The client, the Finnish Association of Landscape Industries, has had to face many kinds of maintenance challenges, a major one involving income. In order to solve these challenges, the association has begun to reorganize its operations, which is intended to help stabilize the finances as well. The association has realized the significance of social media as a communications and marketing tool. When it comes to web services development, however, a clear idea or plan is lacking. This thesis is designed to help clarify the process.

The aim of this thesis was to assess how utilizing social media could help the Finnish Association of Landscape Industries gain more visibility as well as business advantages, leaving them better-equipped to meet increasing competition. By detailing the characteristics and workings of social media, and by understanding the principles behind marketing, the goal was to determine the social media channels which would be most beneficial in helping the association to optimize the development of their operations.

The sources used in the thesis comprise of a few appropriate books, reliable online articles and statistics available. Research has involved spending a significant amount of time on the Internet, particularly on social media sites. Technical skills and our own knowledge of different computer programs have also been made use of.

By utilizing this thesis and the plans it details for using and developing social media, the Finnish Association of Landscape Industries can begin to experiment which solutions are ultimately the best fit for them. We believe that it is impossible to determine this in advance. Instead, long-term surveying of social media as well as survey analyses are probably needed in order to assess the functionality of the chosen approach, and to develop it further.