THE CURRENT DEVELOPMENT AND TRENDS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR BUSINESSES

Bachelor Thesis
Degree programme
International Business
2013
Benjamin Ach
THE CURRENT DEVELOPMENT AND
TRENDS OF SOCIAL MEDIA
MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR
BUSINESSES
– CASE STUDY ON AN INTERNET MARKETING COMPANY: LEAD CREATION

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TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Benjamin Ach
BACHELOR´S THESIS | ABSTRACT
TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
Degree programme | International Business
Completion of the thesis| 59 + 18
Instructor: Emmanuel Querrec
Benjamin Ach
THE CURRENT DEVELOPMENT AND TRENDS OF
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR
BUSINESSES
The purpose of this thesis is to highlight the evolution of the marketing strategies of businesses and more
specifically of their communication strategies, with the important rise of social media influence, which is
changing the way people get informed as well as their purchasing decision process. Indeed, this research is
about underlining the fact that businesses, small or big sized, have to get online and to use social media and
to adapt their business models if they want to stay on top of the competition on their markets.
The research is supported by a case study of an Australian internet marketing company, in order to get
valuable insights from internet marketing experts, which will strengthen the points explained by the different
authors in the literature review.
KEYWORDS:
Marketing strategies, communication strategies, social media, community, online presence, brand image

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TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Benjamin Ach
TABLE OF CONTENT
List of abbreviations or symbols ......................................................................................................................................... 6
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 7
1.1 The Internet revolution ............................................................................................................................................. 7
1.2 Research motivations and objectives ....................................................................................................................... 8
1.2.1 Background ........................................................................................................................................................ 8
1.2.2 Research questions .......................................................................................................................................... 10
2. Literature review .......................................................................................................................................................... 11
2.1 Marketing strategies are changing ......................................................................................................................... 11
2.1.1 The evolution of marketing seen by John Fahy and David Jobber................................................................... 11
2.1.1.1 Its development ........................................................................................................................................ 11
2.1.1.2 The marketing communications ............................................................................................................... 12
2.1.1.3 Direct marketing communications............................................................................................................ 12
2.1.2 From traditional marketing to new, internet marketing ................................................................................. 15
2.1.2.1 The differences of strategies .................................................................................................................... 15
2.1.3 The socialnomics concept ................................................................................................................................ 18
2.1.3.1 The empowerment of social media .......................................................................................................... 19
2.1.3.2 The story of a man and a company ........................................................................................................... 22
2.2 Social media marketing ........................................................................................................................................... 23
2.2.1 The different social mediums .......................................................................................................................... 23
2.2.1.1 The social networks .................................................................................................................................. 25
2.2.1.1.1 Facebook ............................................................................................................................................ 25
2.2.1.1.2 LinkedIn .............................................................................................................................................. 28
2.2.1.2 The blogs and micro blogs ........................................................................................................................ 30
2.2.1.2.1 The blogs ............................................................................................................................................ 30
2.2.1.2.1.1 Tumblr ......................................................................................................................................... 33
2.2.1.2.2 The micro blogs .................................................................................................................................. 36
2.2.1.2.2.1 Twitter......................................................................................................................................... 36
2.2.1.3 The video and image sharing websites ..................................................................................................... 37

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TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Benjamin Ach
2.2.1.3.1 Youtube .............................................................................................................................................. 37
2.2.1.3.2 Flickr ................................................................................................................................................... 39
2.2.1.4 The Social bookmarking websites ............................................................................................................. 40
2.2.1.4.1 StumbleUpon ..................................................................................................................................... 40
2.2.1.4.2 Pinterest ............................................................................................................................................. 41
3. Case study: LEAD CREATION, an Australian internet marketing company ................................................................... 43
3.1 The company .......................................................................................................................................................... 43
3.2 History ..................................................................................................................................................................... 43
3.3 Statements .............................................................................................................................................................. 44
3.3.1 Vision ............................................................................................................................................................... 44
3.3.2 Mission ............................................................................................................................................................. 44
3.4 Strategy ................................................................................................................................................................... 45
3.5 Structure ................................................................................................................................................................. 45
3.6 Know-how and services .......................................................................................................................................... 46
3.7 The clients ............................................................................................................................................................... 47
3.8 The competitors ...................................................................................................................................................... 47
3.9 A growing company ................................................................................................................................................ 47
4. Methodology ................................................................................................................................................................ 48
4.1 Research Methods .................................................................................................................................................. 48
4.2 Data collection ........................................................................................................................................................ 49
4.3 Credibility of the research ...................................................................................................................................... 50
4.3.1 Reliability ......................................................................................................................................................... 50
4.3.2 Validity ............................................................................................................................................................. 50
4.3.3 “Generalisability” ............................................................................................................................................. 50
5. Research analysis .......................................................................................................................................................... 52
6. Conclusions and further research ................................................................................................................................. 64
7. List of references .......................................................................................................................................................... 67
7.1 Figures ..................................................................................................................................................................... 67
7.2 Literature sources ................................................................................................................................................... 67

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TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Benjamin Ach
7.3 Online sources ........................................................................................................................................................ 70
8. Appendixes ................................................................................................................................................................... 73