Research

I approach marketing research from a strategic perspective, always thinking about how organizations may be able to utilize findings from my work to further their missions. My primary research interests lie in digital marketing, especially in social media marketing. My interest in social media marketing began early in my academic career. Through collaboration with local non-profit organizations on service-learning projects for the public relations classes I taught, I was exposed to the unique challenges faced by many of these organizations, including the predicament of having an extremely small marketing budget. As usage of social media among consumers grew more pervasive, many of the non-profits with which I worked began to use the  with the new medium as a promotional tool. I observed that while some organizations experienced tremendous success in their social media marketing efforts, others seemed to struggle to leverage it effectively. These observations sparked many research questions that I seek to address.

Google Scholar Profile

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Refereed Journal Articles
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Syrdal, Holly A., Susan Myers, Sandipan Sen, Parker J. Woodroof, and William C. McDowell (2023), "Influencer Marketing and the Growth of Affiliates: The Effects of Language Features on Engagement," Journal of Business Research, forthcoming.

Myers, Susan, Sandipan Sen, Holly A. Syrdal, and Raj Mahto (2023), "Social Religion: A Cross-platform Examination of the Impact of Religious Influencer Message Cues on Engagement - the Christian Context," Technological Forecasting & Social Change, forthcoming.

Kemp, April, Renee Gravois, Holly A. Syrdal, and Elizabeth McDougal (2023), "Storytelling is Not Just for Marketing: Cultivating a Storytelling Culture Throughout the Organization," Business Horizons, forthcoming, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2023.01.008.

Myers, Susan, Sandipan Sen, Holly A. Syrdal, and Parker J. Woodroof (2022), "The Impact of Persuasion Knowledge Cues on Social Media Engagement: A Look at Pet Influencers," Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, https://doi.org/10.1080/10696679.2022.2093224

Syrdal, Holly A., Brian Vander Schee, Rebecca VanMeter, and Parker J. Woodroof (2021), "The Pedagogy of Vulnerability and Marketing Education: Cultivating Self-expansion in a Time of Separation," Journal of Marketing Education, https://doi.org/10.1177/02734753211041743

McDougal, Elizabeth R, Holly A. Syrdal, Renee Gravois, and April F. Kemp (2021), "Telling the Tale: Applying a Strategic Brand Storytelling Process for STP Planning," Journal of Strategic Marketing, https://doi.org/10.1080/0965254X.2021.1892803

McDougal, Elizabeth R, Holly A. Syrdal, Renee Gravois, and April F. Kemp (2021), "The Power of Story: Using Storytelling to Increase Students' Confidence and Competence in Applying Marketing Concepts," Marketing Education Review, 31 (2), 119-124. https://doi.org/10.1080/10528008.2020.1853573.

Woodroof, Parker J., Katharine Howie, Holly A. Syrdal, Rebecca VanMeter (2020), "What's Done in the Dark Will be Brought to Light: Effects of Influencer Transparency on Product Efficacy and Purchase Intentions," Journal of Product & Brand Management, 29 (5), 675-688.

Kemp, April Field, Elizabeth Randon McDougal, Holly A. Syrdal (2018), "The Matchmaking Activity: An Experiential Learning Exercise on Influencer Marketing for the Digital Marketing Classroom," Journal of Marketing Education, 41 (2), 141-153. 

VanMeter, Rebecca, Holly A. Syrdal, Douglas B. Grisaffe, Susan Powell-Mantel, and Erik T. Nesson (2018), “Don’t Just ‘Like’ Me, Promote Me: How Attachment and Attitude Influence Brand-related Behaviors on Social Media” Journal of Interactive Marketing, 43, 83-97.

Syrdal, Holly A. and Elten Briggs (2018), “Engagement with Social Media Content: A Qualitative Exploration,” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 26 (1-2), 4-22.

Janakiraman, Narayan, Holly A. Syrdal, and Ryan Freling (2016), “The Effect of Return Policy Leniency on Consumer Purchase and Return Decisions: A Meta-analytic Review,” Journal of Retailing, 92 (2), 226-235.

Cope III, Robert F., Rachelle F. Cope, Anna N. Bass, and Holly A. Syrdal (2011), “Innovative Knowledge Management at Disney: Human Capital and Queuing Solutions for Services,” Journal for Service Science, 4 (1), 13-19.

Foster, Janet L. and Holly A. Syrdal (2009), “Improvements to the E-learning Environment: Meeting Student Needs,” Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 2 (1), 1-8.

Other Publications

Janakiraman, Narayan, Holly A. Syrdal, and Ryan Freling (2016), "How to Design a Return Policy," digital publication of Harvard Business Review.

VanMeter, Rebecca, Holly A. Syrdal, Douglas B. Grisaffe, Susan Powell-Mantel, and Erik T. Nesson (2019), "If You Want More Than Just "Likes," Attachment is Better Than Attitude," Keller Center Research Report, 12(3).

Refereed Conference Proceedings & Presentations

Myers, Susan, Sandipan Sen, Holly A. Syrdal, and Parker Woodroof (2023), "How Does CSR-related Language Impact Engagement with Micro-influencers' Sponsored Posts," accepted for the Proceedings of Academy of Marketing Science, New Orleans, LA.

Myers, Susan, Sandipan Sen, Holly A. Syrdal, and Parker Woodroof (2022), "Love Languages of Micro-influencers: Linguistic Drivers of Social Media Engagement with Sponsored Posts," Proceedings of the Society for Marketing Advances Conference, Charlotte, NC.

Syrdal, Holly A. and Amy Watson (2022), "What are Branded Digital Marketing Certifications Worth to Employers," Proceedings of the Marketing Management Association Fall Educators' Conference, San Antonio, TX.

Syrdal, Holly A., Brian Vander Schee, Rebecca VanMeter, and Parker Woodroof (2021), "Self-expansion in Marketing Education: Using the Know Me Activity to Foster Connection and Perseverance," Proceedings of the Marketing Educators' Association, Virtual. ***MEA 2021 Best Competitive Conference Paper Award***

Syrdal, Holly A. and Imani McDonald (2020), "Through the Practitioner Lens: The Value of Digital Marketing Certifications," Proceedings of the Society for Marketing Advances Conference, Virtual. 

Syrdal, Holly A., April Field Kemp, and Elizabeth Randon McDougal (2019), “Teaching Students to Use Twitter Activity Data for Engagement Analysis,” Proceedings of the Marketing Management Association Fall Educators' Conference, Santa Fe, NM.

Kemp, April Field, Elizabeth Randon McDougal, and Holly A. Syrdal (2018), “Improving Students' Understanding of Core Marketing Concepts Through the Use of Buyer Persona Workshops,” Proceedings of the Marketing Management Association Fall Educators' Conference, Kansas City, MO.

Syrdal, Holly A. and Elten Briggs (2016), “Developing a Positive Organizational Image:  The Role of Engagement with Social Media Content,” Proceedings of the Society for Marketing Advances Conference, Atlanta, GA.  ***Best Paper in Social Media Track***
 
Syrdal, Holly A. and Stephen Bok (2016), “What Drives Consumer Behaviors Expressed on Social Media? An Examination of Engagement and Source Credibility,” Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science Conference, Orlando, FL. 
 
Syrdal, Holly A. and Elten Briggs (2015), “Social Media Engagement:  It’s a State of Mind,” Proceedings of the Society for Marketing Advances Conference, San Antonio, TX.
 
Syrdal, Holly A., Rebecca VanMeter and Douglas Grisaffe (2014), “Does Attachment Drive Meaningful Social Media Interactions?:  Which Retail Customers Are Talking and Are You Listening?,” Proceedings of the Society for Marketing Advances Conference, New Orleans, LA.
 
Syrdal, Holly A. and Omar Itani (2014), “Student Evaluations of Teaching:  What Can Text Analytics Reveal From Qualitative Data?,” Proceedings of the Marketing Management Association Fall Educators' Conference, San Antonio, TX.
 
Cope, Rachelle F., Anna N. Bass, Holly A. Syrdal, and Jennifer D. Henderson (2011), “Disney’s Knowledge Management Approach For Enhanced Customer Service,” Proceedings of the Academy of Management and Information Sciences, Orlando, FL.
 
Cope, Rachelle F., Yvette Baldwin, and Holly Syrdal (2009), “Strategies for Managing Organizational Anxiety with Knowledge Management,” Proceedings of the Academy of Management and Information Sciences, New Orleans, LA.
 
Foster, Janet L. and Holly A. Syrdal (2008), “E-learning:  What Students Want in the Virtual Classroom,” Proceedings of the Global Conference on Business and Finance, San Jose, Costa Rica. 

Other Presentations

"Tools and Technologies for Teaching Digital Marketing V: Diverse Perspectives on Engaged Learning in the Digital Marketing Classroom," pre-conference workshop faculty member presentation at Marketing Management Association Fall Educators' Conference, virtual, October, 2021.

"Unleashing Creativity in Teaching Digital Marketing NOW," panel member presentation at Marketing Management Association Fall Educators’ Conference, Virtual, October, 2020.

"Using Facebook Ads Manager for Lessons on Targeting," panel member presentation at Society for Marketing Advances Conference, New Orleans, LA, November, 2019.

“Tools and Technologies for Teaching Digital Marketing IV,” pre-conference workshop faculty member presentation, Marketing Management Association Fall Educators’ Conference, Kansas City, MO, September, 2018.

“Experiential Learning in the Digital Classroom: Working with Clients to Gain Real World Experience,” panel member presentation, Society for Marketing Advances Conference, Louisville, KY, November, 2017.
 
“Tools and Technologies for Teaching Digital Marketing III,” pre-conference workshop faculty member presentation, Marketing Management Association Fall Educators’ Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, September, 2017.

“The Truth About Transparency and Authenticity on Social Media – How Brands Communicate and How Customers Respond,” panel member presentation at Academy of Marketing Science Conference, San Diego, CA, May, 2017.

“Applying Millennials’ Digital Skills to the Local Business Community,” panel member presentation at Society for Marketing Advances Conference, Atlanta, GA, November, 2016.  
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 “Utilizing the Millennial Generation’s Skills as Digital Natives for Social Media Marketing Education in the Business Community,” panel member presentation at American Marketing Association Academic Conference, Atlanta, GA, August, 2016.
 
“Social Media Engagement: It’s a State of Mind,” research presentation for UT Arlington Entrepreneur Society, Arlington, TX, April, 2016.
 
“Survey Switch:  Increasing Quality of Student Work Through the Use of Peer Critiques," panel member presentation at ​Society for Marketing Advances Conference, San Antonio, TX, November, 2015.