| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation aims to explore consumer interactions and engagement on
social media platforms in relation to music festivals. The project will research
the use of engagement on social media when attending a music festival, there
is a need for this as the advancements in technology have transformed the
internet and social media into an influential tool. As this study was looking
into the links between event marketing and social media, specific literature
can be sparse or outdated, therefore a quantitative approach was deemed the
most appropriate, quantitative data allows for the opinions and views of a
larger sample to be analysed. An electronic questionnaire was placed to the
social media of the researcher and handed to the students at Queen Margaret
University. It was deemed that a deductive approach would be the most
suitable when analysing the data.
The research revealed five important findings:
1. There is a clear link between event marketing and social media. To
successfully advertise to their target demographic, event organisers
need to be able to keep up with the current social media patterns. The
study found the majority of participants hear about music festivals
online through the internet and social media. Event marketers must
analyse the most effective ways to interact with their consumers to not
only gain attendees at an event but to have interaction online.
2. The study found that consumers do not consider negative online
reviews when deciding on an event to go to. The results are in line
with researchers who believe that consumers wish to make their own
opinions, preferring to experience the event for themselves.
3. Consumers enjoy the use of social media as they can share amongst
others, create memories and have freedom of expression. When using
social media at a music festival, very little engagement occurs before
the event, the majority of engagement happens after the event is over.
4. The results found clear differences between the two age demographics
researched, 18-24 and 25 and over. Although social media is the more
favourable method of hearing about music festivals, more traditional
means are still used by the older generations. Daily interaction times
differ, the younger generations do spend longer each day on social
media, this can be due to ‘unprecedented buying powers’ and growing
up in the digital age.
5. Motivations to attend music festivals and go on social media whilst at
festivals can be linked, it was also found that the motivations are
different for the two age demographics. The younger generation
attends these types of events for the social aspect, meeting with friends
and creating memories. | en |
