The implementation of SM is considered an important criterion that influences the accomplishment of business performance and achieves competitive advantage. However, there is a limitation in SM research concerning the implementation of SM strategy and the selection of suitable SM platform for business. Therefore, the investigation and analysis conducted in this study provide an understanding of the application of SM in business by examining the implementation process and the selection of SM platform. Accordingly, a SM strategy framework was developed for a practical implementation of business which includes three stage-process. This empirical research context includes two field investigations in relations to the views and experience of the SM personnel who participated in this study. Both investigation phases were analysed using thematic analysis with respect to the interpretive qualitative analysis approach. The research revealed that companies do follow directly or indirectly some base guidelines in employing SM but do not have a strategic implementation process in carrying out this activity as described in the framework presented. Also, companies are required to consider selecting a suitable SM platform for business which leads to added value to the holistic strategically implemented process. The analysis of the SM strategy framework revealed that an alignment of SM strategy and business strategy could be established through strategic implementation. The implementation process of SM strategy would require company's readiness as described in the framework to ensure successful SM integration to support in achieving business goals. This research provides in-depth knowledge of how the implementation process can be conducted in stages and the application of this technological innovation. The results of the analysis of the framework indicated that companies establish a presence on platforms where their customers are located. Leading to further investigation in the second phase where Practice theory is employed. Revealing an in-depth understanding on how platform evaluation can be carried out by examining the actual act of enacting the selection process, understanding the routine and considering the individuals involved in shaping and implementing platform evaluation in the company. Therefore, the findings can be used by managers or key SM personnel to implement SM strategy efficiently to improve business performance and applied by researchers for further evaluation and analysis of this process.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate how companies have linked their corporatestrategy with their digital- and social media strategy. The authors believed that these strategieshad to be connected somehow and wanted to research it further.Qualitative research methodology was utilized in this study. The research data consisted oftwo semi-structured interviews with one employee at Hestra Gloves and one at Kronfönster.The interviews were made after the same protocol in form of questions and documentation.The result of the interviews revealed that both Hestra Gloves and Kronfönster had overallbusiness core values which were reflected in their strategies. Hestra Gloves had a generalbusiness idea which was used as a corporate strategy, they also had a social media strategyand they had working guidelines for their digital channels. Kronfönster followed their corevalues which permeate the whole organization and they had guidelines for both corporatelevel, digital level and social media level.The findings show that the companies which were investigated have linked their corporatestrategy with their digital strategy in a medium way. The findings also show that theinvestigated companies have linked their corporate strategy with their social media strategy ina medium way. The authors conclude that some strategy components are linked in a strongway and that some components are linked in a weak way.

The usage of social networking sites is steadily increasing, setting higher demands on companies and their need to be present on social media. This study aims to examine how companies could design their content on Facebook and Instagram to promote interaction from followers. To be able to understand this the company Pantamera is used as a case in this study. Pantamera is responsible for the recycling of metal cans and PET bottles in Sweden, and are experiencing that their usage of strategies on social media is deficient. To answer the purpose, already existing theories of how to form a social media strategy and methods are examined. This is implemented through an online survey aiming to understand the target audience, and the results are used as a foundation for the design process. The designs are evaluated through interviews and the conclusion is that it is possible to design content on social media in order to promote interaction. Important to have in mind when creating content for interaction is its design, what platform it intends to be designed for and that the company should at all times communicate with their target audience on their terms.

The role of internet and the digitalized world are more relevant than ever before. The new phenomena of digital marketing has created a paradigm shift of existing marketing with new ways to market. Social media plays a significant role in this change, since it allows businesses to easily engage with its customers and to maintain relationships. For small and local businesses, this change has created great opportunities to interact more with the local audience. However, not all such businesses have the sufficient knowledge to optimize the usage of social media. The focus of the study is to explore the current usage of social media in local businesses context. Furthermore, we will suggest social media marketing strategies that will help local business to improve its customer relations. The qualitative approach is applied in this study by using interviews and observations, which is the main source of primary data collection. The conclusion was that local grocery stores still rely much more on traditional marketing methods. However, local grocery stores still use and value social media, but most are unclear of the true benefits and strategies when using social media. Lacking strategies consist of planning the social media marketing strategies, but also lacks the formal management of critical situations on social media. Overall, local stores perform well in building relations with its customers using social media however, there is a scope of further improvements.

This report analyzes the effects that social media marketing has on companies who choose to invest in a social media strategy. Previous research has looked at separate parts of a social media strategy, but no holistic view of the entire life cycle of a social media strategy has been created. Further, this report looks at what companies who choose to invest in a strategy gain from it in terms of different sources of business value. Advertising over digital media has increasingly taken market shares from more traditional advertising such as print, radio and TV. A large portion of this digital advertising is done through social media in the form of directing content at a specific target audience using the various social media platforms marketing algorithms. This increase in digital advertising is coupled by more companies choosing to create a social media presence. However, often have these social media presences failed to net any results due to a lack of understanding of the social media environment and how the consumers use the platforms. A case study was conducted on Marvelous, a Nordic digital agency specializing in social media. The case study also analyzed one of Marvelous’ clients who has invested in a social media strategy through them. The reason for this case study was to see how social media marketing is done in practice by a leading company within the industry. To complement the case study and get a less nuanced view of the development of a strategy and the results of it, qualitative interviews were held with other industry professionals who have worked with social media for several years. The results show that the life cycle of a social media strategy is made up of six stages: the pre-assessment stage, the strategy creation stage, the basics & hypotheses stage, the maturation & capitalization stage, the short-term evaluation stage and lastly the long-term evaluation stage. These different stages help companies in creating a strategy to guide social media efforts sustainably over a long period, leading to economical sustainability of the companies through granting advantages such as increased brand strength, increased sales and reaching a new consumer basis amongst other advantages. These advantages are gained while simultaneously strengthening the bond between consumer and company through the two-way communication that social media has enabled. / Denna rapport analyserar effekten som marknadsföring via sociala medier har på företag som bestämt sig för att investera i en social mediestrategi. Tidigare forskning har utforskat olika delar i en social mediestrategi, men ingen holistisk vy av hela livscykeln har skapats. Vidare så tittar denna rapport på vad företag som har investerat i en strategi får ut av det i form av olika källor av affärsvärde. Marknadsföring över digitala medier har ökat och fortsatt tagit marknadsandelar från mer traditionella källor såsom print, radio och TV. En stor del av denna digitala marknadsföring görs via sociala medier genom att rikta ett budskap mot en specifik målgrupp med hjälp av de olika sociala plattformarnas marknadsföringsalgoritmer. Denna ökning av reklam via digitala medier syns även i form av att fler företag väljer att skapa en närvaro på sociala medier. Däremot så misslyckas ofta denna sociala närvaro att gynna företag på grund utav en brist på kunskap om det sociala medielandskapet och hur kunder använder dessa plattformar. En fallstudie gjordes på Marvelous, en nordisk digitalbyrå som specialiserar sig inom sociala medier. I denna fallstudie undersöktes även en av Marvelous kunder som har investerat i en social mediestrategi via dem. Anledningen till denna fallstudie var att se hur denna marknadsföring görs i praktiken av ett ledande företag inom industrin. För att komplettera fallstudien och få en mindre nyanserad bild av utveckling av en strategi och dess resultat så utfördes även intervjuer med andra experter inom industrin som har arbetat med sociala medier i ett flertal år. Resultaten visar att en livscykel för en social mediestrategi är uppgjord av sex skeden: förhandsbedömning, strategiskapande, etablering och hypotesprovning, mognads- och kapitalisering, kortsiktiga utvärderingar och slutligen långsiktiga utvärderingar. Dessa skeden hjälper företag att skapa en strategi för att vägvisa deras insatser på sociala medier hållbart över en lång period vilket kan leda till ekonomisk hållbarhet för företagen. Detta genom fördelar såsom ökad varumärkesstyrka, högre försäljningsgrad, att nå ut till en ny kundbas och andra fördelar därtill. Dessa fördelar fås medan företagen samtidigt stärker bandet mellan kund och företag genom den tvåvägskommunikation som sociala medier har möjliggjort.

Social media content strategies have been created and used for years as a way to advertise and influence market decisions in various industries. The reason for their effectiveness should be adequately studied so that we can have a better understanding of which strategies are successful and which ones are not. This study identifies effective social media content strategies, with a focus on brand and customer-centric strategies. After a content analysis of 251 Instagram posts from Huda Beauty and Glossier’s accounts, the hypotheses stating that brand-centric strategies will be more effective and all the strategies will be a useful way to determine the outcome of future Instagram posts are partially supported. This research contributes to best practices in social media marketing in order to understand the effectiveness behind content strategies.

Purpose - With the social media's emergence in recent times, the main purpose of this study is to generate knowledge about social media communication’s impact on consumer-based brand equity, in terms of firm-created and user-generated social media communication. In order to make this possible, knowledge about customer’s perception about a specific brand is required. Furthermore, we are interested in explaining issues concerning how fashion companies can efficiently use social media, and the study’s intention is also to present recommendations of how companies can use social media as a marketing communication tool. Theory and hypothesis – This chapter deals with theory about consumer-based brand equity, where the different components of the model are presented. Also theory about social media, different social media applications and a social media strategy are described. Finally, firm- created and user-generated social media communications impact on brand equity are discussed, which leads to the study’s hypotheses. Methodology – The study has a triangulation consisting of both a qualitative and a quantitative part and has essentially a deductive approach. The study interviewed one expert in the fashion industry and one expert in the area of social media. An interview with the analysed company’s marketing manager was also made. The quantitative study was made on 624 respondents, which were all members of the company’s customer club. 97 of these 624 respondents were investigated in order to observe the impact of firm-created and user- generated social media communication on brand equity. Empirical findings and results – The findings in the study indicate that firm-created social media communication positively impact brand equity, while user-generated did not show to be significant. In this study it was shown that the majority of the respondents use social media, especially Facebook, and the content that most valuable was access to discounts and promotions as well as information about the brand and its products. Conclusion - Our study confirms the importance for companies to use social media as a marketing tool and it should be in all managers’ interest to make use of this channel. Also the importance of having high brand equity is highlighted and how the customer’s perceptions about a brand can be used as guidelines in order to increase brand equity.

I denna rapport redogör vi för hur det kan gå till när man planerar, producerar och publicerar innehåll för sociala medier åt ett bolag i byggbranschen. Bolaget, som vi valt att kalla Bygg AB, överlät sina sociala mediekonton till oss under fem veckor med önskan om ökat engagemang på plattformarna. Denna rapport beskriver tillvägagångssättet för att uppfylla deras önskemål och presenterar även de resultat som framkommit. Projektets process bestod av fem centrala moment – workshop, framtagande av strategi, framtagande av schema, producering av innehåll och publicering. Vårt resultat visar att engagemanget på Bygg AB:s Facebook- och Instagramkonto ökade under projektets fem veckor. / In this report we describe how planning, producing and publishing contents for social media can be made for a company in the construction business. The company, which we have chosen to call Build AB, assigned their social media accounts to us during five weeks with the desire for increased involvement on the platforms. This report describes the line of action to meet their desire and also presents the results that have been achieved. The process of the project consisted of five key elements – workshop, developing a strategy, developing a schedule, producing the content and publishing. Our result shows that the involvement on Build AB’s Facebook page and Instagram page increased during the five weeks of the project.

The thesis focuses on the social media strategy and marketing communication on Facebook. The main goal of the thesis is to pursue an analysis of all the steps and parts of the strategy and marketing communication on Facebook at a specific organisation. The theoretical part starts with a general introduction of the internet marketing. The thesis further looks into the topic of social networks, their development, definition, principles and benefits for a company. A detailed study of each step of the social media strategy and main parts of the marketing communication on Facebook follows. The practical part includes the analysis of the suggested strategy and all parts of the marketing communication on Facebook. In case the practical part brings some imperfect results, the author adds data based on the summary of the theoretical part. The final analysis extended by author´s suggestions can act as a practical guide for similar projects.