Andrew Jay Weir Final Thesis Universitat Ramon Llull

Social media and consumer behavior: The Inditex and Facebook relationship.
I. Abstract
As social media usage is becoming of greater importance in everyday life, businesses have caught onto the idea of taking advantage of social media as a communication medium. The main purpose of this thesis is to see how companies harness social media as a marketing tool, influencing consumer behavior. Forming a pillar of this thesis is the Inditex and Facebook relationship. Inditex is known for doing things different from its competitors and unconventional marketing activities. Their relationship shall be observed and we shall see how they have entered the irresistible world of social media. This study will take a look at how Inditex manages its Facebook activities in order to reap the benefits of social media. An in-depth observation is made in the understanding of the social media and consumer behavior. This is done to see to what extent social media has in terms of influencing consumer behavior. Whether social media has the ability to influence consumer behavior.
Social media and consumer behavior: the Inditex and Facebook relationship.
II. Table of contents I. Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 2 II. Table of contents .......................................................................................................... 3 III. Table of figures ............................................................................................................ 4 IV. Glossary ...................................................................................................................... 5 V. Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................ 8 1. Executive Summary ...................................................................................................... 9 2. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 10 2.1 Research objectives .............................................................................................. 11 2.2 Research Questions ............................................................................................. 12 3. Methodology ............................................................................................................... 13 3.1 Secondary Research ............................................................................................ 13 3.2 Limitations ............................................................................................................. 15 2.Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 16 2.1.The invisible revolution ......................................................................................... 16 2.2 Social media and The Network Society ................................................................ 17 2.3. Marketing 2.0 ....................................................................................................... 19 2.4.Traditional consumer behavior theory ................................................................... 21 2.4.Customer engagement and e-CRM ...................................................................... 23 2.5. Inditexs usage of Web 2.0 and social media ....................................................... 25 3.Data Analysis ............................................................................................................... 31 3.1 Zara ....................................................................................................................... 32 3.2 Pull and Bear ........................................................................................................ 37 3.3 Massimo Dutti ....................................................................................................... 44 3.4 Bershka ................................................................................................................. 46 3.5 Stradivarius ........................................................................................................... 51 3.6. Oysho ................................................................................................................... 55 3.7. Zara Home ........................................................................................................... 58 3.8.Uterque ................................................................................................................. 61 3.9. Inditex summary ................................................................................................... 63
4.Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 66 5.Bibliography ................................................................................................................. 70
III. Tables and figures Figure 1.0 word of mouth to world of mouth _________________________________ 20 Figure 1.0 Consumer buying process ______________________________________ 22 Figure 1.2: Screenshot Zara online store ____________________________________ 26 Figure 1.3: Screenshot iPhone application __________________________________ 27 Figure 1.4: Screenshot Shop Online _______________________________________ 27 Figure 1.5: Screenshot, Where online retailing is available ______________________ 28 Figure 1.6: Screenshot Online retailing video ________________________________ 29 Figure 1.7:Screenshots Inditex Websites ___________________________________ 30 Figure 1.8: Screenshot, Zara PEOPLE initiative _____________________________ 33 Figure 1.9: Photograph Zara PEOPLE initiative _____________________________ 34 Figure 2.0: Screenshot, Zara LOOKBOOK initiative _________________________ 35 Figure 2.1 Content usage by Zara _________________________________________ 36 Figure 2.2:Screenshot Pull and Bear blog initiative ____________________________ 38 Figure 2.3 Pull and Bear blog collaboration __________________________________ 38 Figure 2.4: Screenshot Pull and Bear iPhone application _______________________ 39 Figure 2.5 Thinking of Japan post _________________________________________ 40 Figure 2.6 XX contest __________________________________________________ 40 Figure 2.7: Screenshot Pull and Bear website, Social media links ________________ 41 Figure 2.8 Content usage by Pull and Bear __________________________________ 43 Figure 2.9: Screenshot, Massimo Dutti website _______________________________ 44 Figure 2.10 Massimo Duttis content usage __________________________________ 45 Figure 2.11 Bershka Facebook page _______________________________________ 46 Figure 2.12: Bershka community managers _________________________________ 47 Figure 2.13: community manager response _________________________________ 47 Figure 2.14 Bershkas content usage ______________________________________ 50 Figure 2.15 Online retailing post __________________________________________ 51 Figure 2.16 Store demand post ___________________________________________ 52
Figure 2.17 Online retailing post for Stradivarius ______________________________ 52 Figure 2.18 Stradivariuss content usage ____________________________________ 54 Figure 2.19 Oysho event related marketing __________________________________ 55 Figure 2.20 Oysho movie night ___________________________________________ 56 Figure 3.3 Oyshos content usage _________________________________________ 57 Figure 3.4 Zara Homes content usage _____________________________________ 60 Figure 3.5 Uterques content usage ________________________________________ 62 Figure 3.6 No. Of Fans in Facebook per division ______________________________ 63 Figure 3.7 Inditexs content usage as a whole ________________________________ 64
Table 1.0 Zara summary of social media activities ____________________________ 35 Table 1.2 Summary of Pull and Bears social media activities ____________________ 42 Table 1.3 Summary of Massimo Duttis social media activities ___________________ 45 Table 1.4 Summary of Bershkas social media activities ________________________ 48 Table 1.5 Summary od Stradivariuss social media activities ____________________ 53 Table 1.6 Summary of Oyshos social media activities _________________________ 56 Table 1.7 Summary of Zara Homes social media activities _____________________ 59 Table 1.8 Summary of Uterques social media activities ________________________ 61
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IV. Glossary CRM Customer relationship management CROSSPOLINATE When marketing efforts are span across several types of media. CUSTOMER ENGAGEMAENT Repeated interactions that strengthen the emotional, philological or physical investment a consumer has in a brand. e-CRM Using digital communications technologies to maximize sales to existing customers and encourage continued usage of online services. IMC (Integrated Marketing Communication) combination of all promotional activities to produce a unified customer focused message. INDITEX Industria de Diseo Textil, S.A. translated into English as Textile Industries, Inc. Design
LIKE An option on the Facebook Web site to provide feedback on the stories that appear in your friend's news feed. The Like option allows to acknowledge a friend's news feed item in a positive way without needing to add actual commentary. LOOKBOOK A printed showcase of still images of a fashion designer or fashion brands collection NETWORK SOCIETY Describes several different phenomena related to the social, political, economic and cultural changes caused by the spread of networked, digital information and communications technologies NEWS FEED A service by which news is provided on a regular or continuous basis for onward distribution or broadcasting POST A message published in an online forum or newsgroup SOCIAL MEDIA 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 TAG A keyword or term associated with or assigned to a piece of information often used in Social Media TAG A non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information UGC (User Generated Content) the production of content by the general public rather than by paid professionals and experts in the field. WEB 1.0 A general reference to the World Wide Web during its first few years of operation. The term is mostly used to contrast the earlier days of the Web before blogs, wikis, social networking sites and Web-based applications became commonplace
WEB 2.0 Second generation of the World Wide Web that is focused on the ability for people to collaborate and share information online
V. Acknowledgments First of all I would like to give an exceptional thanks to my parents and family that have guided me and showed me the importance of education in life. To the people that I have shared experiences with, my colleges at La Salle and professors from whom I have learnt a lot and have shared many good experiences. Thanks to everyone who has played a part in the construction of my education. To my grandmother, who I have unfortunately lost during the process of my thesis, may you rest in peace. You will always be remembered. I would also like to thank Chris Kennett for his exceptional guidance and valued criticisms, they sure helped me a lot. Lastly I would like to give special thanks to my promoter German Aragon who has helped me and has contributed to a great proportion of my studies at La Salle. You have taught me great lessons in life and hope to find them helpful in the workplace.
1. Executive Summary Consumer behavior reflects the totality of customers decisions with respect to the acquisition, consumption, and disposition of goods, services, activities, people and ideas by (Human) decision making units (over time) Wayne D Hoyer (2008) et al. The main purpose of Social media and consumer behavior: an analysis of the Inditex and Facebook relationship is to analyze the relationship between consumer behavior and web 2.0, specifically the use of social media. Inditex (Industria de Diseo Textil, S.A.) one of Spains most successful multinationals known for its wit and innovative strategies will be analyzed. This is an attempt to see how they have integrated social media into marketing and communication strategies in order to reap the benefits offered there by. A two-month virtual observation was undertaken in order to gain an understanding of how Inditex uses social media. Then by observing the interaction between Inditex and its consumers. In other terms their consumer behavior. The research was based on qualitative and quantitative data. Daily posts were analyzed and recorded over the two-month period for each of the 8 different stores. These include Zara, Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home and Uterque. Their Facebook pages were viewed daily and the data was categorized into various types of content to determine the content usage of Inditex. A qualitative approach highlighting the individual characteristics of each stores Facebook page was done in order to demonstrate instances of where social media and consumer behavior relate. Website features and cases of innovation were also looked into as this compliments the overall strategy for each store. Examples of these were Zaras online retailing initiative and Pull and Bears Store 2.0. Later an overall summary is given for Inditex as a group. This is done in an attempt to see what changes have been made in accordance to consumer behavior over time.
2. Introduction If you have questions go to the store, your customers have the answers Sam Walton The main objective of Social media and consumer behavior: an analysis of the Inditex and Facebook relationship is to study the changes that Inditex has undergone due to the rise of social media. How this has influenced companies to change their marketing and communication strategies accordingly. And of greatest importance the changes that have taken place in terms of consumer behavior by the usage of social media. Traditional consumer behavior theory is based on the physical principals of selling. This selling environment has changed with a tendency of using online resources instead of the physical environment. Now with the rise of the Internet, Web 2.0, social media and online retailing the researcher raises questions based on this new online environment, social media and consumer behavior. The researcher hopes to provide an insight on how the use of social media technologies is influencing consumer behavior. Consumers now have endless possibilities to search for information, an important part of the consumer buying process. Due to the great increase of incorporating social media into marketing and communications strategies, it came to the researchers attention that more research should be done to question whether the use of traditional consumer behavior theory in contemporary business is still valid. The researcher identifies that there is a substantial amount of information available on each topic independently; however conjointly there is a lack of resources. The the idea of whether social media has the capacity to influence or change consumer behavior brings doubt as very literature has been found on consumer behavior and social media relationship. The Structure of this thesis will constitute a literature review to form a basis for a data analysis and an online observation of the use of social media by Inditex. A focus will be placed on the interaction between Inditex and its consumers. Lastly there will be a conclusion of the main findings in an attempt to answer the research questions and to see what the future holds for social media.
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2.1 Research objectives Due to the great shift towards online activities and the impact of the Internet on society and business I have chosen to analyze the impact that social media has on consumer behavior. Specifically how a firm uses social media and whether it has the ability to influence its consumers. Where do online activities come into the picture with traditional theories? Inditex, one of Spains most successful multinational companies, has recently made changes to their conventional marketing efforts. They have changed their strategy and have discovered the importance of being involved online. Inditex has fostered a new kind of relationship with the use of social media and has started the process of online retailing as of 2nd of September 2010.The researcher will identify reasons for why Inditex has followed this transformation. It is with Social media and consumer behavior: an analysis of the Inditex and Facebook relationship that I intend to demonstrate and provide an evidential basis whether the new online environment and use of social media have the power to influence the consumer. The researcher aims to see whether this is perhaps a reason for so many other businesses having adopting the online way of doing business. Why are so many businesses including the use of social media in their marketing and communication strategies?
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2.2 Research Questions The following questions have been formulated in order to guide the researcher in to the research process. How is the rise of social media affecting consumer behavior in the case of Inditex and the changing online environment? How may this change Inditexs marketing and communication strategies? How is Inditex using social networking and Marketing 2.0? What does social networking provide Inditex? What is the future for Inditex and the changing online environment?
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3. Methodology 3.1 Secondary Research Forming part of the literature review is the use of secondary research in the appropriate areas of consumer behavior, social media and corresponding areas of interest. The literature was focused on the rise of social media and how companies are adopting the social media platform as part of their communication and marketing strategies. Traditional consumer behavior literature was studied too to identify areas of where social media and consumer behavior relate. The use of books, articles and online information provided by Inditex and Facebook were used in order to gain a better understanding of the topics and their relationship. This was done to highlight and understand the underlying reasons why Inditex has entered the world of social media. In order to satisfy the research objective of my thesis a qualitative research method was undertaken. Ethnography has been chosen as the principle research method. Ethnographies, studies the intact a cultural group in a natural setting over a prolonged period of time by collecting, primarily, observational data (Creswell, 1998) The research process is flexible and typically evolves contextually in response to the lived realities encountered in the field setting (LeCompte & Schensul, 1999). Likewise according to Martlyn Hammersley (2007) the purpose of ethnography is to describe and explain the social world the research subjects inhabit in the way, which they would describe and explain it. It is appropriate if you wish to gain insights about a particular context and interpret it from the perspective of those involved. This takes place over a time period. Ethnography has the following features: 1.) Peoples actions and account are studied in everyday context (Research takes place in the field). In the case of the field would be considered the social media environment. Not being physical this is known as virtual ethnography (Markham 1998; Mann and Stewart 2000) 2.) Data are gathered from a range of sources. 3.) Data collection for the most part is unstructured. 4.) The focus is usually on a few cases. Generally fairly small-scale, perhaps a setting or a group of people. In the case of Social media and consumer behavior: an analysis of the Inditex and Facebook relationship the online users on the social media platform were considered the group.
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5.) The analysis of data involves interpretation of the meanings, functions and consequences of human actions. In the case of Social media and consumer behavior: an analysis of the Inditex and Facebook relationship the interpretation of how social media influences the human actions in terms of consumer behavior. According to Hammersley (2007) on of the methods used most frequently in ethnography is the use of an observation. Saunders et al (2000) describes an observation, as the systematic observation, recording, description, analysis and interpretation of peoples behavior Thus being ideal for my research objective of determining the various aspects of how social media influences consumer behavior. The only limitation is that the observation is based on online activity and not in a physical environment. This means that a focus on the consumer in context of the online environment. Justification for the use of ethnography follows the identification of the online user environment as a culture, tribe or group of people and the information that is to be obtained is in a informal manner over a observational period of time. Due to time limitations it has been decided that the study would be conducted by an online observation over a period of time (2 month period). The decision has been made to concentrate on the main social media platform that Inditex uses. The data once collected from these sources will provide the researcher with an abundance of qualitative data. The data will be used to analyze the current situation of Inditex and Facebook. We will also by this understand the presence of Inditex in the online environment. We will see the actions taken by Inditex in order to keep up with the changes that have been taking place in terms of the changing online environment. This information will then be compared to the findings of the literature review. The researcher will use a technique known as thick description by where the behavior is not only explained but is explained in the context of the environment. This being the online environment or social media platform used (Geertz 1973).
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This will be done to draw conclusions to the research questions that have been raised. The research approach implemented was to analyze content that was posted on Facebook by Inditex for the two-month period (1st of February until 31st March). First of all, the posts are to be categorized by its targeted division (Zara, Bershka, Pull and Bear, Oyosho, and Uterque). There after they are categorized by type of post (Video, Link, Photo or Other). Then an in-depth analysis of the content posted in reaction to the material posted by Inditex. There after the researcher will analyze the content that was posted and to view consumer reactions in accordance to the material posted. The data is then divided into various categories of which we would then count the number of occurrences, identifying patterns of consumer behavior. This was done in order to arrive at whether social media affects consumer behavior and how. Certain instances are identified, explained and related to the strategies that Inditex use.
3.2 Limitations The researcher identifies the limitations for the ethnography was to be with Inditex itself. Inditex has various divisions that are directed to different markets, therefore, the content needs to be broken down into each division and be analyzed individually. Each division has a different target market and therefore these aspects need to be taken into consideration accordingly. Due to the fact that each division has a different target market the nature of content for each division may vary as each division has its own identity and set of values. Factors such as demographics, age groups, gender and seasonal changes are discussed. These differences will be taken into consideration as part of the analysis in order to get unbiased results. The researcher points out the importance to justify and define relevant data in order to maintain consistency throughout each division Another limitation involved in the research is the aftersales dimension of consumer behavior and not having access to this information. This is the word of mouth content that will be shared among consumers and their personal network instead of on the Inditex Facebook pages. An emphasis will be placed on how consumers interact among each other and the direct relationship between Inditex and Facebook.
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2.Literature Review 2.1.The invisible revolution The changing presence of the internet from a medium of elite to a medium of common use in our everyday lives raises questions about its impact on access to resources, social interaction, and commitment to local community Barry Wellman Michael Lewis describes it as the invisible revolution. What he is referring to is how the Internet it is changing society, business, and communication. In his book Next, The future just happened, it is explained how the Internet has been the most important force to have struck the global economy since the industrial revolution. Even the Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, said that the Internet was changing the economy in ways that even he did not understand. John Perry Barlow (1995) mentions that with the development of the internet, and the increasing pervasiveness of communication between networked computers we are in the middle of the most transforming technological event since the capture of fire. I used to think that it was just the biggest thing since Gutenberg, but now I think you have to go back farther. We can see from the authors Lewis and Wellman that they both talk about the idea of the Internet affecting our society and not only affecting it but changing it. Lewis describes that the Internet was far less interesting than the effects people were allowing it to have on their lives Because of this the researcher recognizes that there is a need to look at whether these changes have affected consumer behavior. This shift however can be seen all around us with the most surprising up-rise having been social media and social networks over the last few years.
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2.2 Social media and The Network Society In order to understand what social media is exactly, Kaplan & Haenlein (2009) explain that it is first necessary to understand two related topics that are regularly named in combination with social media; Web 2.0 and user-generated content, also known as UGC. Web 2.0 refers to platforms on the World Wide Web where content and applications are not created and published by individuals, but are modified on a continuous basis by all users in a participatory manner. User-generated content refers to the various types of media content that are publicly available and are generated by the end users. The OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) highlights three requirements for UGC to be considered UGC, which are: Being publicly accessible Shows a certain amount of creative effort Produced outside of professional practice and routine.
Kaplan & Haenlein (2009) explain that even though UGC has existed since the 1980s, before the term Web 2.0 had been introduced, it has been due to a combination of forces, which include technology drivers such as increased broadband connectivity, economic drivers, and social drivers from which we have seen the great increase of usage over the last decade. Finally by understanding these two concepts Kaplan and Haenlin define social media 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.
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The technological simulation of consciousness, when the creative process of knowing will be collectively and corporately extended to the whole human society, much as we have already extended our senses and our nerves by the various media. Whether the extension of consciousness, so long sought by advertisers for specific products will be a good thing is a question that admits wide solution. There is little possibility of answering such questions bout the extensions of man without considering all of them together. Any extension whether skin, hand or foot affects the whole psychic and social complex -Marshall McLuhan-
Social media has gained a lot of attention over the past few years. It has influenced our lives in various ways and in this chapter I would like to demonstrate some aspects of how it has changed society by highlighting some of the benefits and reasons why so many companies are using social media in their communication and marketing strategies. By doing so is important to gain an understanding of a new term that is known as the network society an up-to-date approach to the social sphere which Jrgen Habermas was famously known for. One of the criticisms of Jrgen was that his theory did not take into consideration the technological development over the past half-decade. Jan van Dijk and Manuel Castells both identified the term the network society however share different ideas for its terminology. Dijk describes the network society as a form of society increasingly organizing its relationships in media networks gradually replacing or complementing the social networks of face-to-face communication. Personal communication is replaced by digital technology. Whereas Castells (2009) terminology is more in depth and he describes it as a society where the key social structures and activities are organized around electronically processed information networks. Castells argues that it is not purely the technology that defines modern societies, but also cultural, economic and political factors that make up the network society. Influences such as religion, cultural upbringing, political organizations, and social status all shape the network society. Societies are shaped by these factors in many ways. It is important to understand what a network is, as Castells (2009) defines it a network is made up of nodes. Nodes increase their importance for the network by absorbing more relevant information, and processing it more efficiently. The processes that take place in global networks that constitute the social structure, the core activities that form and shape
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human life, affect everybody. Castells also explains that specific societies, as defined by the current boundaries of nation states, are deeply fragmented by the double logic inclusion and exclusion in the global network that structure production, consumption, communication and power. This shows us the importance of the digital age and the technological transformation that we as a society have undergone 2.3. Marketing 2.0 In this chapter I would like to highlight the emergence of Marketing 2.0, which refers to the use of Web 2.0 in the marketing mix and strategies. Glynn Mangold et al. (2009) in the study of Social media as the new hybrid element of the promotion mix, explains the importance of social media and its impact on marketing. He explains that consumer-to-consumer communication has been greatly magnified in the market place and therefore social media is a hybrid element of the promotion mix. Included in his study is his interpretation of IMC (Integrated Marketing Communication), which is described as the combination of all promotional activities to produce a unified customer focused message. Inditex uses social media on a common basis now and Chris Treadway et al. (2009) explain some of the reasons why businesses such as Inditex may be using social media. He mentions that in some cases businesses are bypassing traditional marketing and advertising altogether in lieu of social media. Treadway et al. continue to explain that businesses get to know their customers on a professional and personal level. He uses the example of Facebook and gives us the following reasons of why this new paradigm of marketing is being used. Customer Interaction Facebook allows local businesses to share interesting stories and anecdotes and respond to random status updates in an effort to be more personable or human. Customer service Local businesses can use social media to respond to product question concerns or feedback. Deals, coupons, and offers Facebook offers the opportunity to promote standing or special offers and coupon codes through Facebook fan pages or another part of the social network. Real time notifications Businesses can notify customers of important business news updates, new items, sales and other relevant things that happen Personal recommendations Facebook provides a forum for encouraging customers to talk about good experiences or make personal recommendations
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about your company or your products. This can range from overt compliments delivered via status updates to more subtle approval via your fan page. Sarah Sorensen (2010) taken from an article from Forbes magazine (www.forbes.com) mentions that social media allows companies to stay on top of customer preferences and concerns. Erik Qualman (2010) describes another important aspect known in marketing as world of mouth. Erik describes a shift in the process of word of mouth to a term world of mouth due to the influence of social media. He has developed a model to explains this change with can be seen in the below figure 1.0
Figure 1.0 word of mouth to world of mouth (source: Qualman, 2010)
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2.4.Traditional consumer behavior theory In this chapter traditional consumer behavior is discussed in order to gain an understanding thereof. It will also try to identify the relationship between social media and consumer behavior in order to create the foundation and define the critical factors to be taken into consideration in the content analysis part to the thesis. Schiffman et al. (2008) describes consumer behavior as the behavior that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of products and services that they will expect to satisfy their needs. Similarly Wayne D Hoyer (2008) et al. explains, Consumer behavior reflects the totality of customers decisions with respect to the acquisition, consumption, and disposition of goods, services, activities, people and ideas by (Human) decision making units (over time) Lars Perner Ph.D. (1999) explains that the understanding of consumer behavior helps firms and organizations improve their marketing strategies. He also mentions that consumer behavior is The study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society He includes four applications for the studying of consumer behavior, which include: Marketing Strategy Public Policy Social Marketing Making ourselves better consumers
In traditional consumer behavior theories it is know that consumers have a specific process by which they arrive to the conclusion of buying a good or service. This is known as the consumer buying process. In the traditional buying process there are a set number of phases that a customer goes through and it is my aim with Social media and consumer behavior: an analysis of the Inditex and Facebook relationship to show in the changed environment, which I would like to refer to as invisible revolution, whether this traditional consumer behavior procedure is valid in the online environment. Another objective is to identify the areas in
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the consumer buying decisions where social media may play a role in influencing or providing the consumer with information regarding their needs.
Figure 1.0 Consumer buying process (Source: Schiffman, 2008) Figure 1.0 is a simple version of the consumer buying process that demonstrates the process that customers go through from the start until the end and post purchase phase. The model consists of three major components described by schiffman as Input, Process and Output We can, from this table, identify a typical Inditex consumer and start evaluating factors that could possibly influence consumers by looking at the factors of social media and the traditional consumer behavior theory. We could logically assume that the part of the buying process of greatest importance, in which social media could have an effect, is the search for information where consumers today have ample sources from which to search.
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According to Foux (2006) taken from the case study of Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix social media is perceived by consumers as a more trustworthy source of information regarding products and services. Likewise according to Lampert (2006) consumers are turning more and more frequently to various types of social media to conduct their information searches to make their purchasing decisions. As seen in the graph above, information is considered an important part of the consumer buying decision. This is particularly seen in the Pre-purchase search in which Shiffmann et al. (2008) describe it as the engagement of and extensive search of the outside environment for useful information on which to base choice. From this we can see the delicate relationship of consumer behavior and the role of social media therein.
2.4.Customer engagement and e-CRM Dave Chaffey et al. (2009) Customer engagement refers to the repeated interactions that strengthen the emotional, philological or physical investment a consumer has in a brand. Using engagement you get a more holistic appreciation of your customers actions, recognizing that value doesnt only come from transactions but also from the actions people take to influence others. Once engagement takes hold of marketing, marketing messages will become communication and dollars will shift from media buying to customer understanding. Likewise, according to Grant Leboff (2011), customer engagement involves finding value for your prospects and your clients around the service or product that you provide. He adds that customer engagement is not based on an immediate transaction- it is purely value led. By offering clients and customers something worthwhile, on a frequent basis, a business builds trust and credibility with its audience. When a customer is ready to buy, it is likely that at the very least you will be one of the businesses to which they look as a potential supplier. Having had the opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and give value to a prospect, they may very well be predisposed to want to see you. Related to customer engagement is the term e-CRM according to Dave Chaffey et al. (2009). This refers to electronic customer relationship management which uses electronic communications to maximize sales to existing customers and encourage continued usage of online services.
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2.5. The future of social media In this chapter the future of social media will be covered. The researcher will demonstrate authors in the field of Web 3.0 a relatively new concept also known as semantic web. This is done in order to make further predictions of the usage of social media and how this may possibly be related to the future of Inditex. According to David Armario (2010) the social media trends for the future will include: Further integration Tablet wars Social media schizophrenia The return of the company website Innovative moves by Facebook and Google
Eric Schmidt (2007) describes us an important terms that will be very important for the future of social media being the idea of Web 3.0. Schmidt describes this in a conference as web applications that are pieced with a number of characteristics. He describes that Web 3.0 involves: Applications that are fairly small Data is in the clouds, meaning that the exact physical location cannot be traced Applications can run on any device be it a computer or mobile device Applications are very fast Customizable Distributed virally through the use of social networks and email.
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2.6. Inditexs usage of Web 2.0 and social media This chapter is aimed to get an insight of the current activities of Inditex, their strategies and their actions concerning social media marketing and Web 2.0 development. This is done in order to gain an understanding and a foundation for content analysis. Features of their current websites and social media content are explained in this chapter. Each store is explained individually in order to highlight differences and clarifying their unique features. A number of press releases and online articles have been used in order to see what Inditex is currently doing in terms of Web 2.0 and social media. A case study called Zara: fast fashion done by the Harvard Business School was also used.
Taken from the Inditex website the table below represents the divisional stores that Inditex represents around the world.
Table1.1 Inditex stores around the world
Inditex 1(2011) From the above table we can see that Inditex consists of several divisions of which Zara is divided into Zara, Zara Kids and Zara home. Recently, on the 2nd of September 2010,
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Zara initiated its first online retailing store available to customers in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. Inditex later expanded into other countries including Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Monaco and Switzerland. Zara now serve 16 countries online. Deputy Chairman and CEO Pablo Isla published a press release on the Inditex website he explaining the relationship between Inditex and the importance of Web2.0 and social media. He does this by explaining "the strategic significance of this new commercial initiative, which is in keeping with our ongoing effort: to offer our customers the best service possible. Internet and the world of social networking are indispensable tools and extraordinary channels for communication, and fit perfectly with our Group's philosophy".
Figure 1.2: Screenshot Zara online store Figure 1.2 is an example of the Zara online store. We can see from the image that social media is integrated directly in their website with the Facebook icon which directs consumers directly to the Facebook page of Zara (The black circle in the bottom right hand corner). This is known as crosspollination when the marketing efforts are spread across various medias. Below are two examples that demonstrate the usage of crosspollination. Figure 1.3 linking to a iPhone application that can be downloaded from
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their website and the second Figure 1.4 shows a photo to inform customers of the online retailing that had started on the 2nd of September 2010. The post was posted on the 1st of September as the screenshot reveals.
Figure 1.3: Screenshot iPhone application
Figure 1.4: Screenshot Shop Online
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Both Facebook posts link directly to the website. The following screenshot reveals the countries in which the consumer may purchase online. The Basket next to the countries names indicates that online retailing is available in that country.
Figure 1.5: Screenshot, Where online retailing is available
Taken from Facebooks factsheet, Facebook has more than 500 million active users of which more than 50% of them log in daily, The average user has 130 friends and people spend over 700 billion minutes per month using Facebook. Facebook was founded in February in 2004. In only eight years it has easily become one of the worlds greatest phenomena. Facebook1 (2011) Facebook has become an important pillar of the Inditex marketing and communication strategy and in the data analysis the researcher attempts to demonstrate some of the key aspects of this new, yet important, relationship. Incorporated into the website is a section which clearly defines all aspects of the online retailing concept including a video explaining the process of an online purchase. Seen below is a screenshot taken thereof. Once again using crosspollination as the features of the LOOKBOOK and mobile application is included in the video.
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Figure 1.6: Screenshot Online retailing video
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Below are examples of Inditexss other websites that do not sell online including Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stadivarius, Oysho, and Uterque. The researcher points out the idea that online retailing is very new for Inditex and perhaps would first like to determine its success before investing in all stores simultaneously.
Figure 1.7:Screenshots Inditex Websites
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3.Data Analysis This part of the thesis is to analyze the data collected from the primary research and explain how the data will be used in the content analysis. The aim is to get an understanding of Inditex and their marketing strategies. Data will reflect Inditexs development from the Web1.0 era until the present day. Examples of each division is given and individually discussed according to the data that has been obtained from each division. This is done in order to identify each divisions specific strategies and the way that Inditex is interacting with each division differently. For each division a data table is given in order to discus the findings and compare divisions on an individual and conjoint basis. Later a qualitative approach is used in order to see examples of how each division specifically interacts with their customers using various tactics. It is very important to remember the limitations of the content that can be extracted are limited. In Facebook, users can do various things, which include sending personal messages, making comments, saying whether they like something and posting content that sometimes may be inaccessible. The researcher has identified areas where social media plays an important part in the consumer buying process thus being the information search after or before the recognition of a need or in the satisfaction of a want. Each division is introduced individually and then a summary of the 2-month period observation is given, followed by a qualitative approach on the content that was found on each page. At the end of this chapter there is a summary of the content and results. Some features that are not directly related to Facebook are described for the reasons of crosspollination to see how they interrelate content.
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3.1 Zara The first store was started by owner and founder of Inditex Amancio Ortega Gaona, ranked by Forbes magazine as the richest man in Spain (Forbes1 2010). Ortega is known for investing heavily in technology and innovation, which has formed an important part of the success that Inditex has had. Zara operates 1516 stores in 77 different countries [Inditex2]. Zara has a fast fashion strategy, the Harvard business case study Zara: fast fashion, explains that part of the success of Zara is their fast fashion strategy. The strategy includes short cycle times and displaying only few items in stores to make the customer think that the product will not be there the next time they visit. They therefore feel an urgency to buy the product because if they come back later they might loose the opportunity to purchase it. Another one of Zaras key elements is its customer and sales associate relationships. Workers are closely related to the production and design teams and feed them information about customer preferences after having spoken to customers. This is also known as QR or Quick Response, where the infrastructure allows for Zara to respond rapidly to consumer and market preferences. [Zara: fast fashion case study] Zara is in tune with its customers, who help it give shape to the ideas, trends and tastes developing in the world. This is the secret to its success among a wide range of people, cultures and generations, who, despite their differences, all share a special fondness for fashion [www.inditex.com] Zara uses social media in various ways. As previously discussed the study has been based on using the Facebook fan page. Below is an example of the Facebook page.
Zaras usage of Facebook in terms of interaction is very limited. Zara uses various forms of material that are posted on the Facebook page which range from photos, videos, events and two related concepts specifically to Zara known as PEOPLE and LOOKBOOK PEOPLE is a set of images that Zara posts of normal people that they have found in the street wearing Zara clothes. This is done on an ongoing (monthly) basis. The researcher finds this part of a strategic approach in making the consumer aware of the kind of people that use Zara clothing. As seen in the literature review Treadway (2009) explains this as customer interaction by which the researcher identifies this as a strategy
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to be more personable or human. The PEOPLE content is posted as links which are once again linked directly to the Zara website where the photos can be seen. This may be part of a strategy to drive consumers towards the Zara webpage in order to increase awareness of their online retailing initiative. Figure 1.8 is and example of the PEOPLE initiative taken from the Zara website.
Figure 1.8: Screenshot, Zara PEOPLE initiative
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The following photograph was taken from the Facebook page and in general explains the rules of the PEOPLE initiative.
Figure 1.9: Photograph Zara PEOPLE initiative A LOOKBOOK on the other hand is a set of photos with a suggested style in order to see how the clothes could work together. The researcher sees this, as a way of trying to sell more as some people would buy the entire look instead of only one item.
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Figure 2.0: Screenshot, Zara LOOKBOOK initiative From this many comments and likes are made which, from a logical point of view, coincide with Zaras strategy of maintaining a close relationship with their customers. In Table 1.0 is a summary of the content posted by Zara on their Facebook page. Table 1.0 Zara summary of social media activities
Date 2/3/2011 2/3/2011 2/4/2011 2/9/2011 2/10/2011 2/15/2011 2/17/2011 2/21/2011 2/25/2011 3/4/2011 3/7/2011 3/9/2011 TOTAL Name of campaign/post Man Spring Summer Campaign Woman Spring Summer Campaign Kids Spring Summer Campaign Man New ZXM Collection Lookbook TRF TRF & New color pants lookbook Man Young lookbook-February People Coming Soon lookbook Woman & Man Woman lookbook-March Man lookbook-March The Street woman Type of content Photo (12) Photo (10) Photos (15) Photos (7) Photos (8) Photos (6) Photos (5) Link Photos (5) Photos (5) Photos (5) Video 12 No. Of "likes" 10,324 12,845 12,068 9,131 8,048 11,628 11,178 4,742 11,316 11,508 9,297 6,256 118,341 No. Of comments 443 705 587 389 366 483 491 284 445 487 384 279 5343
We can see from the results obtained that Zara post very few posts in comparison to other Inditex divisions with only 12 posts in total over the two-month period. They
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however have the largest number of fans on their Facebook page with 8,622,533 fans. Zara does also not allow any of the fans to post information directly onto their wall. The majority of posts were in the form of photos that are often directly linked to their webpage where the merchandise can be purchased. Members comments on the photos were mainly positive and for the least amount of posts made they had the largest number of comments and likes. Bershka has a higher number of comments and likes however they have many more posts and content on their Facebook page. (See Table 1.4). This information could be key to Zara and the production facility as they are not able to view customer preferences beforehand and accordingly plan production, complimentary to their in-store strategy.
8%
0% 8% Photo link 83% video other
Figure 2.1 Content usage by Zara
Figure 2.1 represents media divided by type of content where the majority of Zaras content was photos.
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3.2 Pull and Bear Pull and Bear is Inditexs third biggest division with 682 stores in 46 countries. Pull and Bear target the youth market in the fashion industry. A quote taken from the Inditex website sums up its target market. Young peoples spirit is our source of inspiration. Since its creation in 1991, Pull & Bear has specialized in adapting to the needs of young shoppers, and is now a must-stop destination for casual, laid-back fashion. (Inditex3) We dress the world with a single product and speak a common language, as part of a global youth culture They also integrate a larger amount of social media including accounts in YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr and Twitter. Their Facebook posts differ very much from Zara. They too include LOOKBOOKS however they are much more casual and the content that they post on their Facebook page includes unrelated content. That means that the content does not directly relate to their products or stores. An example would be a music video that has nothing to do with the activities of the store. This may be used for several reasons including to associate themselves with a global youth culture as mentioned in their website. Pull and Bear post more often with 50 posts having been placed on their Facebook page over the 2month period. On the day of finalization they had 1,295,901 fans on their Facebook page. There is also a lot more interaction between Pull and Bear with the customers than that of Zara. Pull and Bear relate themselves to a blog called PULL THE METAL [www.pullbear.com/pullthemetal], a collaboration with a magazine called Metal Magazine and Pull and Bear. Below is a screenshot of the blog.
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Figure 2.2:Screenshot Pull and Bear blog initiative Below is an example of how Pull and Bear relate themselves to the blog and post links.
Figure 2.3 Pull and Bear blog collaboration
Pull and Bear also make use of crosspollination and an example would be their iPhone application, which allows consumers to receive the latest style offers and new products that arrive in stores. At the same time they are given the suggested styles in order to
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show how their clothing could work for them. Figure 2.3 was taken from their website to show the application that was developed for mobile devices.
Figure 2.4: Screenshot Pull and Bear iPhone application The application updates consumers on a weekly basis on various store activities and offers. Pull and Bear uses event and cause related marketing. It was very interesting to see how Inditex, including all divisions, responded to the March 11th 2011 tsunami disaster affecting Japan. On the 15th of March 2011, shortly after the disaster, Pull and Bear posted the following post in response to the disaster.
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Figure 2.5 Thinking of Japan post
Figure 2.6 XX contest
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Figure 2.7: Screenshot Pull and Bear website, Social media links Figure 2.4 has 3 particularly interesting points. From the menu bar there is a list of links to the social media sites that Pull and Bear connect themselves to. The list includes: iPhone application YouTube Vimeo Facebook Twitter Flicker Sign up for emails
The second interesting point is that, when the website is opened, there is a large announcement about the new concept store, an interactive store also known as 2.0 store. Described by Pull and Bear a 2.0 store is a place for the customer to experiment actively with the latest technological advancement and share their experiences on the net. This store located near our central offices is the place we have chosen as the center
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of operations to test our stores of the future. We have prepared various installations to begin a new era in design at our points of sale. To celebrate this we have prepared an event and look forward to you joining us [www.pullandbear.com] From this statement we can get an insight of what Inditex plans for the future. We can see once again the importance of innovation and technology for the Inditex group. The last point from figure 2.4 is the use of cause related marketing to inform the consumer about responsible actions. In the top right hand corner we can see the red circle saying WE ARE THINKING OF JAPAN highlighting their efforts made in helping Japan after the March 11th 2011 Tsunami. Below is a summary of the Pull and Bears Facebook page activities.
Table 1.2 Summary of Pull and Bears social media activities

Date 2/3/2011 2/11/2011 2/14/2011 2/14/2011 2/16/2011 2/16/2011 2/17/2011 2/18/2011 2/18/2011 2/21/2011 2/21/2011 2/24/2011 2/24/2011 2/25/2011 3/7/2011 3/9/2011 3/9/2011 3/9/2011 3/10/2011 3/10/2011 3/11/2011 3/11/2011 Name of campaign/post Competition Winner of headphones SS 2011 campaign SS 2011 lookbook SS 2011 lookbook men SS 2011 campaign SS 2011 campaign Mens look Womans look Mens look Womans look Mens look Womans look Men look Woman look Lookbook woman Emma Thom blog Emma Thom blog Emma Thom blog Mens look Womans look ELLOS MISMOS mrjuancocco Photo (6) Link Link Photo (1) Photo (1) Link Photo (7) 796 305 316 503 1107 223 778 27 6 4 46 71 8 19 Type of content Link Link Video Photo Photo Photo (11) Video Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) No of likes 481 260 503 1978 1515 1671 644 512 1044 549 712 552 1096 577 1423 No. Of comments 68 14 32 62 83 50 37 31 56 38 65 45 58 46 84
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3/11/2011 3/14/2011 3/15/2011 3/15/2011 3/16/2011 3/16/2011 3/17/2011 3/18/2011 3/19/2011 3/21/2011 3/21/2011 3/21/2011 3/21/2011 3/23/2011 3/23/2011 3/23/2011 3/24/2011 3/24/2011 3/25/2011 3/25/2011 3/28/2011 3/28/2011 3/28/2011 3/29/2011 3/30/2011 3/31/2011 Total
The blogger project RUBIK & CHUPA CHUPS We are thing of Japan We are thing of Japan KNOTAN Istanbul shopping fest Rocksmith Istanbul shopping fest Andrew Myers Mens look Womans look LEI LEI BLINKY Mens look Womans look Ukrainian Shopping Night Earth Hour INTERACTIVE STORE Istanbul shopping fest Pull the metal Tara Douglas Mens look Womans look marista.co@pullandbear BLUKU Playlist The Londoner
Link Link Photo (1) Photo (1) Link Event Link Link Link Photo (1) Photo (1) Link Link Photo (1) Photo (1) Event Link Photo (10) Event Link Link Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (4) Link Photo (6)
363 313 585 902 249 291 210 173 267 512 1101 476 170 649 1061 180 308 579 156 274 250 447 847 900 301 979 30088
23 9 20 19 9 9 8 4 8 29 64 28 1 53 57 3 9 17 8 17 8 45 40 26 19 30 1513
4% 4% photo 35% 57% link video other
Figure 2.8 Content usage by Pull and Bear
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Figure 2.5 represents the media percentage of what media was used. Like Zara, Pull and Bear also use photography as their number one content type however it is lower at 57% compared to 83% of Zara. The second highest is links. The researcher highlights that it is important to remember that most of the links were for the blog with which they associate themselves [www.pullthemetal.com].
3.3 Massimo Dutti Massimo Dutti is the fifth largest division of the Inditex group. Its stores are considered more sophisticated and offer high-end fashion of high-end quality. It is constituted of 530 stores in 50 different countries and is only a third of the size of Zara (Inditex4). Massimo Duttis usage of Facebook is somewhat coherent to that of Zara and the use of photos and styles are common practice. Massimo Dutti is a much smaller group with only 44,616 fans. This being for two reasons; the age group at which Massimo Dutti is targeted is of a older age meaning that time spent on social media sites such as Facebook is far less than that of younger markets and the second reason being that Massimo Dutti is more elegant and upper class than Zara and Pull and Bear.
Figure 2.9: Screenshot, Massimo Dutti website
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We can see that less emphasis is put on the use of their Facebook fan page. It is not even mentioned on the front cover unlike Zara and Pull and Bear. Table 1.3 Summary of Massimo Duttis social media activities
Date 2/2/2011 2/4/2011 2/7/2011 2/7/2011 2/9/2011 2/10/2011 2/11/2011 2/14/2011 2/18/2011 2/21/2011 2/22/2011 2/24/2011 2/28/2011 3/3/2011 3/4/2011 3/4/2011 3/9/2011 3/10/2011 3/15/2011 3/17/2011 3/18/2011 3/21/2011 3/24/2011 3/30/2011 3/31/2011 TOTAL Name of campaign/ post Massimo Dutti's Must have Finally, it's Friday! Spring Summer Campaign 2011 by Magna SS '11 campaign by Men accessories Girl Spring/Summer '11 total look. Valentine's day Nautical Style Footwear Collection Lookbook March: behind the scenes The perfect combination Men collection // "the leather connection" What's your favorite accessory? Man // Accessories collection Women // Lookbook March Men // Lookbook March Men // Accessories collection Women collection // "Must have" BOY Total Look // Spring Summer '11 6 great gift ideas for father's day: Friday is finally here! INDITEX - JOIN FASHION! Women collection // "the trench" Incorporamos seccin de Boys & Girls Selected fragrances by Massimo Dutti Type of content Photos (1) Photos (1) Video Photos (30) Photos (1) Photos (1) Photos (1) Photos (1) Photos (1) Photos (20) Photos (1) Photos (1) Photos (1) Photos (1) Photos (14) Photos (20) Photos (1) Photos (1) Photos (1) Photos (1) Photos (1) Link Photos (1) Photos (1) Photos (1) No. Of "likes" 110 284 116 338 114 95 83 191 164 153 216 220 194 139 294 218 92 347 94 110 141 88 318 150 111 4380 No. Of comments 10 34 11 18 14 2 8 14 10 6 22 20 46 7 10 13 10 38 0 9 6 10 30 15 4 367
4% 4% 0% photo link 92% video other
Figure 2.10 Massimo Duttis content usage
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3.4 Bershka Bershka appeals to Inditexs youngest target market. It was founded in 1998 as a new concept store and now is available in 50 countries having 720 stores. Their store features cutting edge-design and combines the three elements of street fashion, music and art (Inditex5). The Facebook page highlights these three elements by the nature of the content that is posted on the Bershka page. Also, the website mentions that visitors to Bershka shops can watch videos, listen to CDs and read magazines. Bershka often posts music videos related to their target market as a form of entertainment that compliments their image. From the results (See figure 3.0) we can see that the types of content used is more spread out and that music videos make up for the biggest part of the type of content used. Videos made up for 35% of the total number of posts compared to 32% of photos. Figure 2.8 is an example of the Bershka Facebook page.
Figure 2.11 Bershka Facebook page We can once again see that the use of cause related marketing is used throughout the Bershka online medias. During the 2-month observation process Bershka introduced community managers to the Facebook page. This was done in order for Bershka to
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respond to consumer questions made on Facebook on a more personal level than directly speaking to the consumers. Figure 2.9 represents the introduction of the community managers that was posted on the 17th of March 2011. This can be seen as a step towards increasing the quality of interaction between consumers and Bershka on the Facebook page.
Figure 2.12: Bershka community managers Unfortunately they were introduced into the later part of the 2-month observation period and therefore not much interaction could be traced. An example of how they respond to consumer concerns and questions can be seen below.
Figure 2.13: community manager response
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The Bershka community manager responds to a consumers concern regarding the introduction of the new iPhone application. This also allows for other consumers with perhaps the same doubts to see the information. Logically this is a more efficient method of communication as Bershka can save time responding to each person individually. Bershka received more likes than Zara over the 2-month period however had more than double the amount of content and it is important to remember that Bershka is aimed at the youngest market segment. Younger people have more free time and tend to spend more time on social networking sites than older people. Thus making social networking sites such as Facebook an essential part of the communication channels and strategy. Bershka introduced a competition where each community manager had to post one of their favorite music videos on the Facebook page, users would then vote for each video and at the end one of the community managers would have won according to the number of votes each video got. The community manager that won received a kebab as a reward. This is a really simple yet easy way of getting consumers engaged into the Bershka Facebook page as well benefiting the Bershka brand as awareness for the brand is created. In total Bershka received 122425 likes and 5253 comments during the observation period. Bershka have a total of 2,607,181 fans on their Facebook page. Below is a summary of their activities over the observation period.
Table 1.4 Summary of Bershkas social media activities

Date 2/1/2011 2/3/2011 2/3/2011 2/3/2011 2/4/2011 2/4/2011 2/4/2011 2/7/2011 2/8/2011 2/8/2011 2/10/2011 2/10/2011 Name of campaign/post Lookbook Girls top 10 shoes Boys top 10 shoes February playlist Valentine outfits Reapertura Reapertura Frida's blog Win a total look Be my valentine Bimba Bose Mirand Makaroff Type of content Link Photo (10) Photo (10) Word post Link Event Event Link Link Photo (2) Word post Photo (1) No. Of "like" 1474 5777 3470 938 1014 416 470 670 963 4595 860 1223 No. Of comments 41 171 122 34 31 14 25 16 43 182 40 45
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2/11/2011 2/11/2011 2/14/2011 2/14/2011 2/15/2011 2/15/2011 2/15/2011 2/17/2011 2/17/2011 2/18/2011 2/20/2011 2/21/2011 2/21/2011 2/22/2011 2/22/2011 2/24/2011 2/24/2011 2/25/2011 2/28/2011 3/1/2011 3/1/2011 3/1/2011 3/1/2011 3/2/2011 3/4/2011 3/4/2011 3/4/2011 3/4/2011 3/4/2011 3/14/2011 3/14/2011 3/15/2011 3/16/2011 3/16/2011 3/16/2011 3/16/2011 3/17/2011 3/17/2011 3/18/2011 3/18/2011 3/21/2011 3/21/2011 3/22/2011
Bimba Bose Bimba Bose Happy Valentines Last chance to win Lady Gaga in a egg Lady Gaga in a egg Store opening Pereira Shooting our lookbook Photographic session Britney Spears-Hold it against me Beth Ditto-I wore the book Beth Ditto-I wore the book Opening in Pereira Nate or Duck Get one of our new purses Soraya-Dreamer Spring boys bring it on! Serena vs. Blair Lookbook Lady Gaga-Born this way Lookbook-March boys top 10 shoes girls top 10 shoes Space Ibiza Jennifer Lopez- On the floor Opening Japan Opening Japan Willow Smith Rihanna- S&M Denim preview Alexis Jordan-Happiness Denim lookbook ROCKUP! HANDSUP! DREAMUP! COLORUP! LMFAO Introducing our community managers Rebecca-Black Friday New iPhone application Community managers video VIDEO1 VIDEO2
Word post Word post Word post Link Video Video Event Link Link Video Video Video Photo (8) Video Photo (4) Video Photo (5) Video Link Video Link Photo (10) Photo (10) Video Video Event Event Video Video Photo (1) Video Link Photo (5) Photo (7) Photo (5) Photo (5) Video Photo (1) Video Link Photo (1) Video Video
796 633 3100 477 973 1128 496 2079 64 3776 627 760 3418 1037 3135 535 2311 1494 569 1899 1246 3567 7183 764 3276 330 611 1077 5076 1233 708 1133 1828 2239 3185 2813 2006 457 763 464 277 1725 875
63 29 76 34 76 32 38 63 0 217 22 36 86 406 84 17 48 425 33 92 49 170 204 47 90 38 73 69 134 53 29 35 41 45 51 80 91 47 123 36 19 85 43
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3/23/2011 3/24/2011 3/25/2011 3/25/2011 3/26/2011 1/27/1900 3/28/2011 3/28/2011 3/28/2011 3/29/2011 3/29/2011 3/30/2011 3/30/2011 Total
VIDEO3 VIDEO4 VIDEO5 And the winner is! iPhone fashion diary Justin Beiber-Baby Leighton Meester-Summer girl Color block for her Shiny color for him Shiny color for him April lookbook Girls top 10 shoes Boys top 10 shoes
Video Video Video Photo (1) Link Video Video Photo (12) Photo (4) Photo (9) Video Photo (10) Photo (10)
1553 2206 1406 453 978 2102 2341 3598 2176 2176 638 5825 2960 122425
44 42 36 24 47 174 79 84 79 79 17 149 106 5253
15%
32%
photo link
35% 18%
video other
Figure 2.14 Bershkas content usage
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3.5 Stradivarius Stradivarius is aimed at young women. The Inditex website describe Stradivarius as the following: Stradivarius takes a youthful approach to fashion with an original and dynamic twist on the latest trends in design, fabrics and accessories. Stradivarius currently has 593 stores in 43 countries (Inditex6). One of the most surprising findings from the two-month observation period was the number of consumers that asked for a Stradivarius store in their location. Stradivarius has a different name for their Facebook page called StraDivas by Stradivarius. On the day of finalization they had 257,479 fans on their Facebook page. There were also various occasions of consumers asking for an online store. Below are various examples of this.
Figure 2.15 Online retailing post
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Figure 2.16 Store demand posts
Figure 2.17 Online retailing post for Stradivarius From Figure 2.17, made in Spanish, a comment is made asking Stradivarius when an online store will be available. The following comments in response to the first comment are as follow; yes because in Italy it is more difficult to find a store and the second comment says: yes yes thats it an online store now! and the last one says: yes please, I live in Sweden and here there isnt even a Stradivarius store All these exhibits shows that there is more demand for their products and that the idea of starting an online store may not be such a bad idea for Stradivarius as, for example, one consumer showed that she would buy Stradivarius products without there even being a store near her. Stradivarius can now look into the possibilities of realizing this and meeting the consumers wants and needs. Offering an online store in countries where there arent stores yet can be perceived as being a good opportunity as the cost of online retailing is less than that of a mortar and brick store. Below is the summary of Stradivariuss activities over the two-month period.
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Table 1.5 Summary of Stradivariuss social media activities

Date 2/1/2011 2/1/2011 2/1/2011 2/2/2011 2/2/2011 2/3/2011 2/3/2011 2/4/2011 2/4/2011 2/4/2011 2/4/2011 2/7/2011 2/7/2011 2/8/2011 2/8/2011 2/9/2011 2/10/2011 2/11/2011 2/11/2011 2/12/2011 2/14/2011 2/14/2011 2/14/2011 2/15/2011 2/15/2011 2/16/2011 2/16/2011 2/16/2011 2/16/2011 2/17/2011 2/17/2011 2/17/2011 2/17/2011 2/18/2011 2/18/2011 2/18/2011 2/21/2011 2/22/2011 2/22/2011 2/22/2011 Name of campaign /post Happy valentines day coming soon 080 Barcelona fashion Look of the day We love fashion vibe Look of the day Shoes of the week Look of the day Sradiva competition We love fashion icons Dou Dillon Look of the day Valentines day campaign We love the world Look of the day Do you want to be our Stradiva? Look of the day Valentines day Satin Ballerinas Store Milan coming soon Weekend outfit During this weekend Happy valentines day Be our Stradiva Look of the day Cinema event Look of the day Spring 2011 campaign The spring trends The lady addict blog Look of the day Spring trends in shoes We love your talent Look of the day Shoe discounts We love fashion icons Fashion fruit Look of the day We love the world Vote for you Stradivari Fashion fruit Look of the day Type of content Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Link Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Link Photo (1) Link Link Photo (1) Event Photo (1) Video Photo (1) Link Photo (1) Event Photo (1) Link Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Link Link Link Photo (1) Link Link Photo (1) Photo (1) Link Photo (1) Photo (1) Link Link Photo (19) Photo (1) No. Of "likes" 83 106 790 75 603 108 790 87 89 301 69 59 329 69 370 56 573 106 578 102 47 96 282 69 541 140 95 75 142 142 258 408 387 66 78 275 75 51 144 316 26 1 2 4 37 55 1 1 2 3 9 9 17 68 2 5 17 48 12 No. Of comments 4 6 48 4 34 12 64 9 3 22 1 2 28 3 47 2 29
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2/23/2011 2/23/2011 2/24/2011 2/24/2011 2/24/2011 2/24/2011 2/25/2011 2/25/2011 2/28/2011 2/28/2011 3/29/2011 3/29/2011 3/30/2011 3/30/2011 Total
New look book Look of the day March look book Platform shoes Vote for you Stradiva look Look of the day We love fashion icons Look of the day New Stradivarius - Jakarta New Arrivals April lookbook Look of the day Male style shirts Look of the day
Link Photo (1) Link Photo (1) Link Photo (1) Link Photo (1) Link Photo (1) Link Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1)
108 353 91 76 39 287 82 734 171 113 79 473 96 435 12167
1 26 4 4 76 4 26 26
2 38 844
4% 37% 57% photo video link other 2%
Figure 2.18 Stradivariuss content usage
From the above figure we can see the content used by Stradivarius. The majority of the media content is photos with 57%, followed by links at 37%. Only 2% of media content were videos. A total of 12163 likes and 844 comments were recorded from the Facebook page over the observation period.
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3.6. Oysho Oysho founded in 2001 has 432 stores in 25 countries and specialize in womens lingerie and intimate wear. Customers can find contemporary, urban and casual outerwear, comfortable and informal loungewear and unique accessories (Inditex7). Over the 2-month observation period only 11 posts were recorded of which 100% of those posts were photograph related. On the day of finalization Oysho had a total of 77,216 fans on their Facebook page.
Figure 2.19 Oysho event related marketing Figure 3.2 shows us two instances of when Oysho used photos to communicate to their consumers. The first one being for gift cards and the second an event created by Oysho for the premiere of Black Swan (an Oscar nominated film and its premiere in Spain). Oysho launched products in line with the premiere date and consumers that purchased products had the chance of getting a ticket to go and see the movie premiere. The premiere was postponed and Oysho posted the following photo.
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Figure 2.20 Oysho movie night The text saying; Until Sunday the 27th of February, You can still obtain your ticket. Below is the summary of Oyshos activity over the two-month period.
Table 1.6 Summary of Oyshos social media activities

Type of contents Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) No. Of "likes" 143 151 193 83 184 102 42 260 220 181 78 1637 No. Of Comments 7 11 4 1 19 2 8 2 21 12 8 95
Date 2/1/2011 2/4/2011 2/8/2011 2/9/2011 2/15/2011 2/25/2011 3/3/2011 3/8/2011 3/14/2011 3/18/2011 3/25/2011 TOAL
Name of company/post Gym wear new collection THE BLACK SWAN Fashion OYSHO - Weekly look MY DEAR VALENTINE This week in the Oysho stores. I love my purse! FRESH IN THE STORES! OYSHO & NORIT Feliz Da de la Mujer! (Happy womans day) FRESH IN THE STORES! Spring colors in Oysho Weekly Look: Soft Cashmere. Weekly look: The Garden of Earthly Delights
56
0% Photo video 100% link other
Figure 2.21 Oyshos content usage
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3.7. Zara Home Zara Home was founded in 2003 and specializes in home dcor and linens. They operate 284 stores in 27 countries. Their line includes bed, table and bath linens which are complemented by dishware, cutlery and glassware (Inditex8). Zara Home was one of the more interesting pages to be observing as consumers are allowed to post comments directly on the wall and the interaction between the Facebook page and consumer was high. Zara Home also offers online shopping. The Facebook page had 69,949 fans on the day of finalization (31st March 2011) Below are some examples of a complaint made by a customer and how later Zara responds to the situation. We can see that from this they are showing great care. This complaint is public and therefore anyone can see the situation. This is bad publicity but we can see that Zara home quickly turns it around buy showing that they are in control of the situation, a great example of e-CRM.
Figure 2.22 Zara Home complain post
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Figure 2.23 Zara Home store inquiry Exhibit 2.0 shows a consumer inquiry about where the consumer can find a store. This represents a consumer with the intention of buying and is a great example of how Zara Home takes the opportunity to inform the consumer of the possibility of buying online of which she was not even aware. We can also see from the comment that Zara Home is thinking of opening a store in Germany. Below is a summary of their activity. A total of 3344 likes and 188 comments were made on content posted by Zara Home.
Table 1.7 Summary of Zara Homes social media activities

Type of content Link Link Link Photo (23) Photo (8) Link Photo (7) Photo (28) Link Word post Link Word post Photo (31) Link No. Of "likes" 55 32 17 812 113 17 218 216 22 82 40 47 269 22 No. Of. Comments 6 23 0 42 11 1 10 9 0 9 4 5 5 2
Date 2/1/2011 2/2/2011 2/9/2011 2/22/2011 2/22/2011 2/23/2011 3/1/2011 3/2/2011 3/3/2011 3/4/2011 3/9/2011 3/10/2011 3/11/2011 3/15/2011
Name of campaign/post Last day to enter draw Winner of the draw are! Newsletter Lookbook spring/summer Shower curtains Discover the Zara home lookbook Ginger Lily Gift baskets Newsletter Zara home wishes you a great weekend New Style New proposals New this week Trends
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3/16/2011 3/18/2011 3/24/2011 3/25/2011 3/28/2011 3/30/2011 Total
We are thinking of Japan Lookbook spring/summer 2011 Spring colors in bloom Earth Hour New this week Ethnic, Exotic, Exclusive
Word post Link Link Photo (1) Photo (25) Link
169 812 18 61 266 56 3344
1 42 1 4 10 3 188
15% 50%
35%
photo video link 0% other
Figure 3.4 Zara Homes content usage
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3.8.Uterque
Uterque forms the smallest part of the Inditex group with only 80 stores. It is also the youngest retailing concept having started in 2008 and is specialized at producing accessories and top fashion items (Inditex9). The merchandise is considered to be sophisticated and elegant. Below is a summary of its only usage of Facebook and customer interaction. Table 1.8 Summary of Uterques social media activities
Date 2/7/2011 2/7/2011 2/24/2011 3/11/2011 3/18/2011 3/21/2011 3/22/2011 3/23/2011 3/30/2011 3/31/2011 Total Name of campaign / port This is love, try it, know it San Valentine New products Summer mens collection Summer new looks New opening Athens Free application for Iphone Earth hour New opening Mexico New opening Mexico Type of content Photo (1) Link Link Link Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) Photo (1) No. Of "likes" 163 72 114 72 94 67 37 50 35 69 773 11 9 8 13 2 5 10 15 106 No. Of comments 33
We can see from the results that Uterque is one of the least active of the stores using social media with only 773 likes and 106 comments made over the two-month period. 70% of the content posted was photograph related. The remaining 30% being links which mostly link up to their website where more information can be obtained. This shows us that Facebook plays an important role in the information search of the consumer buying process.
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0% 30% 0% 70% photo video link other
Figure 3.5 Uterques content usage
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3.9. Inditex summary In this part of the thesis the researcher adopts an overall summary of the 2-month study for Inditex as a group. The researcher develops a critical perspective in order to see the benefits and whether the inclusion of social media has been to their advantage. The Below figure indicates the number of fans for each stores Facebook page.
No. of Fans in Facebook

Uterque Zara Home Oysho Stradivarius Bershka Massimo Dutti Pull and Bear Zara
0 2000000 4000000 6000000 8000000 10000000
No. of Fans in Facebook
Figure 3.6 No. Of Fans in Facebook per division Below is a table that has been formulated to summarize the information studied on an individual basis and view the content as a group.
Video Zara Pull and Bear Massimo Dutti Bershka Stradivarius Oysho Zara Home Uterque TOTALS 1 2 1 24 1 0 0 0 29
Photo 10 28 23 22 31 11 7 7 139
Link 1 17 1 12 20 0 10 3 64
Other 0 2 0 10 2 0 3 0 17
Total no. Of "Likes" 118,341 30088 4380 122425 12167 1637 3344 773 293,155
Total no. Of comments 5343 1513 367 5253 844 95 188 106 13709
From the above summary we can get an idea of the total type of content that was used by the Inditex group. In total 249 posts were recorded over the 2-month observation period. Over 293,155 likes and 13,709 comments were made.
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7% 26%
12% Video 56% Photo Link Other
Figure 3.7 Inditexs content usage as a whole We can see that the majority of content was photos at 56% followed by links with 26%, then video and other types of content.
Critical Analysis In this part of the thesis the researcher adopts a critical overview of Inditex as a whole. Pointing out the key points and concerns for the future and areas where Inditex could improve their activities. The Inditex stores are very well known around the world and in terms of awareness have a great percentage captured as their market. The have clearly defined strategies for each store and the initiatives are coherent to each stores objectives. The content posted by each store is very well adapted to each stores target market. Zara is the clear leader in terms of the number of fans on their Facebook page. One of the main concerns is that the target market for their clothing spans over a wide age gap (Infant45). The main concern being how to communicate to all of these age groups as one target group and portray a unified message. This is very restrictive for Zara, as we have seen. Comparing Zara to Bershka we can see that Bershka is much more comfortable with their position in the Facebook environment. Bershka has a young female market (13-23). In this way they are able to have a clear message and know how to treat all consumer in a similar manner. They therefore have a more diversed content usage (flexible) and the communication message is uniform and concrete. Pull and Bear are in a similar position having a clearly defined target market of young men and women (14-28). Pull and bear have the most diverse usage of content with a consistent message. Their page is in the same way entertaining and in this way more engagement is likely to take place.
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Stradivarius has the fourth greatest number of fans on its Facebook page. However the difference between Zara and Stradivarius is substantial and the rest of the stores have an almost insignificant amount of Facebook fans compared to that of Zara. The researcher identifies that Stradivarius is not taking full advantage of their Facebook page as their target market is clearly defined as being women between (15-25). They can clearly be more productive in harnessing the benefits of social media. Stradivarius should be using all the social media tools earlier discussed in the literature review in order to increase their presence in the social media world. The rest of the Inditex stores have an almost insignificant number of Facebook fans. Due to the fact that they are small Inditex should place a greater focus on these stores as their markets are small and can be considered niche targets. This makes it easier for those stores to manage the content and online Facebook activities. They are also able to make themselves more personable to their customers. Zara home does a great job at this as seen in the data they allow for users to post directly onto their wall. Zara then respond to them directly in a very short amount of time. This is unlike Zara where users arent permitted to post directly onto the Facebook wall. One of the main challenges seen for the Inditex group is in terms of the response from the online users. One important factor to consider is that Inditex should try to avoid as much negative responses as this quickly can cause problems in terms of brand image. Additionally stands the challenge of quality feedback. When Zara posts a photo for example the majority of comments is a like or a comment related to something that is of no relevance. Inditex needs to work on harnessing quality responses. It may be very good to increase activity as much as possible; however doing this does not guarantee the benefits that come along with the use of social media. The important part would be to make sure that the message arrives at the right target and that the message is of quality and value to the consumer or Facebook user. To conclude with the critical analysis the researcher will highlight concerns over the future of social media. Many critics mention that social media and the Internet will keep changing. That consumers are being bombarded with messages that they do not have any interest in. The key point being that Inditex needs to be cautious when using social media. We have learn from the past that bombarding the consumer with information ends up in the consumer ignoring and creating a ever greater avoidance of the communicated messages, substantial decreasing the effectiveness of the intended message.
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4.Conclusion The previous section of the thesis was aimed at explaining and bringing light to the observation period and content analysis. The researcher now aims to answer the set research questions of the thesis. This is done buy comparing the key findings from the observation and content analysis with the literature review and personal insight that was gained through the thesis process. The first question asked was how is the rise of social media affecting consumer behavior in the case of Inditex? From the key findings we can clearly see that social media has various effects on consumer behavior. We have seen that Inditex has included social media into their communication and marketing strategies for several reasons. These reasons have the absolute objective to sell more. Consumers are constantly showed new images on a regular basis. They are showed the latest trends and influenced into buying more. Consumers are engaged by content and the various results of engaging the consumer have been shown earlier as an attempt to sell more. Social media offers the consumer a new way of searching for information. Social media allows consumers to comment and view how other consumers feel about a particular product or aspect of a product. They are also allowed to share their personal experiences to friends or related people on a much more regular basis. Consumers are empowered and with the use UGC their word is spread around. This empowerment allows consumer behavior to be more dependent on personal opinions than the messages that they would receive from firms. They, therefore, have the power in the communication process and firms need to act accordingly. The researcher concludes that the rise of social media has changed consumer behavior in the case of Inditex in a series of instances. The researcher has created the following bullet points that highlight these changes. Consumers have changed, or at least included, social media into their information searches. Consumers have used social media to interact with the firm and to make inquiries about Inditexs products. Consumers have seen products and other consumer comments on products. These opinions about the products may persuade other consumers to purchase or not purchase the product
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Consumer may have changed where they search for information. From traditional theory we have seen that consumer uses their friends, family, work colleagues for opinions and information about products. Social media however gives consumers an endless number of people to connect with.
The second question was how may this change a firms marketing and communication strategies? We can see from the findings an evidential basis from where Inditex has incorporated social media into their marketing and communication strategies. We can also see the importance of incorporating social media into todays business environment and the possible losses that we can experience without the use of social media. These losses are the benefits that one will not gain by choosing not to incorporate social media into your communication and marketing strategy. We have seen that incorporating social media compliments overall objectives of the company and amplifies the possible conversations the people may have about your products or brand. With the shift of the power of communication from firm to consumer it is of utmost importance to change your communication initiatives accordingly. We have seen that Inditex has changed their communication strategy by allowing consumers to interact, participate and engage in issues that they are concerned about. Good or bad marketing that can come from consumers on social media platforms play an important part in the success and launch of new products which Inditex does on an ongoing basis. It is therefore important for Inditex to be aware of what consumers are saying about them as an overall firm and make sure that they honor and respect consumer preferences in terms of the marketing mix. Including factors such as place (many consumers having asked for online stores and the opening of stores in their regions) price, quality and, in the specific case of Inditex, consumer preferences in terms of styles and colors. The researcher has developed the following points to conclude the second question. That the use of social media has become an important pillar in the marketing and communication strategy of Inditex. That the use of social media in todays online environment is essential as a marketing tool and for interacting with consumers. That the power of communication has shifted towards the consumer as opposed to the traditional way by which the firm was in control of all communication. The third question was how is Inditex using social networking and marketing 2.0?
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From the findings we have seen various ways of how Inditex uses social media. Inditex uses social media to get information from customers and view comments about certain products. They use it in order to build their brand image; they have used it to communicate efforts and responsible actions taken, for example when Japan was hit by the tsunami. Other ways in which they have used it include communicating events, sales, and the arrival of new products. They have influenced consumers to participate in activities and engaged consumers in order to keep consumers coming back to their website, social media platforms and stores. The researcher highlights the following ways in which Inditex uses social media: Customer Interaction, Inditex allows customers to share interesting information and stories and respond to status updates and posts in an effort to be more personable and human. Customer Service, Inditex uses social media to respond to product questions and concerns. Deal, Coupons and Offers, Inditex has made use of social media to promote special offers through the use of posts highlighting promotional material. Real Time Notifications, Inditex has notified customers of important updates and relevant information that may be useful to their consumers. Personal Recommendations, through the use of social media Inditex can recommend styles and products to customers; they can also recommend to customers how to deal with certain problems in their region. The fourth research question asked was what does social networking provide Inditex? From the research that has been done we can see that social media offers Inditex many things. The most important for Inditex being communication of new products to consumers, consumers then comment on the products and say whether they like it. This provides Inditex with customer preferences from which they can later predict future products, preferences and tastes. From this they can better plan production levels and contribute to the overall efficiency of Inditex. Social media provides a platform where consumers are free to have conversations about Inditex stores and products and to engage and be aware of events and actions that have been taken by Inditex. Consumers now can ask Inditex stores questions about certain concerns instead of having to go to the store to find out. This offers more value for their consumers. This enhancement of their strategies benefits Inditex in a great way because all of the information that has
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been produced and publicity gained from social media efforts are practically free. The researcher summarizes with the following points of what social media provides Inditex with: Provides Inditex with a platform from where customer interaction can be analyzed. Provides direct interaction and communication to its consumers. Information on consumer behavior and consumer preferences. A measuring tool to see the effectiveness of marketing activities.
The final research question asked was what is the future for Inditex and the changing online environment? From the findings and the evolution of the Inditex stores such as Zara, which now offers online retailing, and Pull and Bear, which has a 2.0 store, we can assume that there will be a tendency for all divisions to enter the online retailing market. Many comments were found in order to show that there is more demand for online retailing especially in countries where Inditex stores are not present and products are hard to find. Inditex has used the use of technology and applications to enhance their business and stay in the lead amongst their competitors. Inditex has shown us the importance of staying up to date with technology and using it to our advantage. According to the researcher the following points are made in consideration of the data collected and analyzed: Social media has become of paramount importance to the firms communication strategy. The researcher suggests that this will become of greater importance in the future due to the increase of mobile phone usage and mobile applications that have been created by Inditex. There will be an increased use of cross-pollination of their social media and communication efforts, as there is a tendency to cross-promote information on various platforms. Inditex will continue to innovate and embrace new technologies in order to stay up-to-date and provide their customers with the best environment from where customer and firm both benefit from their initiatives. An example of this will be growth of the online environment and online retailing segment of their market.
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5.Bibliography Armario (2011) Six Social Media Trends for 2011, Harvard Business Review, March 2011 (p. 22) Barry Wellman (2002) The Internet in everyday life Blackwell publishers Available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=oyZm5UoO3tYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Barry+Wel lman&hl=en&ei=uvudTda1LYGWOqvD-NME&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=bookthumbnail&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6wEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false (Accessed April 2 2011) Borges B. (2009) Marketing 2.0 Bridging the Gap Between Seller and Buyer Through Social Media, Available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=x3xDRmh1i_kC&printsec=frontcover&dq=marketing+ 2.0+bridging+the+gap&hl=en&src=bmrr&ei=02OpTYiAOovysgb2vI2FBw&sa=X&oi=book _result&ct=book-thumbnail&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6wEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false (Accessed April 4 2011) Babbie Earl (2008) The basics of social research, Fourth Edition Available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=1_lSEh6AAfYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Earl+R.+Ba bbie&hl=en&ei=BTisTcyIDtO38QPKtIy5Ag&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=bookthumbnail&resnum=2&ved=0CDYQ6wEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false (Accessed March 23 2011) Chaffey .D (2009) Internet Marketing; strategy, implementation and practice Available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=HcoRl2EZXiwC&pg=PA340&dq=customer+engagem ent&hl=en&ei=6hu0TavsOorAswbjvaHgDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=bookthumbnail&resnum=1&ved=0CDcQ6wEwAA#v=onepage&q=customer%20engagement &f=false( Accessed March 26 2011) Clara S. (2009) The Facebook era, tapping online social networks to build better products, Reach new audiences and sell more stuff. Creswell J.W (1998) Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches Available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=nSVxmN2KWeYC&pg=PA14&dq=a+cultural+group+i n+a+natural+setting+over+a+prolonged+period+of+time+by+collecting,+primarily,+obser vational+data&hl=en&ei=D0reTbzqOYPE8QPgybCLCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=bookthumbnail&resnum=5&ved=0CEMQ6wEwBA#v=onepage&q=a%20cultural%20group%2 0in%20a%20natural%20setting%20over%20a%20prolonged%20period%20of%20time% 20by%20collecting%2C%20primarily%2C%20observational%20data&f=false (Accessed April 3rd 2011)
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Facebook1 (2011) Facebook factsheet Retrieved on March 14th 2011 from: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?factsheet Geertz (1973) The interpretation of cultures Available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=BZ1BmKEHti0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=(Geertz+19 73).&hl=en&ei=F1HeTfiNO5Gw8QPuwJCeCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=bookthumbnail&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6wEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false (Accessed April 3 2011) Ghemawat .P (2006) Zara: Fast Fashion Harvard Business School Case Study Grant L. (2011) Sticky Marketing: Why everything in marketing has changed and what to do about it Available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=FK_rmlxf4OoC&pg=PA38&dq=customer+engagemen t&hl=en&ei=3bm9TcPbHMiN5Aa96LTDBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=bookthumbnail&resnum=4&ved=0CDwQ6wEwAw#v=onepage&q=customer%20engagement &f=false (Accessed March 31st 2011) Hammersley M. (2007) Ethnography: principles in practice Available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=3WRQ0Pl0mPAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Martyn+ Hammersley+(2007)&hl=en&ei=V0_eTZcHMW18QOazYGWCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=bookthumbnail&resnum=1&ved=0CDIQ6wEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false (Accessed April 3rd 2011) Inditex 1 (2011) Stores around the world Retrieved on March 23rd 2011 from: http://www.inditex.com/en/who_we_are/stores Inditex 2 (2011) Zara facts Retrieved on March 12th 2011 from: http://www.inditex.com/en/who_we_are/concepts/zara Inditex3 Pull and Bear Retrieved on March 20th 2011 from: http://www.inditex.com/en/who_we_are/concepts/pull_and_bear Inditex4 Massimo Dutti Retrieved on March 22nd 2011 from: http: _are/concepts/massimo_dutti //www.inditex.com/en/who_we
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Inditex5 Bershka Retrieved on March 22nd 2011 from: http://www.inditex.com/en/who_we_are/concepts/bershka Inditex6 Stradivarius Retrieved on March 30th 2011 from: http://www.inditex.com/en/who_we_are/concepts/stradivarius Inditex7 Oysho Retrieved on April 1st 2011 from: http://www.inditex.com/en/who_we_are/concepts/oysho Inditex8 Zara Home Retrieved on April 1st 2011 from: http://www.inditex.com/en/who_we_are/concepts/zara_home Inditex9 Uterque Retrieved on April 1st 2011 from: http://www.inditex.com/en/who_we_are/concepts/uterque Treadway .C (2010) Facebook Marketing: An hour a day Available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=wn2jTDtNOdEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=facebook+ marketin+an+hour+a+day&hl=en&ei=iWKpTZaQBpJ4gbkwNWICg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=bookthumbnail&resnum=1&ved=0CDMQ6wEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false (Accessed: March 23 2011) Mangold W.G. (2009) Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix Available at: http://www.itu.dk/~rkva/2011-Spring-EB22/readings/Mangold-SocialMedia.pdf (Accessed March 28 2011) Marshall M. (2003) Understanding Media The Extensions of Man Critical Edition Gingko Press Michael Lewis (2001), Next, The future just happened Perner L. (1999) Consumer behavior: the phycology of marketing Available at: http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/ (Accessed March 31 2011) Qualman E. (2010) Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business Available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=yAqD19i2U0UC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Erik+Qual man+(2010)&hl=en&ei=RVXeTZSqIIuz8QObrZWMCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result& resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Erik%20Qualman%20(2010)&f=false (Accessed 15 April 2011)
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Saunders (2000) Research Methods for Business Students Available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=utxtfaCFiEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Saunders&hl=en&ei=flDeTe7wMYm08QPPqioCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=bookthumbnail&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6wEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false (Accessed April 4 2011) Schiffman L.G. (2008) Consumer Behavior A European Outlook, FT Prentice Hall
Schmidt E. (2007) Eric Schmidt, Web 2.0 vs. Web 3.0 Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0QJmmdw3b0 (Accessed May 3 2011) Sorensen S. (2010) Marketing 2.0: Less Spin, More Value Available at: http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/22/twitter-starbucks-comcast-technology-breakthroughsmarketing.html (Accessed 10 April 2011) Tracy L. Advertising 2.0 Social Media Marketing in a Web 2.0 world Available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=ScdF1vHvHwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Tracy+L.+Tuten+Advertising+2.0+Social+Media+Mar keting+in+a+Web+2.0+world&hl=en&src=bmrr&ei=hHHeTZLkEYOrQavgpDrCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=bookthumbnail&resnum=1&ved=0CDwQ6wEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false (Accessed: April 20 2011) Wayne D Hoyer (2008) Consumer Behavior, Edition 5 http://books.google.com/books?id=fk1rTxRYtY0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=consumer+b ehavior&hl=en&ei=wd2lTYbeMY_q4waKwJjDCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=bookthumbnail&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6wEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false (Accessed March 31 2011)
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Social media and consumer behavior: The Inditex and Facebook relationship.

4.Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 66 5.Bibliography ................................................................................................................. 70

Word count: 15047

Figure 1.0 word of mouth to world of mouth (source: Qualman, 2010)

Table1.1 Inditex stores around the world

Figure 1.3: Screenshot iPhone application

Figure 1.4: Screenshot Shop Online

Figure 1.5: Screenshot, Where online retailing is available

Figure 1.6: Screenshot Online retailing video

Figure 1.7:Screenshots Inditex Websites

Figure 1.8: Screenshot, Zara PEOPLE initiative

0% 8% Photo link 83% video other

Figure 2.1 Content usage by Zara

Figure 2.3 Pull and Bear blog collaboration

Figure 2.5 Thinking of Japan post

Figure 2.6 XX contest

Table 1.2 Summary of Pull and Bears social media activities

4% 4% photo 35% 57% link video other

Figure 2.8 Content usage by Pull and Bear

Figure 2.9: Screenshot, Massimo Dutti website

4% 4% 0% photo link 92% video other

Figure 2.10 Massimo Duttis content usage

Figure 2.13: community manager response

Table 1.4 Summary of Bershkas social media activities

63 29 76 34 76 32 38 63 0 217 22 36 86 406 84 17 48 425 33 92 49 170 204 47 90 38 73 69 134 53 29 35 41 45 51 80 91 47 123 36 19 85 43

44 42 36 24 47 174 79 84 79 79 17 149 106 5253

Figure 2.14 Bershkas content usage

Figure 2.15 Online retailing post

Figure 2.16 Store demand posts

Table 1.5 Summary of Stradivariuss social media activities

108 353 91 76 39 287 82 734 171 113 79 473 96 435 12167

4% 37% 57% photo video link other 2%

Figure 2.18 Stradivariuss content usage

Table 1.6 Summary of Oyshos social media activities

0% Photo video 100% link other

Figure 2.21 Oyshos content usage

Figure 2.22 Zara Home complain post

Table 1.7 Summary of Zara Homes social media activities

3/16/2011 3/18/2011 3/24/2011 3/25/2011 3/28/2011 3/30/2011 Total

Word post Link Link Photo (1) Photo (25) Link

169 812 18 61 266 56 3344

photo video link 0% other

Figure 3.4 Zara Homes content usage

0% 30% 0% 70% photo video link other

Figure 3.5 Uterques content usage

No. of Fans in Facebook

No. of Fans in Facebook

12% Video 56% Photo Link Other

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