Research Aim
Research project title: Impact of social media marketing on consumer behaviors
Research title: To evaluate the impact of social media marketing on the purchasing behaviors of consumers in the United Kingdom.
The research is conducted with the focus on identifying the impacts that have been created by business organizations using social media platforms and influencing the purchasing behaviors of consumers. There has been an extensive relationship between the digital marketing tactics adopted by organizations nowadays and the behaviors of consumers regarding their purchases. The use of major social networks includes the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, which allow organizations to share messages and information about their products and services, in the form of social media content with the customers (Ioanas 2020). With most people nowadays, habituated to using the internet and social networks, it becomes easier for companies to utilize this opportunity to target clients with the use of these platforms. Social media content has majorly transformed the process of marketing and allowed businesses to gain greater outreach to customers, generate awareness among them and influence their purchasing decisions and choices. The research will provide results, with the use of secondary sources of data to constitute the literature portion, using various methods including research philosophy, strategy, design, data collection, and analysis techniques (Alalwan 2018). The study is important, as it helps in understanding the influence that social media usage has created on the satisfaction of customers while searching for information and evaluating alternatives to the products. It also determines how the satisfaction of customers, gradually makes them go through the final procedure of purchasing and even evaluation of post-purchase behaviors.
The research aims to evaluate the impact created on the purchasing behaviors of consumers, through the usage of social media platforms by business organizations in the United Kingdom. The research aim summarises the increasing usage of social networks by companies and how it creates attention, generates awareness, and influences the buying behaviors of customers.
According to Voramontri and Klieb (2019), the social media phenomenon has transformed the marketing efficacy of business organizations nowadays. The proliferation of web-based technologies that are user-driven, has massively helped marketers to connect with more people, produce and share content with them about the company and its products and services. It has also enabled organizations to find new ways and approaches to acquire information on the nature of products and services, thus allowing for better customers interaction with the brand prominently. The digital spaces have become the breeding ground for sharing content and information, which influence varied opinions and foster discussion among brands and their customers (Surenderkumar 2016). It has not only empowered the consumers but also enabled marketers to gain better control over the content delivery, frequency, and timing associated with the marketing via social media platforms.
As stated by Zafar et al. (2021), social media has acted as electronic word of mouth, which represented the major source of information that customers acquire for making a purchasing decision, shaping their attitudes and behaviors along with gaining positive perceptions, having proper expectations from the brand as well. With the increasing inter-connectedness among people over social networks, it has also increased social media usage by companies, thus, improving the dissemination of information effectively, through company-led marketing communications (Aragoncillo and Orus 2018).
Literature Review
Appel et al. (2020) stated that the purchasing behaviors of consumers are based on two aspects, which include low and high involvement of consumers and some brand-related differences too. As consumer behaviors change from time to time, which increased the complexity of buying process, thus, higher risks are involved. Thus, gathering information and evaluating the choices of products have significant importance and thus the literature section highlights the different complex purchasing situations, where the use of social media platforms bears great significance. Voramontri and Klieb (2019) also argued that marketing through the use of social media not only impacts purchasing decisions but also has other advantages too. Social media marketing benefits the company by increasing brand recognition, which allows consistent promotion of the brand, thus, attracting more customers and gaining access to a wider customer base too. With the increased level of communication between the brand and its customers, it has become much easier for the organizations to connect with them and constantly assess their feedback and opinions, based on which necessary changes and improvements were done. This has been a major source of establishing trust and loyalty to the brand, thus, increasing brand image and reputation too (Pop et al. 2022). Moreover, a consumer digital culture has been created where customers could interact with each other and gain access to public content, which improves digital marketing efficiency. The posts and content shared over social networks also increased the likes and followers of the social media webpage, run by companies, which increased the chances of conversion into sales. Through continuous communication, customers have gained faith in the brands, thus, searching and viewing the webpage, comments, and feedback on the products over social media, which enriched the brand awareness and presence in the marketplace (Snyder 2019). All these benefits, in terms of marketing through the use of social media platforms, have helped in influencing the purchasing behaviors of consumers.
The research, being primary, considers the use of both qualitative and quantitative data and information acquired. There are various methods that are to be used for carrying out the research such as the philosophy of research, research design, sampling technique, collection, and analysis of data (Rinjit 2020).
The research philosophy represents the approach undertaken for determining information and evidence, based on observations and factual data, which also supports the acquisition of sensory experiences. The data and information have been gathered based on sensory experiences, analyzed, and interpreted through logical reasoning, which forms the basis of knowledge and information about the research topic (Pandey and Pandey 2021). The research is primary and thus, the inclusion of both qualitative and quantitative data represents an extensive relationship between the use of social media as a marketing tool and the influence of consumer behaviors regarding purchase making. This justifies the use of positivism philosophy, which is considered the most effective while conducting the research (Park et al. 2020).
While the exploratory design of research applies theoretical concepts, which facilitate observations by using existing theories and concepts, the explanatory research design is more about evaluating the cause of research and its probable effects created. Both of these are not predictable and might hinder the achievement of outcomes due to a lack of in-depth knowledge. The descriptive design of research, as the name suggests, allows for gathering information and data in a much more detailed manner, filling the gaps in research and improving understanding of the research. No prior assumptions are made, rather, it emphasized ‘what’ and ‘how’ aspects, rather than the ‘why’, which created a proper link between the variables. The independent variable, i.e. the consumer buying behaviors is dependent upon the marketing tactics, driven by the usage of social media, which is the dependent variable here (Siedlecki 2020). Due to these major aspects, it justifies the selection of descriptive research design as the most effective design of research here.
Research Methodology
Considering the inclusion of both quantitative and qualitative data, the random sampling technique has enabled the selection of a specific group of people randomly, from a heterogeneous group of people, who are to be allowed to participate in the research process. The qualitative data has to be gathered by using the non-probability convenience sampling technique, which could help in arranging a suitable time for the managers to provide their useful views and opinions regarding the research topic (Xu et al. 2020). The sample size has been selected as 40 customers and 5 managers of the organizations that currently have adopted social media as a major marketing tool.
The mixed methods research has been preferred here, as there is need to collect both qualitative and quantitative data and information. The primary data constitutes both qualitative and quantitative data and information. The quantitative data represents the statistical data that has been gathered with the help of the distribution of survey questionnaires to the respondents, who provided their responses. The responses to the open and close-ended questions were presented in the survey questionnaire, without any form of bias, which is the quantitative data. The non-probability convenience sampling has enabled selecting a convenient time for the managers to be present for an interview session and deliver their vital responses, which have been considered the qualitative data and information. Schoonenboom and Johnson (2017) argued that Semi-structured and unstructured interviews are often carried out to gather data and information effectively whereas while focus group discussions are managed too. The focus group discussions enable gathering the experiences of individuals from similar backgrounds and their feedbacks regarding the topic of interest, which represents undertaking the qualitative research. The secondary data has also been collected with the analysis of various secondary sources such as journals, articles, documents, and websites comprising information and evidence about how businesses have managed to influence buying behaviors among customers, with the use of social media platforms (Clark and Vealé 2018).
Wu et al. (2019) stated that the advantages include the maintenance of validity and reliability, as both qualitative and quantitative data are acquired, while drawback could be the huge amount of time, incurred to complement the skills of each other, while collecting and analysis both different sets of data. Also, it could get more complex and thus combining different methods require extensive resources, extra time and money too. Despite the disadvantages, the mixed methods research still provides detailed insights and conceptualise those properly, thus allowing to test alternatives, manage analysis and interpretation of data, which evaluate the extent to which the concept shape the outcomes.
The issues that might be considered while selecting the mixed methods research include the lack of accessibility to different sources for collecting data and information effectively, high consumption of time and resources and also high skills and expertise required to carry out the mixed methods research.
The data and information are to be analyzed with the utilization of a statistical tool, also known as the SPSS tool, which could present the statistical data and information in graphical formats, tables, and also in the form of charts, which make it easier to understand the responses provided by the respondents. Other analysis techniques include testing the validity of research, regression analysis, testing the reliability, descriptive analysis technique, and normality test as well.
To conduct research appropriately, ethical consideration is a major aspect, which helps in maintaining the authenticity of research but also improves the reliability and validity of the research. The participants of the research have been acquired based on the random sampling method and it is to be made clear that none of them have been pressurized, rather informed consent has been acquired, as they aimed to become participants of the research willingly. All the participants of the research have been informed about the purpose of this research, which is basically to educate the sociology students and thus used for academic purposes only. No commercial benefits or profit making activity has been a part of this research, which also represents the ethical approach to conducting the research (Arifin 2018). Moreover, the information and data acquired about the participants have been kept private and confidential, to prevent unauthorized access, prevent redundancy, and also loss of vital information during the research. To maintain the authenticity of the research, the research materials, data and information have been derived from authentic sources. To maintain ethical values and beliefs, the major principles followed here include voluntary participation. Anonymity, maintaining confidentiality, preventing the potential of harm, managing proper communication, and gaining informed consent as well. This is how the research has complied with the principles of ethical research.
References
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Appel, G., Grewal, L., Hadi, R. and Stephen, A.T., 2020. The future of social media in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(1), pp.79-95.
Aragoncillo, L. and Orus, C., 2018. Impulse buying behaviour: an online-offline comparative and the impact of social media. Spanish Journal of Marketing-ESIC.
Arifin, S.R.M., 2018. Ethical considerations in qualitative study. International Journal of Care Scholars, 1(2), pp.30-33.
Clark, K.R. and Vealé, B.L., 2018. Strategies to enhance data collection and analysis in qualitative research. Radiologic technology, 89(5), pp.482CT-485CT.
Ioanas, E., 2020. Social media and its impact on consumers behavior. Jurnal Analisa Kesehatan, 1(1), pp.1-1.
Pandey, P. and Pandey, M.M., 2021. Research methodology tools and techniques. Bridge Center.
Park, Y.S., Konge, L. and Artino, A.R., 2020. The positivism paradigm of research. Academic Medicine, 95(5), pp.690-694.
Pop, R.A., S?pl?can, Z., Dabija, D.C. and Alt, M.A., 2022. The impact of social media influencers on travel decisions: The role of trust in consumer decision journey. Current Issues in Tourism, 25(5), pp.823-843.
Rinjit, K., 2020. Research methodology.
Schoonenboom, J. and Johnson, R.B., 2017. How to construct a mixed methods research design. KZfSS Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 69(2), pp.107-131.
Siedlecki, S.L., 2020. Understanding descriptive research designs and methods. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 34(1), pp.8-12.
Snyder, H., 2019. Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of business research, 104, pp.333-339.
Surenderkumar, C.V., 2016. A study on impact of social media marketing on consumer buying behavior with reference to Thane district. Shri Jagdish Prasad Jhabarmal Tibrewala University, pp.1-352.
Voramontri, D. and Klieb, L., 2019. Impact of social media on consumer behaviour. International Journal of Information and Decision Sciences, 11(3), pp.209-233.
Wu, Y.P., Deatrick, J.A., McQuaid, E.L. and Thompson, D., 2019. A primer on mixed methods for pediatric researchers. Journal of pediatric psychology, 44(8), pp.905-913.
Xu, K., Li, Y., Liu, C., Liu, X., Hao, X., Gao, J. and Maropoulos, P.G., 2020. Advanced data collection and analysis in data-driven manufacturing process. Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 33(1), pp.1-21.
Zafar, A.U., Qiu, J., Li, Y., Wang, J. and Shahzad, M., 2021. The impact of social media celebrities’ posts and contextual interactions on impulse buying in social commerce. Computers in Human Behavior, 115, p.106178.
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