Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters/MBA)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/37942
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Item The impact of social media marketing on perceptions of brand knowledge : The case of the government employees’ pension fund (GEPF)(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Dandala, Gcinasonke; Chalombe, NakuzeThe goal of the research was to examine the effect of social media marketing activities on brand knowledge, defined as brand awareness and brand image (Keller, 1993).The social media activities selected as independent variables for this purpose were firm generated content (FGC) and consumer engagement (CE). The study was conducted within the context of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), Africa’s largest pension fund by assets under management. The population of the research was comprised of GEPF clients defined as members, pensioners and beneficiaries all of whom have a direct interest in the communication activities of the GEPF. The clients were required to have personal accounts on the social media platforms of Facebook and/or Twitter in order to be part of the study. The quantitative research method was used, with research data obtained via an online questionnaire shared on two carefully identified private Facebook groups. A total of 188 followers from the groups fully completed the survey. Multiple regression analysis using SPSS was then used to analyse the collected data. The results of the study confirmed that the social media marketing activities of firm generated content and consumer engagement have a significant and positive effect on the attributes of brand awareness and brand image. Furthermore, the study indicated that consumer engagement has a more significant impact on the variables than firm generated content. The study enhances the gaps in research regarding the impact of social media activities on brand knowledge as articulated by Zahoor and Qureshi (2017) that there is still considerable scope to quantify the relationships between social media marketing and the dimensions that comprise customer-based brand equity.Item Social media online privacy in South Africa: The case for blockchain technology innovation(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Pinto, Edward Philip Beja Abegao; Sethibe, TebogoIn today's society, it has become nearly impossible to exist without an online presence on some form of social media platform. These platforms have become an integral part of our daily lives, serving as avenues for maintaining relationships and facilitating connections. However, the extensive use of social media exposes users to various privacy concerns and malicious activities. Furthermore, the generation of vast amounts of personal data on these platforms raises questions about data ownership, control, unauthorized data utilization, and constant user activity tracking. Over recent years, concerns surrounding privacy, risks, and exposure on social media have escalated, particularly regarding issues such as data ownership, control, unauthorized data usage, and user activity tracking. Social media users have increasingly expressed the view that platforms are making incremental security improvements without fully addressing users' genuine concerns, which may impact their economic models. This research paper seeks to explore whether blockchain technology can offer a solution to the privacy concerns raised by users of social media platforms. It evaluates the characteristics of blockchain technology in addressing the privacy- related issues associated with traditional social media platforms. The paper begins by establishing a foundational understanding of blockchain, privacy, and the role of social media platforms in today's society. The research identifies the challenges faced by everyday social media users as part of defining the research problem.Item The impact of interactive social media advertising on brand resonance in South Africa(2020) Qutywa, PindaInteractive Social Media advertising offers our population many benefits, whether it be entertainment, news, education, customer service or even networking. Social media is changing the rules of branding. Brands can be noticed with smaller investments as they can tap into social media to amplify their brand message. The ever-evolving impact of social media on branding is shifting the very essence of brand management. Social media binds together communities that once were geographically isolated. Insights from various social networks enable marketers to understand what customers want, and when they want it, how they want to experience it and who they want to experience it with, all of which will enable messaging that they want to hear. On the World Wide Web, the brand is the experience and the experience is the brand. Although branding has been a subject of research for many years, the subject of social media is new and emerging, therefore the scope of research has widened, creating opportunities to expand on existing knowledge and theory. Largely, research specific to brand advertising and brand resonance has not incorporated social media particularly in the emerging market context such as South Africa. There is a lack of academic research revealing how social media, advertising and brand resonance interconnect in the South African skincare market context. The purpose of this study was to investigate influence of social media advertising interactivity on brand resonance. The brand resonance construct is measured from the perspective of its four dimensions namely, loyalty, attachment, community and engagement. An online survey was administered to 3,000 respondents. Out of that, 1959 completed the survey in full. The respondents were regular users of social network sites and they were sourced mainly from university students, a smaller percentage of the group consisted of university staff and other members of the public. Data was analyzed using the R-software version 3.6.3, to determine if the items correlate with their unique constructs. The conceptual model elements were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis. The study showed that interactive social media advertising has a positive and significant impact on brand loyalty, brand attachment, brand community and brand engagement. The study gives marketers insights into how to effectively use social media as an advertising medium, but most importantly how to use social media to create brand resonance.