Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of social media marketing activities on customer equity and how that drive affects purchase intention in the context of the hotel industry with the perspective of Y-Generation. Design/methodology/approach: An explanatory, deductive, quantitative research approach and cross-sectional research design were utilized within this research, where self-completed questionnaires were distributed online with a number of 136 valid responses collected. Findings: The research found that social media marketing activities positively affected customer equity in the context of hotel industry. Brand equity and relationship equity had positive influence on customer’s purchase intention. Finally, information richness negatively moderated the relationship between social media marketing activities and purchase intention. Research implications/limitations: The main implication of this research is social media marketing activities should be utilized as an effective marketing strategy to enhance customer equity. In addition, for hotel managers, creating emotional tie with brands and building bond with customers are supposed to take priority. The main limitation of this research is the language barriers and the research is considered not to be generalized since most respondents are students. Future research: Further research could investigate how social media marketing activities influence other industries and also investigate other different consumer groups such as X-Generation. Sociodemographic variables such as gender, income, backgrounds could be used as moderators in future. Cultural difference is  interesting to go depth regarding to this topic.

In the recent year’s internet have grown rapidly, and the digital world have grown along with it. This have led to new marketing methods such as social media marketing has developed which have shown to be good tool for building relationship with consumers and increase brand awareness. In the same time traditional advertising, which is a good tool for creating brand awareness, is losing its effectiveness for it. The purpose with this study is therefore to examine why companies continue using traditional advertising for brand awareness when the digital world is growing, and more people spend their time on internet and social media. This study was an exploratory with a qualitative and deductive approach. Expert interviews were chosen as research strategy and the candidates that was interviewed had a marketing manager position or similar that was from different branches and hade much knowledge about the topic. The findings in this study gave some interesting insights and new knowledge regarding social media marketing and traditional advertising. Like one of the big advantages with social media marketing have shown not be true anymore. In this study’s findings it is shown that traditional advertising can still be an effective marketing method to use if companies want to reach the older generation. But the findings also show that it is maybe more important to have advertising that is of high quality in order to not annoy consumers instead of finding the best marketing channel. This study’s theoretical contribution is more knowledge on the advantages and disadvantages between social media marketing and traditional advertising. The study also contribute how companies can work with the challenge of decreasing consumers annoyance of advertising. Another theoretical contribution is the knowledge that advertising annoyance is happening both in traditional advertising and social media marketing and that it is not only important to know the best marketing channel. The practical contribution that this study have is the knowledge to companies that are struggling with the decision to start using social media marketing or not. This study also give knowledge on why social media marketing is good and how companies can use social media marketing to establish brand awareness.

Supporters and spectators of sports club matches are often exposed to advertising of sponsors of the respective club. The most common exposure is to billboard ads, such as, e.g. LED screens on the side of the football pitch, the logo of sponsors embedded in the ice of an ice hockey rink or the logo of the sponsor on the athletes' jerseys. However, exposure does not mean engagement and engagement is what sponsors seek as it can increase the purchase intention of the supporters and spectators engaging with the company. With classical sponsorship approaches, it is hard to measure the number of supporters that actually engage with and eventually purchase from the sponsoring companies. Furthermore, the engagement approach that companies choose besides classical offline sponsorship is limited to occasional news updates or - at the most - highlights of matches. Therefore, the distance between sponsors and supporters is perceived as very wide by the latter. Digital communication channels and especially social media generally poses a good way to engage with supporters, but many companies fail to implement a strategic approach to social media communication.This study is aimed at analysing sports sponsorship in the light of digitalisation and wants to contribute to the scarce literature in the field. Sponsorship is a generally widely investigated and researched topic, and so is digital marketing. In current literature, these topics rarely appear closely linked to each other. Although many companies recognise the importance of digital communication tools for their sponsorship agreements, many fail to integrate it properly. Also, sports clubs often neglect the strategic implementation of digital communication. To fill this research gap, the study at hand wants to answer the following research question.“How is sports sponsorship effectiveness enhanced by the use of digital communication channels and by restructuring the relationships among all three stakeholders within the respective agreement?”An exploratory mixed methods study, which includes 115 questionnaire respondents as well as six expert interviews, was conducted to address this research question as well as the novelty of the research topic. The research was undertaken with a focus on Swedish football and ice hockey teams in professional divisions as well as their sponsors. The study yielded several results which contribute to the literature and show relevance for practice. Firstly, the study showed that all the stakeholders lack the knowledge of the aspiration of each other as well as structured communication strategies in digital channels. Secondly, the communication between clubs and sponsors is insufficient, and wishes, ideas and assumptions concerning a sponsorship agreement remain hidden to the other parties. Thirdly, the clubs, as well as the sponsors, fail to integrate the supporters' wishes and needs into the sponsorship approach, which impedes the effectiveness and the success of this agreement. Fourthly, clubs and sponsors fail to implement precise indicators for the success of a sponsorship deal.

Almost 50% of small businesses close within 5 years in part because of inadequate marketing strategies. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how landscape industry small business owners have successfully used social media marketing to help ensure business viability. The population for this study was landscape industry small business owners in central Alabama, who have been successful in using social media marketing. The conceptual framework for the study included adoption theory to understand the successful implementation of social media as a marketing tool, and social exchange theory to explain how social behavior results from the exchange process within social media. Data collection included semistructured interviews with 4 small business owner from the landscape industry and content analysis of the social media for 4 landscape industry small businesses. Data were alphanumerically and thematically coded. Analysis revealed 4 themes: (a) marketing strategy adoption; (b) primary social media types used; (c) social media content including aspects such as service, education, and holiday posts; and (d) benefits and challenges such as social media as a low-cost marketing option for improved visibility, but with a trial-and-error learning curve. Results may be used by small businesses to improve their long-term viability through social media marketing strategies, and to improve citizens' quality of life and the local economy through increased tax revenues leading to more resources for schools, public safety organizations, and other institutions in the community.

Developing effective social media marketing (SMM) strategies to engage customers is a challenge for business leaders. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the SMM strategies used by small business retailers to engage customers. The conceptual framework for this study was Rogers's diffusion of innovations theory. Participants included 5 small business retailers who had been in business for at least 5 years, used effective SMM strategies to engage customers, and were located in the southwest region of the United States. Data were collected through semistructured, face-to-face interviews. Data analysis resulted in 3 emergent themes: (a) marketing strategies and platforms, (b) social media content, and (c) customer engagement and retention. Small business retailers might benefit from the findings of this study by understanding what other small business retailers consider the most beneficial social media platforms and strategies, what customers desire in social media content, and effective customer engagement and retention processes to create SMM strategies. The implications for positive social change could include providing small business retailers with SMM best practices and strategies to improve company sustainability and growth, generate employment, reduce local poverty, and enhance employees' standards of living.

In small businesses in the United States, specifically those with fewer than 10 employees, leaders may be skeptical of and resistant to the use of social media in their management operations. Management literature does not indicate clear and effective guidelines and policies detailing small marketing firms use of social media. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of small marketing firm leaders about the resources and knowledge needed for effective use of social media as a management tool. Emerson's social exchange theory grounded the study. The study targeted owners and managers of small marketing firms in Dallas, Texas, with three to five years of experience and firms who use social media in their firm management or operations. Twenty-three participants satisfied the criteria. Data were collected through interviews, questionnaires, and document reviews. Yin's 5-phase analysis was used to analyze the data. The primary result of the study is that small businesses that use social media in the Dallas, Texas, area reported various gains, including increased awareness about their business, valuable customer feedback, and customer retention. The study may have a positive social change impact by providing information on strategies and benefits of using social media as a management tool not only to small marketing firms in Texas, but also to very small businesses in other sectors.

Small business owners understand the advantages of using social media as a marketing tool; however, some of these owners do not leverage social media marketing strategies to increase sales. Small business owners who fail to implement social media marketing strategies minimizes the potential to gain new customers; thus, negatively impacting sales. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore social media marketing strategies used by five small family-style restaurants in Maryland. Berry's relationship marketing theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data collection included semistructured interviews, documents pertaining to social media marketing strategies, and social media pages and websites from the participating restaurants. These data were analyzed following Yin's 5-step analysis plan. Key themes that emerged were (a) social media platforms small family-style restaurant owners use to increase sales and were most effective, (b) employees' response to social media marketing strategies small family-style restaurant owners use to increase sales, and (c) relationship marketing. The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase the knowledge of future entrepreneurs and show them how technology can help them launch and grow their businesses faster creating an atmosphere of better customer services. Increasing the demand for employment can have a direct impact on decreasing the unemployment rate within the United States, particularly in the state of Maryland.

<p>Social media is by many believed to be the core of a new type of Public Relations. This new PR is called PR 2.0. Most larger companies today are to be find using dif- ferent types of social media to interact with their publics. Each year companies invest more money in this type of digital public relations. Social media is a relatively new online phenomenon and still used at a very early stage. Today there are a lot of differ- ent ideas and theories’ coming from many directions on how to use social media in PR and also what comes out from doing so. Companies invest a lot of money in it, but how’s it done and what’s the return on investment (ROI) in using social media? PR 2.0 is said by its advocates to be a step away from a type of PR that is built on messages to a PR built on two-way communication, dialog and equally beneficial rela- tionships. This essay aims at exploring what PR 2.0 is when practiced, what makes it different from the old PR and how it can be used to manage relations with publics. The focus lies on how the relationships between a company and its publics have developed in the digital world. As a more separate matter of research we have studied how effects from PR in social media can be measured . The essay is based on qualitative interviews performed with Swedish PR communica- tion and social media marketing practitioners. The result from the interviews in com- bination with relevant literature makes the foundation for the conclusions made in the essay. The literature and articles used in the essay is a mix of more general PR theo- ries, theories about PR in practice, social media marketing and digital PR, PR 2.0. The conclusion of this essay is that social media constitutes great opportunities for companies to listen and talk to its publics in a way not possible before. However, the relationships created aren’t always the result of a symmetric two-way communication. Companies use social media to monitor and register what people think about them, which is the characteristic for a form of communication that is asymmetrical. But it is also important to notice that companies that share more and create value for those they are communicating with will build stronger relationships. Social media also makes it possible to identify publics and important individuals by using the medium itself, in a way that is both easy and cost-efficient. The problem with measuring effects from communicating in social media is of a methodological nature. A lot of what happens when communicating in social media is possible to measure and quantify, but the problem lies in explaining what the result means. To set up clear and realistic goals and to do research before engaging in social media is a prerequisite for measuring ef- fects at all.</p>

<p><em>It is in the interest of organizations to understand that the public demand for quick and easy accessibility is growing at a rapid pace. However, the transition from traditional marketing strategies to social media marketing is not a straightforward process, but more complex.The aim of the thesis is to, from a bottom-up perspective, draw conclusions from a comparative study of the social media praxes of Umeå-situated businesses and organizations.The study indicates that the transition into social media still continues, but that there has been a change in organizations’ mindsets. It also shows that the application of a bottom-up approach provides new ways of viewing and understanding activities within social media.It is in the interest of organizations to understand that the public demand for quick and easy accessibility is growing at a rapid pace. However, the transition from traditional marketing strategies to social media marketing is not a straightforward process, but more complex.The aim of the thesis is to, from a bottom-up perspective, draw conclusions from a comparative study of the social media praxes of Umeå-situated businesses and organizations.The study indicates that the transition into social media still continues, but that there has been a change in organizations’ mindsets. It also shows that the application of a bottom-up approach provides new ways of viewing and understanding activities within social media.</em></p>

Background In Sweden almost 90% of businesses are micro in nature which plays a pivotal role in the economy by generating employment opportunities as well as serving a source of instilling entrepreneurial spirit and innovation. Due to their invaluable contributions to the economy, their survival through revenue generating marketing practices has become an area of much more interest than ever realized before. A common misconception prevalent is that marketing in micro businesses is just a miniature of larger enterprises. This is why earlier researchers have paid scarce treatment to marketing practices in micro businesses as evident from the scant published material on the topic, making it an intriguing area to study. Currently much hype has been created about social media applications like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc and their marketing value for small businesses. It is therefore, in this thesis we study social media and prevalent marketing practices in the context of micro business. Purpose Micro firms are often cash-strapped which limits their revenue generating ability through prevalent marketing practices which are resource intensive. In the back drop of all the hype about social media as a marketing tool we got the clue to find the right marketing approaches for these businesses regarding the choice of prevalent practices and social media as a new marketing tool. To achieve this purpose, we have formulated the following research questions.RQ1.Which of the two types of marketing is more effective in terms of targeted segment coverage and expenditures? RQ2.Which marketing approach enables micro firms to maintain better relationships with customers? RQ3.Whether or not it is the right time for micro firms in Sweden to adopt social media marketing practices? Method A qualitative approach has been used to achieve the exploratory purpose of the thesis. Overall; eight micro firms were chosen from a convenience sample, representing different regions and industries of Sweden. In the first phase, two pilot semi-structured interviews were conducted to attain a better understanding of the phenomenon under study. Later, six more semi-structured interviews were carried out from micro businesses representing different sectors in Skövde, Mariestad and Jönköping Counties. Conclusion This thesis suggests that micro businesses are mostly marketing weak organizations (MWO) as they are sales oriented and see marketing as more of a luxury. Micro businesses in the sample reveal a tendency to carry out marketing activities in a haphazard manner which limits their likelihood of achieving their targets. It has also been indicated that conventional approach to reach target segments, still has a strong effect on micro firms in Sweden and is therefore more appropriate for them as majority of their customers are geographically concentrated as well as a major strata of these are yet to start active participation on the social media landscape. In terms of costs social media Given, the small population of Sweden, it has also been showed that micro businesses are keeping good customer relationship with customers via word-of-mouth marketing which is considered as instrumental for success of majority of micro business. At the same time, this finding does not indicate any clear picture as to which form of marketing is doing better for these businesses. In terms of social media adoption the findings indicate that micro businesses see social media as a great marketing opportunity in which micro businesses can compete on a level playing field with their larger counterparts. This study also concludes that social media is in infancy stages of its development in Sweden as people though they are present on the social media landscape, but have not yet, thought of it as a mainstream marketing channel. Therefore, it is suggested that micro firms in Sweden need to adpot a (high volume, low expense) is more effective only when used in tandem with conventional marketing (low volume, high expense) approaches. It is therefore suggested that micro businesses can use a blend of social and conventional marketing practices till the time that the social media network externalizes to a greater extent. wait and see approach for the time being and start preparing to capitalize on social media soon when it becomes ripe and ready for marketing.