Social Media as an Advertising Platform: A Case of Guinness Ghana Breweries Ltd

Abstract

Social media has become extremely popular in Ghana and various organisations of all sizes are experimenting with social media advertising. Despite this increasing usage there is currently limited research on how social media is used in specific Ghanaian industries. This study was conducted to ascertain why and how Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL) uses social media for advertising. The study focused on specific Guinness Ghana Limited brands –Guinness and Malta Guinness. The study adopted a qualitative research approach. To be specific, in – depth interviews and textual analysis were used to gather data. The study revealed that GGBL relied on social media primarily for the following reasons: brand awareness, communication and interaction with key audiences, social media presence, website traffic and cost effectiveness. Findings indicated that using social media as an advertisement platform was time consuming, requiring constant updates and attention. Findings from this study also revealed that social media has become a useful and effective advertising tool which allows businesses stay in touch with their customers and gauge customer responses. This study further validates Davis‟ (1985) technology acceptance model which underpins this research.