Social Media Marketing Plan: Case Company INGO

This thesis is commissioned by INGO, a start-up company which offers a free publishing cloud service for event organizers. Originally, the company developed it services for Finnish sports clubs, but the customized INGO now is an event registration service for everyone who has upcoming event and is interested in publishing it. The company is operating and well known in Kokkola, besides of having some customers in Oulu. However, INGO aims to expand in all around Finland, as well as to Sweden and worldwide in the future. The commissioner of the thesis wishes to have new ideas on how to do marketing in social media and have a strong presence on its channels. The purpose of the study is to conduct a social media marketing plan in which the company will have more visibility and engage with new customers. The research objectives focus on getting more attention for INGO’s brand as well as strengthen its social media accounts and presence. The research methodology chosen for this thesis is qualitative data. According to the commissioner’s objectives of the study, the thesis is implemented as a development case. The theoretical framework is consisted of content marketing, social media marketing and email marketing theories. By using several diverse sources which relies on trustful opinions of authors and experts in the field, including books, online resources, blogs and articles. The empirical part is implemented by a social media marketing plan that involves the commissioner’s situation analysis internally and externally, objectives, target audience, social media plan for the company’s channels and tactical plan. According to the research and outcomes, the study provides the case company a plan that helps improving its social media presence. The thesis presents the importance of actively utilizing social media channels, which in turn improves the commissioner’s brand awareness as well as gets more customers and leads. The study shows the importance of understanding the target audience and ensuring a constant engagement with it. In sum, the findings give many steps and recommendations for INGO to consider when conducting a social media plan, besides of some advice regarding its website and digital marketing tools