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.

本研究旨在探討消息來源與媒介的互動過程如何創造出媒介議題。研究問 題包括：ぇ哪些消息來源有較多的機會來界定議題？針對這個問題，本研 究從消息來源的背景和媒體策略兩個因素來探討。え媒介立場與消息來源 建構議題的關係為何？本研究議題為「核四建廠爭議」。研究方法採內容 分析法，將核四議題週期分為四個階段，從民國69年4 月24日起，至81 年12月31日止，以中央日報、中國時報及自立晚報三家報紙的相關報導為 抽樣對像，共計抽出163 個樣本。研究結果發現以下現象：ぇ解嚴前，界 定者和第三者的近用媒介機率大於抗爭者；同時在受到媒介處理顯著性上 ，界定者和第三者亦大於抗爭者。但隨年代的轉移，不同背景的消息來源 近用媒介的機率上差異漸小；同時受到媒介處理的顯著性也漸不顯著。え 媒體策略愈具體的消息來源不一定愈易近用媒介。ぉ媒介對核四議題的處 理，會因媒介立場不同而強調不同的議題面向。お媒介對核四議題的處理 ，會因媒介立場不同而有不同的處理態度。か消息來源對議題所宣稱面向 與媒介著重之面向愈接近者，其近用機會愈大。が消息來源對議題所宣稱 態度與媒介處理態度愈接近，其近用機會愈大。

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see what implications the new communication channel of Covert Virals has on acknowledged communication strategies and whether or not these strategies are still viable within Covert Virals.   Background: The term Covert Viral has been given to pieces of advertisement, spread through the medium of electronic word of mouth over social networks, which are designed to look user made. With the defense mechanisms towards traditional advertisements in mind, and the extensive growth of the social networks, it is of high interest to understand how traditional branding strategies work in this new communication channel.  Method: To answer our research questions, and thereby conclude our purpose, we have used quantitative data which was collected through the use of non-random sampling. This was analyzed within the SPSS statistics software, using both descriptive and inferential statistics.  Conclusion: The implications this communication channel brings to traditional branding strategies has been divided into two categories, Brand Awareness strategy implications, and Brand Attitude strategy implications. Within Brand Awareness strategies it was found that Covert Virals were unfit to execute brand recall strategies. However, Brand recognition strategies were found to still apply, with a possible negative backlash of advertising for a competitor‟s brand. Within Brand Attitude Strategies, we found that a new restriction has been placed on the traditional strategies. This restriction is the obligatory use of emotional branding. Furthermore, this emotional branding must be constructed in such a way so that it caters to both the viral intent of the advertisement, and the branding intent. / Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att fasställa vilken inverkan den nya kommunikationskanalen Covert Virals har på existerande teorier gällande varumärkeskommunikation och om dessa teorier är tillämpliga på Covert Virals.  Bakgrund: Covert Virals är en term för reklam som har spridit sig via så kallad elektronisk „mun till mun‟ -marknadsföring via sociala nätverk där upphovsmannen framställs som icke företagsrelaterad. På grund av svårigheter att nå kunder via traditionell  marknadsföring och den omfattande tillväxten inom sociala nätverk på senare år, är det av största vikt att förstå hur företag ska marknadsföra sig genom denna nya kommunikationskanal.  Metod: För att uppfylla vårt syfte har vi använt oss av en kvantitativ undersökning som har samlats in genom ett icke slumpmässigt  urval. Svaren analyserades både med hjälp av trendanalys och beskrivande statistik genom mjukvaran SPSS Statistics.  Slutsats: Utfallen av undersökningen är uppdelade i medvetenhet om, respektive attityd till, varumärket. Covert Virals är inte lämpliga för att öka tittarnas förmåga att erinra sig ett varumärke, men fungerar väl för att skapa igenkännelse av varumärket. Det finns en risk att de positiva effekterna av en covert viral tillkommer konkurrenter i lika stor eller större utsträckning som det egna varumärket. När det gäller attityd till ett varumärke så har studien visat att det finns en ny begränsning i det att en Covert Viral måste använda sig av känsloladdade budskap. Detta känsloladdade budskap måste dels skapa en stark vilja att vidarebefordra meddelandet samt förmedla den känslan marknadsföraren vill associera med varumärket.

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.

Notre travail explore les groupes activistes en tant qu’organisations de mouvements sociaux. Pour cela, nous étudions comment les activistes expriment leur message en mobilisant des symboles (discours, position du corps, objets…) pour construire un ensemble de performances spécifiques appelé le répertoire tactique. Pour ce faire, ils s’inspirent de leurs prédécesseurs et de leurs cadres théoriques. Dans un deuxième temps, nous décrivons comment les activistes mobilisent les médias à l’aide d’une stratégie médiatique, reposant à la fois sur le répertoire tactique et sur une certaine intégration des activistes en son sein. Enfin, nous analysons les moyens par lesquels le groupe activiste mobilise ses membres (c’est-à-dire les recrute et les retient) ; cela passe en particulier par l’acquisition de compétences émancipatrices pour les activistes. En conclusion, nous montrons que le répertoire tactique constitue la colonne vertébrale d’un groupe activiste et participe à toutes les tâches que nous avons décrites (mobilisation de symboles, des médias et des activistes). Cette spécificité définit le groupe activiste en tant qu’organisation. Nous nous appuyons sur un travail ethnographique d’un an auprès du groupe activiste féministe La Barbe qui dénonce l’absence de femmes en haut des organisations. Notre travail s’accompagne d’une réflexion méthodologique sur l’observation d’un groupe féministe par un ethnographe homme. / This work analyses activist groups as organizations of social movements. Firstly, I study how activists express their message by mobilizing symbols (discourses, demeanor, objects…) in order to build a set of performances called the “tactical repertoire”. To do so, they draw inspiration from their predecessors and their theoretical frames. Secondly, I describe how activists mobilize media. Their media strategy relies both on the tactical repertoire and the integration of activists into the group. Finally, I enquire how the activist group mobilize its members (how it recruits and retains them); the acquisition of emancipatory skills is a particularly strong motivation for activists. In the conclusion, I show that the tactical repertoire is the backbone of an activist group as it participates in all the tasks described (mobilization of symbols, of media and of activists). This specific characteristic defines the activist group as an organization. I rely on a one-year-long ethnography among the French feminist activist group La Barbe, which denounces the absence of women at the head of organizations. I also reflect on the methodological implications of observing a feminist activist group as a male ethnographer.

Since the first national park Yellowstone was established, people from across the world have come to visit the natural wonders that our national parks have to offer. While much empirical research has been conducted concerning the marketing and branding strategies of non-profit organizations, government agencies, and tourism destinations; not much has been conducted on national parks. This research seeks to understand how our national parks have marketed and branded themselves over time and determine how marketing and branding will play a role in the development and conservation of the parks. This research was conducted utilizing in- depth methods such as an autoethnographic reflection and content analysis. Throughout the content analysis, themes arose amongst the strategies of the national parks over time such as “Romanticism,” “Exploration,” “Nature Preservation,” and many more discussed throughout this research. Each of these unique themes represents what was culturally important.

Författare: Damaris Chauca Palma och Mikaela Svensson Handledare: Docent Richard Afriyie Owusu Examinator: Professor Bertil Hultén Fakultet: Ekonomihögskolan vid Linnéuniversitetet Program: Civilekonomprogrammet med inriktning marknadsföring Kurs: Examensarbete i marknadsföring för Civilekonomprogrammet, 30 hp. VT 2017. Examensarbetets titel: En strategi som engagerar. Forskningsfråga: Hur bör B2B företag använda sociala medier för att skapa kundengagemang? Hur bör innehållet i sociala medier utformas av B2B företag för att skapa kundengagemang? Syfte: Uppsatsens syfte är att ge förslag till en social mediestrategi som kan användas av företag inom B2B för att skapa kundengagemang i sociala medier. Studien syftar till att bidra med kunskap om hur B2B företag bör använda sociala medier för att skapa kundengagemang i sociala medier samt förse Höganäs AB med kunskap om hur de bör använda- samt vilket innehåll de bör publicera i sociala medier. Metod: Studien har karaktären av en fallstudie med Höganäs AB som utgångspunkt. Genom en kvalitativ metod och med ett induktivt angreppssätt har data insamlats genom semistrukturerade djupintervjuer. Resultat och slutsats: Företag inom B2B bör använda plattformarna LinkedIn och YouTube och eventuellt Instagram. Plattformarna bör uppdateras i enighet med deras karaktär samtidigt som hänsyn tas till inläggens kvalitet. Företag bör planera hur ofta plattformarna ska uppdateras likväl som de bör kombinera social media med traditionell media. Höganäs ABs innehåll i sociala medier bör fokusera på kvalitet, kostnad och miljö då det är innehåll som har möjlighet att skapa kundengagemang inom bilindustrin. Teoretiskt och praktiskt bidrag: Studien bidrar med teoretiska kunskaper om hur kundengagemang hos B2B företag kan skapas genom rätt användning av och rätt innehåll i sociala medier. Studien bidrar även med praktiska implikationer till Höganäs AB om hur de bör använda sociala medier samt vilket innehåll de bör publicera i sociala medier för att engagera närmare kunder samt OEM företag i sociala medier. Nyckelord: Business-to-business, sociala medier, kundengagemang, social mediestrategi / Authors: Damaris Chauca Palma, Mikaela Svensson Supervisor: Docent Richard Afriyie Owusu   Examiner: Professor Bertil Hultén Faculty: School of Business and Economics at Linnaeus University Programme: Business Administration and Economics Programme Course: Degree Project in Marketing, 30 credits. Spring 2017. Name of report: An engaging strategy. Research questions: How should B2B companies use social media to create customer engagement? What content should B2B companies use in social media to create customer engagement? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to give implications for a social media strategy that can be used by B2B companies to create customer engagement in social media. The study aims to provide knowledge on how B2B companies can use social media to create customer engagement in social media. The study also aims to provide knowledge on how Höganäs AB should use social media and the content that they should post to create customer engagement in social media. Method: This case study is based on Höganäs AB and has used a inductive approach. Furthermore qualitative methods have been used and data has been collected through semi structured interviews. Results and findings: B2B companies should use LinkedIn, YouTube and possibly Instagram.  These platforms should be updated frequently based on the characteristics of each platform. Companies should form a plan which indicates how frequent every platform should be updated and integrate traditional marketing with social media. Höganäs AB should create social media content that highlights quality, costs and environmental aspects to engage their customers within the automotive industry. Theoretical and practical contributions: The study contributes to increased knowledge on how social media can be used by B2B companies and knowledge on which content that should be published on social media to create customer engagement. Further the study provides Höganäs AB with practical implications regarding how the company should use social media and the content that they should publish on social media to engage both their closer customers and OEM’s in social media. Keywords: Business-to-business, social media, customer engagement, social media strategy