Date of Graduation

5-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Marketing

Advisor/Mentor

Schaffer, Meline

Abstract

Social media is becoming an increasingly important aspect of all companies’ marketing strategies. It is almost imperative for companies to advertise through social media if they want to have a fair chance of reaching the younger generation. In fact, “the majority (97%) of Gen Z consumers say they now use social media as their top source of shopping inspiration; 65% say they use social media to find entertaining content; and 61% of them are specifically interested in watching more video content” (Kastenholz, 2021). This proves that social media can make a significant and lasting impact on a company’s success. Social media has been around for several decades; however, it is essential to note that it has grown exponentially just in the past few years. While social media is prevalent amongst Gen Z in particular, it is being used by the majority of all Americans (Auxier & Anderson, 2021). Because of this, there are several benefits to businesses utilizing social media, which include things like an improved brand image and a stronger sense of connection between the brand and consumers (Edosomwan et al., 2011). Additionally, when comparing social media marketing to traditional marketing, social media marketing has several benefits that traditional marketing does not have, such as it being less expensive (Nekatibeb, 2012). While there is an opportunity for all companies to get involved in marketing through social media, there is primarily one for companies in the financial services industry. This is because with social media being used primarily by young adults, financial services companies can use it to reach people that may be new to finance and do not know a lot about investing or saving. If these companies can create social media campaigns that will resonate with their target audience, they will have a higher chance of gaining new clients.

Keywords

Social media; finance; marketing; financial services industry; young adults; Gen Z

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