Social Media Brand Strategy and Marketing Performance of Telecommunication Firms in Kenya

Abstract

In conducting this research, the main motivation was to find out how marketers can use the increasing popularity of social media to enhance marketing performance. The competition level in the Kenyan telecommunication sector has been so stiff in the last decade to the extent that some firms such as YU and previous owners Airtel and Telkom Kenya have exited the Kenyan market due to the high level of competition. This therefore calls for very strategic marketing programs that will help firms stay ahead of the competition while realizing their marketing objectives. The research is a descriptive survey design as the study is intended to describe the use of social media as a branding tool among the telecommunication firms in Kenya. The demographic information considered in this study included the length of service with the firms, number of employees and duration of firm operation. The findings were that 50% of the respondents had worked for the firms over 10 years and 90% over 5 years. This gives a good indication that they are well versed with the industry given the length of service. The result on number of employees show that 40% of firms employ over 500 employees and 30% employ between 100 and 499 employees. 20% of the firms sampled had over 1000 employees. We therefore conclude that a firm employing more than 100 employees can be considered a large firm. With regard to the length of their operations, all the firms sampled had operated for more than 10 years and from this 40% had operated for more than 20 years. Consequently, by the fact that the firm had operated for over ten years and with the social media usage over the last ten years, they will have adopted the social media as a marketing strategy over the period and also because they are major the facilitators of the use of social media in Kenya, they are better placed to understand its influence. The study found that the majority of the respondent believed that Twitter and youtube as social media platforms are popular among the customers based on their traffic and therefore influencing firms brand image. An effective brand strategy through the use of social media and proper marketing tools is a key for the functioning of the organization. From the findings, it was established that most of the respondent believed on the Twitter and Youtube as social media platforms popular among the customers. Therefore, the firms should use those social media effectively and aim to deliver their services to meet the expected demand of the customers and improve their marketing performance. The findings of the study should be read subject to the following limitations. First, the results represent a cross-sectional position in time and do not capture the ability of some of the participants to be motivated by individual interests as is possible with qualitative methods. The study found out that there is a tight relationship between social media brand strategy and marketing performance. Hence, it is recommended that the telecommunication firms should adopt the social media brand strategy and marketing performance. The study established that the Twitter and you tube as social media platforms popular among the customers. Therefore, the management of the firm should use those media effectively to enhance marketing performance. The study found out that the telecommunication firms have adopted branding strategies in social media which have resulted in improved marketing performance