The convergence of the Internet, Web 2.0 and mobile technologies has created a tremendous shift in business. Nowadays, based on the McKinsey Global Institute , there are globally 1.5 billion social media users with at least a 70 percent of companies using some form of social media; whilst four hundred million people are sharing billions of pieces of content and experiences each week via online exchanges.
As a result, with social media, either a positive or negative user experience can be shared with millions of people, globally and almost simultaneously. Companies are in the process of developing new relationship-based associations with their customers and other social media participants, in order to manage or at least influence, what is being said about them online.
Moreover, social media may help a company to create those values and innovations needed for sustainable growth and competitive advantage. By implementing a successfully social media marketing strategy, new channels for interactions as well as new brand assets and even brand repositioning, may help a company to create its competitive advantage. By establishing the impact that social media are having on organizational marketing strategy, companies can monitor the public perception of their brands, products, and services in real time. Social networking conversations create a level of immediacy and a kind of public intimacy that is impossible with traditional marketing.
Based on the IDC's survey findings, the majority of European enterprises embrace social media technologies to increase external visibility as well as for customer-related interaction . Companies are heavily investing in their effort to build a coherent web strategy, in line with their marketing strategy, mainly because a significant percentage of their business is generated through leads from their websites and digital marketing presence.
Because social marketing is still so new, best practices for measuring the effectiveness of social efforts are still evolving. What’s more, many senior marketers remain skeptical of social media’s concrete value and its measurability, despite committing an increasing percentage of their budget towards social channels.
The importance of the topic, from an academic point of view, relies mainly in three factors: a) as this is a very modern topic, it provides the researcher with additional knowledge on the many opportunities and challenges based on the very recent literature findings, on the impact of how social media strategy involves on a company's survival, as well as on how to expand product and brand recognition in order to increase profitability and create loyalty b) provides insight on how the social Web is changing the way people interact and c) critically evaluate previous research on the topic, to facilitate interpretation of the results and show possible research direction.
There are three main questions this dissertation copes with: 1/ How social media interact with consumers to expand product and brand recognition in order to increase profitability and create loyalty, 2/ What role does the digital marketing play on a company organizational marketing strategy and 3/ Whether social media can help a company create competitive advantage with brand repositioning.
The answers to the above questions are given, examining both the literature review as well as the case study.
The dissertation consists of seven chapters. Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 constitute the critical literature review. In Chapter 1, basic social media definitions alongside with a brief historical evolution are presented. In Chapter 2, social media categories and social media marketing strategies are defined and explored including both academics and practitioners views. Chapter 3, analyses the social media influence and impact for business with metrics. Chapter 4, explores social media ability for engagement, brand building and co-creation. Chapter 5, presents the methodology followed. Chapter 6, includes the case study analysis of ASOS online fashion retailer and compares findings with the literature review results. Finally, Chapter 7, presents the conclusions drawn from research and the case study, as well as the limitations and suggestions for future research.
The findings of the study reveal new business opportunities for digital entrepreneurship. On one hand, how the opportunities that exist for launching new businesses and improve operations/reduce costs through social media marketing, while on the other hand, provide evidence on how to launch new services sideways companies' horizontal business methods. Moreover, they can describe the past and the present situation acting as a reference manual for the business world applicable from startups to large corporations. Ultimately, this thesis will try to depict what role does the digital marketing play on a company organizational marketing strategy.
Σύντομη Περίληψη
Σκοπός – Ο σκοπός της παρούσας εργασίας είναι διττός: Από τη μία, εξετάζει τη σημασία για την εταιρία, των μέσων κοινωνικής δικτύωσης από την σκοπιά του μάρκετινγκ (social media marketing) και το ρόλο που αυτά διαδραματίζουν ως προς την οργανωσιακή στρατηγική, την αναγνωρισιμότητα και την δημιουργία αναταγωνιστικού πλεονεκτήματος για την εταιρία. Από την άλλη, εξετάζει την αλληλεπίδραση των μέσων αυτών με τις ομάδες ενδιαφέροντος για την προιοντική και εταιρική τοποθέτηση (branding).
Μεθοδολογία/Ανάλυση – Η εργασία βασίστηκε στην βιβλιογραφική επισκόπηση και σε ανάλυση μελέτη περίπτωσης της εταιρίας ASOS, της μεγαλύτερης αγγλικής διαδικτυακής εταιρία πώλησης ένδυσης και προιόντων μόδας.
Ευρήματα – Από τα αποτελέσματα της μελέτης περίπτωσης, προκύπτει ότι οι επιχειρήσεις μπορούν να επωφεληθούν πολλαπλά με την χρήση των μέσων κοινωνικής δικτύωσης ως κύριο άξονα της στρατηγικής τους. Παράλληλα με το να μειώνουν τα λειτουργικά τους έξοδα, συμβαδίζουν με τις επιταγές της νέας τεχνολογίας και διεισδύουν στο αγοραστικό κοινό διαμορφώνοντας μαζί του αξίες για την εταιρική ταυτότητα.
Περιορισμοί – Στους περιορισμούς της εργασίας είναι το σύγχρονο θέμα, καθώς και η πολυπλοκότητα της ανθρώπινης συμπεριφοράς σε συσχέτιση με τις νέες μορφές επικοινωνίας.
Πρωτοτυπία / Αξία – Η εργασία συνεισφέρει, στον περιορισμένο μέχρι σήμερα αριθμό εργασιών, που έχουν διεξαχθεί στην Ελλάδα για το θέμα αυτό.
Brief Executive Summary
Purpose– The purpose of this dissertation is dual. On one hand it studies the social media marketing importance and impact for a business in correlation with its organizational structure, positioning and competitive advantage creation. On the other hand, it examines the interaction amongst business stakeholders and social media in terms of company brand value and equity.
Methodology/Analysis – This thesis was conducted based on a literature review and a case study analysis as a general trend, of ASOS, the biggest UK online retailer company, in the fashion business sector.
Findings– The findings reveal new business opportunities for digital entrepreneurship. Businesses can improve their operations and reduce costs by using social media, whilst following the trending new era. As consumer empowerment and value creation are contingent on the type and level of participation in the network, customers have been enforced to create co-values in terms of branding alongside with the company stakeholders. With social media marketing, brand equity is built mainly because brand message exposure increases along with brand engagement.
Limitations - This is a very modern topic. Social marketing is still so new that practices, theories and measurements are still evolving. Moreover, there are limitations that derive of the complexity of the human nature itself in relation with new forms/ means of communication.
Originality/Value– The dissertation contributes to the confined number of previous papers in Greece so far.
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Κύρια Αρχεία Διατριβής
Η σημασία του social media marketing για την επιχείρηση. - Identifier: 151107
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