Abstract Social media is a marketing phenomenon that is growing very fast. Social media helps creating value for customers in broadcasting the advertising among social networks. Blog posts, videos, pictures, reviews and ratings all have a significant impact on marketing. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate how companies can achieve customer loyalty and customer relationship management using social media marketing and if companies can target new customers by social media. An inductive research approach was used in the study. Semi-structured interviews were performed with interviewees from two companies. A survey questionnaire was answered by 100 social media users which were also customers of the companies. The findings show that there are certain constraints in social media such as risk of user information security when their information can be shared with the companies so that companies can do better marketing research. Word of mouth is spread on social media where new customers are targeted. Social media is providing new channels for support, advertisement and acting as a news feed tool to keep customers up to date about recent events and news. The company stated that no extra resources were required to market on social media.

Syfte och Forskningsfråga:Syftet med studien är att klarlägga aktuella marknadsföringskanaler för kommuner i arbetet mot att stärka och bearbeta kommuners varumärken. En digital tid är här där många synsätt och tillvägagångssätt ständigt förändras vilket utgjort grund för följande forskningsfråga:  Hur arbetar kommuner med olika marknadskanaler för att stärka sitt varumärke i en tid med digitala möjligheter? Metod: Denna studie har varit av kvalitativ karaktär där målet varit att få en djupare förståelse för kommuners arbete i att stärka sitt varumärke genom användningen av olika marknadskanaler. Utgångspunkten i studien har varit av deduktiv karaktär för att senare även tagit induktiva drag vilket gjort att den kan kategoriseras som en abduktiv ansats. Den empiriska delen utgörs av sju stycken djupintervjuer med respondenter som jobbar på olika sätt med kommuner och deras varumärkesutveckling och användning av marknadskanaler. Slutsatser: I studie har det framgått att kommuner ses som mer komplexa jämfört med vanliga varumärken. Ett samspel mellan kommun, invånare, näringsliv och besökare måste finnas för att kunna utveckla ett starkt varumärke för en kommun. De sociala medierna spelar en stor roll och är i tydligt fokus samtidigt som stora utvecklingsmöjligheter hittas för dessa kanaler. Med en ökad förståelse för de digitala kanalerna, ett tätare samarbete mellan samtliga delar hos kommuner samt ett helhetsperspektiv med samarbeten mellan regioner så hittar vi stora möjligheter inför framtiden. Detta i kombination med en utveckling av annonseringsverktygen för främst de sociala medierna så ges goda förutsättningar för kommuner i framtiden.

Frågeställning: Vilka behov behöver tillfredsställas hos de boende och anhöriga för att stärka en relation till äldreboendet? Kan digital marknadsföring användas som metod för att stärka relationer och i så fall hur? Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka hur relationen mellan äldreboende och deras målgrupp kan stärkas. Metod: Ansatsen har varit en deduktiv ansats och en kvalitativ metod har använts där sju semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts. Slutsats: Resultatet visar på fem faktorer som samtliga respondenter identifierat skulle tillfredsställa deras behov. Dessa fem faktorer är identifierade som: smak- och näringsrik kost, närheten till natur och möjlighet att komma ut, trygghet i form av kompetent personal, socialt umgänge, att den boende hamnar i centrum samt mental stimulans. Dessa faktorer kan kopplas till samtliga behovssteg i Maslows behovspyramid. Resultatet visar generellt på en positiv inställning till digital kanaler som en marknadsföringskanal, dock visar resultatet att de boende inte själva har någon direkt nytta för detta för egen skull, men ser positivt på att deras anhöriga skulle ha värde av det. De anhöriga påvisar en mycket stark bild av att de skulle finna digital marknadsföring värdefullt för dem. Genom att påvisa att behoven ovan är tillfredsställda kan relationen stärkas, då anhöriga inte alltid har möjlighet att fysiskt besöka sina anhöriga. På så sätt kan de anhöriga få en inblick i sin närståendes vardag genom digital marknadsföring utan att fysiskt vara på plats, detta ökar deras känsla av trygghet och tillit till att de närstående har det bra. / Research questions: What needs of the elderly and their relatives need to be satisfied to strengthen the relationship with the retirement home? Could digital marketing be employed to strengthen the relationship and in that case how? Purpose: The purpose is to examine how the relationship between retirement homes and their target audience can be strengthened. Method: A deductive approach has been used in this report with a qualitative method and seven semi-structured interviews have been conducted. Conclusion: The study results in five factors that all respondents have identified as factors that would satisfy their needs. These five factors are identified as: a tasteful and nutritious diet; closeness to nature and the ability to be out in the fresh air; safety in form of qualified staff; social interaction; that the elderly is in focus and; mental stimulation. These factors can be linked to every step in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The result show an overall positive attitude towards digital channels as a marketing tool. However, the result also shows that the residents would not benefit directly from digital marketing, but are positive that their relatives would find it valuable. The relatives are showing a strong, positive attitude towards the value of digital marketing channels. The above mentioned needs should be in focus in the digital marketing, so that the relatives who do not have the opportunity to visit their elderly as often as they would like may see that their needs are satisfied. That way, the relatives may get an insight in how their relative’s everyday life looks like without being on set in person, which may increase their feeling of safety, and faith in that their relative is in a good place.

Content marketing is a popular marketing strategy, which has increased significantly during the last years. The term content marketing is new but companies have been working with parts of the strategy for decades. The new digital era changed the communication from a one-way to a two-way communica- tion. Customers now have a demand for relevant content that is valuable for them. The purpose of this dissertation is to develop an understanding of this marketing strategy, and clarify the key dimensions that distinguish content marketing from other marketing strategies. This thesis rests on a realistic philosophy with an abductive approach. Based on previous research different definitions of the marketing strategy are used to develop a model of the key dimensions of content marketing. A qualitative data collection with semi-structured interviews is performed on seven participants in order to explore what is seen as important aspects, and to gather new insight about the unclear marketing strategy. The findings indicate a differentiation between companies, but there is a consensus of the most im- portant aspects. Findings of how the strategy is done results in a new model, and a new definition of the marketing strategy. Suggestions for further research include examining how companies measure con- tent marketing. The results contribute with a clarification and further description of what content marketing is, and the most important aspects to consider when working with the strategy. The results of this study are useful as a guideline for people starting to work with content marketing, with the aim to understand the market- ing strategy.

This study examines how consumers reason and their opinions about personal data collection online. Its focus is to investigate whether consumers consider online data collection as an issue with moral implications, and if these are unethical. This focus is partly motivated by the contradiction between consumers’ stated opinions and actual behavior, which differ. To meet its purpose, the study poses the research question How is personal data collection and its prevalence online perceived and motivated by consumers?. The theoretical framework consists of the Issue-Contingent Model of Ethical Decision-Making by Jones (1991), thus putting the model to use in a new context. Collection of data for the study was done by conducting focus groups, since Jones’ model places ethical decision- making in a social context. The results of the study showed that consumers acknowledge both positive and negative aspects of online data collection, but the majority of them do not consider this data collection to be unethical. This result confirms partly the behaviour that consumers already display, but does not explain why their stated opinions do not match this. Thus, this study can be seen as an initial attempt at clarifying consumer reasoning on personal data collection online, with potential for future studies to further investigate and understand consumer online behaviour. / Denna uppsats undersöker hur konsumenter resonerar och tänker kring insamling av personlig data på Internet. Fokus är att utreda ifall konsumenter anser att denna insamling har konsekvenser, och ifall dessa anses vara oetiska. Detta fokus baseras delvis på resultat som visar på skillnader i vad konsumenter uttrycker för åsikter kring detta ämne, och deras faktiska beteende på Internet. Undersökningen utgår ifrån forskningsfrågan som lyder Hur uppfattar och motiverar konsumenter insamling av personlig data på Internet? Studiens teoretiska ramverk består av modellen An Issue-Contingent model of Ethical Decision- Making som är utvecklad av Jones (1991), och modellen används därmed i en ny kontext. Studiens data samlades in genom fokusgrupper. Detta val baserades på Jones (1991) modell, som menar att etiskt beslutsfattande alltid sker i en social kontext. De resultat som kommit fram visar att konsumenter ser både positiva och negativa aspekter och konsekvenser av att ha sin personliga data insamlad, däremot utan att anse att insamlingen i sig är oetisk. Detta bekräftar delvis tidigare resultat, men förklarar inte varför de åsikter konsumenter uttrycker kring ämnet inte stämmer överens med hur de sedan faktiskt beter sig. Därmed kan den här uppsatsen ses som ett första försök att klargöra hur konsumenter resonerar kring insamling av personlig data på Internet. Det har bedömts finnas mycket potential för framtida studier inom samma område, för att fortsatt undersöka och förstå konsumenters beteende på Internet.

Mukbang is a Korean word for ‘eating livestream’. As an emerging sub-genre of internet influencers, Mukbang influencers has become the marketing tool for some firms recently. In this paper, we will conduct a case study of small sized e-commerce firms in China’s food industry. We explore firms’ perspectives towards the emerging Mukbang phenomenon, aiming to find out which factors influence the adoption of Mukbang influencer marketing by small firms. Our research results illustrate that the main point of concern for companies is the lack of information about financial data such as the average return on investment, and also the lack of information on consumer preferences and consumer analysis. Opportunity, potential benefits, uncertainty, resources available and the characteristics of the firms (or to be more specific, the management team) are important factors that influence small firms’ marketing decisions to use or not internet influencer marketing.

Digital marketing involves several channels that represent important touchpoints across the customer journey which SMEs must prioritize and invest in effectively. However, SMEs can struggle with limited resources of time, budget and knowledge which makes successful implementation of digital marketing and conversion rate optimization difficult. The challenges are even more severe when adding information overload to the context and how this affects consumers behavior along the increasingly complex nature of the customer journey. Thereby, the purpose of this study is to explore what Swedish SMEs should prioritize when it comes to digital marketing touchpoints to increase conversions, especially emphasizing how consumers’ behaviors may be affected by information overload across the customer journey. This was carried out by using a qualitative approach with an exploratory nature and by conducting in-depth interviews with consumers and experts in the digital marketing field. The main findings of this study suggest that online advertising, SEO, social media, web pages and customer reviews are of highest priority for SMEs to increase conversions. Further, information overload has a significant role in the customer journey in terms of large quantities of information, wrong characteristics, information disorganization, complex task and process parameters and lacking quality of content. Lastly, information overload is also shown as a conflict between marketers and consumers.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to critically examine the marketing strategy and marketing communication within a luxury fashion SME, the case of Mary Katrantzou. Methodology: This report has been conducted in a qualitative approach and six employees at the case study company have been interviewed. Three of the respondents are a part of the marketing department at the company, two are a part of the sales department and one member of the ecommerce team was interviewed. Moreover the interview approach was semi-structured interviews, and one on one interviews were conducted as well as written ones. Due to the access in the company the written interviews could be followed up by additional questions. Findings: Mary Katrantzou works with the appropriate traditional tools for luxury fashion brands, apart from advertisement, as well as working with the digital channels most suitable. Accordingly the theory a cohesive brand identity is vital when it comes to luxury fashion firms, and the findings in this area showed that the company does not have a coherent brand identity that permeates the whole organization. Instead the opinions of the six respondents differed. Moreover the empirical findings showed that collaborating with other companies could increase brand awareness. Conclusion: Mary Katrantzou’s marketing strategy is, accordingly the theory collected, in line with how luxury fashion brands should work with marketing. For the future however the company could invest in one more traditional tool in the form of advertisement. Figuring out the true brand identity of the company is also of importance. Moreover collaborations have according to this study the ability to increase brand awareness and should therefore be of interest to research further in the near future. Value/originality: The intimate access in the case study company in this report should be of high interest due to its rareness. From the inside examined fashion luxury brands are seldom researched, which adds value and originality to this study. / Program: Textilekonomutbildningen

Innovative technologies have aided in the evolution of communicative patterns betweenindividuals, organizations, and society at large. For businesses this means that marketingmust be integrated with emergent ICT in an effort to exploit available digital marketingtactics. Although there is an emerging body of literature that defines the elements of digitalmarketing there still remains a need for models grounded in theoretical and empiricalevidence that explicitly integrates Software as a Service business intelligence (SaaS BI)within the realm of digital marketing.The purpose of this study is to explore existing challenges for digital marketers and SaaS BIvendors in an effort to uncover common ground where marketing activities and SaaS servicescan be effectively integrated. Within this investigation a socio-technical systems perspective isemployed in which the function of digital marketing represents a social sub-system and theservice of SaaS BI represents a technical sub-system. Interconnectivity is established betweendigital marketing, SaaS BI, and diffusion of innovation through the exploration of existingchallenges. A design artifact is constructed as a result of the thesis, which is intended to aiddigital marketers when planning, implementing, or adjusting a marketing campaign thatutilizes SaaS BI as an intelligence source. Within the investigation of digital marketing andSaaS BI both a theoretical and empirical study are conducted that serve as a basis for thedesigned model. The empirical study consists of a case study of the MeltWater Group, a SaaSvendor, and attempts to capture an in-depth understanding of the target domain. Empiricaldata is generated through semi-structured interviews triangulated with documents.Subsequent to building the conceptual model a short questionnaire was sent to participantswith related knowledge of the domain problem to elicit feedback on the conceptual model’scorrectness and usefulness.The theoretical study serves the purpose of establishing a conceptual framework within theresearch phenomena. The subsequent empirical study was used to validate the relevance ofthe conceptual framework in addition to assist with the build and evaluate phase of theconceptual model design. As a result of the thesis investigation a conceptual model of thetarget domain was developed that maps the interrelated processes of digital marketing andSaaS BI.In conclusion, the conceptual model captures a closed information loop between the SaaSvendor, client-organization, internal/external stakeholders, and the client-organization’sdigital presence. The system domain processes are illuminated as seven sub-closed loops thatdepict the existing relationships between domain components. The integration of digitalmarketing and SaaS BI elucidates three core input/output processes (IOPs): a dual IOPinternal and external of the SaaS vendor and an IOP internal of the client-organization. / Program: Masterutbildning i Informatik

The desire for digital marketing has rapidly grown. The consequence of this has been an increased supply of digital marketing software providing the desired tools. This leads to a need for different types of software, where both enterprise platforms and minor one’s have risen. Both types come with opportunities and disadvantages, which need to be taken into account when deciding digital marketing software. The purpose of this study is to assist companies in choosing the correct digital marketing software that meet their needs. The research focus on clarifying what differs an enterprise software from a minor one. The research is based on company needs, where time consumption, cost, integration complexity and software functionality have been analyzed. A case study has been performed at the company Improove AB. The case study contained a literature study, interviews and an experiment. With these methods a lot of data could be collected, which consequently led to a thorough analyzation. In the end, it was found that a minor marketing software is severely less time consuming. An enterprise software is more expensive, and it is in addition more complex to integrate than a minor marketing software. The enterprise marketing software triumphs when it comes to provided functionality, both regarding supply and possible configurations. With this knowledge it was determined that it is almost always preferred to integrate a minor marketing software, instead of an enterprise software. The reason for this is mainly that the integration complexity increases the time consumption, which increases the cost. Another reason is that it is crucial that the company using the digital marketing software takes advantage of all provided functionality, which they rarely do. From the research it is possible to make educated decisions when deciding between digital marketing platforms. Whether an enterprise software is preferred or if a company should instead settle with a minor software is further explain in the thesis report.