Summer Internship Project Report

On
A STUDY OF BRAND AWARENESS: SOCIAL MEDIA
AND DIGITAL MARKETING FOR HOUSEITT

Submitted in partial fulfillment of requirement of Bachelor of

Commerce (Honors)

B.COM (H) - V Semester (Morning)

Batch 2018-2021

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Ms. Aastha Behl Tushar Singhal
Assistant Professor 03714188818

JAGANNATH INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT

SCHOOL KALKAJI
 STUDENT UNDERTAKING

I, Tushar Singhal, a student of commerce from JIMS, Kalkaji hereby declare

that I have completed Summer Internship Project Report on “STUDY OF
BRAND AWARENESS: SOCIAL MEDIA AND DIGITAL MARKETING FOR
HOUSEITT” as a part of the course requirement.

I further declare that the information presented in this project is true

and original to the best of my knowledge.

Project Guide: Tushar Singhal

Ms. Aastha Behl

Assistant Professor
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The completion of any project is not complete without thanking the people
behind the project is no exception. Racing against the time and fast
approaching deadlines, the fact that we are able to successfully complete the
project just in time would not have been possible without the help and support
of many people. Their constant guidance and encouragement coupled with
my commitment were the cornerstones for the successful completion of the
project. I am extremely grateful to my external guide, Mr. Perminder, Digital
Marketing Head, Houseitt, without whose guidance this internship would have
been impossible. I am thankful to him for his constant guidance and genuine
inputs have great pleasure in expressing my sincere gratitude and hearty
thanks to my respected Faculty, Ms Aastha Behl for consenting to be my
internal guide. She had been a great source of encouragement and inspired
me throughout my project. I am greatly thankful to her for everything she has
done for me. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my Friends,
Management, Department Staffs, and my Parents for their support and above
all to God for showering his blessing upon me.

Tushar Singhal
(B.Com Hons)

1
 CONTENTS

Description Page No.

Acknowledgement 1
List of tables 3
List of figures 4
Executive Summary 5
Introduction to topic 6
Objectives 16
Literature review 18
Company Profile 31
Research Methodology 34
Analysis & Interpretation 42
Findings & Inferences 53
Limitations 55
Recommendations and Conclusion 57
Bibliography 65
Appendices 67

2
 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

List of Tables
S.No. Table Title Page No.
1. Social Media Marketing Variables 23
2. Summary of HoneyComb model 25
3. Relationship between SMM and CBBE 29

4. Years of association or interaction with Houseitt 43

5. Marketing strategies are being used by Houseitt 44

Focus on social media and digital marketing in the
6. 45
company
Periodic refresh of content on website and social
7. 46
media pages
Digital Marketing campaign creating Brand
8. 47
awareness
Satisfied with the digital marketing strategy and
9. 48
spends
Positive incremental impact on leads and sales post
49
10. the promotions via Digital marketing
11. Awareness about Houseitt 50

12. Following on Social Media platforms 51

13. Recommendation to Friends & Family 52

3
 List of Figures

S.No. Figure Title Page No.

1. Honeycomb Model 24

2. Contrasting the functionalities of different sites 26

3. Years of association or interaction with Houseitt 43

4. Marketing strategies are being used by Houseitt 44

Focus on social media and digital marketing in the

5. 45
company
Periodic refresh of content on website and
6. 46
social media pages
7. Digital Marketing campaign creating Brand awareness 47
Satisfied with the digital marketing strategy and
8. 48
spends
Positive incremental impact on leads and sales
9. 49
post the promotions via Digital marketing
10. Awareness about Houseitt 50
11. Following on Social Media platforms 51
12. Recommendation to Friends & Family 52

13. Instagram – Snuz 59

Social Media Marketing – Australian Nappy
14. 60
Association
15. Social Media Campaign – TravelUp and IcelandAir 62

16. Social Media Campaign – TravelUp and IcelandAir 63

17. Social Media Campaign – TravelUp and IcelandAir 64

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This project report aims at measuring the impact of social media and Digital
marketing in creating Brand awareness for Houseitt operating in rental
accommodation space. This project highlights the importance of social
media and digital marketing in creating awareness and generating demand
and creating business opportunity. It extends further by analyzing the sales
& marketing related strategy of Houseitt right from input sourcing by doing
research of housing units to eventual closure of leads by providing rented
accommodation to students. The research design is descriptive in nature
and the data has been collected from employees and clients who have
been either part of the organization or have been dealing with the
organization at different stages of production or sales and could provide
information on their experience with the organization. The results of the
research documented the opportunity being created by social media based
marketing and other related digital media platforms and how Houseitt has
been successfully running with its business strategies. This study helped
me in understanding the business strategies with regards to digital
marketing and customer expectations & experiences for achieving
effectiveness, perceiving and utilizing opportunities, mobilizing resources,
securing an advantageous position, meeting challenges and threats,
directing efforts and behaviour and gaining command over the situation. It
was clearly observed that the social media and Digital marketing helped in
improving the awareness about the offering of Houseitt and created
incremental demand and hence growth is sales volumes. Excellent
marketing strategy & customer experience is leading the organization on
the path of higher profits and giving tough competition to the competitors in
the industry. This study helped the intern/ researcher to gain insights into
practical employment of social media marketing related strategies
impacting sales related processes in an organization like this.

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 CHAPTER- I

INTRODUCTION

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BRAND AWARENESS: WHY A DIGITAL FIRST APPROACH IS
ESSENTIAL

Everybody has heard that first impressions last a lifetime, and the simple fact
is that in the modern age, a brand’s opportunity to make a good first
impression is happening in the digital sphere.

This is because people spend more than 12 hours each day interacting with
media devices, including television, radio, internet, desktop and laptop
computers, and connected devices. Put another way, people today spend
more than half their waking lives on digital channels and immersed in
technology.

As a result, a brand that doesn’t have a digital presence has a near-zero

chance of locating new prospects and engaging audiences because they
aren't looking in the right place.

Imagine, for example, that you called a friend and left a voice message
without realizing you had dialed the wrong number. Your friend would never
get the message because it’s not his or her voicemail. Trying to connect with
modern consumers without having a digital presence and strong digital brand
is similar because you're not going to where your prospects are.

They Want to Connect with Brands in that Environment

Beyond the fact that consumers spend an extraordinary amount of time with
digital devices, they're also using them at an unprecedented rate to engage
with brands they support. In the days before digital, a brand that wanted to
connect with prospects would put an ad in the paper or invest in a billboard
advertisement. But these days, customers use digital media to actively seek
out brands, and this has shifted the control from the brand to the consumer.

This is one of the major changes that’s taken place in the world of consumer
behavior since the advent of the internet and the explosion of digital
technology. Thanks to websites, blogs, reviews, testimonials, and other forms

7
of online content, consumers now have the power to research everything they
want to know about a product, service, or brand—enough even to make a
purchasing decision—long before a brand is even aware the prospects exist.

As such, today’s consumers expect brands to have a digital presence, and

nearly 30% prefer to communicate with brands via digital channels. Therefore,
by cultivating a digital brand through a digital-first approach, you ensure your
brand will be visible when prospects go looking and guarantee you don’t miss
opportunities to engage and delight your audience.

Digital Brands Enhance the Customer Experience

Another reason it’s essential to have a digital-first approach to branding is that

consumers expect brands to be responsive on digital platforms. In
fact, 60% consider it a bad customer experience if they don’t get a response
after reaching out to a brand on a social network, and 84% expect a response
within 24 hours. Furthermore, if customers are using social platforms like
Facebook to reach out to you for satisfaction or resolution with a problem and
you don’t respond quickly, half will never do business with you again.

But social media and other digital channels offer more than an opportunity to
perform necessary customer service functions, and a chance to communicate
with your audience on a more human and dynamic level.

The brand interactions of the traditional age were static and one-way: a
prospect might see your ad in a paper, but wouldn’t be able to engage with
you via that channel. Today, however, brand interactions happen in real time,
affording brands and their audiences with opportunities for two-way dialogues
and meaningful exchanges.

In order to present a consistent image that’s in line with your goals, it’s
important to have a digital-first approach that focuses on crystallizing your
brand and taking advantage of digital openings to enhance the customer
experience.

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What Does It Mean to Build a Digital Identity?

Having a digital brand involves cultivating a multichannel presence on all your

audience’s preferred platforms, which can include:

 Email

 Social media

 Website

 Blogs

 Mobile apps

 Instant message platforms

 Television

If your audience spends time in any of these digital spaces, then it’s crucial to
have a presence there. Otherwise, you’re just making way for the competition.

One of the most crucial tools for building a digital brand is content, which
includes things like webpages, blogs, emails, social posts, videos, and more.
It’s not possible to have a digital presence without content and the type of
content you create and curate will tell your audience everything they need to
know about your brand, including who you are, what you stand for, and how
you can solve their problems.

For instance, let’s look at an example of a company who has done a great job
of creating a digital brand— Airbnb. For one thing, they're everywhere their
potential customers are: they have Facebook, Twitter, and other social
profiles, a great website, a YouTube channel with nearly 100,000 subscribers,
they developed an app, and the list goes on. Beyond that, however, they’ve
also successfully created a brand image of themselves as a company that
puts complete emphasis on the customer.

To feed into a storytelling element their website has an entire section

dedicated to Community Stories, where hosts from around the world share
their tales, photos, and videos about how they got involved with Airbnb. Not

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only does this convey the brand image of them caring about their customers,
but it also helps to allay fears of wary prospects who might not feel
comfortable renting a room in a stranger’s home, and this creates trust and
builds relationships.

Digital Allows for Targeted Campaigns

Aside from being present where your prospects are, another reason it’s
important to focus on digital-first is because digital prioritizes targeted
marketing in a way that traditional marketing doesn’t.

For example, before digital was the primary channel for communication
between brands and their audiences, some businesses used to send out
physical newsletters to their clients and prospects. One problem, however,
was that all the newsletters were the same, regardless of whether they were
sent to a 90-year-old grandmother or a 19-year-old college student.

By contrast, a company today can segment their email list and create 100
different versions of the same marketing email in order to personalize content,
offers, wording, images, and more based on factors like demographics,
buyer’s journey stage, purchasing history, etc.

Targeted emails are far more effective because today’s consumers expect
brands to personalize marketing messages. When you approach your
marketing and brand from a digital perspective, it puts the focus on targeted
messages.

Digital Means Flexible

Another benefit of adopting a digital-first approach to branding is that it makes

you more flexible, which is integral in a world where technology and consumer
behavior change at a dizzying pace.

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Take a look at how mobile search impacted digital marketing, for example.
There was a time not long ago when digital marketers didn’t have to worry
about how websites looked on mobile devices, because people simply didn’t
use these devices for search.

Today, however, nearly 60% of web searches are done from smartphones
and tablets, and brands have had to change the way they design and develop
their online real estate as a result. If you don’t have a website that’s
responsive, then your customers will bounce as soon as they land there from
a mobile device, and your website plays a huge role in your brand identity.
When you approach your brand’s presence from a digital-first strategy, you
get used to the rate of change, and this makes you more adaptable, flexible,
and able to change as new technologies and patterns emerge.

Branding has been a crucial part of marketing since at least the 1950s, but the
art has changed a great deal since those early Mad Men days. Today’s
consumers spend their time with different media and on different channels
than in the past, and companies must respond by following their audiences to
these new platforms. In order to remain visible and relevant in a connected
world where people spend more than half their days interacting with digital
devices, brands must adopt a digital-first approach to building and managing
their modern identities.

Along with helping you connect with customers on their level, digital-first
branding will also help you provide a better customer experience, facilitate
meaningful interactions, ensure your marketing messages are highly targeted
and help you stay flexible in an ever-changing digital world.

The role of digital marketing in today’s fast-changing media environment is

considered as a threat to many traditional marketers. However, that’s not true.
The digital techniques used in marketing and communication are simply
faster, more streamlined, practical and versatile than traditional paper-based
marketing.

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To put things in perspective, let’s start with a little intro on brand experience.

What Is Brand Experience?

According to Josko Brakus, published in the Columbia Business School

Research Archive, “Brand experience is conceptualized as sensations,
feelings, cognition, and behavioral responses evoked by brand-related stimuli
that are part of a brand’s design and identity, packaging, communications,
and environments.”

The above might be too bookish for some. In simpler terms, brand experience
is a group of different things that a label delivers to its customers. These can
be tangible or intangible such as reputation, value, goodwill, etc. There are
numerous activities, both in the digital and the real world, which can be put
together and termed as brand experience.

Some of these activities are corporate events, advertising, employee-

customer relationships, a business website or an app. In short, almost
everything associated with a business contributes to building up this
experience. A meaningful and substantial experience generally results in
either a high or low customer brand affinity.

Advertising, no matter what kind, is about creating awareness around a

brand’s promise. Brand experience, on the other hand, is proof of that
promise. A perfect marketing strategy is able to accomplish that link between
products and services and the customer. It is done through useful
interactions. These interactions can result in an important emotional
connection between the company and its users, having said that, a negative
brand experience can spoil it all.

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How Can Digital Marketing Help?

A couple of years ago, there was a study highlighting the most effective
channels for marketing. According to the study, email, social media, online
ads, retargeting and mobile were the top channels.

A social media strategy is an important part of online marketing. Through a

sharp and an effective social media strategy, a business can target specific
interests or demographics to grow awareness. Targeting thought leaders
through social media is also a great idea.

Similarly, displaying ads can help you discover people who are looking for
what you have to offer but just haven’t found it yet. Through retargeting, you
can approach people who have already been to your site and require some
kind of a follow-up.

Note that all the methods above give you the chance to interact with your
audience. They also provide you with the opportunity to create a bond – a
bond which we call, “brand experience”.

What Is PR?

PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) defines public relations as, “A

strategic communications process that builds mutually beneficial relationships
between organizations and their public.”

Now, considering the digital divide, there are two types of PR existing today –
traditional PR and digital PR. The main idea behind the two remains the
same. They’re working toward building better relationships between the public
and organizations. However, the process, tactics and the channels to address
the audience differs.

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What’s the Role of Digital Marketing?

Through link building and SEO, an organization can connect to its audience
far more effectively. Similarly, a virtual landscape gives you an opportunity to
reach out to key players – bloggers, influencers and thought leaders.
Moreover, these key players can usually captivate a bigger, more relevant
audience than you’d have expected.

A good digital relationship results in a more loyal following; this means more
shares and increased visibility. The best thing about digital marketing tactics
is the fact that they provide quicker results. Good social platforms typically
have results in a matter of days, if not hours.

Despite all this, traditional PR approaches like trade shows and event
planning come with their own unique sets of benefits. People can interact
directly with products and talk personally with creators or sellers. It’s a hands-
on experience instead of a virtual one.

Digital PR is immediate, measurable and increases visibility. It may be more

specific as compared to the traditional approach. After all, you need the ability
to address and target the right audience, and therefore, online channels can
help you achieve exactly that.

Myth

Is digital marketing measurable in terms of results and ROI? Yes, it is!

Through tools like Google Analytics, you can record and track online
placements. It’s perfect for webmasters and marketers. It can help them
analyze and record audience behavior in great detail. They can see how
people react to an ad, what makes them click on it, and even how they move
about a website.

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Bottom Line

Digital marketing is here to stay. The tactics and approaches organizations

use in order to better their PR and brand experience will continue to change.
There is no fixed recipe for success in the online world, the landscape is
always changing and businesses need to adapt. It’s a race in which you don’t
want to be left too far behind.

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 CHAPTER-II

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

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The current study has been conducted in order to accomplish the following
objectives.

 To understand the impact of social media and Digital marketing on

creating brand and consumer awareness
 To learn and create a Digital marketing plan for generating incremental
leads and sales
 To analyze the impact of various social media platforms and other
Digital marketing platforms on results basis the target audience &
promotions
 To take feedback from employees and clients to build sales &
marketing strategy for future growth

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 CHAPTER-III

LITERATURE REVIEW

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I. Introduction

The popularity of social media has generated a drastic change in the business
world. It has changed the landscape of brand management and forces
business firms to use a new interactive way to deal with their customers
(Bruhn, Schoenmueller, & Schäfer, 2012, de Vries, Gensler, & Leeflang,
2012). In customers perspective also, social media becomes more trusted
source competing with the traditional mass media such as television, radio,
and newspapers (Bruhn et al., 2012). In this new media, the speed and level
of interaction are considered as the main advantage (Angella Jiyoung Kim &
Ko, 2010). Further, studies prove that customers are preferred to the brands
available in social media and provide sufficient contents for users (Kavisekera
& Abeysekera, 2016). Among the other social media, Facebook is considered
as the most visited as well as most popular social network in the world
(Ramsaran-Fowdar & Fowdar, 2013). Facebook as a social media network
was launched to the world in the year 2004. Initially was used as a friends’
network among Harvard University students. It followed the format of “My
Space” and provided amore standardized platform to users with the focus on
offering a unified experience. However, it allows users to set limits to expose
their personal information (Treadaway & Smith, 2012). Currently, Facebook
reached the 936 million active users worldwide (Internet World Stats, 2017). If
Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest country next to China
and India. This massive fan base and high popularity invite business firms to
use for business purpose (Saravanakumar & Lakshmi, 2012). Facebook
facilitates business firms to reach their customers in a highly cost-effective
way compared to the traditional media. Further, it enhances the power of
communication via targeted messages that filter the crowd, based on their
age, education level, language, likes, etc. (Saravanakumar & Lakshmi, 2012).
The significant amount of time fans spend on Facebook enhances the
effectiveness of this medium further (Pepe & Bournique, 2016). Due to these
benefits, a large number of studies have been done focusing on Facebook as
a promotional tool (Moe & Schweidel, 2017). However, compared to them, a
less amount of studies have been done on finding the impact of Facebook on
brand development (Veloutsou, Cleopatra, Moutinho, 2009). Even in Asia

19
Pacific region, there is a dearth of studies on this topic (Ahmed & Ibrahim,
2016). The potential value of Facebook to take the brand to a next level is
mostly ignored due to the limited awareness of the potentialities of this
medium (Kambrugamuwa, 2015, Perera & Perera, 2016). Thus, this paper will
explore the social media marketing activities focusing on the Facebook
marketing practices. Then it will analyze the relationship between social
media marketing and customer-based brand equity.

II. Literature Review

Social media has a large impact on today consumers’ life. Therefore, using
social media becomes vital for business firms to reach their customers
effectively. However, social media and brand equity is not a topic that is
widely discussed. Consequently, the potentialities of social media have been
hiding under the sand of unawareness. In this section, the findings of an
extensive literature search have been summarized by fulfilling the aims of
identifying appropriate SMM practices and their relationship to CBBE.

a) Social Media Defined Social media platform has been identified as web-
based services that allow individuals to develop public or semi-public profiles,
communicate with a list of users with whom they share a connection and view
those connections and those made by others in the system (Boyd & Ellison,
2007). According to the definition of Kaplan (2010) which is most popular,
social media can be defined as “a group of Internet-based applications that
built on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and that
allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content” (Kaplan &
Haenlein, 2010). Web 2.0 means using internet as a platform whereby
contents are no longer developed by a company or individuals but
consistently changing by all the internet users (Schivinski, 2013). Different
forms of social media such as webpages, microblogs, video sharing and
photo share facilitate their users to interact, collaborate and sharing contents
(Yazdanparast, Joseph, & Muniz, 2016). During the short period that social
media has been used for business purposes in two primary ways. The first
and most common way is to communicate with external parties such as

20
customers, vendors, and public. For this purpose, business firms maintain
social media pages on popular networks such as Facebook, My Space, and
Twitter. The second and less commonly used purpose of social media is
internal communication within an organization (Leonardi, Huysman, &
Steinfield, 2013). In this study, the focus is on interacting with external parties
through social media.

b) Social Media Marketing (SMM) Defined Social media marketing can be

defined as the process that empowers promotion of websites, products, and
services via online social channels. It involves marketing related activities
such as blogging, sharing photos and posts online (Mathew & Muniz, 2016).
The conversion of social media from friends’ network to most reliable and fast
evolving source to inform about products and services brings tremendous
changes to the marketing field (Rishi & Sharma, 2017).

c) Facebook Marketing Defined As a result of an extensive search, the

researcher has found out that there is no formal definition of Facebook
marketing. However, a related one has been found out from the
MarketingSchools.org, (2012). According to them, Facebook marketing can
be defined as “creating-and actively using-a Facebook page as a
communications channel to maintain contact with and attract customers
(Marketing-Schools.org, 2012).

d) Customer-based brand equity (CBBE) defined Consumer-based brand

equity has been defined by (Keller, 1993) as “the differential effect that brand
knowledge has on consumer response to the marketing of that brand.
”According to him, brand equity consists of two components of brand
awareness and brand image. Brand awareness refers to the ability to identify
a brand separately from other brands under different conditions. The brand
image refers to the consumer perception of the brand. However, according to
Aaker, (1991) brand equity consists of four components of brand awareness,
perceived quality, brand associations, and brand loyalty. Leone et al. in 2006,
identified three key drivers of brand equity as brand awareness, customer
brand attitudes and customer perceptions of brand ethics.
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• Brand awareness - Brand awareness is the extent to which customers’
ability to recognize or recall that a brand is a member of the certain product
category (Aaker, 1991).
• Brand association means anything linked in memory to a brand. That link
becomes stronger when it related to customer experience or exposure (Aaker,
1991).
• Perceived quality means customers’ overall impression of the products or
services comes under a particular brand name. It can be identified as another
core dimension of brand equity (Aaker, 1991).
• Brand loyalty - In the brand value chain, brand loyalty is identified as a
behavioral response of customers (Godey, Manthioua, Pederzoli, Rokka, &
Aiello, 2016). These four assets create value for both company and
customers. In this study, the research has chosen brand equity model
developed by Aaker, (1991) and concentrated on brand equity from a
consumer perspective.

e) Social media antecedents to brand equity For the purpose of identifying

social media marketing activities, past scholar writings have been evaluated.
Accordingly, Table 1 summaries the different social media marketing
antecedents of brand equity found out in studies

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Table 1: Social Media Marketing Variables

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In the above evaluation, the most commonly used social media activities are
entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization and word of mouth.
However, the researcher Kim & Ko, (2012) mentioned that social media
marketing components are still in the initial stage and it is to develop more
effective instruments. Addressing this gat, the research has found out
Honeycomb which has been applied as social media marketing antecedents
by few researchers.

f) Honeycomb Model Honeycomb model (Figure1) was originated by Smith

(2007). He has adapted the Peter Morville’s user experience honeycomb
model and developed social software honeycomb model. This model contains
seven social media marketing building blocks as identity, presence,
relationships, conversations, groups, reputation, and sharing. Table 2
summarizes the definitions for each of these building blocks (Smith, 2007).
This is a rarely used model in academic studies (Tresna & Wijaya, 2015).
Even the few researchers, applied this model also not adapted it to the
Facebook context. Therefore, the researcher believes that there is a vacuum
to fill in the research field

Fig.1: Honeycomb Model

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 Table 2: Summary of Honeycomb Model

g) Social Media Marketing Activities In the process of identifying appropriate

SMM activities, the research has found out that though all these elements are
nicely explained and adapted to social media context, not all the social media
network have all these elements, but most of them have at least three or more
(Smith, 2007). Accordingly, Kietzmann, Hermkens, McCarthy, & Silvestre,
(2011) different elements in the Honeycomb model are important for different
social media platforms.

25
 Fig 2: Contrasting the functionalities of different sites

According to their study, the blocks are important for Facebook marketing
identified as identity, presence, conversations, reputation, and relationships.
Among them, high priority has been given on the relationship building block.
However, later research conducted by Kietzmann, Silvestre, McCarthy, & Pitt,
(2012) found out that “Presence” element is less critical for social networks
like LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube as status updates and check-ins are
not very much important. Accordingly, identity, conversation, reputation and
relationships have been identified as social media marketing activities that
lead to customer based brand equity.

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III. Methodology
The review of the literature has been undertaken during the period from
January to September in 2017. A systematical search has been done on the
specialized databases such as Science Direct, EBSCO, and Google Scholar.
Keywords used for search are social media, social media marketing,
Facebook marketing and brand equity. The snowball method has been
followed referring the article cited in most recent articles. Each article was
carefully read to include in the analysis.

IV. Findings
The findings of this research are as follows. As the first, the different SMM
activities that researchers tested on brand equity have been reviewed. Among
them, the variables, entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization and
word of mouth can be identified as most popularly tested SMM activities with
CBBE. These variables have been identified by Kim & Ko, (2012) and initially
tested by Godey et al., (2016). Holistically, the effect of SMM activities on
CBBE was significantly positive. However, in the detailed analysis,
entertainment, interaction and trendiness have been identified as relevant to
customers. Among them also, entertainment has been identified as an
element that needs to pay a special attention (Godey et al., 2016).
Another popular set of SMM activities used for studies are vividness,
interactivity, informational content, entertainment content, position and
valence of comments. However, they have not been tested against CBBE.
Abu-Rumman & Alhadid, (2014) has chosen online communities, interaction,
sharing of content, accessibility and credibility as SMM activities and identified
a strong relationship with CBBE.
Among these different social media marketing variables, the Honeycomb
model can be identified as a rarely applied model by researchers. Therefore, it
may have a lot to improve. The study was done by Babac, (2011) following
qualitative approach and developed a model to present the relationship
between Honeycomb variables and CBBE components. Later, Tresna &
Wijaya, (2015) has tested the model proposed by Babac, (2011) in a
quantitative study and verify the Babac’s findings. Still, both these researchers

27
have been applied Honeycomb model without adapting it to an industry or a
social media platform. Further, the relationship with every SMM activity needs
to be tested about each component of CBBE. Due to these reasons, still,
there is a vacuum in the field to find out appropriate SMM activities that
impact on CBBE.
As the second finding, entertainment and e-WoM have been identified as
highly influential SMM activities on Facebook platform.
Entertainment - Compared to the traditional media, social media is a less
disturbing media for consumers that they have more controlling power. As a
result, this is considered as a good source for enjoyment and relaxation
(Hutter, Hautz, Dennhardt, & Füller, 2013). Social media users are pleasure
seekers, and entertainment has been identified as the primary purpose of
using social media (Godey et al., 2016). Since, users looking for fun and
entertainment, brands should develop their contents high in entertainment
element (Lou & Koh, 2016). Further, as entertainment can create positive
attitudes towards brands any social media marketing campaign should pay
attention to the entertainment contents (Godey et al., 2016). No matter the
importance of this element, adequate studies have not been done on
understanding the cause and effect relationship between entertainment and
brand attitudes (Hutter et al., 2013). The Role of Social Media Marketing on
Brand Equity-A Literature Review 36 Year 2018 © 2018 Global Journals 1
Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XVIII Issue V
Version I ( ) E

eWoM – eWoM has been defined as “any positive or negative statement

made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company,
which is made available to a multitude of people and institutions via the
Internet (Hennig-Thurau, Gwinner, Walsh, & Gremler, 2004). Later, a study
conducted by Chu, (2009) defined it as “the act of exchanging marketing
information among consumers online.”. Unlike word of mouth (WoM), eWoM
communication occurs among known as well as entirely unknown people.
Still, the reliability of this source is very high compared to the other
communication tools (Godey et al., 2016, Kapoor, Jayasimha, & Sadh, 2013).
Even though social media is this much powerful and influential, yet very little
28
research has been done on eWoM in social media and its impact (Kapoor et
al., 2013).
As the third finding, the past literatures have found out a positive relationship
between SMM and CBBE. In these studies, the most popular CBBE
components can be identified as brand awareness and brand image. The
others which are brand quality or brand loyalty are tested a little (Table 3)

Table 3: Relationship between SMM and CBBE

Due to the shortage of studies on this new field the relationship between SMM
and CBBE is not adequately tested yet. Researchers still struggle to find
empirical evidence of how SMM influence CBBE successfully. As the fourth
finding, the implication of consumers’ demography on the relationship
between SMM is another field that is least tested (Godey et al., 2016). Singh,
Sao, Nagare, & Dharmarajan, (2012) have done their study on the impact of
gender, income, the lifestyle of respondents; age and education have been
tested on social media. The results of this study show gender, income, and
lifestyle of respondents have no significant impact on social media marketing

29
whereas age and education have significant impact of SMM. Like the above
study, the implication of demographic variables such as gender, income,
lifestyle, age, and education on SMM and brand equity have been tested
separately. However, hardly any study on their implication on the relationship
between SMM and CBBE.

V. Conclusion
The lack of empirical evidence on this topic proves this is an under-
researched area. One reason is that SMM is a relatively recent arrival and
researchers have not yet thoughtful in this area enough. Social media has
been prevalent everywhere. However, until recently it has not been used for
business purpose. Thus, finding SMM activities which lead to brand
development is another void in the literature that needs to get adequate
attention. Proper SMM activities need to be identified about each social media
platform separately. For this purpose, there need to be an adaptation of
existing SMM to industry context. This kind of study will be highly benefited
from that industry regarding accelerating their marketing effort. Identifying
best Facebook marketing functions to interact with customers is important for
effective running of the marketing campaigns. In addition to that, this study will
be an original academic contribution since it explores an under-researched
area in the region. In addition to that, researchers need to pay their attention
to examining the impact of customer demography on the relationship between
SMM and CBBE. It is hoped that this study will help to identify best Facebook
marketing functions for brand.

The result of this literature review on the impact of social media marketing on
customer base brand equity was limited to four keyword search. Thus the
focus was given to most popular social media marketing activities. Further,
about definitions, there were some which are no proper standards. The final
limiting factor is the topic itself and the available empirical studies. There were
limited studies available on the impact of social media marketing on brand
equity in peer reviewed journals.

30
 CHAPTER-IV

COMPANY PROFILE

31
Company Description
Houseitt is a ‘by the students and for the students’ initiative, registered under
‘Start-up India’ that aims to simplify the process of finding accommodation and
assisting students in finding their perfect home away from home. We seek to
deliver affordable, accessible and student-centric accommodation through a
student-friendly and convenient platform. Houseitt goes beyond simply
helping you discover property and is a community of students that have got
your back with whatever it is that you need!

Our Story
Launched in 2019, Houseitt is a pioneer in its field, created by students of the
Delhi University after having to struggle to great lengths with one broker after
the other. We realized that this issue is a common one and that it could be
solved by bringing the brokers and students together on a simple and
convenient platform, and thus Houseitt was born. The rest, as they say, is
history!

Our Mission
It has always been a challenge for students to find good accommodation and
we’ve all been there too. With more and more students leaving their home-
towns in search of quality education, it has only become harder. Tacking this
very problem, Houseitt is here to help students find their perfect home away
from home in a fresh and convenient way. Flats, PG, rooms or whatever you
need may be, Houseitt is here to get you the best accommodation around
campus. Our mission is to bring you affordable, accessible and student-
centric accommodation and the best deals possible. Your next home is just a
click away!

32
LIFE @ HOUSEITT

CONNECT WITH PEOPLE

We regularly organize events that provide a platform for students from
different colleges and areas to come together and connect. This provides a
dais to enhance networking by meeting new people and can serve as a
chance to update your contact list.

INTERNSHIPS
We provide opportunities for an internship to the students in different fields
such as content writing, digital marketing, web developing, etc. which can
prove to be your hands-on learning experience. What’s more? We provide a
certificate of internship after completion of your term. In case you are
interested in interning with us, please refer to our Careers page.

DISCOUNTS ON BRANDS
We provide coupons to the students when they pay their first deposit. These
coupons will give them heavy discount on the products of popular brands.

MEET AND GREET

“All work and no play make Jack a dull boy”. Never have a dull moment with
Houseitt’s events and meet and greets. Stay in touch with the Houseiit student
community to make friends, hang out, chill and just have a good time!

33
 CHAPTER-V

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

34
Research Methodology chapter here describes research methods,
approaches and designs in detail highlighting those used throughout the
study, justifying my choice through describing advantages and disadvantages
of each approach and design taking into account their practical applicability to
our research.

Research can be defined as “an activity that involves finding out, in a more or
less systematic way, things you did not know” (Walliman and Walliman, 2011,
p.7). “Methodology is the philosophical framework within which the research is
conducted or the foundation upon which the research is based” (Brown,
2006). O’Leary (2004, p.85) describes methodology as the framework which
is associated with a particular set of paradigmatic assumptions that we will
use to conduct our research. Allan and Randy (2005) insist that when
conducting a research methodology should meet certain criteria.

A research method is a systematic plan for conducting research. Sociologists

draw on a variety of both qualitative and quantitative research methods,
including experiments, survey research, participant observation, and
secondary data. Quantitative methods aim to classify features, count them,
and create statistical models to test hypotheses and explain observations.
Qualitative methods aim for a complete, detailed description of observations,
including the context of events and circumstances.

This project is based on a survey research which is primary in nature.

A survey is a research method in which subjects respond to a series of

statements or questions in a questionnaire or an interview. Surveys target
some population, which are the people who are the focus of research.
Because populations are usually quite large, the researcher will target a
sample, which is a part of a population that represents the whole.

Once our sample is selected, we need a plan for asking questions and
recording answers. The most common types of surveys are questionnaires
and interviews. A questionnaire is series of written statements or questions.

35
With an interview, the researcher personally asks subjects a series of
questions and gives participants the freedom to respond as they wish. Both
questionnaires and interviews can include open-ended questions (allowing the
subjects to respond freely), or close-ended questions (including a selection of
fixed responses).

The current project report has been prepared using both primary as well as
secondary data sources.

Primary Research

Primary research is defined as a methodology used by researchers to collect

data directly, rather than depending on data collected from previously done
research. Technically, they “own” the data. Primary research is solely carried
out to address a certain problem, which requires in-depth analysis.

Businesses or organizations can themselves conduct primary research or can

employ a third party to conduct research on their behalf. One major
advantage of primary research is, this type of research is “pinpointed”,
research is carried around only a specific issue or problem and all the focus is
directed to obtain related solutions.

In this technology-driven world, meaningful data is more valuable than gold.

Organizations or businesses need highly validated data to make informed
decisions. This is the very reason why many companies are proactive to
gather their own data so that the authenticity of data is maintained and they
get first-hand data without any alterations.

Here are some of the primary research methods organizations or businesses

use to collect data:

 Interviews (telephonic or face-to-face): Conducting interviews is a

qualitative research method to collect data and has been a popular
method for ages. These interviews can be conducted in person (face-
to-face) or over the telephone. Interviews are open-ended method
which involves dialogues or interaction between interviewer
(researcher) and interviewee (respondent). Conducting face-to-face
interview is said to generate a better response from respondents as it
is a more personal approach. However, the success of face-to-face
36
 interview depends heavily on researcher’s ability to ask questions and
his/her experience related to conducting such interviews in the past.
The types of questions that are used in this type of research are mostly
open ended questions. These questions help to gain in-depth insights
into opinions and perceptions of respondents.

 Online surveys: Once conducted with pen and paper, surveys have
come a long way since then. Today, most researchers use online
surveys to send it to respondents to gather information from them.
Online surveys are convenient and can be sent on emails or can be
filled out online. These can be accessed on handheld devices like
smartphone, tablets, iPads and similar devices. Once a survey is
deployed, a certain amount of stipulated time is given to respondents to
answer survey questions and send it back to researcher. In order to get
maximum information from respondents, surveys should have a good
mix or open ended questions and close ended questions. Survey
should not be lengthy; else respondents lose interest and tend to leave
it half done.

 Focus groups: This popular research technique is used to collect data

from a small group of people, usually restricted to 6-10. Focus group
brings together people who are experts in subject matter, for which
research is being conducted. Focus group has a moderator who
stimulates discussions among the members to get greater insights.
Organizations and businesses can make use of this method especially
to identify niche market to learn about a specific group of consumers.

 Observations: In this primary research method, there is no direct

interaction between researcher and person/consumer being observed.
Researcher observes the reactions of a subject and makes notes.
Trained observers or cameras are used to record reactions.
Observations are noted in a predetermined situation. For example, a
bakery brand wants to know how people react its new biscuits,
observer notes the first reaction of consumers and evaluates collective
data to draw inference.

37
Advantages of Primary Research

 One of the most important advantages is, data collected is first hand
and is accurate. In other words, there is no dilution of data. Also, this
research method can be customized to suit personal requirements
and needs of organizations or businesses.
 Primary research focuses mainly on problem in hand, which means
entire attention is directed to find probable solution to a pinpointed
subject matter. Primary research allows researchers to go in depth of
a matter and study all foreseeable options.
 Data collected can be controlled. Primary research gives a means to
control how data is collected and used. It’s up to the discretion of
businesses or organizations that are collecting data how to best
make use of data to get meaningful research insights.
 Primary research is a time-tested method; therefore, one can rely on
the results that are obtained from conducting this type of research.

Disadvantages of Primary Research

 One of the major disadvantages of primary research is, it can be

quite expensive to conduct. One may be required to spend a huge
sum of money depending on the setup or primary research method
used. Not all businesses or organizations may be able to spend a
considerable amount of money.
 This type of research can be time-consuming. Conducting interviews,
sending and receiving online surveys can be quite an exhaustive
process and need investing time and patience for the process to
work. Moreover, evaluating results and applying the findings to
improve product or service will need additional time.
 Sometimes just using one primary research method may not be
enough. In such cases, use of more than one method is required and
this might increase both times required to conduct research and the
cost associated with it.

38
For gathering the primary data, the target population has been identified as
the clients dealing with the organization in different departments.

Sample size: 100 respondents

Sampling technique: Simple random sampling with judgement sampling

100 clients were taken into the sample based upon the judgement of the
researcher and these clients were randomly selected basis their interaction
with the organization.

Data Collection: The primary research has been based on data collected from
the identified respondents using a self-structured questionnaire. The
questionnaire contains statements regarding the details of the respondents
and their opinion on the impact of the various business strategies applied at
Sarah.com

Research Tool: MS-Excel

Research techniques: Frequency analysis and graphical analysis

Secondary Research

Secondary research or desk research is a research method that involves

using already existing data. Existing data is summarized and collated to
increase the overall effectiveness of research. Secondary research includes
research material published in research reports and similar documents. These
documents can be made available by public libraries, websites, data obtained
from already filled in surveys etc. Some government and non-government
agencies also store data that can be used for research purposes and can be
retrieved from them.

Secondary research is much more cost-effective than primary research, as it

makes use of already existing data, unlike primary research where data is
collected first hand by organizations or businesses or they can employ a third
party to collect data on their behalf.

Secondary research is cost effective and that’s one of the reasons that makes
it a popular choice among a lot of businesses and organizations. Not every

39
organization is able to pay huge sum of money to conduct research and
gather data. So, rightly secondary research is also termed as “desk research”,
as data can be retrieved from sitting behind a desk.

Following are popularly used secondary research methods and examples:

 Data available on the internet: One of the most popular ways of

collecting secondary data is using the internet. Data is readily available
on the internet and can be downloaded at the click of a button. This
data is practically free of cost or one may have to pay a negligible
amount to download the already existing data. Websites have a lot of
information that businesses or organizations can use to suit their
research needs. However, organizations need to consider only
authentic and trusted website to collect information.

 Government and nongovernment agencies: Data for secondary

research can also be collected from some government and non-
government agencies. For example, US Government Printing Office,
US Census Bureau, and Small Business Development Centers have
valuable and relevant data that businesses or organizations can use.
There is a certain cost applicable to download or use data available
with these agencies. Data obtained from these agencies are authentic
and trustworthy.

 Public libraries: Public libraries are another good source to search for
data for secondary research. Public libraries have copies of important
research that were conducted earlier. They are a storehouse of
important information and documents from which information can be
extracted. The services provided in these public libraries vary from one
library to another. More often, libraries have a huge collection of
government publications with market statistics, large collection of
business directories and newsletters.

 Educational Institutions: Importance of collecting data from educational

institutions for secondary research is often overlooked. However, more
research is conducted in colleges and universities than any other
business sector. The data that is collected by universities is mainly for

40
 primary research. However, businesses or organizations can approach
educational institutions and request for data from them.

 Commercial information sources: Local newspapers, journals,

magazines, radio and TV stations are a great source to obtain data for
secondary research. These commercial information sources have first-
hand information on economic developments, political agenda, market
research, demographic segmentation and similar subjects. Businesses
or organizations can request to obtain data that is most relevant to their
study. Businesses not only have the opportunity to identify their
prospective clients but can also know about the avenues to promote
their products or services through these sources as they have a wider
reach.

This project has taken into account data available from all the above given
sources of secondary data.

41
 CHAPTER-VI

ANALYSIS
&
INTERPRETATION

42
 ANALYSIS BASED ON QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Years of association or interaction with Houseitt?

Years Frequency Percentage

0-3 months 12 12%
3-6 months 30 30%
6 months -1 year 42 42%
1 year+ 16 16%

Table 4: Years of association or interaction with Houseitt

The analysis shows that out of the total respondents, majority of the
employees or clients have been interacting for 6 months – 1 year since the
organization is relatively a new startup. The same has been represented
below graphically.

0-3
1 year+, 16, 16% months,
12, 12%

3-6 months, 30,

6 months-1year, 30%
42, 42%

0-3 months 3-6 months 6 months-1year 1 year+

Figure 3: Years of association or interaction with Houseitt

43
2. Which all marketing strategies are being used by Houseitt

Responses Frequency Percentage

Outdoors 40 40%
Digital Marketing 90 90%
Radio & TV 50 50%
Physical Mailers 30 30%
Tele-calling 20 20%
Door to Door 4 4%

Table 5: Marketing strategies are being used by Houseitt

It is clear from the table given above that the most popular marketing platform
is Digital Marketing (90%) followed by Radio & TV (50%) and Outdoors (40%)

100
90
90

80

70

60
50
50
40
40
30
30
20
20

10 4
0
Outdoors Digital Radio & TV Physical Telecalling Door to Door
Marketing mailers
Responses

Figure 4: Marketing strategies are being used by Houseitt

44
3. What is the focus on social media & digital marketing in the company

Responses Frequency Percentage

Very Significant 70 70%
Significant 16 16%
Moderate 10 10%
Insignificant 2 2%
Very Insignificant 2 2%

Table 6: Focus on social media & digital marketing in the company

The analysis table given above can be interpreted such that maximum
responses obtained implied that the organization’s focus on social Media &
digital marketing is very significant (70%) followed by 16% stating the focus
on social media & digital marketing is significant (16%), then 10% of
responses showing moderate focus, 2% stating insignificant focus and only
2% stating very insignificant focus.

80
70
70

60

50

40

30

20 16
10
10
2 2
0
Very significant significant moderate insignificant very insignificant

Responses

Figure 5: Focus on social media and Digital marketing in the company

45
4. Is the organization active in refreshing the content on their website and social
media platforms?

Response Frequency Percentage

YES 96 96%
NO 4 4%

Table 7: Periodic refresh of content on website and social media pages

From the responses obtained, it can be interpreted that 96% of the

respondents stated positively for the organization and that there is a regular
refresh of content on website and social media pages to remain relevant and
engage followers

No, 4, 4%

Yes, 96, 96%

Yes No

Figure 6: Periodic refresh of content on social media pages

46
5. Is the current digital marketing campaign helping in creating consumer
awareness about the brand?

Response Frequency Percentage

Yes 98 98%
No 2 2%

Table 8: Digital Marketing campaign creating Brand awareness

From the responses obtained, it can be interpreted that 98% of the

respondents stated that the currently running Digital marketing campaign has
helped in creating Brand awareness and consumer awareness has increased
owing to the same.

No, 2, 2%

Yes, 98, 98%

Yes No

Figure 7: Digital Marketing campaign creating Brand awareness

47
6. Are you satisfied with the digital marketing strategy and spends in this field?
(Please rate on the scale of 10)

Response Frequency Percentage

1-5 2 2%
6-8 4 4%
9-10 94 94%

Table 9: Satisfied with the digital marketing strategy and spends

It can be interpreted from the response that 94% of the clients are extremely
satisfied with the digital marketing strategy and spends which has helped in
incremental enquiries and lead thereby resulting in incremental turnover.

100% 94%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10% 4%
2%
0%
1-5 6-8 9-10

Figure 8: Satisfied with the digital marketing strategy and spends

48
7. Have you been able to create incremental leads and hits on the organization’s
website and social media platforms through these digital promotions?

Response Frequency Percentage

YES 96 96%
NO 4 4%

Table 10: Positive incremental impact on leads and sales post the promotions via
Digital marketing

The table given above can be interpreted graphically below. Maximum

responses (96%) claimed incremental leads and sales post social media and
digital marketing activities while only 4% claimed Negligible impact

No, 4, 4%

Yes, 96, 96%

Yes No

Figure 9: Positive incremental impact on leads and sales post the promotions via
social media marketing

49
 Questions to Clients

8. How did you come to know about Houseitt?

Responses Frequency
Newspaper/Magazine 20
Digital/Social Media 50
Friends/WoM 20
Telecalling 10

Table 11: Awareness about Houseitt

The table given above has been interpreted to highlight the marketing
elements which have helped the most in creative awareness about the
company

Telecall, 10,
10%

Newspaper/Magazi
ne, 20, 20%
Friends/Word of
Mouth, 20, 20%

Digital/Social
Medial, 50, 50%

Newspaper/Magazine Digital/Social Medial Friends/Word of Mouth Telecall

Figure 10: Awareness about Houseitt

50
9. Are you following Houseitt on Social Media platforms?

Response Frequency Percentage

YES 70 70%
NO 30 30%

Table 12: Following on Social Media platforms

According to the respondents, most of the responses (70%) are following

Houseitt on social media platforms highlighting the popularity and need of this
medium for brand awareness.

30, 30%

70, 70%

YES NO

Figure 11: Following on Social Media platforms

51
10. Would you like to recommend Houseitt to friends & family?

According to the respondents, most of the responses (98%) were in favour of

recommending Houseitt to others

Response Frequency Percentage

YES 98 98%
NO 2 2%

Table 13: Recommendation to Friends & Family

2, 2%

98, 98%

YES NO

Figure 12: Recommendation to Friends & Family

52
 Chapter VII

FINDINGS
&
INFERENCES

53
The findings of the research have been highlighted as the organization being
absolutely involved in creating a robust social media and digital marketing
strategy as per the responses of the clients who have been part of the
organization. It is also documented that the integration of the digital marketing
strategies formulation with regards to establishing brand identity and creating
consumer awareness was majorly high in the organization.

There is enough and more opportunity with more and more consumer leads
being generated through such social media platforms within 12 months of
launch. Also, it was noticed that the company has been growing from strength
to strength and has established itself in rented accommodation space in the
first year of launch.

The reasons responsible for such an increasing growth rate have been
identified as the continuous and consistent investment in terms of time and
money in ensuring effective social media driven digital marketing strategies.
Also, the benefits of the company’s maintaining positive relationships with
clients have been identified as higher efficiency, higher effectiveness, more
market share, better growth rate, incremental sales orders, satisfied
customers, optimization of resources and wealth maximization.

Also, these benefits come with their own challenges. The organization has
been facing a lot of challenges in the form of budget constraints, having
appropriate skill set in employees and several other. Overall, the findings of
this project report provide a robust picture of the social media and digital
marketing strategies being followed by the company and client satisfaction
levels and its impact on their business results.

54
 Chapter VIII

LIMITATIONS

55
The following limitations were encountered during the preparation of this
project:

 Compared to secondary research, primary data may be very expensive

since there is a great deal of marketer involvement and the expense in
preparing and carrying out research can be high.

 To be done correctly primary data collection requires the development and

execution of a research plan. Going from the starting point of deciding to
undertake a research project to the end point of having results is often
much longer than the time it takes to acquire secondary data.

 Some research projects, while potentially offering information that could

prove quite valuable, are not within the reach of a marketer. Many are just
too large to be carried out by all but the largest companies, and some are
not feasible at all. For instance, it would not be practical for McDonalds to
attempt to interview every customer who visits their stores on a certain day
since doing so would require hiring a huge number of researchers, an
unrealistic expense. Fortunately, there are ways for McDonalds to use
other methods (e.g. Sampling) to meet their needs without the need to talk
with all customers.

 The process of data collection is time-consuming because it may involve

observation, conducting interviews or distributing questionnaires.

 The responses received may be inaccurate because of inherent bias by the

respondents.

56
 Chapter IX

RECOMMENDATIONS
&
CONCLUSIONS

57
Brand awareness is a tricky element of marketing. It’s hard to define or
measure, but we know it’s essential to a brand’s success.
Brand awareness is “the degree of consumer recognition of a product by its
name”. If consumers recognize your products, and view them as different from
the competition, then you have more chance of making a sale.
Brand awareness can make or break a brand. Products with high brand
awareness enjoy the “moat effect”: because they’re so well known, it’s hard
for any competition to break through. And in some crowded industries, brand
awareness is pretty much the only thing that differentiates products. For
example: are you really, 100% sure that you could tell the difference between
Coca Cola and Pepsi with the labels taken off?

Each strategy has a different approach. But they’re all designed to improve
brand recognition, position your brand with consumers, and ultimately
increase sales.
 Get more views on social media from new customers
 Reinforce customer relationships with brand positioning and
rewards
 Stand out from the competition with original customer
experiences

Get more views on social media

Let’s start with something obvious: if you want people to recognize your
brand, then they need to see it. The best brand awareness campaigns will get
plenty of views for your products and brand online.
However, you still need to strike a balance between showing off your products
and interacting with consumers. Social media is meant to be interactive, fun,
and relational. So you need a way to highlight your brand and products
interactively.
This is why I recommend social media giveaways as a brand awareness
marketing strategy. For example, here’s an Instagram giveaway by Snüz, a
high-end brand for babies and parents in the UK.

58
 Fig 13: Instagram - Snuz

The basic idea is very simple. When someone comments on Snüz’ Instagram
post and tags a friend, they join a prize draw for a bundle of babywear
goodies. They’re also encouraged to like the post and follow the brand.

Now let’s look at how that giveaway boosted brand awareness for Snuz, and
hit some key KPIs.
 Encouraging comments: Doing something interactive, like leaving a
comment, makes the brand stick in people’s mind better. Consumers
also feel a personal investment in the brand, because they’ve shared a
conversation together.
 Increasing reach: Comments, likes and follows will all help to surface
a brand awareness campaign on social media. The more interactions
you get, the more people will see your posts in the Explore tab.
 Brand positioning: Snuz have chosen a prize which targets their key
audience and shows that they care about families. Plus, they tied the
giveaway to the winter holidays, giving them an extra boost.

59
The most important metric for a comments giveaway is, naturally, the number
of comments your post receives. But you should also be checking other KPIs
such as follower counts, likes, shares, and unique views.

Brand awareness with UGC

Our first brand awareness campaign example focused on new views and
followers. Simple, social media giveaways are a highly effective way to reach
new audiences.
But now let’s go a little deeper. When someone sees your product for the first
time, it’s only the beginning of their journey towards making a purchase. You’ll
need to guide them on that journey – through brand positioning and the
growth of the brand/customer relationship.
We already know that getting people to interact with your brand helps with
brand recognition. You can reinforce that effect by responding to what people
share with you. So how do you reflect people’s interactions back to them?
Here’s a really terrific example from another baby-centered brand, the
Australian Nappy Association. They asked parents to post a photo of their
child wearing cloth nappies each day during October. There was a huge
range of prizes on offer, with one awarded each day.

Fig.14 Social Media Marketing – Australian Nappy Association

60
There are a ton of reasons to love this campaign – even beyond the cute baby
photos.
 User-generated content. Whether you collect photos on social
media or set up a photo contest webpage, those images are now yours
to use. That’s free content – and it shows followers that you value their
contributions.
 Doubling down on interaction. In this brand awareness campaign
example, people could vote on the photo entries. So they had two
opportunities to interact: posting photos, and voting for their favorites.
 Boosting social media reach. Because the contest used multiple
brand-relevant hashtags, the Australian Nappy Association received a
huge boost on social media.
 Encouraging customer loyalty. There were daily prizes throughout
the contest, so users kept coming back. And every time they came
back, they were exposed to more brand products.
 Brand positioning. Just like our first example in this post, the ANA
used the campaign to demonstrate their family values.

Let’s focus in briefly on the final point: brand positioning. According to the
Harvard Business Review, shared values are behind 64% of brand
relationships. That means that customers are much more likely to commit to
your brand if they believe you share the same worldview and mission – in this
case, caring for young families.

So product positioning and demonstrating values are essential to brand

awareness. Every part of a brand awareness campaign should tell consumers
who you are: from the rewards on offer, to the user-generated content you
collect, to the design of your logo.

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Create a brand new experience

What’s the hardest part of brand awareness and product positioning?

I’d say differentiation. Your brand, your products, and your efforts to promote
them all have to stand out from the crowd. That’s why it’s so important to offer
a unique experience as part of your brand awareness marketing campaigns.
And just to add to the challenge, let’s remember the tips we learned from our
two previous brand awareness campaign examples. A brand awareness
campaign has to be interactive and demonstrate your values and brand
positioning.
Here’s one example of a brand awareness campaign which really ticks all the
boxes. It was created by two brands – TravelUp and Icelandic Air – to raise
awareness of their shared products.

Fig 15: Social Media Campaign – TravelUp and IcelandAir

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The campaign was interactive, because it invited people to create, share,
and vote for user-generated content. It highlighted their brand values, by
focusing on family and the winter holidays.
And it was original because it gave people something new: a branded mini-
game. Instead of passively looking at products or watching ads, consumers
had the chance to play and create something of their own.

Fig 16: Social Media Campaign – TravelUp and IcelandAir

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The response from consumers was huge. People loved the Christmas mini-
game. And you’ll notice that none of the designs were the same. Everyone
who saw the TravelUp/Icelandic Air campaign had a totally different
experience.

Fig 17: Social Media Campaign – TravelUp and IcelandAir

Just like a social media contest, there are several KPIs which you can
measure to evaluate your campaign. Start by counting how many entries the
game receives – but don’t forget to look at page views, shares, and votes as
well.

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 APPENDIX
(Attached Copy of Questionnaire)

QUESTIONNAIRE

Kindly, fill the details given in the questionnaire required by the intern for
preparing his project.

Name of the respondent:

a. Years of association or interaction with Houseitt:

( ) 0-3 months
( ) 3-6 months
( ) 6 months - 1 year
( ) 1 year+

b. Which all marketing strategies are being used by Houseitt?

( ) Outdoors
( ) Digital Marketing
( ) Radio & TV
( ) Physical Mailers
( ) Tele-calling
( ) Door to Door

c. What is the focus on social media & digital marketing in the company?

( ) Very significant
( ) Significant
( ) Moderate
( ) Insignificant
( ) Very insignificant

d. Is the organization active in refreshing the content on their website and social
media platforms
( ) Yes
( ) No

e. Is the current digital marketing campaign helping in creating consumer

awareness about the brand?
( ) Yes
( ) No
65
f. Are you satisfied with the digital marketing strategy and spends in this field?
(Please rate on the scale of 10)

( ) 1-5; Poor
( ) 6-8; Good
( ) 9-10, Excellent

g. Have you been able to create incremental leads and hits on the organization’s
website and social media platforms through these digital promotions?
( ) Yes
( ) No

h. Question to new clients - How did you come to know about Houseitt?
( ) Newspaper/Magazine
( ) Digital/Social Media
( ) Friends/Word of Mouth
( ) Received a call from Deepak Enterprises

i. Are you following Houseitt on Social Media platforms?

( ) Yes
( ) No

j. Would you like to recommend Houseitt to your friends and family?

( ) Yes
( ) No

66
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