Developing a social media strategymodel for start-ups : A CASE STUDY OF SHARPLET

Abstract: This project researches on the efficient use of social media for start-ups. Despite the fact that start-ups are considered to be an important part of the business world, social media strategies for start-ups is an area that has not been widely researched. Therefore, this project focuses on developing and presenting social media strategies and guidelines that can enable the businessgrowth of a start-up through networking. This thesis researches on the efficient use of social media for start-ups through the case studyof Sharplet, a start-up which operates in the e-learning industry. It should be noted that thedata are collected through qualitative interviews and benchmarking. The key findings of this research show that the efficient management of social media for startupsinvolves a strategizing procedure. Based on the analysis of the results of this research, asocial media strategy model is developed, consisting of four simple steps: researching,developing the strategy, realizing it, and evaluating the social media efforts. Since this model is simplified and it includes the most important steps of the strategizing procedure, it isconsidered to be appropriate and useful for start-ups that are willing to use social media,because it will enable them to be more effective on managing their social media accounts. Furthermore, this research provides some guidelines to start-ups. It is argued that start-upsshould use social media in order to network, and more specifically to build and maintainrelationships with various types of stakeholders that can enable the business growth. In termsof networking, the results suggest that Twitter is an appropriate social medium for start-ups tofocus their efforts on, because it is easy to connect with other users - while other social mediabuild on pre-existing relationships. In addition, according to the analysis of the resultsFacebook and LinkedIn could also be appropriate networking tools for start-ups. Moreover,the results suggest that start-ups can use social media tools that are available for free on theweb and that can enable the specific company to be more effective when managing their socialmedia accounts. Last but not least, the key findings of this research suggest that postingrelevant comments, engaging in discussions, and trying to build and maintain relationshipswith stakeholders that are important for the business development of the company are amongthe efficient social media practices for start-ups. In summary, based on the findings of this research a social media strategy model andguidelines for start-ups are proposed in order to enable start-ups to efficiently use social media.