Social Media Effectiveness in COVID-19 Risk Communication: A Case Study of Chinese External Media During the Winter Olympics

1. Introduction

The successful conclusion of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics underscored China’s evolving role in shaping global sporting and cultural narratives. Amid the complexities of the COVID, the event emerged as a critical platform for China to project its national identity as an authentic and multifaceted nation while navigating heightened geopolitical tensions. Scholars have long recognized the Olympics as a contested arena for international discourse [1], particularly between China and western nations [2]. From the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics to the 2022 Winter edition, these events have consistently drawn global attention, serving as focal points for debates over soft power, cultural representation, and ideological competition [3]. The pandemic, however, introduced unprecedented challenges, transforming the Winter Olympics into a high-stakes environment where public health risks intersected with political narratives. This confluence of factors placed immense pressure on Chinese outreach media, government-operated social media accounts that disseminate self-produced content in foreign languages, to manage communication risks, counteract negative perceptions and construct a cohesive narrative of Chinese values on platforms such as Facebook.

Prior research has examined the role of international sporting events in shaping national image, with studies emphasizing their dual function as platforms for cultural diplomacy and sites of ideological contestation [4,5]. The 2008 Beijing Olympics, for example, was widely analyzed for its impact on China’s global reputation, revealing both opportunities and limitations in leveraging megaevents for soft power projection. More recently, scholars have explored how pandemic-related disruptions have redefined crisis communication strategies, particularly through social networks [6]. During health emergencies, platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have proven instrumental in disseminating risk information [7], though their effectiveness often hinges on technical features such as hashtags, mentions, and multimedia integration. Although these studies provide foundational information, significant gaps persist in understanding how state-aligned media organizations operationalize relationship management principles in cross-cultural contexts during globally scrutinized events. Existing literature has predominantly focused on Western corporate or governmental communication models, leaving underexamined the strategies employed by Chinese outreach media to balance diplomatic objectives with user engagement in polarized information environments.

This study addresses these gaps by applying relationship management theory to analyze how Chinese outreach media navigated the dual challenges of pandemic communication and geopolitical discourse during the Winter Olympics. Based on the Ledingham and Bruning framework [8], which posits that mutual benefit in public relationships arises from strategic awareness building and dialogue participation, the research investigates how six major Chinese outreach media outlets used Facebook to manage international perceptions. Previous applications of this theory have largely centered on domestic or corporate contexts, with limited exploration of its relevance to cross-cultural, state-mediated communication during crises. By examining the interaction between information presentation and dialogue interventions, the study advances theoretical understanding of how relationship management principles adapt to geopolitical communication contexts. Furthermore, it introduces technical mediation as a critical variable, analyzing how platform-specific features moderated the effectiveness of communication strategies. This approach responds to Boyd [9] call for deeper investigation into how digital affordances reshape organizational-public interactions, particularly in non-Western contexts where state-media dynamics differ substantially from commercial or democratic models.

Methodologically, the research employed quantitative content analysis of 2,348 Facebook posts from six Chinese outreach media accounts during the Winter Olympics period (January 4 to February 20, 2022). Communication effectiveness was operationalized through engagement metrics (likes, shares, comments), while information presentation and dialogue intervention strategies were coded based on semantic framing and interactivity features. Technical mediation variables quantified the frequency and strategic deployment of platform tools. Mediation analysis using Hayes’ PROCESS macro revealed that while transparent information disclosure about pandemic measures directly enhanced engagement, its effectiveness was significantly amplified audio-visual information. Similarly, dialogue intervention showed stronger impact when integrated with embedded hyperlinks to official policy documents. These findings demonstrate that technical features do not merely supplement content strategies but actively reconfigure how international audiences process and respond to state-mediated messages during crises.

The study’s theoretical contribution lies in extending relationship management theory to cross-cultural risk communication contexts, particularly in elucidating how technical mediation transforms traditional models of organizational-public interaction. Practically, it provides evidence-based guidelines for state-aligned media seeking to optimize global engagement: findings emphasize the necessity of pairing scientifically grounded information with platform-specific technical strategies. This underscores the need for media organizations to develop dual competencies in substantive communication and technical platform literacy. Moreover, the research highlights the paradoxical demands of crisis communication in geopolitical contexts—while transparency builds credibility, effective message diffusion often requires careful alignment with platform algorithms through technical mediation. Future research should explore how these dynamics vary across platforms with differing user information and dialogue (e.g., Twitter) and examine longitudinal effects of technical mediation strategies on audience trust formation.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Relationship Management Theory

Relationship management was defined as the process of establishing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with the public through the management of the communication process [8]. Ledingham and Bruning highlighted the importance of both awareness and dialogue as essential elements in the process of relationship building [10]. Awareness entails the acquisition, dissemination, and comprehension of information. Through the presentation of information, organisations and the public gain insight into one another existence, behaviour, and intentions. Grunig and Hunt first proposed four models of organisational information communication[8]. They argued that the core factor affecting awareness is the presentation of information, and that effective information presentation can improve the public’s cognition and understanding of the organisation. Dialogue represents a crucial mechanism for relational interaction, underscoring the significance of reciprocal communication. In their intervention system network, Martin and White introduced the concept of dialogue [11], proposing that dialogue intervention is achieved by selecting different sources of speech or reserving space for negotiation in order to achieve the purpose of persuasion. The process of dialogue intervention represents a pivotal aspect of relationship building. In other words, dialogue is not merely a process of verbal interaction; the specific strategies employed in speech are also a crucial element of dialogue. In light of the above, the author links the concepts of relationship management and social media communication effectiveness, drawing on the contributions of the aforementioned scholars, with a view to examining the impact of information presentation and dialogue intervention on social media communication effectiveness in the context of the global event of the Winter Olympics and the collision of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2.2. Social Media Effectiveness

Social media was initially defined as a specific type of online media characterised by a number of key features, including participation, openness, communication, dialogue, community, and connectivity [12]. The core feature of social media is the direct production and exchange of user-generated content [13], which allows for the dissemination of information in a more timely and appropriate manner than traditional media. In the context of international social media, platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have distinguished themselves due to their openness and interactivity. As of January 2023, Facebook had reached 2.963 billion monthly active users, with nearly 2 billion of these users accessing the platform on a daily basis. Chinese external communication media proactively establish an international discourse system and optimise their communication effectiveness. China Daily and other Chinese mainstream media outlets have amassed a following of over 100 million on the international social media platform Facebook. Additionally, CGTN [14] has recorded 850 million visits from overseas users, with 18.657 million interactions. These platforms have become a conduit through which global internet users can gain insight into China. The results of the survey on the international communication effects of the Central Broadcasting Station [15] indicate that 35.2% of users express positive sentiment towards the content on its international communication platforms, with nearly three in ten users demonstrating a high level of interest. In particular, during the Beijing Winter Olympics, a considerable number of related items received over 100,000 views on international social media, accompanied by a substantial volume of positive feedback and enhanced perceptions of China. This paper draws upon Ledingham and Bruning’s relationship management theory, beginning with the communication effectiveness of social media, to examine its internal operational mechanism and influencing factors.

2.3. Information Presentation

Information is presented in a manner that is consistent with the logical perspectives of risk identification, warning, and control. This entails three varieties about describing risk scientifically, passing risk information and enhancing risk alertness. The knowledge produced by the scientific community and disseminated to the general public is characterised by a high degree of factuality and objectivity [16]. Furthermore, risks are continuously being precisely predicted and highly determined. Numbers are the concentrated embodiment of accuracy and intuitiveness with regard to content. In comparison to descriptive terms such as “probably”, numerical representations such as “80%” that employ a scientific demonstration of risk can significantly enhance users’ perception of risk and encourage the dissemination of content. The concept of risk is inherently associated with potential loss, whether explicit or implicit. Some scholars, based on an analysis of risk characteristics [17], have proposed a classification of risk based on three indicators: the impact of risk on people, the severity of risk occurrence, and the possibility of risk occurrence. The perception of risk is frequently the result of the interaction between these three factors. Social media [18], with its intrinsic capacity for alertness, sensitivity, and risk assessment, has emerged as a crucial instrument for disseminating information to the public regarding the avoidance of potential crises and their adverse consequences. It serves as a vital conduit for risk early warning, akin to a “whistleblower” [19]. It has been demonstrated that the provision of explanations and interventions by experts and other parties in relation to public opinion incidents can serve to enhance the public’s perception of the prevailing state of public opinion, thereby effectively mitigating the potential harm associated with socialised risks.

2.4. dialogue Intervention

The objective of dialogue intervention is to achieve a constructive exchange of ideas by selecting different sources of speech or reserving negotiation space to facilitate a mutually beneficial result [20]. The intervention system is divided into monogloss and heterogloss in accordance with the different speech strategies selected for the various viewpoints, as postulated by Martin and White. Subsequent scholars have developed this into two parts: dialogue expansion and dialogue contraction. dialogue expansion is used to describe the act of allowing others to speak in a limited dialogue space, thereby enhancing the persuasiveness of the content being conveyed. In the context of international social media, trust represents a significant concern for users [21]. Scholars such as Williams [6] have demonstrated that individuals are particularly attuned to information presented on social media platforms. The practice of citing information from reputable sources has been shown to enhance communication effectiveness and foster public trust. In contrast to dialogue expansion, dialogue contraction refers to the media’s intervention in specific events, promoting and expressing their own viewpoints and positions in order to impede others’ voices and influence public opinion [14]. However, as scholar Kwon [17] notes, guidance with bias and persuasion cannot achieve the desired communication effect, and recognition can only be attained in an equal, voluntary, and non-coercive environment.

2.5. Technical Functionality

Technological intermediaries can be defined as the third-party factors that facilitate connections between variables, thereby influencing or modifying the relationships between these variables. In the context of social media, the core technological intermediary elements can be identified as follows: mentions@, tags#, audio-visual information and hyperlinks. These elements are characterised by their technological characteristics and functions. Tags, marked with the “#” symbol, allows users to filter and customise content based on keywords, thereby reducing the time spent searching for specific topics [19]. The flexibility of creating tags at any time makes it an invaluable tool for discussing current events on social media. Mention@ is a unique feature of social platforms. The “@user” syntax allows users to mention specific individuals on social media, indicating that they are discussing them and inviting them to participate in the conversation. This practice can promote the visibility and engagement of the mentioned users and their followers [22]. Audio-visual information, typically in the form of videos, is an important aspect of social media content. Prior research [23] has demonstrated that videos tend to contain a greater number of emotional elements and visual cues than text-based information. This makes them more effective at conveying information in a way that is both understandable and professional, enhancing users’ recognition of the usefulness of the content and promoting its dissemination and sharing. Hyperlinks allow users to bypass the platform’s character limit by embedding links to other web pages, enabling the conveyance of richer and more detailed content [9]. The function of hyperlinks on social media is a topic of contention among scholars. In contrast to the consensus regarding tags # and audio-visual information, scholars hold divergent views on hyperlinks. Gallant and others [24] posit that hyperlinks on social platforms can facilitate patient learning about health knowledge and promote interaction between doctors and patients, thereby enhancing communication. Conversely, some scholars argue that hyperlinks divert users’ attention to other platforms, reducing user interaction in the original content, thereby exerting a regulatory influence [25]. The technical functions of social platforms facilitate the comprehension of the public’s internal reactions and operations in response to transient issues. These technical characteristics not only alter the manner in which information is conveyed, rendering dialogue intervention more nuanced and dynamic, but also reinforce the dissemination and influence of information, thereby forming a hypothetical model of social media communication effectiveness factors (see Figure 1).

We aim to investigate the factors that influence the effectiveness of social media communication and the role of technology as an intermediary in the media communication process. It employs structural equation modelling to examine the use of Chinese external communication media on the international social media platform Facebook as a case study. We attempt to explore new avenues for Chinese external communication media to communicate externally, with a particular focus on risk communication strategies during the Winter Olympics. Furthermore, it offers insights and guidance for China’s engagement in global communication, challenging prevailing public opinion and elucidating the communication norms of the social media age.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM)

Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) [26] is a statistical method that analyses the relationships among variables based on their covariance matrix, integrating both factor analysis and path analysis. The method permits the examination of the direct, indirect, and total effects of independent variables on dependent variables.

In this study, the number of shares, comments, and likes are selected as indicators for measuring the dependent variable of social media communication effectiveness. In accordance with the methodology proposed by Zhou Yong [27] and Chen Huiru, Meng Shengjun [28] and colleagues assigned weights of 0.5, 0.2, and 0.3 to these indicators, respectively. This study employs the aforementioned weighting scheme and applies a logarithm transformation to the data set, thereby addressing the skewness introduced by factors such as the magnitude of followers. Consequently, the formula for calculating social media communication effectiveness is as follows: Social Media Communication Effectiveness = ln(0.5 * Shares + 0.2 * Comments + 0.3 * Likes)

In terms of information presentation, this study, which is based on the research of Gregoria A and Yudarwati et al. [19], categorises risk communication content into three distinct aspects. These are: the scientific demonstration of risk; the description of risk levels; and the enhancement of risk alertness, which is approached from the perspectives of risk identification, warning, and control. With regard to dialogue intervention, this study makes reference to the research of dialogue theory, which is divided into two categories: dialogue expansion and dialogue contraction. The concept of dialogue expansion assesses the degree to which a text employs direct or indirect speech to express its own views. In contrast, dialogue contraction evaluates the extent to which content integrates self-evaluation with public opinion communication. With regard to the technical functions of social media, this study, drawing upon the research of Liu Liqun and colleagues, classifies them into four categories based on Facebook’s intrinsic capabilities:tag#, mention@, audio-visual information, and hyperlinks. In light of the findings of previous scholarly research(see Figure 2), the following research questions and hypotheses are proposed:

RQ1: Does the information presentation and dialogue intervention in the content published by Chinese external communication media on social media during the Winter Olympics have a combined impact on the effectiveness of social media communication?

H1: (a)Describing risk scientifically, (b)passing risk information and (c)enhancing risk alertness has a positive impact on the effectiveness of social media communication.

H2: The utilisation of (a)dialogue expansion and (b) dialogue contraction is posited to have a positive impact on social media communication effectiveness.

H3: The utilisation of hyperlinks serves to moderate the relationship (a) between information presentation and the efficacy of social media communication and (b) between dialogue intervention and the efficacy of social media communication.

RQ2: Does the technical functionality of social media act as a mediator between (a)information presentation (b)dialogue intervention and its communication effectiveness?

3.2. Data source

The present study selected six Chinese external communication medias for analysis. The data sources for this study were the international mainstream social media platform Facebook, and the following Chinese media outlets: CGTN, China Daily, People’s Daily China, CCTV, China News, and Global Times. The reasons for this can be attributed to two distinct factors. Primarily, these six media outlets serve as pivotal conduits for Chinese external communication media to engage in global communication. Their content predominantly encompasses domestic and international news events, reflecting China’s prevailing value orientation and communication strategies. Secondly, the aforementioned media platforms have a considerable number of followers, ranging from millions to hundreds of millions. This allows for an estimation of their influence and communication effectiveness on international social media. Furthermore, the content published by these six media outlets is conducive to a comprehensive observation of risk communication. Furthermore, the research strictly complies with international standards for ethical data practices, involving no personal identifiers or private information. Our data collection and analysis protocols adhere to both platform terms of service and relevant data protection regulations.

The data collection period was set from 28 January to 20 February 2022 for two reasons: Firstly, 28 January marked one week prior to the commencement of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The success of the opening ceremony was a global concern. China was confronted with particularly intense scrutiny from the international community, particularly with regard to the pandemic. In this context, the risk communication practices of the six media outlets in question were subject to heightened scrutiny. Secondly, the Beijing Winter Olympics concluded successfully on 20 February, marking an exemplary instance of risk communication practice by China during the Winter Olympics. This can serve to reflect the overall picture of the communication effectiveness of Chinese external communication media on international social media to a certain extent.

According to the above methodology, we employed a quantitative content analysis utilising the keyword “COVID” and collected a total of 215 main posts (including 245 images and 59 videos) from the six selected media outlets on Facebook through the Big Data Research Centre of the School of Journalism and Communication at Xiamen University. The coding table is presented in Table A1 in Appendix, and the specific data collected included text content, audio-visual information (images and videos), shares, comments, and likes, which were used as the data sample for this study. It should be noted that, in order to circumvent the potential for communication barriers resulting from linguistic differences, this study exclusively focused on posts published in English, which serves as the international language. Additionally, texts in Chinese and Traditional Chinese were manually excluded from the analysis. Furthermore, in consideration of the discrepancies in the presentation of shares, comments, and likes between personal computers and mobile platforms, the data was based on a data verification conducted by the author on mobile devices on 1 July, and the data categorisation was completed through manual coding.

The study was conducted by two coders who encoded 215 cleaned Facebook texts. To evaluate the dependability of manual coding, two coders, who had been trained in the operationalisation of variable content, randomly selected over 20% (n=44) of the content information from the sample and conducted pre-coding independently. The reliability of the coding was then tested using SPSS, with Krippendorff’s Alpha coefficient calculated to this end. The results of the pre-coding test are presented below: The reliability for describing risk scientifically is 1, passing risk information and enhancing risk alertness are 0.927 and 0.956, respectively. The reliability for dialogue expansion in the dialogue intervention aspect is 1, and the reliability for dialogue contraction is 0.896. The reliability for the coding of tag#, mention@, hyperlink, and audio-visual information usage in the social media technical functionality aspect is 1. The inter-coder reliability is above 0.80 and close to 0.90, indicating a high degree of consistency between the two coders’ test results. The data may be utilised for subsequent analysis.

4. Results

This article categorizes and encodes a total of 215 main posts published by six external communication media during the Winter Olympics. Through descriptive statistics of the research samples, the following sample results were obtained, as shown in Table 1:

On the level of information presentation, describing risk scientifically accounts for 41.1%, and passing information risk only accounts for 40.5%. Neither of these proportions exceeds half, indicating that Chinese external communication media intentionally downplays direct discussions of risks during the Winter Olympics to avoid causing public panic. By reducing the frequency of risk presentation, the media may hope to shift the focus to more positive aspects, thereby maintaining social stability. However, in contrast, 54.9% of the main post content involves enhancing risk alertness, a proportion that exceeds half, indicating that external communication media is still striving to remind the public of current crises and potential consequences. This strategy shows a dual goal in information dissemination: on the one hand, to downplay risks and reduce panic, and on the other hand, to emphasize vigilance to ensure public awareness of crises.

On the level of dialogue intervention, the proportion of dialogue expansion is 40%, which means that Chinese external communication media relies less on external voices to support its own views, resulting in relatively weak extensibility of dialogue space. The media tends to lead with internal viewpoints and reduce interaction with external voices to maintain the unity and authority of information dissemination. In terms of dialogue contraction, 54.42% of the content does not use opinion guidance, indicating that Chinese external communication media chooses not to evaluate others in most cases, focusing more on self-expression. Especially, 28.84% of the content focuses on self-evaluation or promotion, further indicating that external communication media hopes to consolidate its position and viewpoints through self-statement, highlighting its dominant position in information dissemination.

On the level of social media technical functionailty, 71.6% of the main posts use tag#, indicating that Chinese external communication media has made relatively full use of this important function of social media to enhance the visibility and relevance of content. However, the use of mention@ is only 2 cases, accounting for 0.5%, and the sample data is too small to conduct further analysis. This may reflect that in external communication strategies, the media is not inclined to interact directly or mention other accounts. In the use of audio-visual information, only 27.9% of the main posts contain video content, a proportion that is relatively low, showing that in today’s short video-dominated social media environment, the form of external communication media still needs to be further enriched. At the same time, 60% of the main posts use hyperlink functions, indicating that external communication media hopes to guide users to obtain more related information, strengthen the understanding and recognition of the main post content, and thus achieve a deeper communication effect.

This paper employs confirmatory factor analysis to validate the constructs of information presentation, dialogue intervention, and social media technical functions. The author removes factors with factor loadings less than 0.4 (tag#). The information presentation dimension consists of three variables : describing risk scientifically, passing risk information, enhancing risk alertness, the dialogue dimension includes two variables : dialogue expansion , dialogue contraction, and social media technical functionality encompass two variables (audio-visual information, hyperlinks). The model fit analysis (see Table 2) results show that the goodness of fit index (GFI), comparative fit index (CFI), normed fit index (NFI), adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI), and incremental fit index (IFI) are all greater than 0.9. Meanwhile, the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) is 0.099, less than 0.10, the root mean square residual (RMR) is less than 0.05, and the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) is 0.058, also less than 0.10. This indicates that the confirmatory factor analysis model constructed in this study is valid and has a good fit with the collected data, possessing good validity (see Table 3 and Table 4).

We employs multiple linear regression to analyze the causal relationship between independent variables and the effectiveness of social media communication in Table 5, thereby testing hypotheses H1a and H1b. The Durbin-Watson (DW) statistic for the independence of residuals ranges from 1.423 to 1.614, all below 2, indicating that residuals are independent and linear regression analysis is feasible. The R² value is 0.306, and the adjusted R² is 0.294, suggesting a good fit of the regression curve.

Describing risk scientifically positively affects the effectiveness of social media communication ($\beta =0.191$, p=0.007). This implies that when external communication media use numerical or scientific data to describe risks on social media, it can enhance the credibility and persuasiveness of the message, thereby improving communication effectiveness. Since audiences tend to trust concrete data and scientific evidence more, this quantified argumentation can effectively reduce uncertainty and strengthen the impact of information dissemination, thus confirming H1a. Passing risk information positively affects the effectiveness of social media communication ($\beta =0.215$, p=0.003). By clearly depicting potential losses, audiences can better sense the severity of the crisis, making them more likely to take action or spread the message, thus confirming H1b. Enhancing risk alertness significantly positively impacts the effectiveness of social media communication ($\beta =0.148$, p=0.045). Risk alerts can heighten audiences’ awareness and attention, thereby improving communication effectiveness. Informing audiences about crisis management methods not only increases the practicality of the information but also boosts its forwarding and dissemination rates, thus confirming H1c.

Dialogue expansion significantly positively affects the effectiveness of social media communication ($\beta =0.277$, p=0.000). This means that when external communication media cite reliable sources to support their viewpoints, it can significantly enhance the credibility and communication effectiveness of the message. Citing credible external sources reduces uncertainty and increases audience trust in the information, thereby expanding its reach and effectiveness, thus confirming H2a. Dialogue contraction does not significantly affect the effectiveness of social media communication ($\beta =-0.100$, p=0.148), indicating that dialogue contraction does not significantly influence communication effectiveness, thus H2b is not supported. Although dialogue contraction may strengthen message consistency through self-evaluation or promotion, the lack of diverse perspectives supported by external voices may not resonate with audiences, leaving the communication effectiveness unaffected. This suggests that communication strategies relying solely on self-evaluation or promotion without external support may not effectively enhance communication effectiveness.

This paper uses SPSSAU to test Hypothesis 3, in order to verify whether hyperlink can respectively influence the effects of information presentation and dialogue intervention on the effectiveness of social media communication. The results show that there is no significant moderating effect of hyperlinks between information presentation and communication effectiveness (p=0.478), indicating that the hyperlink function failed to enhance or weaken the impact of information presentation on communication effectiveness; therefore, Hypothesis 3a is not supported.

However, the results in Table 6 indicate that hyperlinks play a significant positive moderating role between dialogue intervention and communication effectiveness ($\beta =1.013$, p=0.012), supporting Hypothesis 3b. This suggests that when using the hyperlink function, the impact of dialogue intervention on communication effectiveness becomes more pronounced. Simple slope graphs further show that as the level of dialogue intervention increases, the effectiveness of social media communication significantly enhances. In other words, when external communication media use hyperlinks in conjunction with dialogue intervention, they can effectively amplify their communication effectiveness, allowing the message to spread more widely and gain higher recognition, thus supporting Hypothesis 3b. This outcome may be due to the hyperlinks providing additional information resources and background materials, enabling the audience to comprehensively understand the content of the dialogue, thereby improving communication effectiveness.

Finally, to examine the mediating role of social media technical functionality, a structural equation model was established with information presentation and dialogue intervention as independent variables, social media technical functionality as the mediating variable, and social media communication effectiveness as the dependent variable. The model fit results show that the chi-square to degrees of freedom ratio is less than 3, and the RMSEA value is less than 0.08, indicating that the modified model fits the requirements; the values of GFI, CFI, NFI, AGFI, and IFI are all greater than 0.9, indicating good model fit (see in Table 7).

To further explore the mechanism of influence of social media technical functionality, we calculate the total effect and its components of information presentation and dialogue intervention on social media communication effectiveness based on the final structural equation model diagram, as shown in Table 8. The results show that: the direct effect of information presentation on social media communication effectiveness is 0.444, with an indirect effect of 0.038 through social media technical functions; the direct effect of dialogue intervention on social media communication effectiveness is 0.116, with no indirect effect through social media technical functions. Therefore, the structural model as shown in Figure 3) was modified.

5. Discussion

In recent years, a number of countries and entities have adopted the use of social media as a means of addressing potential risks and the dissemination of their content. What factors contribute to the effectiveness of communication via social media, and what role does its technical functionality play? This study, from the perspective of relationship management, selected Facebook as the international social media platform and analysed reports related to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 COVID-19 by six Chinese external communication media outlets — CGTN, China Daily, People’s Daily China, CCTV, China News, and Global Times—during the Winter Olympics. The study examined the influence of information presentation (describing risk scientifically, passing risk information and enhancing risk alertness) and dialogue intervention (dialogue expansion, dialogue contraction) on social media communication effectiveness. Additionally, it assessed the mediating role of technical functions (audio-visual information, hyperlink) and presented an analysis of the development landscape of China’s external communication by its communication media in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With regard to the information presentation, all aspects – describing risk scientifically, passing risk information and enhancing risk alertness – had a markedly positive impact on the effectiveness of social media communication. This indicates that users on international social platforms are attuned to risk perception. Consequently, Chinese media outlets should be transparent about the extent of public concern regarding risks in terms of severity and probability of occurrence to mitigate uncertainties in the public’s life and work. The deployment of warning and prevention posts has been demonstrated to enhance communication effectiveness. In the context of risk perception, the public’s primary recourse in acquiring information pertaining to potential hazards is through media warnings. Concurrently, the warning information disseminated by the six communication media represents the Chinese government’s risk assessment, which is both precise and authoritative, and has been widely noticed by the international community.

At the level of dialogue intervention, the evidence suggests that the dissemination of information citing reliable sources is more effective. The use of authentic sources not only enhances the reliability and credibility of the content, but also provides a conduit for international users to engage in a certain degree of dialogue, thereby indirectly enhancing their autonomy and facilitating a more nuanced understanding of the content. Nevertheless, research on dialogue contraction is still in its infancy and may inadvertently lead users to perceive information as unduly subjective or biased. This could potentially erode their trust and acceptance of the information, thereby undermining their sense of participation and willingness to interact.

The moderating effect of hyperlinks on information presentation is not statistically significant. The objective of information presentation is to ensure the accuracy and scientific rigour of the information in question. While hyperlinks can facilitate access to additional reference materials or background information, their direct impact on information presentation is minimal. In the context of dialogue intervention, however, hyperlinks play a significant positive moderating role. The fundamental tenets of dialogue intervention are interactivity and opinion guidance. The objective is to influence the audience’s views and attitudes through communication and discussion. Hyperlinks can direct users to additional information or third-party viewpoints, thus facilitating more in-depth engagement and comprehension. The utilisation of hyperlinks serves to enhance the outcomes of dialogue intervention.

The role of social media technical functionality in information presentation is of particular significance. The utilisation of video functionality can facilitate the vivid and intuitive display of information content through the utilisation of multiple sensory stimuli, namely vision and hearing. This approach can assist the audience in comprehending complex information more effectively. The utilisation of hyperlinks enables users to access supplementary materials, thereby expanding the contextual framework of the information and providing a more comprehensive background foundation. The aforementioned technical functions serve to enrich and diversify the presentation of information, thereby enhancing its communication effectiveness.

In contrast, the mediating role of social media technical functions in dialogue intervention is relatively limited. The essence of dialogue intervention is rooted in textual communication and logical reasoning. The dissemination of interactive and immediate content may not be heavily reliant on complex technical functions to enhance its effects, resulting in a reduced dependence on social media’s technical functions to achieve its impact on communication effectiveness.

The findings of this study diverge considerably from those of previous research, indicating that the technical functions of social media have a detrimental impact on the presentation of information, dialogue intervention, and communication effectiveness. This suggests that the use of audio-visual information and hyperlinks on social media platforms may not be conducive to enhancing communication effectiveness. It can be hypothesised that Chinese communication media merely transfer videos published in traditional media and hyperlinks from other media to social media platforms without refining and processing the information on the social media main interface. This results in the content quality not meeting user expectations.

We subsequently divided the videos into two categories: Moving videos (45%) and non-moving videos (55%). The results of the variance homogeneity test (Sig = 0.537 > 0.05) indicated that there was no significant difference in the variances between the two samples. The data with equal variances were selected as the result in Table 9, and the significance level was indicated by Sig=0.002<0.05, which demonstrated a significant difference at the 0.01 level between the video content, which was either moving or npn-moving, and communication effectiveness. A comparison of the means revealed that the communication effectiveness of moving videos was lower than that of non-moving videos, thus further indicating that the moving of videos from traditional media would result in audience aversion. This is the negative effect brought about by social media technical functionality. As studies posited, it is essential to consider a multitude of factors, including context and motivation, in a comprehensive and continuous manner in order to refine the content of the main posts and thereby attract user attention.

As previously stated, the mention@ function, a distinctive feature of social media, is conducive to attracting a larger number of users to participate in discussions and rapidly enhancing the communication effectiveness of social media. However, Chinese communication media on Facebook has only one main post, @WHO and @DrTedros, and rarely interacts with domestic or foreign individual accounts. This results in a tendency towards isolation and conservatism in their international social media postings. Despite the observation by some scholars that mass @mention does not necessarily facilitate the dissemination of message content, the strategic deployment of @mention can effectively attract relevant interactions and enhance the communication efficacy on international social media. The Chinese media sector will need to address the question of how to use the @mention function and which users to @mention in order to optimise the use of international social platforms in the future.

The present study is subject to the following limitations: Firstly, it should be noted that the data presented in this study only covers the period from 28 January to 20 February, which marks the conclusion of the Winter Olympics. Consequently, it does not encompass the entirety of communication conducted by Chinese communication media prior to the Winter Olympics. The results of this study can only be used as a reference for the phased results of social media communication effectiveness. Secondly, this study, which was based on relationship management theory, only discussed two important factors: information presentation and dialogue intervention. It focused on the role of social media technical functions but did not consider factors in a comprehensive manner. It also neglected factors such as the number of followers, fan composition, and responding to user feedback. Thirdly, this study was only applied to Facebook, which is an international social media platform. It is yet to be determined whether the research results have special rules and are applicable to other international social media platforms, such as Twitter. Additionally, the coding in this study is based primarily on objective data from the main posts. Subsequent studies would benefit from a more comprehensive approach.