Familiness in Building the Brand Image of Family Businesses through Social Media

Objective The subject of this article is the marketing aspect of familiness related to building the image of a family business brand. The aim of the article is to analyze the impact of familiness in the activities connected with building the brand image of small and medium-sized family businesses. Methodology Qualitative and quantitative methods have been included in the conducted research. Findings The research has shown that Facebook is used by the vast majority of companies. This research has also demonstrated that a large percentage of companies do not emphasize the familiness of their company in their activities on social media. This is surprising because the analysis of the literature shows that emphasizing the family character brings definitely more benefits than risks. Value Added This article presents a research of how family-owned companies use familiness in the brand image. The results of the research can be used to guide companies on how to use familiness in their social media marketing campaigns. Recommendations It is recommended that family businesses make greater use of the potential of their family strengths. It would be advisable to conduct research explaining why the family nature of companies is so rarely emphasized in social media activities. We also suggest conducting similar research in other countries, which would allow for more general conclusions and capture cross-cultural differences.