Social media marketing i Danmark: En analyse af social media og deres anvendelse i danske virksomheder

Abstract

Today the traditional marketing model is being challenged and it seems marketing is loosing its effectiveness. Marketers are facing great challenges with declining trust from consumers, a proliferation of media causing a fragmented media picture and digital technologies that give consumers more control of their media time and more leverage over businesses. In this thesis we argue that the emergence of social media we have witnessed in recent years is considered to hold new opportunities to turn around marketing effectiveness‟ descending curve. The thesis examines which role social media can play in future marketing strategies of Danish businesses. Social media can function as new marketing and communication tools that facilitate social interaction between individuals from which marketers can create and offer new value propositions to their consumers. We took our starting point in an analysis of social media from which we deduced that social media can be seen as the stem form of the Internet, and with basis in network theory we discovered that social media networks are able to intensify diffusions, thus enabling a higher reach for businesses‟ marketing. On the basis of existing communication and consumer behavior theory we found that consumers‟ psychological needs can be satisfied through social media, which lead us to discover that social media also hold a social instrumentality. From this analysis of consumers and social media we deduced that social media marketing requires a new mindset, as value proposition is crucial. Consequently, we identified four basic principles a social media marketing mindset should hold. The principles are sharing, participating, transparency and dialogue which in interaction create value for consumers. Moreover we show how social media deliver potential for optimizing existing marketing processes, as social media can strengthen value creation and delivery. We found three main areas where social media deliver this opportunity for value proposition: social media as part of the product; social media for research; and social media for advertising. The literary and theoretical analysis enabled us to put forward observations and hypotheses, which we sought to validate by empirically examining how Danish businesses use social media for marketing. The examination consisted of a quantitative survey of Danish businesses as well as qualitative interviews with social media experts. We found that Danish companies are very focused on the use of social media tools but are not capable of balancing the use of tools with the right social media marketing mindset. This led us to the composition of a model that serves as a guideline for companies who wish to successfully use social media for marketing. The model shows businesses how they position themselves with their social media marketing, and provides advice on how to reposition the business to succeed with social media marketing. The thesis argues that social media should be integrated as a continuous part of the businesses‟ overall tactical and strategical marketing plans. Social media should therefore not solely be considered as a new channel or media in which businesses can expose consumers for their marketing messages, but merely serve as a supplement to already existing marketing activities providing increased involvement to and from consumers. In this way social media can contribute to solve the challenges the traditional marketing model is facing.