Efficient use of social networks for marketing campaigns – the case of a maritime transport company

The master thesis builds on a theoretical base for understanding the phenomenon of social networks, marketing on social networks, and frameworks to measure efficiency of marketing on social networks. The thesis analyses whether social networks are efficient for use in marketing, to answer the research question “Can social networks increase efficiency of marketing campaigns?”. In order to do so, the thesis firstly provides an overview of the evolution of social networks and highlights key factors that make them a suitable channel for marketing. The thesis also examines existing approaches to marketing efficiency on social networks and outlines an analytical frame suitable for the analysis. Subsequently, the thesis analyses the marketing activities and presence of a selected maritime transport company on social networks, and assesses specific marketing campaigns and their performance. The actual analysis is done on authentic data on specific campaigns of the selected company, extracted from Facebook – the social network selected for this analysis. The thesis also compares the specific marketing campaigns against competition within the maritime transport industry in the form of industry benchmarks. Based on multiple outcomes of the analysis, the thesis proves that social networks are efficient for use in marketing and therefore can increase the efficiency of marketing campaigns. In its concluding sections, the thesis also identifies further areas of exploration that may be undertaken by the Company selected for this analysis, as well as provides additional context to potential future research on social networks - new generations of users and impacts on marketing.