Application for Final Project Thesis (Bachelor thesis)

Faculty of Computer science and engineering

Applicant’s Data
Name and Surname: Vlatko Paceski

Index number: 498

Study Program: Faculty of Computer science and engineering (CSE)

Thesis title: Social Media use by businesses

Explanation of the scientific, artistic and professional viability of the topic

Social media usage is one of the most popular online activities. In 2018, an estimated 2.65
billion people were using social media worldwide, a number projected to increase to almost 3.1
billion in 2021, [1].
Social network penetration is constantly increasing worldwide and as of January 2019 stood at
45 percent, [2]. This figure is anticipated to grow as lesser developed digital markets catch up
with other regions when it comes to infrastructure development and the availability of cheap
mobile devices. In fact, most of social media’s global growth is driven by the increasing usage of
mobile devices, [3]. Mobile-first market Eastern Asia topped the global ranking of mobile social
networking penetration, followed by established digital powerhouses such as the Americas and
Northern Europe.
The average time per day spent on social media varies greatly by country, [4]. While U.S.
users spent approximately one hour and 57 minutes using social media each day, the Philippines
ranked first in terms of user engagement. The average time per day spent on social media in the
country amounted to four hours and one minute, twice the amount of time spent by U.S. users.
Furthermore, people aren’t just using social media, but they’re using social media specifically
to make purchasing decisions.
For example, 70% of business-to-consumer marketers have acquired customers through
Facebook. 93% of Pinterest users use the platform to plan or make purchases, and over? of
Instagram users have used Instagram to purchase a product online, [5].
 Not only are people purchasing from businesses on social media, but they’re spending 20%-
40% more money on companies that are using social media.
And if that wasn’t enough, 71% of consumers who have had a positive experience with a
brand on social media are likely to recommend the brand to their friends and family- growing
your customer base even further.
These numbers among others show that there is money to be made within the social media
realm.
Social media marketing, or SMM, [6] is a form of internet marketing that involves creating
and sharing content on social media networks in order to achieve your marketing and branding
goals. Social media marketing includes activities like posting text and image updates, videos, and
other content that drives audience engagement, as well as paid social media advertising.
Social media use by businesses includes a range of applications. Although social media
accessed via desktop computers offer a variety of opportunities for companies in a wide range of
business sectors, mobile social media, which users can access when they are "on the go" via
tablet computers or smartphones, benefit companies because of the location- and time-sensitive
awareness of their users. Mobile social media tools can be used for marketing research,
communication, sales promotions/discounts, informal employee learning/organizational
development, relationship development/loyalty programs, [7] and e-commerce.
The major social media platforms (at the moment) are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and Snapchat.

Work plan
As traditional methods of marketing to customers like advertising or direct mail become less
and less effective, businesses are turning to social mediums to connect in positive ways with
consumers and the people who influence them, [8]. We need to be acutely aware just how social
media has fundamentally changed the way we are connecting, communicating and collaborating
as individuals, and therefore society as a whole.
Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms to connect with the audience of
businesses, to build the brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic, [9]. This involves
publishing great content on companies’ social media profiles, listening to and engaging their
followers, analyzing the results, and running social media advertisements.
This Final project reviews the impact of Social media on Business Performance, [10-14].
Also, will be presented situation in EU countries regarding the use of Websites and Social media
for business, by statistical analysis from Eurostat data, [15-17].

Reference

[1] Statista, Number of social network users worldwide from 2010 to 2021 (in billions),
online: https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-
network-users/.
[2] Statista, Global social network penetration rate as of January 2019, by region, online:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/269615/social-network-penetration-by-region/.
[3] Statista, Global mobile social network penetration rate as of January 2019, by region,
online: https://www.statista.com/statistics/412257/mobile-social-penetration-rate-
region/.
[4] Statista, Average time per day spent by online users on social media in 2018, by
country (in hours.minutes), online: https://www.statista.com/statistics/270229/usage-
duration-of-social-networks-by-country/.
[5] Brandy, Top 10 Social Media Sites for Business, Lyfe marketing, 2019, online:
https://www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/social-media-sites-for-business/.
[6] WordStream, Social Media Marketing for Businesses, 2019, online:
https://www.wordstream.com/social-media-marketing.

[7] A. M. Kaplan, If you love something, let it go mobile: Mobile marketing and mobile
social media 4x4, Business Horizons. 2012, 55 (2): 129–139.

[8] BussinesVictoria, Use social media for business, 2019, online:

https://www.business.vic.gov.au/marketing-and-sales/eCommerce-and-digital-
technology/social-media-for-business/using-social-media-to-boost-business.
[9] Buffer, What is Social Media Marketing?, online: https://buffer.com/social-media-
marketing.
[10] D. Wrigh, How blogs and social media are changing public relations and the way it is
practiced, Public Relations Journal. 2 (2), 2008.
[11] R. Levine; C. Locke; D. Searls & D. Weinberger, Markets are conversations, New
York: Perseus, 2012.
[12] J. Paniagua, J. Sapena, Juan, Business performance and social media: Love or hate?,
Business Horizons. 57 (6): 719–728, 2014.
[13] N. I. Holleschovsky, E. Constantinides, Impact of Online Product Reviews on
Purchasing Decisions, Influence on consumer decisions (Submitted manuscript). pp.
271–278, 2016.
[14] M. Smits, S. Mogos, The Impact Of Social Media On Business Performance, ECIS
2013 Proceedings.
[15] Websites and functionalities, EUstat data, online:
https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=isoc_ciweb&lang=en.
[16] Social media use by purpose, EUstat data, online:
https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=isoc_cismp&lang=en.
[17] Social media use by type, internet advertising, EUstat data, online:
https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=isoc_cismt&lang=en.

Suggested mentor
Aneta Velkoska, PhD

Date: Applicant:
16. 12.2019 Vlatko Paceski

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