Följande studie undersöker hur varumärken kan använda storytelling som SMMA för att generera användarengagemang. Detta genom att via en kvalitativ innehållsanalys först ta reda på hur varumärken använder storytelling som SMMA för att via en kvantitativ innehållsanalys sedan ta reda på vilka av dessa faktorer som genererar högst användarengagemang. Studien undersöker också vilka av dessa faktorer som ökar användarnas vilja att kommentera innehållet, det vill säga delta i eWOM. Resultatet visar att för att generera användarengagemang bör varumärken publicera innehåll som är lättillgängligt och lättförståeligt, såsom enklare bildinnehåll. Varumärkesstoryn och skapelseberättelsen är de berättelsetyper som genererar högst användarengagemang. För att öka användares vilja att kommentera bör varumärken däremot publicera rikare medieinnehåll, såsom videor med tillhörande berättande text. Berättelsetyperna livskriser och framgångssagor samt samhällsberättelsen är de mest framgångsrika för att öka viljan att kommentera. / The following study examines how brands can use storytelling as SMMA to generate user engagement. This was done by first conducting a qualitative content analysis to understand how brands utilize storytelling as SMMA, and then by conducting a quantitative content analysis to identify which of these factors generate the highest user engagement. The study also investigates which of these factors increase users' willingness to comment the content, in other words participate in eWOM. The results show that to generate user engagement, brands should publish content that is easily accessible and understandable, such as simple image content. ”The Brand Story” and ”The Creation Story” are the types of stories that generate the highest user engagement. However, to increase users' willingness to comment, brands should publish richer media content, such as videos accompanied by narrative text. The types of stories most succesfull in increasing the willingness to comment is instead ”Life crises and success stories”, as well as ”Societal narratives”.

Die externe Unternehmenskommunikation über das Medium Corporate Blog stellt einen relevanten, aber zu Teilen noch recht unerforschten Bereich der Social Media Kommunikation dar. Um eine gelingende Unternehmenskommunikation über Corporate Blogs zu fördern und eine Reflexionsbasis für die Kommunikationsverantwortlichen bereitzustellen, wird in der Arbeit die Forschungsfrage gestellt: „Wie gestaltet sich der Managementprozess externer Unternehmenskommunikation über Corporate Blogs, aus der Sicht der beteiligten Unternehmensakteure?“. Das Forschungsziel liegt in einer qualitativen, facettenreichen Rekonstruktion des Managementprozesses, aus Sicht der beteiligten Unternehmensakteure. Die Beschreibung der sozialen Praxis soll es ermöglichen, den Prozess in seiner Funktionsweise und seinen interdependenten Beziehungen zwischen Struktur und Handlung zu verstehen. Im Rahmen von 22 Fallstudien konnte der Prozess rekonstruiert und durch die Ausführungen der Unternehmensakteure erklärt werden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Prozessphasen variabel und situationsspezifisch ablaufen und gestaltet werden müssen. Insbesondere die Gestaltung der Faktoren Aufmerksamkeit, Veröffentlichungsintervall und die Kommunikationskultur des Unternehmens sind elementar, um den Prozess zum Gelingen zu führen.

Working from a distance rather than at the office is getting easier with the rise of current digital technologies, making digital nomadism an alternative to local entrepreneurship. This study investigates 5 digital nomads in their current carrier as geographically unbound entrepreneurs with a qualitative interview method and analyses how they are using digital communications to their advantages, what downsides they might experience and the upsides of working this way which resulted in a framework. This study shows a lifestyle that opens up for an efficient workstyle with a potentially high life quality through use of outsourcing, digital communications and geographical freedom. The study also shows a paradox of using the internet to be free from traditional bounds by relying the business model on it and can be the only thing that binds the digital nomad.

Background: Over the past two decades, the media landscape has undergonesubstantial changes. Social media is increasingly replacing traditionalmedia, which has influenced the way of advertising. Social mediaplatforms enable a two-way communication between brands and itsconsumers. However, it remains a challenge for brands to create relevantand attractive content in order to market themselves and build strongrelationships with consumers on social media. Purpose: The aim of the study is to investigate what should be taken into accountin order to generate a higher level of consumer engagement when brandspublish posts on social media. Method: This study is conducted with a quantitative research design. It employsa content analysis of brand posts by a selection of worldwide fast foodand beverage brands on the social media platform Instagram. Eightinternational brands are selected based on the size of their businessaround the world and the variation of their brand posts. A total of 287brand posts from the brands’ international accounts are collected andexamined in order to investigate what leads to higher levels of consumerengagement. Findings: The results of the study reveal that image posts lead to higher levels ofconsumer engagement compared to video posts. However, content type,emotions, source of content, presence of hashtags and posting time donot create significant differences in engagement levels.

Social media marketing has gained tremendous attention in recent years and has become a powerful tool for companies, entrepreneurs and marketers to approach their target customers and cultivate longtime customer relationship with increased engagement. Despite the increasing investment on social media marketing and the increasingly important roles users play today, few of previous studies, however, were focused on the user behavior or the key factors that influence user engagement with brands on social media. We chose the technology acceptance model (TAM) and uses and gratifications theory (UGT) as our theoretical foundation to investigate user behaviors on social media and the factors that influence user engagement with brands. We tested our model in two different social media platforms; Facebook and Instagram. The conclusions were based on inputs from a survey with 126 respondents with diverse background and age groups. We tested the hypotheses utilizing statistic correlation analyses. Among the five researched variables, H1 (perceived usefulness) and H5 (motivation for information) are proved to be statically significant. Despite a number of limitations, our research sheds a light on the study of user behavior on social media platforms. Understanding user behavior is useful for entrepreneurs and marketers in shaping more efficient ways to target the right audience on the right platform(s) to achieve their marketing objectives by effectively exploiting the potential of social media.

This study investigates how hotels use social media marketing and electronic word-of-mouth to enhance hotel brand awareness and customer relations. The aim of this study is to examine how hotels use social media and electronic word-of-mouth to build and strengthen the hotel's brand awareness and the relationship between the hotel and customer. We conducted a multiple case study where we interviewed six hotels to find out how they use social media marketing and electronic word-of-mouth. The result shows that hotels use social media marketing in order to communicate and share information with customers and strengthen the customer commitment, but also to find out what customers think of the hotel. The result also shows that customer reviews have a great impact on the hotel's brand awareness and on the hotel's relations with customers. The result also shows that the hotel's brand awareness and customer commitment is strengthened when hotels actively use social media's various platforms and by responding to customer online reviews

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify how social media, specifically Instagram can be used to encourage interest among the millennial male for sustainable fashion products. The study contributes to give marketing insights and a broader understanding of the millennial male’s online behaviour, so that fashion companies within the sustainable sector of the industry can benefit from these when broadening their target market. The findings are to contribute within the field of textile management. Design/method/approach: The study has used a model based on millennial male values that were connected to visual picture content. The model illustrates how the millennial male is influenced by several factors and values, ultimately determining which type of visual social media content that results in the most engagement and interest for sustainable products. The methods included posting visual content on two different channels on the Instagram profile of a sustainable fashion company aimed at mainly millennial males. Different kinds of engagement with the content was measured in order to determine which type of content was the most successful at encouraging interest among millennial males towards sustainable fashion products. Findings: The findings of this research show that pictures posted on both Instagram feed and Instagram stories with social and aesthetic, as well as close-up and detail content, are likely to perform well and encourage interaction and engagement on Instagram. The findings also show that production related pictures are not generating an interest from the millennial male. Moreover, in order to reach a wider audience with the content shared on Instagram stories and feed content need to be used simultaneously. These findings suggest that companies can encourage male millennials to purchase sustainable products by appealing to their values. Practical implications: The findings by this study are valuable for sustainable fashion companies that are looking for ways to improve their reach and engagement with millennial males. The findings of this value can also benefit marketers to improve their marketing strategy on Instagram. Originality/value: The findings show that Instagram can be used to reach out to a wide spread of Instagram users with an interest of sustainable fashion. Moreover, the findings suggest that companies can encourage sustainable fashion consumption through appealing to the values of their target market, using social media content. Keywords: Sustainable fashion, Social media marketing, millennial male, marketing, Instagram content for marketing Paper type: Research paper / Syfte: Syftet med studien är att skapa förståelse för hur sociala medier, specifikt Instagram, kan användas för att öka intresse för hållbart mode hos millennial mannen. Studien kommer öka förståelsen för marknadsföring och vilken typ av innehåll som genererar mest intresse och engagemang online hos millennial mannen. Studiens rön ska gynna hållbara modeföretag att utöka och rikta sin marknadsföring online. Resultatet ska bidra till fördelar och ökad kunskap inom textilmanagement, eftersom studien utgår från företagsperspektiv istället för konsumentperspektiv. Metod: Denna studie har använt sig av en modell som är baserad på värdesättningar hos millennial mannen. Millennial mannens värden kopplades till bildmaterial som användes i studien. Modellen visar hur millennial mannen blir påverkad av faktorer och värdesättningar och sedan bestämmer vilken typ av social media innehåll som tilltalar honom mest. Det empiriska materialet i denna studie samlades in via ett hållbart modeföretags Instagram konto. Detta företag fokuserar på herrmode. Två olika kanaler användes för datainsamlingen: Instagram feed och story. Olika slag av engagemang mättes för att kunna bedöma vilket slag av innehåll i social media resulterade i mest intresse till hållbart mode hos millennial mannen. Resultat: Studiens resultat visar att bilder inom temat social och estetik samt närbilder och detaljerade bilder resulterar i mest engagemang och samverkan på Instagram. Resultaten tyder även på att bilder inom temat produktion inte intresserar millennial mannen. För att kunna nå ut till en bredare samt djupare kundkrets bör Instagram feed och story användas tillsammans. För att uppmuntra millennial mannen till att köpa hållbart mode bör företag sträva till att tilltala millennial mannens värdesättningar. Praktisk implikation: Studiens resultat är värdefull för hållbara modeföretag som strävar att nå ut till en bredare kundkrets, specifikt millenial mannen. Utöver det kan studiens resultat bidra till en effektivare marknadsföring och målsättning för att fånga den hållbara kunden. Ursprung/validitet: Studiens resultat visar att användningen av Instagram inom marknadsföringssyfte kan nå ut till en stor mängd av plattformens användare. Utöver detta tyder resultaten på att företag kan uppmuntra hållbar modekonsumtion då de tilltalar målgruppens värdesättningar och intressen med innehållet som delas på Instagram. Nyckelord: Hållbart mode, Sociala media marknadsföring, Millenium mannen, Marknadsföring, Instagram innehåll för marknadsföringssyfte Paper typ: C-uppsats

Social media has become one of the defining features of the technological advances known as Web 2.0. As social media has increased in popularity, so businesses are expected to participate. Social media platforms enable businesses to widely broadcast a message as well as interact directly with individual customers. Customers are also able to interact directly with one another and share information and reviews about products and services offered. This suits the tourism industry particularly well. Internationally, research has shown that individuals use social media and other online tools to research potential holiday destinations. In addition social media is used during travel to share snapshots and commentary as well as after travel, through reviews and recommendations on platforms such as TripAdvisor. However, few studies have investigated how tourism destinations use social media to attract new clients and retain existing clients. Very little research has been done on tourism and social media in South Africa despite the importance of this industry to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This study focused on four-star establishments within the photographic wildlife tourism industry in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. An initial survey of social media participation was carried out within the framework set out by Chan and Guillet (2011); this was then followed up with interviews with selected managers. Results showed that, in general, Private Game Reserves (PGRs) had embraced social media as a communication and marketing platform; despite concerns raised about the lack of control over content as well as poor understanding of the influence social media might have on the bottom line. TripAdvisor, Facebook and Twitter were the most commonly used platforms due to management familiarity with the platform and their ease of use. Few lodges utilised blogs or content sites such as YouTube and management cited time commitments associated with this type of platform as a reason for non-participation. However, although most PGRs or lodges had a profile on social media, this did not always mean active participation. Frequently, lodges began updating but gradually stopped after a few months. It was noted however that only one of the lodges interviewed retained an individual whose sole responsibility was social media; generally lodges did not feel that a dedicated person was necessary. This may result in a lack of time available on the part of the individual responsible or simply be a case of not understanding the platform or how to use it effectively. However, none of the PGRs with poor social media participation responded to interview requests and therefore it was not possible to determine the reasons for their poor participation. Among those lodges that actively participated, most succeed in retaining fans and followers through consistent posting of relevant and interesting content as well as customised responses that encouraged fans or followers’ interaction. However, there did not appear to be any evidence of using social media to learn about fans and followers in order to better customise the lodge offerings. This may not be necessary in this type of industry as PGRs sell a specific product and have a limited ability to customise offerings. In addition, there may be other sources of market information which lodges prefer to use. Special offers, competitions and promotions had limited success on social media. Generally, lodges used social media to promote links to a dedicated competition or promotions page. In conclusion, the managers interviewed felt strongly that social media had made a measureable impact on the tourism industry and was a channel that was here to stay. Further research around the best practice and most effective use will enable PGRs to develop and maintain effective strategies for social media participation.

Technology and the boom of the internet have encouraged people to connect with each other, share information and build relationships (Stelzner, 2009; 2010) and the social web has presented a new form of communication through social media which allow people to interact and converse with each other (Evans, 2010). This presents marketers with the opportunity to affect consumers purchase decisions through online marketing and social media. This social engagement by consumers has significant impact on marketing activities as marketers need to be aware of the factors affecting consumer’s purchase decision (Evans, 2010). Continental Tyre South Africa (CTSA), a local tyre manufacturer, is embarking on a social media marketing strategy. No other local tyre manufacturer has a presence on social media platforms. As a result CTSA would have first mover advantage. The main objective of the research that follows is to establish if South African tyre purchasers are supportive of social media as an online research tool to learn more about tyre brands. The significance of this research study is that marketing communications has taken on a different dimension with the growth of online market places and the natural step for CTSA is to engage in social media marketing. The literature review revealed that many modern consumers sought peer advice over social networks thus social media has promoted consumer-to-consumer communication and has made it possible for consumers and brands to interact with each other (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). It was concluded that whilst social media marketing presents marketers with a more cost effective form of marketing, further research regarding South African’s online purchasing activities would be required to assess if the time, money and resources required to manage social media marketing for CTSA would be beneficial to the organisation. As a result a qualitative empirical study was conducted by means of a questionnaire. The research elements were broken down into three segments; the internet and social media, consumer-brand engagement and online iv recommendations. The research revealed that social media marketing is an appropriate strategy for CTSA. The main findings further revealed that CTSA would need to engage in an aggressive traditional marketing campaign in order to drive consumers to engage in the social media campaigns. Strategies must include dedicated social media fan pages, online banners, and online advertisements. Based on the research analysis it is recommended that that most appropriate social media platforms for CTSA to launch social media marketing activities are Facebook and Twitter.

The aim of this Master Thesis is to provide an overview of the theoretical marketing tools necessary for the development and implementation of the marketing campaigns in social media. The thesis work is structured in three parts. The first part describes the theoretical marketing tools and frameworks advised to be used for the development of the social media marketing campaign. The second part of this thesis work recommends the tools needed for the actualization of the campaign. The practical part of this thesis work, the third part, presents a showcase about The Ultimate Tour Competition 2013, a social media marketing campaign developed and implemented by the author using some of the tools suggested in the first two parts of the thesis work. The information and data needed for the development of the social media marketing campaign was acquired by the author during the internship in the TourRadar and by the means of secondary research.