Sustainable social media storytelling: Success stories from SMEs in Ōtepoti Dunedin. A #CallToAction to communicate small business values

This research investigated the use of social media storytelling of sustainability as a form of affordable and effective marketing approach for small businesses in Dunedin affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The main target of this research are small to medium enterprises or SMEs. To ensure the case studies provided useful material, initial criteria was utilised in their selection. The chosen businesses have sustainable practices already embedded into their ways of doing business but have practically no social media presence. Five small businesses in Dunedin, New Zealand, provided case studies to develop a framework for social media storytelling. By designing and implementing a 3-month social media campaign, the effectiveness of this framework was tested and evaluated. Varying measures of success for SMEs were identified and used to communicate the business owners’ values. A design enterprise solution was proposed to support SMEs to utilise the use of free tools on Facebook and Instagram platforms to effectively communicate their sustainable practices.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Design

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Otago Polytechnic

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Gaane, Fatima Marie

• Dunedin (N.Z.)
• New Zealand
• small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
• story telling
• social media advertising
• sustainability
• Facebook
• corporate social responsibility (CSR)
• business success
• case studies
• COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-

Statement dc:rights

• Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

https://doi.org/10.34074/thes.6027

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:null:10652/6027