“We apply different approaches to connect with different audiences. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to social networking”, said Assistant Professor Martina Pocchiari, Department of Marketing. “For instance, some groups prefer in-person meetings, while others take to digital spaces, even though the groups are very similar,” she said.
In Martina’s research on digital marketing, she observed that marketing and practitioner literature often recommends digitalising events with task-based goals, such as stakeholder briefings, while leaving out relationship-based events like strengthening or repairing social connections among people.
“I would offer more nuanced insights into which categories of social events are more suitable for digitalisation,” she said. “We find that digitisation may work well for social events if the focus of the socialisation is creating career opportunities. However, digitisation becomes less suitable for community-building if the event focuses on making new friends,” she said.
Interestingly, she made the same observation when she was trying to connect with potential cat adopters in Singapore. “Some potential adopters prefer to interact face-to-face during adoption drives, immediately creating a connection with their future pet. Others prefer to start with online introductions and only later meet in person,” explained Martina.
Martina, who has a passion for animal welfare, has been a fosterer of six Singapore rescue cats since she moved to Singapore just over a year ago after graduating with a PhD from the Rotterdam School of Management.
A penchant for numbers
Martina’s journey to academia started early in her native Italy. She found joy in learning and explaining concepts in subjects like math and history to her classmates when they needed help. In high school, acknowledging her ability to teach, Martina’s teachers would invite her to tutor math to her classmates.
Gradually, Martina’s love of numbers led her to focus on a degree in business and economics in the University of Bologna. “My formative years coincided with the 2008 financial crisis. I studied economics to understand what was happening and what role I could play,” she said.
Then, in her senior year, Martina took an elective in marketing research focusing on customer analytics and immediately felt a drive to learn about this field. She said, “I could combine my newfound interest in marketing and consumer behaviour with my long-time fascination for quantitative subjects.”
“I decided to pursue a Masters degree, specialising in digital marketing and analytics because it was a perfect and exciting combination of microeconomics, statistics, computer science, and psychology,” she added. She also kept in touch with her passion for teaching, becoming a teaching assistant.
After working as a research consultant on marketing strategy and marketing analytics at Nielsen, she continued to pursue her PhD.
Research and teaching
Today, at NUS Business School, Martina is going full steam ahead on her research and teaching.
Her research includes a study on shared-interest communities; groups of people who gather around a common interest. “I have always been interested in the social dynamics. ‘What are the business implications of these internal community dynamics?’” Martina said.
Martina also researches how events, such as brand crises, affect information flow in online social networks. “This makes digital platforms and firms better equipped to prepare, understand, and manage their social networks,” she said.
Beyond her dissertation work, Martina studies the nature of online reviews, which she says are not static but dynamic and change over time. The results from her study challenge the prevailing view on online reviews and review ratings as “persistent over time” and could impact how organisations manage consumer opinions.
Her research will guide business leaders to understand whether and when digital technology will be useful and customisable for community building, reputation management, and social networking, versus one-size-fits-all decision rules that are currently used by managers and policy-makers.
When there’s also the opportunity to teach, Martina is always excited. She looks forward to equipping her students with everything about crafting and managing digital marketing campaigns and the psychology behind digital marketing phenomena.