| Abstract |
Social media serves as a crucial platform for marketers to engage with consumers within their social networks, fostering more personalized connections. This transformation in brand communication has shifted the control of brand image from marketers to consumers' online relationships and content consumption patterns. This research aims to investigate the impact of social media marketing efforts on key aspects such as brand equity, consumer brand preference, and brand loyalty, particularly within the context of boutique hotels. Brand equity, a measure of a brand's value, is evaluated through consumer perceptions of desirability and quality. Factors like consumer loyalty, brand recognition, and customer satisfaction play pivotal roles in determining brand equity. Recognized as a critical element for a company's success, brand equity significantly influences consumer decision-making processes, marketing strategies, and collaborative partnerships. This research initiative is designed to comprehensively investigate the impact of social media on hotel brand building, with a primary focus on elucidating the effectiveness of various social media channels in the hotel industry. The study's first objective aims to delve into the factors contributing to the success of social media marketing efforts, seeking to understand the nuances that play a pivotal role in building and promoting hotel brands. Additionally, the research addresses the dynamic relationship between social media content and consumer perceptions, with a particular emphasis on measuring how engagement and content strategies influence attitudes toward hotels. The third objective involves an in-depth analysis of factors contributing to successful brand building in hotels through social media, including critical elements such as content strategy, audience targeting, and engagement tactics. Further, the study seeks to identify consumers' preferences for specific social media platforms during hotel research and booking processes, discerning the most effective platforms for marketing and brand building. Ultimately, the research endeavors to culminate in the development of a comprehensive framework, encapsulating key strategies, best practices, success metrics, and tools for analysis and optimization, providing valuable insights and recommendations to enhance social media marketing and brand building efforts within the hotel industry. Outline of the Thesis: Overall, the proposed research work aims to provide valuable insights and recommendations for hotels to improve their social media marketing and brand building efforts. The chapter first “Introduction of Social Media and Brand Building” includes the study of social media concept, types of social media used by hotel industry, methodology being adopted which includes the research work flow diagram, brand building, importance of social media and brand building and effective social media marketing strategies in hotel industry. Second chapter “Overview of Hotel Industry in Rajasthan” covers the recent challenges faced by hotel industry, growth potential of the industry and factors influencing the hotel industry in Rajasthan. The third chapter “Literature Review” previous research work related to the objectives such impact of social media on brand building of hotel industry, perception of the consumers through the content and engagement on social media, analyze the factors which help brand building of hotels, best social media preferred by customers and effective frameworks used by social media in brand building were being covered. Fourth chapter “Research Methodology and Research Design” includes the details related to research design being used, type of sampling technique adopted, sample size, type of instrument for data collection, primary and secondary sources of data collection being used the research work and the statistical tools and techniques being applied in the research work. The chapter fifth “Result and Discussion” covers the data analysis, hypotheses testing and interpretation. Lastly the chapter sixth “Findings, Conclusions and Suggestions” summarizes the finding and conclusions with future scope of the study. In conclusion, this research has provided a comprehensive understanding of the symbiotic relationship between social media and brand building within the hotel industry. The exploration of foundational social media concepts and the analysis of various platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, underscored their strategic utilization by hotels in shaping distinct brand identities. The elucidation of a methodological framework through a research workflow diagram ensured a systematic and transparent approach. Emphasizing the pivotal role of social media in enhancing a hotel's brand image, the study offered valuable insights into effective marketing strategies tailored for the industry. This research not only captures the current landscape but also lays a foundation for future explorations, providing hotels with actionable recommendations to navigate the dynamic terrain of social media-driven brand building in the digital age. As the hospitality industry continues to evolve digitally, the lessons derived from this study will serve as a guiding resource for hotels seeking to optimize their brand-building efforts through strategic social media engagement.
|
