scholarly journals Online social media usage of car dealerships in Gauteng Province, South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 601-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makgopa S. Sipho
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Marketing Communication ◽  
Gauteng Province ◽  
Motor Industry ◽  
Online Social Media ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media

The concept of social media is top of the agenda for many organizations today. Decision makers, as well as marketers, try to identify ways in which organizations can make profitable use of social media platforms. The adoption of social media in marketing communication campaigns to carry the marketing communication message to the target audiences remains a challenge to organizations in the motor industry. The purpose of this paper was to establish an understanding of the online social media tools used by car dealerships in their marketing communication strategies and campaigns. In achieving the purpose of this paper, a qualitative research approach using semi-structured in-depth interviews with marketing personnel of different car dealerships in Gauteng province, South Africa was followed. In this paper, a qualitative content analysis was used to analyze primary data using Atlas ti version 10 computer software. The findings of this paper revealed that the use of social media platforms by car dealerships varied in terms of message content. Recommendations to stakeholders in the motor industry and future research directions are provided. Keywords: social media, marketing communications, communication channels, consumer-to-consumer communications, car dealerships. JEL Classification: M31, M37

scholarly journals The Use of Social Media in Public Relations at Non-Governmental Organisations in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (6(J)) ◽  
pp. 150-161
Author(s):  
G. Nchabeleng ◽  
CJ. Botha ◽  
CA Bisschoff
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Public Relations Practitioners ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Way

Social media can be a useful tool in public relations in non-governmental organisations (NGOs), but do NGOs make use of social media in their quest for service delivery in South Africa? Social networking sites, blogging, email, instant messaging, and online journals are some of the technological changes that changed the way interaction between people and how they gather information. Although social media is mainly used for interactive dialogue and social interaction, the private sector soon realised that the web-based technologies (especially Facebook and Twitter) could also be a competitive business tool. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) soon followed suit however at a slower pace than the general communication growth rate of social media in South Africa. This article examines if social networking sites have any impact on public relations practices of NGOs in South Africa – an environment where both customers and employees still struggle to take full advantage of social media. The critical literature findings increase the understanding of the current and future challenges of social media use in public relations at NGOs in South Africa. The study explores the main differences between traditional and social media, how social media is redefining public relations role, and shed some light on defining public relations practices, identify the uses, limitations and benefits of social media by public relations practitioners in NGOs. Recommendations for future communication research are given. Based on the literature, a qualitative research design collected data using semi-structured, individual interviews. The results revealed that social media platforms such as Facebook do have an effect, and even changed the way in which NGOs communicate. The study also revealed that social media certainly has an impact on public relations relationships. This means that it has become crucial that public relations practitioners at NOGs embrace and take advantage of social media, and that they should also invest in proper electronic platforms to reap the benefits of improved communication internally and externally.

The Intersection of Social Media and Customer Retention in the Luxury Beauty Industry

2017 ◽  
pp. 1305-1328
Author(s):  
Ellen Stokinger ◽  
Wilson Ozuem
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Market Share ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Customer Retention ◽  
Marketing Communication ◽  
Luxury Brands ◽  
Effective Application ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Ontological Relationship

Debates regarding the ontological relationship between Social Media and customer retention have attracted considerable attention, particularly in the luxury beauty industry. The use of Social Media in the luxury beauty industry has caused many heated debates as it is seen as a form of interference in the exclusivity of luxury brands by limiting the physical and sensual contact between brand and customer. The purpose of this chapter is to provide some insights into how social media impacts on the cosmetics industry. Further, we provide evidence that the effective application of social media in the luxury beauty industry could lead to wider market share, and customer retention. The chapter concludes with some strategies that practitioners and researchers can adopt to develop effective marketing communication strategies, using social media platforms.

The Intersection of Social Media and Customer Retention in the Luxury Beauty Industry

2016 ◽  
pp. 235-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Stokinger ◽  
Wilson Ozuem
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Market Share ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Customer Retention ◽  
Marketing Communication ◽  
Luxury Brands ◽  
Effective Application ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Ontological Relationship

Debates regarding the ontological relationship between Social Media and customer retention have attracted considerable attention, particularly in the luxury beauty industry. The use of Social Media in the luxury beauty industry has caused many heated debates as it is seen as a form of interference in the exclusivity of luxury brands by limiting the physical and sensual contact between brand and customer. The purpose of this chapter is to provide some insights into how social media impacts on the cosmetics industry. Further, we provide evidence that the effective application of social media in the luxury beauty industry could lead to wider market share, and customer retention. The chapter concludes with some strategies that practitioners and researchers can adopt to develop effective marketing communication strategies, using social media platforms.

Social Media Use for Water Conservation Education in South Africa: Perceptions of Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality’s Residents

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charity Hove ◽  
Oluyinka O Osunkunle
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Conservation Education ◽  
Conservation Practices ◽  
Quantitative Methodology ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Persuasive Strategies ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Water scarcity is increasing in South Africa and communities need to be educated about water conservation practices. This article investigated the perceptions of Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality’s residents concerning the use of social media for water conservation education in their community. Through a quantitative methodology, a sample of 383 respondents answered a questionnaire and the main findings were that 75 per cent of respondents did not know about the municipality’s social media platforms. This article recommends that the municipality creates awareness about its social media platforms, increases social media usage and employs persuasive strategies for participation.

Emerging contractor's management and planning skills to overcome business risk factors

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Amoah ◽  
Linda Bikitsha
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Business Risk ◽  
Gauteng Province ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Grade One

PurposeEmerging construction companies often liquidate due to their inability to institute strategies to handle their business risks. This study investigated the skills and strategies adopted by emerging contractors to overcome business risk factors to make their businesses sustainable.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research approach was adopted for the study. Semi-structured interview questions were used to solicit information from emerging contractors within the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Grade one (1) to four (4) in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The data gathered were analysed using qualitative content analysis to identify the main themes.FindingsThe study's findings indicate that emerging contractors face business risk factors that impact their project execution hugely. Thus to overcome these risk factors, they implement various strategies to curtail the risk they encounter in their businesses. These strategies include; human resource management (employing experienced and skilled labour and training of staff); communication management (with other employees about set goals); financial management (effective pricing of tender documents); procurement management (ensuring materials are available as and when necessary in their projects) and quality management (ensuring effective work supervision); among others.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the study concentrated on the emerging construction firms in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, the findings may be applicable in other provinces and beyond South Africa.Practical implicationsIn order for emerging contractors to prevent the collapse of their businesses, there is the need to be educated on effective project risk management to identify potential business risk, the mirage associated with the notion of the construction business profitability, effective tender pricing and strategic business partnership. These strategies, if well thought, will help sustain their businesses and growth in the construction industry.Originality/valueThe study has identified the management strategies used by emerging contractors to sustain their businesses in the construction industry. Thus, the finding will guide both emerging contractors who are already in the construction business and those planning to enter the construction market.

Social media in disaster response: COVID-19 and Bangladesh perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 165-176
Author(s):  
Musabber Ali Chisty, MDM, BDM ◽  
Nawshin Afrose, BDM ◽  
Mourupa Mohima, BDM
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Systematic Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Research Survey ◽  
People’S Perception ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media

The main purpose of this study was to explore people’s perception on using social media for crowdsourcing both information and support as part of COVID-19 response. Also, the study tried to find the possibility of social media contributions to disaster management activities. A systematic research survey has been conducted using a quantitative research approach with a sample of 437 respondents. The results indicated that social media played an important role in crowdsourcing information and support during the COVID-19 pandemic. People regularly depended on social media platforms to get updated information and to contribute to different disaster management response activities. According to the findings, social media can greatly contribute to all the phases of disaster management. Use of social media can be more comprehensive for managing disasters in future.

How do Saudi youth engage with social media?

First Monday ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Stanger ◽  
Noorah Alnaghaimshi ◽  
Erika Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Online Social Media ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Religious Factors ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Individual Profiles ◽  
Global Growth ◽  
Social Collective

With the global growth of social media platforms, there are questions as to how regional cultural factors shape online engagement. Focusing on young Saudi Arabian users of some of the more popular platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat, this article uses Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to assess how cultural and religious factors are shaping and constraining online social media engagements. Using interviews, questionnaires, and analysis of individual profiles, this paper discusses some of the intertwined cultural and religious factors that influence how Saudi youth negotiate their use of social media platforms that are developed in completely different cultural contexts. In particular, this article highlights gendered concerns and the strong influence of the social collective on how these sites are used and how users manage the information they share. Through the development of “personas” as representative young Saudi users, this article concludes with some recommendations for platform developers as to how to meet the needs of this growing market.

scholarly journals The Use of Social Media in Public Relations at Non-Governmental Organisations in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
G. Nchabeleng ◽  
CJ. Botha ◽  
CA Bisschoff
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Public Relations Practitioners ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Way

Social media can be a useful tool in public relations in non-governmental organisations (NGOs), but do NGOs make use of social media in their quest for service delivery in South Africa? Social networking sites, blogging, email, instant messaging, and online journals are some of the technological changes that changed the way interaction between people and how they gather information. Although social media is mainly used for interactive dialogue and social interaction, the private sector soon realised that the web-based technologies (especially Facebook and Twitter) could also be a competitive business tool. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) soon followed suit however at a slower pace than the general communication growth rate of social media in South Africa. This article examines if social networking sites have any impact on public relations practices of NGOs in South Africa – an environment where both customers and employees still struggle to take full advantage of social media. The critical literature findings increase the understanding of the current and future challenges of social media use in public relations at NGOs in South Africa. The study explores the main differences between traditional and social media, how social media is redefining public relations role, and shed some light on defining public relations practices, identify the uses, limitations and benefits of social media by public relations practitioners in NGOs. Recommendations for future communication research are given. Based on the literature, a qualitative research design collected data using semi-structured, individual interviews. The results revealed that social media platforms such as Facebook do have an effect, and even changed the way in which NGOs communicate. The study also revealed that social media certainly has an impact on public relations relationships. This means that it has become crucial that public relations practitioners at NOGs embrace and take advantage of social media, and that they should also invest in proper electronic platforms to reap the benefits of improved communication internally and externally.

Social Media and the Psychosocial Well-Being of Youths in the Amathole District Municipality, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor Alvira Hendricks ◽  
Nkosiyazi Kanjiri
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
Social Events ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Depth Interviews

The use of social media in the rural areas of South Africa is growing, with the youth being the prominent users. The growth of social media has incited a growing knowledge about impending forthcoming social events. However, there are concerns about mental illness, such as depression, owing to the increase in social comparison. There is a lack of literature on the use of social media in rural areas. The aim of this study was thus to investigate the effects of social media on the psychosocial well-being of the youth in selected rural areas of the Eastern Cape. The study was conducted in the Amathole District Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Using a qualitative research approach, 30 youths from the Amathole District Municipality were purposively sampled. The data were collected through in-depth interviews and analysed using a thematic analysis. The findings revealed that using social media has a negative bearing on the psychosocial well-being of the youth owing to the discrepancies between appearance, reality and expectations. Some youths use social media as a means of recreation whereas some use social media as a networking method. The study concluded that the extensive use of social media among the youth can lead to comparison and ultimately depression and, therefore, recommended awareness campaigns on the good use of social media so the youth benefit rather than become victims.

The Intersection of Social Media and Customer Retention in the Luxury Beauty Industry

2018 ◽  
pp. 1234-1257
Author(s):  
Ellen Stokinger ◽  
Wilson Ozuem
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Market Share ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Customer Retention ◽  
Marketing Communication ◽  
Luxury Brands ◽  
Effective Application ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Ontological Relationship

Debates regarding the ontological relationship between Social Media and customer retention have attracted considerable attention, particularly in the luxury beauty industry. The use of Social Media in the luxury beauty industry has caused many heated debates as it is seen as a form of interference in the exclusivity of luxury brands by limiting the physical and sensual contact between brand and customer. The purpose of this chapter is to provide some insights into how social media impacts on the cosmetics industry. Further, we provide evidence that the effective application of social media in the luxury beauty industry could lead to wider market share, and customer retention. The chapter concludes with some strategies that practitioners and researchers can adopt to develop effective marketing communication strategies, using social media platforms.

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