Enhancing the recognizability and social media presence of TykeSkater® in North America
Salomaa, Sirke (2024)
2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024061022536
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024061022536
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this thesis was to find out best ways to increase the recognizability of the TykeSkater® skating aid in North America by improving the strategical usage of social media. The research set out to find ways of making the content shared on social media effective and interesting, and to suggest the metrics to be used for activities on social media. Alongside with the main objective, the most important issues related to brand management were considered. To support the main objectives of this project, other online marketing options for increasing brand awareness and recognizability were also investigated.
This research was conducted as a practical development project where a constructive research approach was implemented together with qualitative research methods consisting of open interviews, benchmarking, and document analysis. As required by the constructive research approach, the theoretical framework was implemented together with the data gathered from the methods employed to create a social media strategy plan. The collected data was analyzed qualitatively through thematizing the findings based on the theoretical framework. The literary review uncovered the need for brand guidelines to be created to support consistent branding and online presence.
Based on the theory gathered and the data collected and analysed, the results of the thesis included brand guidelines and a social media strategy plan for TykeSkater. These results also incorporated aspects of content marketing. The constructs were made by combining suggestions gathered through the literary review together with the results of the data collection. By applying the brand guidelines and implementing the created social media strategy, the recognizability of the brand is expected to be increased. Due to the time limit set by this thesis project, the effectiveness of the results could not be measured in practice.
As conclusion, it was proposed that developing the brand through social media is the most cost-effective and worthwhile mean. The focus should be kept on effective audience specific content creation and utilizing user-generated content. The research concluded that the emphasis is to be on metrics that demonstrate the overall recognizability of the TykeSkater brand rather than the financial indicators. Conclusions on the other online marketing options suggested that the poor findability of the brand website is to be improved through SEO, but otherwise no immediate actions should be made.
This research was conducted as a practical development project where a constructive research approach was implemented together with qualitative research methods consisting of open interviews, benchmarking, and document analysis. As required by the constructive research approach, the theoretical framework was implemented together with the data gathered from the methods employed to create a social media strategy plan. The collected data was analyzed qualitatively through thematizing the findings based on the theoretical framework. The literary review uncovered the need for brand guidelines to be created to support consistent branding and online presence.
Based on the theory gathered and the data collected and analysed, the results of the thesis included brand guidelines and a social media strategy plan for TykeSkater. These results also incorporated aspects of content marketing. The constructs were made by combining suggestions gathered through the literary review together with the results of the data collection. By applying the brand guidelines and implementing the created social media strategy, the recognizability of the brand is expected to be increased. Due to the time limit set by this thesis project, the effectiveness of the results could not be measured in practice.
As conclusion, it was proposed that developing the brand through social media is the most cost-effective and worthwhile mean. The focus should be kept on effective audience specific content creation and utilizing user-generated content. The research concluded that the emphasis is to be on metrics that demonstrate the overall recognizability of the TykeSkater brand rather than the financial indicators. Conclusions on the other online marketing options suggested that the poor findability of the brand website is to be improved through SEO, but otherwise no immediate actions should be made.