Why Event Marketing Coordinators Are Vital for Business Success

As the use of the internet increases, so does the use of social media channels. These channels have become a part of everyday life and are changing the way of communication and information exchange. Today, more and more business-to-business (B2B) companies are adopting social media marketing (SMM) to communicate with their customers. Although small 

and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) have also started adopting SMM to increase their brand awareness, the existing literature is very limited on this subject. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to identify and describe challenges SMEs face adopting social media marketing in order to increase their brand awareness. In order to achieve the purpose of this thesis a qualitative research method was selected and four semi-structured interviews with marketing 

directors and coordinators at three SMEs were conducted. The result of this thesis shows that SMEs face some common challenges like financial and human resources, lack of time and expertise in SMM, customer satisfaction, channel selection, global crisis and bad reviews. Further, this thesis found that SMEs also face some individual challenges like cultural issues, measuring brand awareness, language, influential content, communication issues, promotion 

Costs and outsourcing The authors 

of this thesis would like to express their gratitude and acknowledge everyone involved in the completion of this paper. Firstly, the authors want to thank the supervisor Peter Caesar, for guiding and encouraging them throughout the process as well providing them with constructive feedback. The authors also want to express their appreciation to the examiner, Tomas Nilsson, for his professional guidance during the seminars. Additionally, the authors 

would like to thank all of their previous professors, who helped them establish an academic ground/base which made this thesis possible. The authors also wish to thank their opponents for providing them with feedback and suggestions during the seminars. Lastly, the authors would like to express their profound gratitude to the three companies for their time and contribution. Without the interviewees participation and insights tThe authors of this thesis 

would like to express their gratitude and acknowledge everyone involved in the completion of this paper. Firstly, the authors want to thank the supervisor Peter Caesar, for guiding and encouraging them throughout the process as well providing them with constructive feedback. The authors also want to express their appreciation to the examiner, Tomas Nilsson, for his professional guidance during the seminars. Additionally, the authors would like to thank all of 

Their previous professors who helped

them establish an academic ground/base which made this thesis possible. The authors also wish to thank their opponents for providing them with feedback and suggestions during the seminars. Lastly, the authors would like to express their profound gratitude to the three companies for their time and contribution. Without the interviewees participation and insights this thesis would notThe use of the Internet has increased and new platforms are 

continuously being developed (Alalwan, et al., 2017). Digital technologies have changed how people communicate, exchange and obtain information (Alalwan, et al., 2017; Ngai, Tao and Moon, 2015). Today, social media platforms, also known as social media channels, like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn have become a part of the day to day life (Alalwan, et al., 2017). These channels are used to produce, distribute and transfer 

information virtually. Social media are not only used for private purposes but also businesses (Ngai, Tao and Moon, 2015). Social media can be understood as “[...] a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content.” (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010, p.61; cited in Jussila, Kärkkäinen and Leino, 2013, p.7; cited in Ngai, Tao and Moon, 

Is where multiple users can create

and modify the content in a collaborative way (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). When used properly social media can improve communication between the companies and their customers (Alalwan, et al., 2017; Cawsey and Rowley, 2016; Wang, Pauleen anabout the companies is shared in a digital space through social media channels (Cawsey and Rowley, 2016). Social media channels facilitate companies to market themselves, promote their products and/or services in a digitalized way, reach customers and communicate their brand 

(Makrides, Vrontis and Christofi, 2020; Michaelidou, Siamagka and Christodoulides, 2011). The activities of a company to market itself and advertise its products or services to customers are known as social media marketing (SMM) (Bîja and Balaş, 2014). Hence, SMM is adopted to promote a product, service or a brand, through the use of social media channels and for spreading and increasing a business’s brand awareness (Alalwan, et al., 2017; 

Andersson and Wikström, 2017; Bîja and Balaş, 2014; Cawsey and Rowley, 2016; Langaro, Rita and de Fátima Salgueiro, 2015; Michaelidou, Siamagka and Christodoulides, 2011; Siamagka, et al., 2015). Social media marketing is becoming more and more common within the B2B market, bringing both advantages and challenges (Agnihotri, et al., 2016; Andersson and Wikström, 2017; Alalwan, et al., 2017; Brink, 2017; Cawsey and Rowley, 2016; Järvinen, et al., 2012; Michaelidou, Siamagka and Christodoulides, 2011; Ritz, Wolf and Mcquitty, 

Conclusion

2019). Even though SMM is particularly used by larger companies, small and medium-sSocial media marketing is slowly developing within B2B SMEs (Brink, 2017; Hassan, Nadzim and Shiratuddin, 2015) and the use of social media within these organizations is researched to a lesser extent than in B2C context (Brink, 2017). Focusing on SMEs is important because they face more challenges than larger organizations, due to the lack of human resources with 

professional competence and knowledge, lack of financial resources as well as time and expertise (Brink, 2017; Chirumalla, Oghazi and Parida, 2018; Järvinen, et al., 2012; Michaelidou, Siamagka and Christodoulides, 2011; Ritz, Wolf and Mcquitty, 2019). Due to the limited resources, SMEs cannot afford to outsource SMM professionals, which puts them in a more challenging position (Ritz, Wolf and Mcquitty, 2019). Brand awareness is that aspect of 

a company’s brand that customers can create memories about, being then able to recall that exact brand when hearing the name of the company (Keller, 2009; Langaro, Rita and de Fátima Salgueiro, 2015). It is also related to the experience the clients have with it. Brand awareness is increased if customers are frequently exposed to the brand elements, which consist of the name, slogan, logotype, or packaging of a company’s product (Keller, 2009; Langaro, Rita and de Fátima Salgueiro, 2015; Makrides, Vrontis and Christofi, 2020). Hence