first period
and are updated throughout the project. The two
social media profiles: GoSmart_BSR and GoSmart
BSR_PL are instruments that reach branch
specialists, small and medium enterprises, mass
media, civic society, and international organizations.
Social media are the most appropriate channel for
disseminating important news, as well as photos and
videos documenting events and activities.
Information technologies, are accessible from
virtually all the corners of the Earth, are relevant to
all the phases of a project's life cycle and constitute
its inherent part. Blogs of various types and social
media channels are most often used to facilitate the
widest possible consultation on a given aspect. The
tools used for actual co-operation rely on the data
cloud technology (for example G-Cloud Google) – a
convenient instrument for creating a repository of
temporary information for persons of the entire
project so that everyone can work on the same
document before it is officially published.
2.1 Monitoring the Reach of Published
Content
Due to the project schedule and efficient
implementation methodology of the GoSmart BSR
project, the review of the stakeholder engagement
process was planned with a 6-month frequency
since the project schedule was divided into Period.
The GoSmart BSR project lasted 7 periods (P1-P7).
This chapter presents the information activity of
the GoSmart BSR project based on the reach of
posts in social media. The frequency of the reviews
took place on a regular basis over the six-month
period.
The advantage of research on social media is the
fact that the user can access project information in a
relatively simple way via social networks [2,3].
The reliability of the collected information via
social media is one of the greatest advantages of this
modern approach to the issue of marketing research
[3].
The analysis of the collected information is the
more complex part, where the number of comments
posted by users is significant [4]. Despite the use of
the necessary software allowing to accelerate the
process of analyzing the collected information, the
time to obtain appropriate conclusions may be
significant [3].
Monitoring information in social media can be
performed almost in real time. Thanks to specialized
software, people analyzing user behavior,
competition activities on social networks, can
almost immediately obtain information about
posting a new entry about a monitored brand or
issue [3].
The methodology that was used to collect
detailed data based on the scope of published
materials informing about the progress of the
GoSmart BSR project was based on proprietary
tools provided by FF, TT, Instagram, or LI from the
administrator's side of the above-mentioned.
profiles. Users do not have knowledge about the
generated ranges of published content. It should be
clearly emphasized that this is a valuable knowledge
that is often underestimated by ordinary users. From
the administrative side, profiles in social media are
equipped with tools that track the reach of
publications. The collected statistical data make it
possible to evaluate the attractiveness of the
published content.
Below are presented the amounts and ranges of
posts published in social media as part of the
GoSmart BSR project. The ranges from October
2017 to March 2020 were presented.
Two social networks were the most popular and
reachable during the project: Facebook and Twitter.
Social media play a significant role in the three
phases of the project life, ie disseminating
knowledge (raising awareness), collecting and
verifying information that has been acquired during
the project, and storing and disseminating the
knowledge acquired during the project.
The presented data is the result of work in the
GoSmart BSR project. It is worth noting that the
author of the article played the role of a
Communication Manager in the project from Lead
Partner.
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Table 1. GoSmart BSR Stakeholder Engagement Review Plan
No.
Elements of the
engagement process
Inspection
frequency
The person responsible
for the review
1.
Stakeholders’ identification
every 6
months
Project manager
2.
Characteristics of the
stakeholders
every 6
months
Project manager
3.
Stakeholder importance
assessment
every 6
months
Project manager
4.
Analysis of the relationship
between stakeholders
every 6
months
Project manager
5.
Strategies towards
stakeholders
every 6
months
Project manager with a
committee controlling
6.
Activating activities
every 2 weeks
as needed
Members of the project
team
Source: own study based on [12].
Looking at the information activity of the large
European GoSmart BSR project through the prism
of social media allows us to see, for example, the
phases of the project life cycle within the period of
its implementation. Thanks to social media, we
obtain a real range of published content and obtain
an invaluable "voice" of stakeholders using
powerful technological possibilities to reach as
many domestic and foreign SMEs as possible -
along with the project in mind.
Analyzing the 3-year duration of the GoSmart
BSR project, it should be concluded that social
media played a significant role in promoting both
the idea of the project and its results. Quantitative
states and the reach of individual channels in social
media were selected for comparison. The reach of
the published posts on the social media of the
GoSmart project reached 26,910 users at its peak.
During seven project periods (P1-P7) the project
website, Facebook (FB), LinkedIn (LI) and some
accompanying digital channels were engaged to
assure project online presence. The official project
profiles in FB generated the biggest feedback and
therefore could be considered most successful. The
biggest feedback has been recorded in FB account's
GoSmart_BSR (total no. of posts views): TNoV
63982 and Gosmartbsr_pl: TNoV 213069. The SM
range statistics in the P1-P7 are as follow: FB
(Gosmartbsr_pl): 133 posts, TNoV 116688;
Instagram (gosmartbsr_pl): 84 posts, foll. 6395;
Twitter (GoSmartBSR_PL): 130 posts, TNoV
77120; LI (GoSmartBSR_PL): 85 posts, TNoV
12470; YouTube (GoSmartBSR_PL): 12 posts; FB
(GoSmartBSR): 200 posts, TNoV 63982; LI:
(gosmart-bsr): 162 post, TNoV 33012. The website
www.gosmartbsr.eu range statistics in the P1-P7
are as foll.: users 10144, new users 10243, sessions
15744, returning visitors 13,5%, new visitors
86,5%, page views 41721. A full version of the
methodology for developing international strategies
for smart specialization was published in English
on the project website – has been downloaded 688
times (since the date published), a short version of
the methodology published on website Faculty of
Engineering Management, www.wiz.pb.edu.pl in
Polish has been downloaded 138 times (since the
date published). Number of publications on PPs’
digital information channels: PP1 (BUT) – website
43 (SM 444), PP2 (PFRD) – website 21 (SM 64);
PP3 (VPR) – website 104 (SM 362); PP4 (VMG) –
website 10 (SM 2 times); PP5 (LIC) – website 10
(SM 17); PP6 (KI) – 1; PP8 (HWWI) – website 7
(SM 66); PP9 (BA) – website 8 (SM 24).
During the P1-P7 much of the qualitative
feedback has been received from project
stakeholders.
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Fig. 1: The reach of posts published in the social media of the GoSmart BSR project (Polish-language profiles -
Gosmartbsr_pl) at the turn of Period 1 - Period 7
Fig. 2: The reach of posts published in the social media of the GoSmart BSR project (English-language
profiles) at the turn of P1-P7
The medium-term (6-month) number of
published materials is 29. The presented content is
an original and own contribution to building the
awareness of enterprises in the field of their
internationalization. It should be emphasized that
building the image and
reach in social media is a time-consuming process.
Reaching selected groups of stakeholders without
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using paid positioning is an additional information
barrier.
4 Conclusion
The changing world forces the use of information
technologies in various aspects of social and
everyday life, including learning, at work, access to
information and knowledge [5]. Open and free
access to virtual resources developed as part of the
projects enables shaping and developing knowledge
and skills, creating, and sharing knowledge, thus
supporting participation in the information society.
The aim of the chapter was to present the
information activity of a large European project on
the example of proprietary profiles in social media -
GoSmart BSR. The answers to the research
questions posed in the introduction will be shaped
over the next
period immediately after the end of the project, to
fully obtain a picture of the dynamics of the project
implementation. Social media has the power to build
a brand, not only for the (physical) product we can
use, but also for the services we can use. SM are
undoubtedly a contribution to building a network of
contacts, but also to building a knowledge base
about the achievements gained during the project
[6]. Referring to the first question posed, the answer
based on the experience gathered during the project
is unambiguous. If we refer to the second question,
we can see that the answer requires a lot of research
and analysis, which obviously have positive
symptoms, that is, there is a substitute for the
identification of a research gap, which will
contribute to the continuation of research. Taking
advantage of the technological progress, we are
doomed to "live" with social networks that facilitate
human life in many aspects. However, it should be
remembered that broad and carefree access to
information also carries with it certain dangers
related to cybersecurity [7,8].
Undoubtedly, social media play an increasingly
important role in providing information [3,9], not
only in the form of "private" profiles, but also a
significant demand from business world institutions
that openly promote their companies and brands,
thus supporting the development of their industry.
Social media perform many functions during the
project, as well as during the project's durability
[10,11]. They allow, above all, to conduct in-depth
research and analysis as well as obtain information
about the structure and needs of the target group. It
is also a source of knowledge regarding feedback
from stakeholders [12]. Moreover, active
participation in social media enables two-way
communication with project stakeholders.
Enterprises also use SM to bring the worlds of
business and science together [13, 14].
In conclusion, it should be stated that thanks to
social media it is possible to collect and archive the
knowledge and experiences that were gained during
the projects, and the formal completion of the
project does not mean losing the acquired
knowledge, experience, and contacts.
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Creative Commons Attribution
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Sources of Funding for Research Presented
in a Scientific Article or Scientific Article
Itself
The publication of the article was financed in the
framework of the contract no.
DNK/SN/465770/2020 by the Ministry of Science
and Higher Education within the "Excellent
Science" programme.