Homophily
No one could have predicted the world we live in today. The technological advances that have been made since the invention of the telegraph have exceeded every expectation. Cell phones and the internet have made it possible to communicate with people around the globe—all at the tap of a finger. Through different platforms, conversations can be had, messages can be sent, images can be shared. Social media has played a large role in enabling mass communications across the world. There were many difficulties introduced with these platforms. Social media has presented particular challenges to public relations professionals in recent decades. New problems arise leaving businesses looking for solutions that often fall upon public relations professionals to handle and resolve. One of the challenges that existed before social media’s presence has been studied since its amplification online. The natural tendency that humans have to surround themselves with people who are similar to them is called homophily and exists in every human interaction.
Homophily
Homophily tends to draw similar people together in online communities, it brings people together to support specific causes, and it strengthens opinions expressed in conversations taking place on social media. As an isolated tendency of human behavior, there is no inherent problem with homophily. It becomes a challenge for social media presences when they only attract a specific audience with their social media outreach and other groups and audiences are left excluded from the brand and conversation. Understanding homophily empowers public relations professionals to avoid challenges, make campaigns more effective, and generate a wide and diverse audience.
Because homophily is the tendency for people to be attracted to others who are similar to them, studying the theory sheds light on patterns seen in real life as well as on social media. People are attracted to others who share similar interests or life experience, and social media provides a place for people who live across the world to gather together. “Homophily limits people's social worlds in a way that has powerful implications for the information they receive, the attitudes they form, and the interactions they experience” (McPherson). As we are attracted to people who have similar opinions, life experience, religion, and ethnicity, homophily can create significant divides in society because we don’t interact with or understand people who are different from us. It can create something similar to an echo chamber, where you only hear the things you already think and believe and are never exposed to different opinions. Homophily can predict a lot about consumer and purchaser behavior, and in fact, it is one of the strongest predictors of behavior (George).
Application to Public Relations
This tendency is crucial for public relations professionals to understand. Persons in charge of social media campaigns and social outreach should be aware of the natural tendency that people have to gather with those that are similar to them, and intentionally create opportunities for people with different backgrounds to feel involved and valued as part of the company and brand. If communication efforts are not strategically focused on reaching all audiences, the brand following will not be diverse. Letting homophily blind brands to the differences that exist within society can be dangerous because they could easily become too comfortable with the audience they currently reach and appeal to and unintentionally offend or harm other groups that interact with the brand. It is also beneficial for professionals to understand homophily so they can predict behaviors and what will encourage a vast audience to connect with the brand and engage with the mission. “Organizations can benefit from the understanding of the mechanisms of demographic homophily and interpersonal communication for the establishment of interpersonal trust as well” (Ahlf). If public relations professionals can understand that a baseline of trust is essential in their work, the rest will build from there. Homophily demonstrates a need for basic trust in every relationship—an important emphasis in the sphere of public relations...
(Read the full paper as a downloaded PDF)