Date of Award
12-24-2025
Date Published
January 2026
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Public Relations
Advisor(s)
Erika Schneider
Keywords
BookTok;OPR Theory;Personalization;Relationship;Social Media Video;Storytelling
Subject Categories
Communication | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
With the rise of social media being used to sell products and connect communities, it is important to understand how creators are developing relationships with viewers. A specific community where this is evident is BookTok, where readers and authors can connect over shared interests. Understanding how, in this case, relationships are built between readers and authors can be broken down by looking at elements of trust, satisfaction, and commitment which stem from the Organization Public Relationship (OPR) theory developed by Hon and Grunig (1999). Research has shown that personalization and storytelling when creating content and communicating with publics develops a higher level of authenticity. Throughout this study elements of personalization from the author were implemented in a fabricated social media video post to understand how personalization can impact the elements of relationship building compared to the promotional. The study found that those who received the personal video generally had higher levels of trust, satisfaction, and commitment compared to those who received the promotional. The data was interpreted to find that behavioral intentions were also more statistically significant for the personal video. With the integration of personalization into social media posts, creators, in this case authors, have an increased opportunity to connect with their publics and develop a mutually beneficial relationship through the connections formed.
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Woodson, Madelyn, "How Narrative Storytelling on Social Media Develops Relationships Between Authors and Readers" (2025). Theses - ALL. 994.
https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/994
