Unit 11 Research Project Solution Assignment

Programme	Diploma in Business
Unit Number and Title	Unit 11 Research Project
QFC Level	Level 5
Unit Code	R/508/0522

Executive Summary

The topic of the research which will be looked into through this paper is influence of social media for the modern day marketing activities. It is important for the companies to make sure that the marketing activities as well as channels which are used by the companies are as per the consumer preferences and industry trends. Social media is fast becoming the most preferred channel due to the ubiquitous nature of the same. This platform can also be for communicating with the consumers in addition to providing them information on the products or services benefits for augmenting the brand awareness. There are various advantages for the social media marketing. The most important of them is that the relevant target markets of the companies are heavy user of this media. Also the nature of social media is present globally and as a result of the ubiquitous nature of the social media, this can be used as the distinct channel for the international businesses to communicate the product or service benefits to its international consumers through interacting and appealing to them. Through the social media marketing, the companies can easily track the marketing effectiveness in terms of the communications. Also for the reason that the marketers can use this channel for the information intensive campaigns, customers believe that they are being engaged as well as educated by the companies through their campaigns on social media, instead of making them buy their products. Consumers feel more empowered and having more control on their choices through the same. This facilitates getting a lot of brand awareness through the campaigns and making sure that consumers are given correct set of messages.

Introduction

The topic of the research which will be looked into through this paper is influence of social media for the modern day marketing activities. It is important for the companies to make sure that the marketing activities as well as channels which are used by the companies are as per the consumer preferences and industry trends. Also in view of the fact that marketing is a very business strategy activities that helps the companies to communicate the benefits of the products or services to the end consumers, the importance of choosing the correct tool for the same is of prime significance. Due to the ever changing dynamics of the business world as well as the various other factors like high level of competitiveness in the global industries, companies are trying these days to draw some competitive advantage from the marketing activities. Hence it is of utmost importance for these companies to identify as well as use the most effective and efficient channel for marketing communication. But during the last few years the effectiveness of the traditional marketing channels have been diminishing and the new marketing channel which has become a very widely used trend is social media which is fast becoming the most preferred channel due to the ubiquitous nature of the same. Hence in this research, a discussion will be done for identifying the importance as wells influence of social media for the modern day marketing activities. Also it can be identified that companies can use the social media for initiating two way interactions with the prospective as well as existing consumers that is not usually possible through the traditional marketing channels.

Overview of the Study and the Research Questions

For a high degree of effectiveness as well as efficiency for nay research project, the research needs to be carried based on a set of research objectives. Through addressing all of the research objectives it is possible for the researcher to successfully conclude the research process. The overall objective for this research is to identify the way the advent of social media has persuaded the marketing activities for the modern day business companies. For this study, the research objective needs to be broken down multiple smaller objectives which are as following:

1. To identify social media and the way same can be used for the marketing
2. To understand the usefulness of social media for the current day marketing activities in comparison to the traditional marketing channels
3. To conclude on the importance as wells influence of social media for the modern day marketing activities

For a research project to be effective and efficient, the research needs to be guided by the research questions which provide the researchers with a sense of urgency and limit of the research project. It can be said that a research has been concluded well if all the research questions are answered by the research study sufficiently. Following are the research questions those have been prepared for this research:

1. What is social media?
2. How can it be used for the marketing?
3. What is the usefulness of social media for the current day marketing activities in comparison to the traditional channels of marketing?
4. What is the importance as wells influence of social media for the modern day marketing activities?

Importance of the Study

Marketing is one of the most important business activities carried out by the companies. As a result of the changing business dynamics as well as the various other factors like high level of competitiveness in the global industries, this has become one of the key sources of competitive advantage which are being sought by all the companies. Hence it is of utmost importance for these companies to identify as well as use the most effective and efficient channel for marketing communication (Kang, 2015). However the traditional channels for marketing like mass marketing through television advertisements and newspaper advertisements in addition to the other ATL (above the line)and BTL (below the line) channels are slowly losing the relevance. Social media is fast becoming the most preferred channel due to the ubiquitous nature of the same. This platform can also be for communicating with the consumers in addition to providing them information on the products or services benefits for augmenting the brand awareness. This is also helpful for launch marketing for the new products (Xiang, 2009). Hence in this research, a discussion will be done for identifying the importance as wells influence of social media for the modern day marketing activities (Skul, 2014).

Literature Review

In this particular chapter of this report a discussion will be done for the purpose of critically looking into other studies and researches those have been done on the topic of this research or similar topics for developing a knowledge and opinion regarding the research topic for this study. This will not only facilitate the in depth understanding of the research topic but also will build a starting point for the primary research.

Some of the factors which will be looked into through this critical review of key references are as following:

1. Definition of social media and the way same can be used for the marketing
2. Usefulness of social media as a marketing channel in comparison to the traditional marketing channels
3. Importance as wells influence of social media for the modern day marketing activities

Definition of social media and the way same can be used for the marketing

Social media can be defined as a host of websites which can be accessed through the internet and these facilitates individuals as well as businesses organizations to initiate interaction with one another and build relationships and communities online. Consumers of the companies can interact with the businesses through the social channels and vice versa. These interactions can be more personal to users than traditional methods of outbound marketing and advertising (Kang, 2015).

As a result of the change in the business dynamics as well as the communications types which are preferred by the consumers of the current day business world companies have been trying to use the marketing activities on the social media. Social media is fast becoming the most preferred channel due to the ubiquitous nature of the same. This platform can also be for communicating with the consumers in addition to providing them information on the products or services benefits for augmenting the awareness related to the brand. This is also helpful for launch marketing for the new products (Xiang, 2009).

Usefulness of social media as a marketing channel in comparison to the traditional marketing channels

For indentifying the effectiveness of social media as a marketing channel compared to the traditional marketing channels, it is important that the advantages as well of disadvantages of the social media as a channel for marketing are identified first.

Some of the advantages which are reaped by social media marketing are as following:

1. A very high segment of individuals with lower average age in the target market: In view of the fact that in the targeted consumers have increased share of the people with lower average age, the importance of communicating channels which are relevant for such target market. It has been shown by various researches and surveys that people who belong to the age group of 15 years to 25 years spend 2 hours on an average on the social media platforms. Hence this needs to be used for the communication to this specific set of consumers who have become the most important target group for the companies in the modern day business world.
2. Also the nature of internet and social media is such that it is present globally. Due to this ubiquitous nature of the social media, this can be used as the distinct channel for the international businesses to communicate the product or service benefits to its international consumers through interacting and appealing to them. This also helps the companies for cutting down on the utilization of various resources which includes money and time for the marketing activities.
3. It can be confirmed through various previous researches that social media marketing has considerably lower cost in comparison to the conventional marketing channels. For this reason this provides the companies with excellent possibility for communicating with a larger audience without using a lot of monetary and financial resources (Danaher, 2011).
4. Social media as a platform is also very information rich. This means that with the use of social media the companies can use different types of tools for information dissemination which are fairly more effective and efficient in comparison to the conventional marketing channels. There are various tools like videos, infogrpahics, photos, blogs etc. which can be used as part of the marketing communication through the social media for marketing. In view of the fact marketing is nothing but a form of information sharing and dissemination to the consumers regarding the brand and its product and services, the effectiveness of the tools also add to the effectiveness of the entire marketing process (Danaher, 2011).
5. Through the social media marketing, the companies can easily track the marketing effectiveness in terms of the communications. This is possible in view of the fact this specific platform for marketing helps in instant two way communications between the brands and the consumers. Hence the companies get instant feedback on the product or services marketing that have been initiated by it. For this reason it is easier for the companies to carry out any type of course correction if required in the marketing commutation. It also saves a lot of time and money used for the marketing activities.
6. In view of the fact in the social media the companies can identify the customer characteristics easily, the same helps the companies to segment the market and identify the target consumers quite effectively. This also helps in enhancing the effectiveness of this media for marketing in comparison to the traditional media for marketing. The companies can also initiate the marketing processes for a specific age or geographical segment of the consumers which help in keeping the marketing expenditure low (Danaher, 2011).  

However in spite of all of the above mentioned characteristics which are quite positive for the companies and their marketing, there are some disadvantages of the social media marketing as well. These are also needed to be identified as part of the analysis of the effectiveness of social media marketing as compared to the marketing through the traditional channels (Xiang, 2009). Following are the same:

• Social media being a fairly new channel for the marketing activities, the companies have relatively less experience of using the same as their primary channel of the marketing activities. This level of inexperience, especially for the medium and smaller sized companies, may lead to some degree of error in the social media marketing. Also the same may lead to sub optimal usage of social media as a marketing channel through the lack of use of all the tools which this platform usually offers. This will not help the companies in truly utilising effectiveness of social media as a marketing channel. This is not possible with the traditional marketing channels in view of the fact that the companies are well conversant with the same.
• Also the margin of error in the social media marketing is very low. As a result of the two way combination during the marketing activities done by the companies with its customers, any blunder gets propagated very quickly and the same leads to a lot of negative word of mouth in the social media space. There are various examples where the companies have made some mistake on the social media which has led to a lot of negative media coverage and lack of brand appeal.       

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Importance as well as influence of social media for the modern day marketing activities

In this section of the literature review a discussion will be carried out in terms of the importance as well as influence of social media for the modern day marketing activities. As has been identified before there are various advantages which the social media has for modern day marketing activities. These lead to a lot of importance of the same for the companies which are trying to use more relevant methods of commutations with the target markets. The importance of marketing through the social media for the current day business entities have gone up particularly in view of the fact that the consumers these day do not consider the traditional marketing channels as trustworthy due to the over utilization of the same. Various methods which were previously very effective and appealing for the consumers including the celebrity endorsement, brand tie ups etc. are slowly losing their relevance in view of the fact that the consumers are weary of the same. On the other hand the confidence and trust of these consumers are slowly building for the social media channels. In view of the fact that the consumers identify this as the channel which is more credible as well as relevant for the combination, the importance as well as influence of social media for the modern day marketing activities has increased manifold. Also for the reason that the marketers can use this channel for the information intensive campaigns, customers believe that they are being engaged as well as educated by the companies through their campaigns on social media, instead of making them buy their products (Payne, 2010). Consumers feel more empowered and having more control on their choices through the same. This helps in getting a lot of brand awareness through the campaigns and making sure that consumers are given correct set of messages (Brown, 2007). Also the budget and manpower which are needed to be used for the social media marketing, due to the centralized and content driven nature of the same, is considerably less when compared to that of the traditional channels for marketing. Hence the social media marketing is helpful in providing the business entities with excellent opportunity of communicating with a very large audience without much investment.  

Conclusion to Literature Review

As can be concluded from the literature review, social media facilitates individuals as well as businesses organizations to initiate interaction with one another and build relationships and communities online. Social media is fast becoming the most preferred channel due to the ubiquitous nature of the same. This platform can also be for communicating with the consumers in addition to providing them information on the products or services benefits for augmenting the brand awareness. There are various advantages for the social media marketing. The most important of them is that the relevant target markets of the companies are heavy user of this media. In view of the fact that in the targeted consumers have increased share of the people with lower average age, the importance of communicating channels which are relevant for such target market. It has been shown by various researches and surveys that people who belong to the age group of 15 years to 25 years spend 2 hours on an average on the social media platforms. Also the nature of social media is present globally and as a result of the ubiquitous nature of the social media, this can be used as the distinct channel for the international businesses to communicate the product or service benefits to its international consumers through interacting and appealing to them. Through the social media marketing, the companies can easily track the marketing effectiveness in terms of the communications.. This is possible in view of the fact this specific platform for marketing helps in instant two way communications between the brands and the consumers. Social media also helps in enhancing the effectiveness of this media for marketing in comparison to the traditional media for marketing through better segmenting and targeting.  The importance of marketing through the social media for the current day business entities have gone up particularly in view of the fact that the consumers these day do not consider the traditional marketing channels as trustworthy due to the over utilization of the same. Various methods which were previously very effective and appealing for the consumers including the celebrity endorsement, brand tie ups etc. are slowly losing their relevance. Also for the reason that the marketers can use this channel for the information intensive campaigns, customers believe that they are being engaged as well as educated by the companies through their campaigns on social media, instead of making them buy their products. Consumers feel more empowered and having more control on their choices through the same. This facilitates getting a lot of brand awareness through the campaigns and making sure that consumers are given correct set of messages.

Research Methodology

In this section of the report, a discussion will be done for the purpose of looking into the methodology that will help in structuring this research. For any research to reach an effective conclusion it is important that the same is supported through an efficient methodology which also provides an adequate guideline for the study.

Research Questions

For a research project to be effective and efficient, the research needs to be guided by the research questions which provide the researchers with a sense of urgency and limit of the research project. It can be said that a research has been concluded well if all the research questions are answered by the research study sufficiently. Following are the research questions those have been prepared for this research:

1. What is social media?
2. How can it be used for the marketing?
3. What is the usefulness of social media for the current day marketing activities in comparison to the traditional channels of marketing?
4. What is the importance as wells influence of social media for the modern day marketing activities?

Research Approach and Data Collection Methods

The aim wit which this research is being carried out that is to understand the effectiveness of social media as clamoured to the traditional media for the marketing by the companies. Hence it can be said that the research is investigative and deductive in nature. For this reason the philosophy of this research will be pragmatism where the data collection is done from the sampled base of the respondents to collect quantitative as well as qualitative data for analysing the topic and answering the research questions. This data collection is done through a primary and a secondary process of research. Through the literature review chapter, the a discussion has been done for the purpose of critically looking into other studies and researches those have been done on the topic of this research or similar topics for developing a knowledge and opinion regarding the research topic for this study. This will not only facilitate the in depth understanding of the research topic but will also produce a foundation for the primary data gathering planned for this research. This has been the secondary research for this study. The primary research will be done through a questionnaire interview with few marketing managers of small and medium sized companies who have some experience in the social media marketing process.

Sample, sampling methods and sample size

In this research, the primary research will be done through a questionnaire interview with marketing managers of small and medium sized companies who have some experience in the social media marketing process. For this a sampling strategy needs to be used in view of the fact it will not be possible to carry out the research on a very high number of respondents. The marketing essentials managers for the response in the secondary research will be identified through a non-random and convenient method of sampling. The sampling method is also termed as snowball sampling in which a single respondent will be chosen first who belong to the group of respondents. Following it with his or her references more number of respondents will be identified.  The number of respondents for this study will be 50.

Proposed Time Scale

Following is the plan for various processes which will be carried out for the completion of this study:

	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10
Identification of the topic for the research	# # # # # # # #
Identification for the secondary sources for the study		# # # # # # # #
Implementing the secondary research			# # # # # # # #	# # # # # # # #	# # # # # # # #
Preparing the report				# # # # # # # #	# # # # # # # #	# # # # # # # #
Preparing the tools for primary research							# # # # # # # #
Carrying out primary research								# # # # # # # #	# # # # # # # #
Analysis and finalization of the report										# # # # # # # #

 

Questionnaire used for the survey

•  Rate the efficiency of the following types of marketing in a scale of 1 to 5:

1. Celebrity Endorsement
2. Direct Marketing
3. Mass Media Marketing
4. Online Marketing
5. Sales and in store marketing
6. Social Media Marketing

• Amongst the following which are the reasons for using social media marketing  

1. Development of two way communications
2. Having a communication channel which is information rich
3. Development of customer relation
4. Effective segmentation and targeting of the customers

• What is more attractive for the consumers  

1. Social media advertisements
2. Traditional media advertisements

•  Does social media presence help consumers in recognizing the brand?

1. Disagree
2. Slightly disagree
3. Not sure
4. Slightly agree
5. Agree

• In your opinion, what can be the usefulness and lack of the same in terms of social media marketing?

Limitation of the Research and Areas of Future Research

The research has some limitations since it is not covering the scope of social media marketing to the maximum possible extent. Also a more intensive primary research could have been carried out for the study. These also lead to the areas of future research for the study. 

References

Kang, Juhee (2015). Social media marketing (dissertation). Journal of Marketing.  
Skul, David (2014). Ethics in Social Network Marketing. AIPMM.  
Mangold, W.G. & Faulds, D.J. (2009). "Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix". Business Horizons. 52: 357–365.
Saravanakumar, M. & SuganthaLakshmi, T. (2012). "Social media marketing". Life science journal
Astbury, M. (2011). “Hotel Booking through Facebook?” Daily Planet Dispatch. Available at http://dailyplanetdispatch.com/?p=7629 (Accessed 3 Dec 2014)
Blackshaw, P. (2006). The consumer-generated surveillance culture. Available at http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3576076 (Accessed 3 Dec 2014)
Brown, J., Broderick, A. J. & Lee, N. (2007). “Word of mouth communication within online communities: Conceptualizing the online social network”, Journal of Interactive Marketing, 21(3), 2–20.
Constantinides, E. (2004). “Influencing the online consumer’s behaviour the web experience”, Internet Research, 14(2), 111-126
Cox, C., Burgess, S., Sellitto, C., & Buultjens, J. (2009). “The role of User - Generated Content in Tourists’ Travel Planning Behaviour”, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 18, 743-764.
Danaher, P.J & Rossiter, J.R. (2011). “Comparing Perceptions of Marketing communication Channels”, European Journal of Marketing, 45(1/2), 6 - 42.
Goldsmith, R.E., & Lafferty, B.A. (2002). “Consumer response to Web sites and their influence on advertising effectiveness”, Internet Research. 22(4), 318- 328
Mangold, W.G. &Faulds, D.J. (2009). “Social Media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix”, Business Horizons, 52, 357—365.
Payne, A., &Frow, P. (2010). “A strategic framework for customer relationship management”, Journal of Marketing, 69 (4), 167-76.
Xiang, Z., &Gretzel, U. (2009). “Role of social media in online travel information search”, Tourism Management, 31 (2010), 179 – 188.