Marketing Research on the Digitalization of Brand Strategies: Marketing Solutions Software in Social Media

Abstract

The aim of the article is to substantiate the theoretical and methodological foundations for using marketing solutions software as a tool for marketing research on the digitalization of brand strategies in social media and to develop a conceptual model for integrating such software into the marketing decision-making cycle. The relevance of the topic is driven by the accelerated digital transformation of enterprises’ communication activities, where social media has shifted from being a supplementary promotion channel to the main environment for shaping brand strategies. Meanwhile, the scientific and methodological understanding of the role of marketing solutions software is lagging behind the pace of its practical implementation, especially in the context of the digitalization of Ukrainian business with the limited resources of the wartime period. The research methodology combines general scientific and specialized methods: system analysis – to study the architecture of marketing software solutions as an integrated ecosystem; comparative-typological method – to compare functional classes of digital tools; case study method – to analyze the experience of global and domestic brands; content analysis – to study the mechanisms of algorithmic content distribution; as well as methods of generalization and abstract-logical modeling – to build a conceptual research model. As a result, four main classes of marketing software solutions on social media were systematized – social analytics platforms, social CRM systems, content automation tools, and artificial intelligence algorithms; The role of shifting content distribution logic from a «social graph» to an «interest graph» in transforming marketing research methods has been revealed; a conceptual model for integrating software into the digitalization of brand strategy research has been developed, covering stages of monitoring, analytical segmentation, content solution generation, and predictive support for managerial decisions; practical experiences of global and local brands have been summarized; and the legal and ethical risks of digitalizing marketing strategies, related to personal data protection, algorithm transparency, and labeling of automated content, have been identified. The practical value of this study lies in its results being useful for company managers and marketing analysts to make informed choices about software classes based on the brand’s development stage and marketing research goals, as well as for designing internal systems for legal and ethical compliance in digital marketing communications.