The Social Brand – Aspects of Social Media Implementation

Abstract: The thesis circles around Social Media, B2B Brand Building and Business Performance Measurements. In the intersection between these a knowledge gap was identified. The following research questions were formed: How should companies go about when implementing Social Media? How should the performance of Social Media engagement be measured? The urgency for answering these questions was identified. This thesis aims to create an implementation model for Social Media for B2B companies, using Social Media as a brandbuilding tool. Additional to this purpose is to further develop a measurement system that adequately measures social media performance. This study has been conducted with a qualitative approach and an abductive research method. An initial study was carried out with a Social Media pre-study and a theoretical research. The empirical findings together with the theoretical framework constitute the base for the developed model. When building the model an iterative process was used, revisiting both the theoretical framework and the empirical foundation. The four-step Social Media Implementation Model was developed. The model provides a step-by-step framework, which can be used by B2B companies wanting to engage in Social Media. Each of the model’s four steps aims to point out important aspects of Social Media implementation. The model concludes in the development of the Social Brand Scorecard that presents the company with comprehensive measurements that covers all aspects of Social Media.