Effective Social Media Marketing Strategy for Restaurants

This assignment provides a comprehensive analysis of social media marketing strategies for restaurants. It covers various research methods and techniques used in the field, including qualitative and quantitative approaches. The assignment also explores how restaurants can use social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram to promote their menu, increase followers, and drive sales. Additionally, it discusses the importance of including images and links in tweets to engage customers and make dining decisions easier. The assignment is based on various research papers and journals, providing a thorough understanding of social media marketing for restaurants.

How Social Media Marketing Strategies
Influence Consumer Purchasing Decision
Making in The Restaurant Sector in
London

Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................4
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY............................................................................................................4
1.2 RATIONALE OF THE CHOSEN TOPIC.....................................................................................................4
1.3 PURPOSE OF UNDERTAKING THE STUDY...............................................................................................5
1.4 RESEARCH PROBLEMS......................................................................................................................6
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS.....................................................................................................................7
1.6 RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES........................................................................................................7
1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.............................................................................................................8
CHAPTER 2 : LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................................9
2.1 INTRODUCTION OF SOCIAL MEDIA .....................................................................................................9
2.2 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING............................................................................................................11
DEFINING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGIES VERSUS MASS MEDIA MARKETING
STRATEGIES:.....................................................................................................................................12
2.3 THE CONSUMERS.........................................................................................................................14
2.4 THE CUSTOMER DECISION-MAKING MODEL.........................................................................................14
2.4.1 PROBLEM RECOGNITION..............................................................................................................16
2.4.2. SEARCH OF INFORMATION..........................................................................................................16
2.4.3 EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES....................................................................................................17
2.4.4 FINAL DECISION........................................................................................................................17
2.4.5 POST PURCHASE DECISION..........................................................................................................19
THE USER-GENERATED CONTENT:...........................................................................................................21
2.5 MOSTLY USED SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS USED BY CONSUMERS FOR PURCHASING DECISION MAKING IN THE
RESTAURANT SECTOR IN LONDON:........................................................................................................23
2.6 COMMONLY USED SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGIES BY RESTAURANTS IN LONDON:...........................26
CHAPTER 3 : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.............................................................................................31
3.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................31
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN .......................................................................................................................31

3.4 DATA COLLECTION .......................................................................................................................33
3.6 RESEARCH RELIABILITY...................................................................................................................34
3.7 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS..............................................................................................................34
3.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY.............................................................................................................34
3.9 CONCEPTUAL PLAN.......................................................................................................................35
3.10 SUMMARY ..............................................................................................................................36
CHAPTER 4 - SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS............................................................................................1
4.1 THEMATIC ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................................1
CHAPTER 5 - RECOMMENDATIONS & CONCLUSION..............................................................................8
REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................................12

CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Social media marketing is a highly effective technique increasingly used by most of the
organisations nowadays, it helps the companies to promote their goods and services in a more
profitable manner. The social media marketing includes use of various social media platforms
such as Facebook, Instagram etc. Social media marketing is a blend of strategies used over the
internet which guides buyers and imminent shoppers to connect insights, getting knowledge
about goods and their experiences with others (Kaplan and Heinlein 2009). Online media sites
like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp YouTube, Instagram etc. It have achieved popularity for
searching restaurant options for consumers in London and has the ability to influence different
stages of their decision-making process. So, restaurants in London are using up-to-date social
media marketing strategies to enhance services, infrastructure and facilities in eatery industry.
Lately the restaurant sector in the UK got developed than ever before. Shopper consumption on
eateries and bistros reached to 76 billion British pounds in 2016 and the quantity of restaurants
has continuously improved and contributed more than 16.5 billion British pounds to the business
economy in 2016 (Facts, 2018). Social media has become the storehouse with the intensity of
information exchanged to a huge group of people. It means consumer's sentiment now have
awesome impact and may influence the option of choices. Now a day, consumers can consult
about items and services they will recommend to other users to maintain a strategic distance
from (Atwong, 2015). Purchasers have constantly esteemed feelings communicated specifically
to them. Information exchange is the most essential factors behind one fourth to half of all
buying choices (Goldsmith, 2013). Social media marketing is advancing and ending up promptly
accessible and available. Accordingly, eateries are using these new marketing strategies to show
signs of improved access to the purchasing decision on consumers.
1.2 Rationale of the chosen topic
People are using around 2.1 billion Smartphones around the world (Statista, 2018) with’
chances of almost half of them being the frequent restaurant visitors. Since social media has been

growing rapidly, the restaurant industry has been exploring this area extensively. Given that
social media provides restaurant consumers with an opportunity to share their dining
experiences, several studies have examined the impact of social media on consumer restaurant
selection (Tran, 2015). As a part of the social media umbrella, online reviews are significant
factors that influence consumer restaurant selection (Park & Nicolau, 2015; Yang, Hlee, Lee,
Koo, 2017). Also, a vast lump of half of visitors utilize Facebook while looking for eateries and
an enormous amount of 15.2 million individuals goes to social media websites before settling on
a buy choice (Smart Brief, 2018). 61% of organizations with under 10 employees concurred that
online networking has reduced their promoting costs and 73% of participants likewise said that
website traffic amplified just 6.5 hours given on social media advertising (Weigel, 2018). Nearly
nine out of ten restaurants used social networking sites in 2016 (Emarketer.com, 2018). The
quantity of eatery openings in London hit a record in the previous years but closures shot up by a
third, underlining the intense competition in the UK capitals dining scene (’ Financial Time,
2018). Top reviewed restaurants in London like Leon, Nandos,’ The Ledbury, The Golden
Chippy, Baileys Fish and Chips, Amrutha Lounge etc. are continuously working on their online
marketing to attract more customers than ever before (Tandfonline.com, 2018). So, it seemed
very reasoning to do research on how social media marketing strategies influence consumer
purchasing decision making in the restaurant sector in London.
1.3 Purpose of undertaking the study
The 21st century has witnessed the significant influence of social media on consumer
behavior that is affecting awareness of products, purchase behavior, opinions, and evaluation of
products (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). Social media has provided the most effective means of
communication for organizations to connect with consumers on a worldwide scale. With social
media rising rapidly within general demographics, many companies have noticed the potential of
social media, and they have changed their marketing strategies to take advantage of these new
opportunities. Consequently, social media enables consumers to share their purchasing
experiences through electronic word of mouth (eWOM) to create a reliable source for other
consumers (Tran, 2015). Essentially, this new form of web communication offers the sharing of
information between service providers and consumers via the Internet (Pantelidis, 2010). This
project will be done in perception of customers and expected to clarify the effects of social media

marketing strategies on various stages of consumers decision-making process, by discovering
how restaurant visitors take social media marketing strategies in the whole procedure of decision
making in the restaurant sector in London. Companies can learn directly from their customers
(Goldsmith, 2013). The research would assist companies to gain knowledge from the customers
point of view to distinguish potential entanglements and options by means of social media
marketing strategies like creating accurate approach to influence into the decision-making
process at the main time or to have a better idea of why companies social media advertising
efforts are not achieving much success as they would have estimated beforehand. Retrieving this
valuable information from consumers can help companies to improve the social media marketing
strategies to attract more customers.
1.4 Research problems
The development of the social media and online marketing strategies has completely
changed the way restaurants in London promote their products and services in recent years.
Consumer purchasing decision Making in the restaurant sector in London is influenced by
several factors like reviews and valence on social media. Customer's decisions on fine feasting
generally have strife with numerous options and they pick the best choice that could augment
their requirements. The vast majority of customers pick the eatery via seeking post encounters of
different purchasers via web-based networking media, for example Pantip, TripAdvisor,
Facebook page, and so on. These days social media are a critical channel that impact to shoppers'
decision choice by sharing remark about their feasting experience in each restaurant. Because of
that restaurants in London pretending to attract their target customer by creating image on social
media site by creative marketing strategies. Promoting by mass media is not considered now a
day as great as it was before, however despite everything they contain have a specific impact in
activating or catching shoppers' consideration. Antagonistically, the information gained from
social media has an extraordinary effect on people to understand their demands or needs which
would help out for purchasing and have great influence over consumer purchasing decision
making in the restaurant sector in London.

1.5 Research questions
 What are the main contrasts between marketing strategies on social media and mass
media?
 How numbers of review and valence associated with different social media platforms
affect in customer purchasing decision-making process in the Restaurant Sector in
London?
 How do consumers in London go through, process, and select the data from the social
media before deciding on their purchase on the Restaurant sector?
1.6 Research aim and objectives
Eating out of home has become an integral part of peoples lives. This is because people’
have changed their attitudes about food and also due to an increase in disposable income
(Capstick, 2011). Eating out normally takes place in restaurants which have become an important
part of our everyday lifestyles and offers a place to relax and enjoy the company of family,‘
friends, colleagues, and business associates (Walker, 2014; p. 160.). Indeed, a restaurant takes a’
human need - the act of eating - and transforms it into a civilized ritual involving hospitality,
imagination, satisfaction, graciousness, and warmth (Gunasekeran, 1992).Buyer conduct is a
very broad and wide concept that is difficult to accumulate, investigate and analyze the vital
information and findings into a single project; accordingly, the research is limited the
concentration in different stages associated with the decision-making process alongside social
media advertising strategies influence consumer purchasing decision making in the restaurant
sector in London through social media. The research goal is -
 To identify effective marketing strategies related to social media for restaurants in
London
 To determine factors that motivate consumer purchasing decision in the restaurant sector.
 To investigate changes when, why and how social media marketing strategies have
affected decision making process of consumer.

1.7 Significance of the study
Wilkie (1994) claimed that a great deal of the cognitive and physical effort for purchasing
products ensue before the actual buying behavior. Therefore, marketers of any type ought to
know how consumers are influenced in the pre-purchase stage (Chen and Dubinsky, 2003). As
discussed above the restaurant industry is highly competitive. In order to attract and retain
customers, restaurateurs ought to have a deep understanding of the wants, needs, and perceptions
of customers who most likely belong to the segment that will choose their establishment
(Gregoire et al., 1995).In the research determinants which motivate consumer purchasing
decision making will be conceptualized into a coordinated framework to analyze consequence of
social media promoting strategies into purchaser behavior while choosing eateries in London to
visit. The findings will reveal what specific marketing strategies made consumers progressively
moving far from mass media marketing and making dependent on searching out on social media
sites to look data related to various restaurants since they consider it relatable and advantageous
which encourages them in better choice - making resulting minimum time wastage.

CHAPTER 2 : Literature review
2.1 Introduction of Social Media
Social Media is the group of online interchanges channels devoted to network-based info,
communication, content-sharing and coordinated effort. Still scholars have many controversies
and exchanges in regard to all-inclusive definition of social media because it has been changing
and developing with the advancement of social networking sites. (Brian Solis, 2018). Sajithra
Koli (2013) have shown how social media is framed in terms of interconnected substances –
social connection, components and correspondence media. Social media has made another scene
in supporting the socialization of data (Brian Solis, 2018), accordingly it has improved
correspondence stream by making it less demanding and to more individuals, and to spread
helpful data with conceivably immense online gatherings of people (Smith and Zook 2011).
Safko (2012) agreed with the concept proposed by Kaplan and Haenlein (2009), as they have
defined social media as the activities, practices, and behaviors among communities of people“
who gather online to share information, knowledge, and opinions using conversational media. In”
any case, social media facilitates the stream of correspondence by empowering commitments and
input from everybody who is intrigued, and it is a two-way discussion when contrasting with the
customary media since social media platforms are open up to criticism and support (Weigel,
2018).
In regards of the term Social media, Tim O'Reilly, the founder of O'Reilly media, has
coined that "Social Media is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move
to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new
platform." He has further provided a general business aspect in relations of Web 2.0 as the
harnessing of collective intelligence, in which Web 2.0 provides platforms and fills the Web with“”
user-generated content where all individuals the former audience are able to take part in instead–
of important decisions made by a few people. (O'Reilly 2006.) Alternatively, Social Media is a
platform whereby content and applications are continuously modified and exchanged by all users
in participatory and collaborative manner, and no longer merely created and published by
individuals (Kaplan and Haenlein 2009). Many researchers have come across the interchangeable

usage of the terms social media and Web2.0 (Safko and Brake 2009, 6; Kaplan and Haenlein“”“”
2009, 60); however, Safko and Brake (2009, 6) have stated out that these two terms are closely
related yet not exactly synonymous, and they differ in terms of usage. For the purpose of this
research, and in order to avoid any confusion, the above mentioned terms will be defined, despite
the fact that social media is the central gravity of the research. There are still many ongoing
debates and discussions regarding social medias universal definition; as social media has been’
transforming and merging into the evolving development of New Media (Solis 2010). Regardless
of what the standardized definition per se would be, many of the existing studies and articles
have stated out the common core purpose of social media.
Figure 1: Social media components (Dann and Dann 2011).
According to figure 1, Dann and Dann (2011) have demonstrated how social media is
formed based upon the interconnected elements social interaction, content, and communication–
media. Social media has created a new landscape in supporting the socialization of information
(Solis 2007), as a result it has facilitated and enhanced communication flow by making it easier
and to more people, and to spread useful information with potentially vast online audiences
(Smith and Zook 2011, 10), in which the conversation may be taken place on media locally but
lead to a global impact.
Safko and Brake (2009) have supported the concept proposed by Kaplan and Haenlein
(2009), as they have referred social media to activities, practices, and behaviors among“

communities of people who gather online to share information, knowledge, and opinions using
conversational media. Nonetheless, social media expedites the flow of communication by”
encouraging contributions and feedback from everyone who is interested, and it is a two-way
conversation when comparing to the traditional media because social media outlets are open up
to feedback and participation (Mayfield 2008).
At its essence, social media describes the powerful new ways individuals are engaging
with content on the Internet, and vice versa; that is, as many have observed, social media is user-
centric in which it emphasizes and facilitates the process of creating, commenting, editing and
sharing. More importantly, social media is the democratization of content (Solis 2007).
2.2 Social Media marketing
Social media marketing means utilizing social media platforms as marketing tools. It is
advanced process which enables individuals to advertise new item, services or facilities through
social media platforms which has a much larger community than the mass media advertising
(Weinberg,2009).Mass media advertisements today are not that much effective as these was
before because of less chance to deliver massage to the potential customers (Weber,2013).In
social networking platforms group of a people sharing common interest gather for exchanging
opinions, reviews and recommendations which lefts a great impacts on the potential customers
for their next purchasing decision. As a result, promoting products and services through creative
social media marketing strategies became more important than ever before (Weber,2013).
Social Media Marketing is an umbrella term that can be described as the utilization of
social media platforms as marketing tools. According to Weinberg (2009), he refers social media
marketing as leveraging the social through the media to market businesses constituents; in other‘’‘’‘’’
words, it is a process in empowering individuals to promote their websites, products, and/or
services through online social channels, to interact with and to tap into a much larger community
that may not have been available via traditional advertising channels. It is no longer a striking
fact that most of the advertisements via mass media are not as efficient as in the past, because by
advertising through the mass, the message is generally reaching far more people than the
potential customer intended to reach (Weber 2009; Weinberg 2009). Social web is where people
with a common interest can gather to share thoughts, comments, and ideas; hence, instead of
continuing as broadcasters, marketers should become aggregates of customer communities; that

is, the Web should not be considered as a mere advertising channel, it is a place where marketers
can listen and respond to communities, review contents, as well as promote a particular piece of
content within the vast social sphere (community building) (Weber 2009).
Defining difference between Social Media marketing strategies versus Mass Media
marketing strategies:
The major difference between mass media and social media is this; the mass media puts
the audience in a passive position. Social media puts the audience at the center. People are both
the audience and the content creator, it provides a unique experience of social collaboration and
social interaction. Over the last years, social media has become an inseparable part of our lives,
every day more and more people are joining social media networks, they create content, interact
with each other, and collaborate with each other. Even brands are on social media, they organize
social media marketing campaigns and interact with their existing or potential customers. Still
question remains at large which form of media influences the public and shapes the public
opinion best. In order to gain a better position in the transition from traditional marketing
approach to social media marketing, marketers will have to, firstly, change their marketing
mindset. Social media platforms have radically changed the approach of segmentation in
implanting marketing strategy, instead of easily identified demographics, such as age, gender, or
income are relatively less important, it groups people by what they do, think, like, and dislike,
and more importantly by their behaviors, also known as behavioral targeting. (Weber 2009).
Many marketing experts (Drury 2008; Mayfield 2008; Weber 2009; Weinberg 2009)
have always emphasized that since marketing via social media is rather about receiving and
exchanging perceptions and ideas, which makes social media marketing no longer one
dimensional but a two-way process engaging a brand and an audience (Drury 2008) as well as a
creation of increasingly visualize contents (Weber 2009). Oftentimes, content is a critical factor
in achieving an effective marketing via social media; however, according to Curatas B2B’“
Marketing Trends Survey 2012 Report (MarketingProfs 2012), companies seem to encounter”
challenges in creating original content, having time to create it, and finding high-quality content.
Drury (2008) has argued that with social media in particular, the content of advertising and

branding must be provided as relevant value-added content that is more about consumer, rather
than brash product placement. When companies help their customers through social media
outlets, it is more likely to build a long-term relationship, which will in turn propel and leverage
the brand awareness and growth (Young Entrepreneur Council 2012) Social media platforms
serve as a tool for consumers who may not have an outlet or support system to find one another;
brands like Weight Watchers and Nike Women have demonstrated how valuable social
networking sites can be for bridging people who are facing similar daily obstacles (Young
Entrepreneur Council 2012).
Upon the insufficient advertising budget that companies oftentimes encounter via the
traditional channels, social media marketing might be, particularly, easier and more effective for
small and medium-size companies to take maximum advantage of it. While social media
marketing is an evolving technology with much potential, yet marketings role still reminds the’
same defining the target market, communicating with prospects, building loyalty, customer–
engagement and so on. (Weber 2009.) Weinberg (2009) has proposed few reasons to tap into a
solid social media strategy in addition to (or instead of) the traditional ones, which are –
facilitation in natural discovery of new content, boost up in traffic numbers, strong relationship
building, as well as a cheap alternative to traditional marketing. Unlike the traditional
advertising, individuals in the social media era have access to contents that are not necessarily
associated with commercial intent (neutral); consequently, if a person like a content, he/she is
likely to pass it on to their peers, families, and so on via social sites, then content will be spread
out quickly without interfering with traditional marketing. (Weinberg 2009.) Social media offers
opportunities to achieve communities, once company has established its presence as a
community participant worth following, eventually others will be likely interested in what it
shares and pass to the relevant ones (Weber 2009). Besides, in the phase of the new marketing
era, bringing the brand to alive depends solely upon the engagement within communities (Weber
2009; Silverman 2001), as a result if company is genuinely paying attention to the members of
the community, a strong relationship can be built upon investing time in responding on
feedbacks and concerns (Weinberg 2009).
Mass media audience become more and more difficult to buy, said Martin Sorrel (1996)‘’
of WPP (see Smith and Zook , 2011). The fortunes of advertising have grown alongside with the
growth of mass media; however, this growth has stopped these years. (Smith and Zook , 2011.)

In fact, there are many sport brands in the marketplace are taking social media marketing as a
vital component in their businesses, in which they look at effective ways to gain a more detailed
understanding of their social media fan base. Nike has been putting more marketing muscle
behind its digital initiatives, for instance by taking social media marketing in-house, claiming
that online channels are more valuable to its business strategy than traditional advertising
(Joseph 2013). Social media provides a unique opportunity both for companies and for
customers, interacting in real time. Companies and brands can be criticized openly on social
media by their customers. Also customers can reach their favorite brands on social media.
Internet presence is important but the presence of social media has become crucial for companies
and brands. Social Media is very beneficial and essential for communicating with customers, the
number of people that use social media for obtaining the news and information highly increased
over the years. Especially young people heavily rely on social media. Companies that recognize
the importance of social media employ content producers. These content producers emphasize
the importance of high quality content to create appealing, and stimulate interaction between
existing and potential customers and companies. The main consideration is audience reach and
credibility to measure the impact of media content.
2.3 The Consumers
Consumers are individuals who consume or purchases item, services or facilities and
actors on the marketplace stage (Weinberg,2009). The term Buyer and Consumer has a little‘’‘’
difference- Buyers are group of people who are acting either as extreme, mechanical, or
institutional purchasers. On the other hand, consumers allude to people who buy for simply
extreme utilize, which is more prohibitive as far as significance (Sternthal and Craig, 1982).
2.4 The customer decision-making model
Businesses encounter bottlenecks where the message is not reaching their consumers and
prospects, with the fact that, at times, consumers and prospects are facing significant blocks in
their decision process. If not, each of them should be fully committed, loyal, enthusiastic,
repeated consumers; however, this is not the case. Today the accessibility and transparency of
information has profoundly influenced the decision making process; therefore, it is important to

examine what are the hurdles and fiction points that hold prospects becoming consumers, or
keeps consumers hesitating from repurchasing (Silverman 2001).
Figure 2: The 5-Stage Decision Making Model (Silverman 2001).
Engel, Kollat, and Blackwell have presents a comprehHello,
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A valid justification and a genuine reason is required from your side asap.
ensive model dealing with ultimate consumers behaviour in 1978, which attempts to capture the’
critical aspects of individuals consumption behaviour. As the figure shows, the model has’
interpreted consumer behaviour into five stages 1) Problem recognition, 2) search of–
information, 3) evaluation of alternatives, 4) final decision, and 5) post purchase decisions
(Sternthal and Craig 1982).

2.4.1 Problem recognition
Problem recognition takes place whenever a consumer recognizes a significant difference
between the desired and the actual state of affairs, which is in sufficient magnitude to arouse and
activate the decision process (Solomon, Bamossy and Askegaard 2002), or need triggered by
internal or external stimuli. After the realization of a problem, it initiates the search for
information before any typical buying action.
When an individual is triggered externally, for instance, a person may see a television
advertisement for a vacation, the stimuli triggers thoughts or ideas about the possibility of
making a purchase (Kotler and Keller 2009). Nowadays, the mass media is no longer the only
source of information, which may serve as a trigger of a purchase to individuals. As a result,
consumers are exposed to vast amount of information, in order to get through the consumers’
filter, marketers have to identify a claim or promise about their services or products, which are
strongly penetrative. Filter, in this case, is a fact of being overlooked because of too much
information competing in the marketplace (Silverman 2001).
2.4.2. Search of Information
The final purchase decision will not be made at once, even when individuals
acknowledge, recognize their problems, and pay attention to the available products; likewise,
when prospects have a certain interest in a product or service, they tend to go through the
following steps before carrying out any action identifying available options, studying–
information of selected options, and eventually judging which of these options can most likely
deliver the best outcome (Silverman 2001).
The information sources can be divided into two types: internal and external. Internal
search indicates former information and experience of an individual will result in future
behaviour that the consumers will be likely to take (Solomon, Bamossy and Askegaard 2002).
Even when a consumer is attentive towards a marketing offer, it does not imply that the offer will
be comprehended as intended; therefore, aside from the accumulated information, any
information or message that is generally analysed and stored in the consumers memory in forms’
of certain meaning will be used to evaluate alternatives. Essentially, competitive brands provide

alternatives for consumers who are willing to find the best solution to their problems or needs,
even they may offer same products or services.
2.4.3 Evaluation of Alternatives
Once an option is identified as the best/suitable solution according to the individuals’
needs after accumulating sufficient information, they undertake alternative evaluation ( Sternthal
and Craig 1982, 46). Depending on their motives or goals, consumers establish a criteria for
evaluating choice alternatives (Sternthal and Craig 1982, 46), for instance which alternative is
the simplest to use or to arrange, or what are other users experiences, because there is a need to’
confirm whether or not the information is reliable and to verify that the product will work out as
anticipated (Silverman 2001). In order to ensure the outcome within the expectation, individuals
require relevance of experience. Direct and indirect experience, which individuals, serve as
indicators during the buying process. Direct experience is not always preferred since individuals
are inexperienced towards specific products, which may result using it in an unskilled manner
and have negative experience with it. Most often, if negative experiences take place, they are
most likely to be costly (both financially and time), risky, or even damaging to reputation
(Silverman 2001). After the assessment of the choice alternatives, consumers formulate beliefs
regarding the alternatives, which guide their attitudes, intentions, and ultimately their choice
among alternatives (Sternthal and Craig 1982, 46). Besides, several studies have provided
evident findings that the decision maker will increasingly seek ways to simplify the evaluation
process when a decision becomes more complex (Bruner and Austin 1956).
2.4.4 Final Decision

Figure 3: Steps between evaluation of alternatives and a purchase decision (Koter &
Keller 2009).
Kotler and Keller (2009) have suggested that during the course of evaluation, consumer
eventually forms preferences among the brands in the choice desk, however, there are two
factors, which can interfere between the purchase intension and purchase decision attitude of the–
others and unanticipated situational factors.
Attitudes of others is the extent to which another persons negative attitude towards the’
preferred alternatives or reluctance to meet the terms of supporting the purchase intention, this
may result in a readjustment of the consumers purchase intention (Kotler and Keller 2009).’
Likewise, Kotler (2009) has also stated that consumers are undoubtedly influenced by the
immediacies who publish their evaluations (e.g. customer reviews on Amazon.com, blogs,
bulletin boards, and so on). Unanticipated situational factors refer to those may erupt to alter the
purchase intention, for instance, there might come an unexpected purchase that is more urgent
compared to the purchase the consumer was firstly stimulated to buy; in other words, preferences
and purchase intentions cannot be served as completely reliable predictors of purchase
behaviour. (Kotler and Keller 2009.) The stages in the decision process are not followed

sequentially, but rather in a cyclically order; that is, in reality there are loops, for instance
between information search and evaluation, consumer learns about new criteria not previously
considered (Bettman 1979).
2.4.5 Post Purchase Decision
After the consumption, the consumer then experiences certain levels of satisfaction or
dissatisfaction, and evaluates the wisdom of the choice made in selecting the alternative. Two
potential outcomes are derived from this phase satisfaction or dissonance. When consumer–
experiences dissonance towards the purchase, the choice is devaluated and the consumer begins‘’
the process of searching, obtaining information and evaluating other options for future buying
decision, in which triggers new behavior. (Sternthal and Craig 1982).It is a phase when the
consumer decides whether or not to move from merely implementing the product to a full
adaption; that is, whether to use the product repeatedly or repurchase or not. Since consumer
always has a choice regarding the products priority, frequency of usage, and new circumstances
of new uses. When individuals are comfortable in using a specific product regularly, they will
recommend it to others from using the product as well (Silverman 2001). Stages in decision
making involves many psychological factors, which the above five-stages buying model has
failed to explicate; thus, the following discussion focuses on attitude and the psychological
components mentioned in the information processing theory proposed by Bettman (1979).
Influence of Social Media Marketing Strategies on the customer decision making- process:
With the daily access on social media sites, it could be very addictive channel for potential
consumers which could result in very distinctive stimulation of their decision-making process. In
line with Gregory Ciotti (2014), the fact that information is always a click away, may (through
overuse) cause a decrease in conceptual and critical thinking. In line with Chaffey (2009),
considering mixed-mode buying or how a customer changes between an online and an offline
channel during the buying decision process is a key aspect of devising online marketing
communications for business since the customer should be supported in changing from one
channel to another. Thanks to spreading the information about product and service via social
media platforms, the consumers have now lots of stimuli available online that substantially affect
their stages in decision-making process. These stimuli might be divided into two groups,

controllable and uncontrollable stimuli by companies. The figure below describes how the
stimuli leverage in each stage of the customer decision-making process.
Figure 4: Model of Stimuli and Response (Constantinides and Fountain 2008).
The model outlines the complexity of influencers in the five stages of decision-making
process, moreover it visually blueprints the whole related literature review described further
below. The first stage belongs to controllable stimuli as it can be affected by online marketing
strategy of the company. Undoubtedly, the demographical, cultural, economical, legal etc.
aspects are taken into consideration while setting the proper digital marketing mix
(Constantinides and Fountain, 2008).

Nevertheless, the companies frequently struggle with applying integrated online marketing
strategies because the web 2.0 tools alias social media provide enormous source of data and this
uncontrollable stimulus can ́ t be entirely regulated by companies. The latest IBM Global CMO
survey found out that about 71% of worlds CMOs believe that their business is not able to deal
with the explosion of 'big data'. The social platforms provide enormous place for gathering those
data, nevertheless the main challenge for business is the unification of data from Social Media
platforms with customer database as the community of social media users differs from actual
customers (Knight, 2014). The online presentation of the product and service plays an important
role for organisations in terms of the psychical market place as the customers have lots of quality
perceptions which might have been influenced through different websites (Lorenzo-Romero et
al., 2013). For that reason, the second and third stage in decision-making model is inevitably
combine with Web 2.0 tools where people deeply investigate more knowledge about products
and services that would like to buy. On the contrary, the online users might affect negatively
potential customers by harming the goodwill of the product or service of the company, so that is
why e-business and e-commerce management emerge in the model. The e-CRM appears to be an
efficiently appliance for communicating with customers and for strengthening the organizational
collaboration, while the e-marketing applies digital marketing mix to reach the potential
consumers (Poshi, 2015). Therefore, the organizations have two possible online strategies, to
enhance the effectiveness of actual customers or to convert social media users into the
organization ́ s community. The second option could be reached by monitoring the online word-of
mouth with automatic reviews’ reply, nurturing new leaders that would spread the positive info
online or enhancing communities to create their own advertisement about product or service of
the company (Ang, 2011). After the actual purchase of the product or service the customer might
be obliged to give positive or negative feedback back to social media and the circle perpetuates
with other buyers again. As the uncontrollable stimuli are very difficult to restrain, the
companies must improve their e-marketing and e-CRM by understanding the impact of social
media on decision process of the customers.
The user-generated content:
According to Britannica (Flew, 2014) media convergence is a phenomenon involving the
interconnection of information and communications technologies, computer networks, and media

content. It brings together the three Cs computing, communication, and content and enables’——
entirely new forms of content to emerge.The organizations that are adopting Social Media tools
into their marketing strategy, try to keep up with the urgent unmanageable fact that the
consumers biases are usually based on uncontrollable attributes that user-generate content’
creates. (Constantinides and Fountain, 2008).The communication from one-to-one, one-to-many
and many-to-many describes thoroughly social media transmission. In today ́ s world, everyone
can make any content publicly available through social media platforms. It is infinitely essential
to be familiar with the meaning of the UGC. It actually consists of core data and meta-data. The
first term defines any given piece of information such as text, audio, video or the combinations;
whereas the second term characterizes info about the piece itself, for example number of views
or author ́ s status. Moreover, the word peer-ratings express the rating of the UGC by online users
such as clicking on like on Facebook. (Wyrwoll, 2014) By drawing the communication flow, the
assimilation of social media platforms becomes more coherent.
Figure 5: Social Media Integration Model (Garcia, 2011).
The Figure above drafts the model of social media ́ s integration by Isra Garcia (2011).
The social media provide platforms where the bilateral communication is represented by four
components: exposure, connecting, sharing and feedback. The information flow does not only
circulate from the cooperation to consumers, but even the other way around, so it causes the
long-term process of exchanging the info rather than short-term. That is the reason, why the

companies should be familiar with its consequences for the proper usage of that information to
enhance e-CRM. As reported by Isra Garcia (2011), the content is put available on social
bookmarking sites represented by blogs or web sites, shared and spread within the public. Then
social networking sites play a role of operator who connects the society. The social
recommendations and reviews measure the impact of online conversation on the sites and
produce valuable feedback for all participants. The exposure itself melts in the same process as
the conceptualization of the blogging platforms, harnessing the power of its strategies and highly
page rank properties tries to deliver the most effective exposure impact (giving feedback,
engaging and sharing information all at once).
2.5 Mostly Used Social Media Platforms used by Consumers for Purchasing Decision Making in
The Restaurant Sector in London:
From the customers point of view, social media have become fundamental and’
indispensable part of their lives. The biggest advantage is that people are able to broadcast their
thoughts and make them visible for other users without being computer or technical specialists.
The multidirectional online communication has been formed in keeping with hardware
development of electronic devices. Furthermore, all these devices that have access to the Internet
allow creation of metadata. (Wyrwoll, 2014) In line with Constantinides and Fountain (2008),
there are categories of Web 2.0 tools where the user plays double role as consumer and
contributor of the site, which might lead to influence of customers decision-making process.
Those categories are formed by:
1.Blogs and micro blogs: These are online journals, the fastest growing tools that display user ́ s
online posting chronologically. They are usually designed by special interest, where the podcast
(online video and audio) is usually associated and often streamed further, although the users do
not have to know each other personally.
2.Social networks: Oxforddictionaries.com (2018) describes this term as ―A network of social
interactions and personal relationship‖. The figure below shows the most popular and the fastest
growing social networking sites in January 2018 as stated in eBizMBA. For the main purpose of
this study only Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Google plus+ are desirable
platforms that could be used for information search by consumers for the restaurants. The

communication among friends or groups has positive or negative effect on decision-making
process of others.

Figure 6: Top 7 most popular Social Networking sites (Ebizmba.com, 2015)

3. Communities (content): the websites that contribute and share numerous contents, the
example of those platforms are www.youtube.com, www.flickr.com.
4. Forums: alias online discussion sites where the information and views are assembled
innovated and enhanced. The difference between communication on social networks and forums
lies in connection of users. The content on forum can be read by people without any personal
connection, while social networks discussion ́ s participants must be linked in. (Wyrwoll, 2014)
5. Rating and review sites: the platforms where users are able to give their opinions about
product and service that they experienced by personal usage. The example is
www.tripadvisor.com where users give personal ratings to product or service and provide info
about their own experience to others. From several researches it is clear that people are much
more influenced by negative rather than positive reviews which results in distortion of their
evaluation and final decision making (Cheung, Thadani, 2012).
With regards to Paul Chaney (2015) those sites have obviously positive or negative
influence on customer decision making process and final purchase as many online users utterly
rely on experiences of others. Additionally, the companies might also use those sites to defend
themselves by interaction with reviews writers and improve or raise e-CRM.’
The restaurant operators stated that the most popular and useful social media platforms
are Facebook, online review sites, Twitter and blogging websites. According to them, there is
more buzz that could have an enormous influence on new customers. For this reason, the
restaurant industry takes in mind those media as serious marketing tool which has an effect on
business revenue. (Windels, 2012).
2.6 Commonly used Social Media Marketing Strategies by restaurants in London:
1. Encouraging social media sharing: Asking customers to share their experience is one thing,
but making it easy, fun, and a natural part of the restaurant experience is much more effective
long-term. For example, in the case of Nandos, this means creating simple and fun competitions’
that encourage in-the-moment sharing on social. Despite stiff competition within the fast food
market, Nandos has become one of the most popular and well-known restaurants in the London.’
With 1.5m followers on Twitter and 4.2m fans on Facebook, its social media strategy has

contributed to its success, with the brand running integrated social campaigns to help generate
engagement and loyalty. Its best examples have been those that encourage customers to share
their Nandos experience on social media, such as the finger selfies campaign. This involved’‘’
customers tweeting a picture of their best finger selfie made from a Nandos napkin, using a £20’
gift card as an incentive to get involved. By creating campaigns that customers can easily engage
with while dining, Nandos enhances the fun and casual experience that its become known for. In’’
turn, it also furthers engagement on social media, encouraging customers to spread the word.
2. Using storytelling to engage customers via social media platforms:
With an authentic and interesting back-story, brands like Pizza Pilgrims naturally capture
the attention of consumers especially in the face of competition from big chains. Keeping this–
sense of authenticity, even in the midst of growth, is important for maintaining customer loyalty.
Pizza Pilgrims has gone from a single stall at a food market to becoming a fully-fledged chain,
now with seven locations in London. As customers might expect from a restaurant with such
humble beginnings, its focus on authenticity has been at the heart of its marketing strategy,
appealing to customers with its have a go back-story and its no-frills product.‘’ Now with seven
restaurant locations, Pizza Pilgrims still promises to roll out with soul positioning itself as an‘’–

authentic and fashionable alternative to large-scale pizza chains. They constantly use social
networking site Twitter for storytelling to engage customers.
3. Capitalize on visual content. Food and restaurant brands are increasingly relying on the
customers appetite for visual content, using platforms like Instagram and YouTube to promote’
themselves. User-generated content is a great way to create this but also save on both resources
and budget. Pan n Ice sells Thai-style ice cream known as Koh Phi Phi, which is essentially ice‘’
cream rolls created by mashing, slicing, and freeze-drying ingredients on a metal plate. While the
ice cream itself is bound to be enjoyable, the brand generates a lot of interest from how it is
made, creating each serving in front of customers eyes. Unsurprisingly, social media has been’
integral to the brands success so far, particularly on Instagram where it posts videos of its ice’
cream being created. Some videos have been viewed over 100,000 times, which is pretty
impressive considering the company is still in its infancy. Pan n Ice also generates hype by being‘’

creative with flavors, using well-known food items to create frankly bonkers recipes, such as
pizza Pringle rolls. Which, yes, is ice cream made out of pizza-flavored Pringles.
As well as increasing awareness online, the spectacle that surrounds the product also helps to
increase footfall the company has suggested that whenever theyre being filmed, passers-by–’
naturally stop to see why. As a result, it has seen further success with pop-ups in locations like
Selfridges and Topshop, capitalizing on the immersive nature of the retail environment to
generate customer interest.
4. Build authentic partnerships: Restaurants are constantly talking about both the negatives and
positives of influencer marketing, but Leon has demonstrated that there is a sweet spot and it–
always boils down to authenticity. In other words, focusing on levels of engagement rather than
the size of the audience.
Leon is another casual fast food chain that has seen rapid growth over the past few years.
One campaign that kicked off real success was Lean and Clean, where it partnered with social‘’
media influencer Joe Wicks also known as the Body Coach.–
Building on the trend for clean eating and general wellness, Leon positioned itself as a‘’
healthy alternative to fast food restaurants. Taking advantage of Joes growing audience on social,’
the brand created two fitness videos to post on his own channels. Following on from this, Joe
continued to post related content including new recipes and competitions, becoming a natural
advocate for the brand based on his own dedication to healthy living. With Joe Wicks going on

to become much bigger on social, and since releasing his own line of best-selling books, it can
perhaps in hindsight be seen as a great example of micro-influencer marketing. Due to a natural
and authentic partnership, Leons Lean and Clean campaign truly resonated with Joes smaller but’’
hyper-engaged following at the time.

CHAPTER 3 : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
Once the study has done with literature review, it starts with research methodology, as
this enable the investigator to collect information & data for the purpose of making business
decisions. However, the methodology make use of interviews, publication research, surveys &
other research tool but in this secondary source of information has been chosen.
3.2 Research design
A research design refers to a set of methods & process that are used by researcher to
gather, analyse and measure information that is require to complete the research study.
Moreover, the term design is defined as a framework of techniques chosen by an investigator to
join various elements of research in a rationale logistic manner in order to manage the research
problem efficiently. It has been observed that every investigator has a list of questions that are
need to be assessed in a research study, as it gives insights regarding how to conduct research
through specific methodology. The design of research topic describes the type of research such
as experimental, survey, semi-experimental, etc. and similarly its sub types like; research
problem, descriptive, etc. In addition it includes three main sections of research design; data
collection, measurement, and analysis (Fiegen, 2010). It has been observed that, an impactful
research design develops minimal bias in information & raises trust on the gathered & analysed
research data. Therefore, a research design refers to a systematic approach that a researcher uses
to conduct a study. There are basically 4 types of research design; exploratory, descriptive,
explanatory and evaluation research. Moreover, with the clear understanding of the type of
research design; a research paper can be drawn. Apart from this, the term research design is
viewed from two standpoint, a qualitative research design and a quantitative research design.
Investigators use both of these either distinctively or together (Cohen, Manion, and Morrison,
2013). Descriptive research design, an investigator is only interested in describing the condition
or case under his/her research paper. It is determined that, it is a theory-based research design
which is formed by collect, examine and presents collected data. Descriptive research design

does not enable for forecasting and regulating the events but supports to the evidences by
expressing exploratory suggestion and testing the validity of current theory. Further,
experimental research design is utilized to begin a connection between the reason and effect of a
situation. It is considered as a fundamental research design where the result caused by the
independent variable on the dependent variable is detected. Correlation research design refers to
a non-experimental research design method which supports investigator to create a relationship
between two closely linked variables. In the diagnostic research design, the examiner is
motivated towards assessing the reason of a particular topic. Components that contribute towards
a difficult situation are calculated in this research design technique. Exploratory research design
is organized for the research of completely new topic, event or study. This is considered useful at
the time of conducting investigation when there are few or no previous studies or knowledge.
Research design also includes four characteristics; neutrality, reliability, validity and
generalization. Neutrality refers to the results proposed in research design must be free from
unfairness and neutral. Researcher must understand views regarding the final evaluated
conclusion from numerous individuals & study those who approve with the derived
outcomes(Cohen, Manion, and Morrison, 2013). In the present research examiner has used
Explorative research design to identify social media impact on consumer behaviour.
3.3 Research Method
It has been observed that, researchers use qualitative research method in those cases
where a relationship between gathered data & observation is established on the basis of
mathematical calculation. Qualitative research approach is considered as the oldest scientific
approach to gain, explore the depth & give them a meaning. Purpose of qualitative research is to
examine uniqueness of study. This type of research includes meanings, concepts, symbols,
characteristics and description of things. Because of this reason qualitative research is frequently
defined as being subjective rather objective, & findings are collected in written format.
Therefore, this states that information collected through qualitative approach cannot be analysed
in a quantifiable way using statistics.
Quantitative research method, is used to gather information in the form of statistical manner or
computational techniques. It has been observed that, quantitative method collects information in
numerical form as statistics, percentages, etc. Under this research method, data analyses is done
by the investigator with help of statistics and expects that the numbers will result in an unbiased

way, that can be further, generalise to some bigger population(Daniel and Sam, 2011). Moreover,
Quantitative research design narrates to the design of a research paper which practices
quantitative research approaches. Also, the design differs relies on the method used, which can
be either telephone or face-to-face interviews, online surveys, or investigations by post for
instance. Other approaches include SMS / Test Message surveys, or physical counts. The
purpose of this type of research is to discover how many persons think, act or feel in an exact
way. Quantitative method include big sample sizes, focusing on the quantity of answers, as
opposite to achieving the more focused or expressive vision that is the aim of qualitative
research. The normal format in quantitative research design is for each respondent to be asked
the similar questions, which confirms that the whole data sample can be analyzed impartially. In
the present report qualitative research method has been used by the research to collect, analyze
and interpret data related to identify social media impact on consumer behaviour.
Data analysis
In the research methodology data analysis is another major noteworthy section in the
paper and research approach which causes the agent to acquire the fitting outcome. It is route by
which specialist examination the information which have been gathered from the essential and
optional sources so as to decide the viable outcome to take care of the issue. In this procedure
scientist utilize distinctive research apparatuses and strategies keeping in mind that main goal to
do the best possible appraisal of the accumulated information (Creswell, 2013). In the
information investigation, there are two kinds of systems that are qualitative and quantitative,
qualitative data analysis have chosen subjective research procedure to identify social media
impact on consumer behaviour so the specialist will utilize the diagrams and outlines with a
specific end goal to exhibit the information in compelling way.
3.4 Data collection
Primary data collection method is the term of collecting information as a source. This
type of information is gathered directly from first hand sources such as; surveys, observations
and experimentation (Bryman and Bell, 2015). Interviews are considered as the most extensively
used primary data collection methods in which the interviewer asks questions either personally
or using questionnaire. Secondary data collection method that will be used in this research paper
to figure out specific marketing strategies made social media more effective platforms and
changes in social media marketing strategies. This method is used when data is need to be

collected by someone else for purpose other than investigators current project’ . In the form of
qualitative, data can be acquired through newspapers, diaries, interviews, records, etc., whereas
the quantitative data can be achieved over a survey, financial statements and statistics. In the
present report researcher had used secondary data collection method to identify social media
impact on consumer behaviour.
3.6 Research reliability
Further, reliability is when if a research is conducted on a regular basis, the investigator
supposes alike results to be concluded every time. In addition, research design must show about
how to design the research questions to make sure the standard of acquired results & this can
occur only when the design is reliable (Daniel and Sam, 2011). Moreover, there are various tools
of measuring that are available for research design, but valid measuring techniques are those
which assist an investigator in assessing results depending upon the objectives of research. It has
been observed that, generalisation is considered as one of the vital characteristics of research
design. This is because, it states that the result of research design much be relevant to a
population & not just a constraint sample.
3.7 Ethical considerations
Ethical Considerations can be specified as one of the most important parts of the
research. Dissertations may even be doomed to failure if this part is missing. The following ten
points represent the most important principles related to ethical considerations in dissertations:
 Research participants should not be subjected to harm in any ways.
 Respect for the dignity of research participants should be prioritise.
 Full consent should be acquired from the participants prior to the examination.
 The protection of the privacy of research participants has to be guaranteed.
 Satisfactory level of confidentiality of the research data should be ensured.
 Obscurity of individuals and organisations participating in the research has to be ensured.
3.8 Limitation of the study
 Lack of preceding studies in the research domain

 Implementation of data collection method due to lack of knowledge in secondary data
collection
 Limited time and resources.
3.9 Conceptual plan
Conceptual plan is connected to the subject matters of the research. It contains
documentation & selection of research problem, hypothesis setting, operative definition of
variables, restraint of study, etc. Sampling plan is associated with the population of the study,
sample size, sampling setting, techniques and process. Strategic plan deals with the assortment of
suitable information gathering tools & techniques and application (Schmidt and Hunter, 2014).
Analytical plan is essentially concerned with the purpose, selection and implementation of
correct determination, selection & application of right qualitative and or quantitative data
analysis tools. Resource Plan research pursues funds and logistics for its task achievement.
Hence this plan aims to achieve resources like men, materials, machines, etc. essential for the
transmission of research.
 Good research design must be truthful, workable, proper and able to provide intended
information.
 Furthermore, design must be flexible, well-organized, economy and mean to economy.
 Design must be steady with the research competency of the investigator or possible for
the research.
 Research design must be based on and synchronize with the purpose of the research
problem.
 It must be flexible so that it can be altered as per the position changed.
 It should be framed after the important study of the nature of the problem.
 Design should give well created guidelines for whole research steps.
 Design should establish valid, reliable and generalizable features.
 The data collection and analysis technique should be properly covered in Research
design.

 Design should capable to suggest correct methods for hypothesis formulation & testing.
3.10 Summary
In this research paper, secondary research method will be used to collect information
about the main contrasts between marketing strategies on social media and mass media and
to identify and analyze determinants which motivate consumer purchasing decision making
in the restaurant sector in London.

CHAPTER 4 - SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS
This is another important part of a dissertation or research that helps to examine the
collected information from various sources. In the present research examiner has focused on
secondary data which is gathered through different sources such as books. Websites, journals
and articles. The research focuses on impact of social media on consumer's decision making
within restaurant sector. In the present research examiner has used secondary data analysis to
get a more detailed information and appropriate outcomes related to the research topic. The
secondary data can be analysed in order to extend or replicate previously observed findings
or to address new research questions that were not a part of originally published analyses of
the information or data. In this type data analysis method data is collected through various
secondary sources of information such as websites of the chosen company, subject related
research or articles and books in context to the topic selected for the research. Various
themes will developed in order to create a effective structure of the analysis as following -
4.1 Thematic analysis
Theme 1: There is huge impact of social media strategies on consumers decisions
According to the books and articles on social marketing and consumer decisions it can be
concluded that marketing strategies related to social media can be very essential and effective
for attracting more customers to a organization in each and every sector. The restaurant
sector is highly growing nowadays due increase in demand of the customers. This has also
increased in the competition in the restaurant industry. Therefore, it is very important for the
organization to develop new and competitive marketing strategies that can be helpful in
achieving organizational goals and objectives as well as increasing business profit.
Research and findings
The articles on social media marketing concluded that there are various strategies that
plays a major role in influencing consumer purchasing decisions making process in restaurant
sector as described below
Internet in today's world is not only a tool to access information, it has also became a
popular tool for interaction. Online social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter etc,
1

have become a highly used interaction and communication channel among people all around
the world. Online social media networks also allows people to construct a dynamic public
profile for sharing experiences, knowledge and opinions among them. Nowadays online
social media networks is not just allocated to consumers, organisations can construct their
official Facebook page as well. With regards to the researcher's findings the restaurants'
Facebook pages are new visual aspects on online social network, some active Facebook may
never visited or checked Facebook pages of restaurants. On the other hand some consumers
are regularly checking special offers, promotions, comments, discounts and number of
followers a specific restaurant has on its page. Online social networks is flexible and on the
basis of a various social interests. From the findings researcher observed that characteristics
of social network makes consumers rely on these platforms a lot. Consumers can use social
media platforms to do a lot of things due to its flexibility to likes, comments and overall view
of information. Consumers also believed that social media platforms such as Facebook is
easy to use and helps in saving a lot of time. It is convenient, fast and common among
majority of individuals. All the social media networks or platforms helps customers to
interact with other customers and organisations directly. This communication can affect the
royalty of restaurants in both positive as well as negative ways. Therefore, it can be
concluded that social media strategies have a high impact on consumer's decision making in
the restaurant sector. The websites and social media pages of restaurant promote their food
items and dishes along with discounts or offers to attract a huge number of customers all over
the world.
Theme 2 : There is a vital difference among the Marketing strategies on social media and
mass media
The most common mistake is to confuse the mass media and media sector, in this article
the term mass media is utilised in a context that is only limited to the media sector.
According to the studies and articles on differences in social media versus mass media. The
major deviation between social media and mass media is that the mass media puts the
audience in a passive position. On the other hand social media puts audience at the center.
Individuals are both the content creator and the audience, it gives a new and unique
experience of social interaction and social collaboration.
2

Research and Findings
It has been analysed from the above illustration that social media and mass media are
interrelated but also possesses many differences. As concluded from the above diagram that
social media transforms into mass media into mass media according to the number of users.
On the other hand, In the past century mass media was highly dominated by mass media. It
became the voice of organizations and individuals. In order to ensure the outcome within the
expectation, individuals require relevance of experience. Direct and indirect experience,
which individuals, serve as indicators during the buying process. The articles states that it
was a major force in modern culture, this is generally considered as mediated culture by
sociologists. It is a reason why mass media is called as mainstream media. It develops
content based on what majority hear and see.
Theme 3 : Quality is a major element that affects customers
The quality of food offered by restaurants in London is also a important factor that highly
influence customer decisions. It is very essential for the restaurants to provide high quality
and hygienic food items and dishes to customers. According to the books and articles it has
been identified that maximum of the customers are attracted towards restaurants using fresh
products and materials to offer dishes and food items to the people.
Research and findings
3

It has been identified from the companies websites and customer feedback on the same
that customers are highly satisfied with clean, fresh, hygienic and tasty food, in any mistake
in these characteristics of food can leads to dissatisfaction among the customers. Therefore, it
is very essential for the restaurants to focus on improving their quality of food to attract
maximum number of customers in the market (Mukherji and Albon, 2018). Quality measure
should be kept in mind while preparing food, as it is a critical aspect which can even harm a
customer from disease such as food poising etc. It is also concluded from various articles that
maximum of the disease are caused due to lack of quality in food consumed. The food needs
to be healthy for the customers so that they can visit the restaurant again in the future.
Therefore, it can be summarized that food quality is a major element that influence decisions
of the customers in restaurant sector within London.
Theme 4 : Price is also a main element that influence decision of the customers
Price plays an important role in influencing customers decisions related to restaurants in
London. The customers give high importance to price or value for money while purchasing
any product or service in the market. It is important to focus on offering food products to
customers at most attractive prices. It can help any organisation in various sectors to attract
more and more customers and increase the proficiency and market position among the
various competitors.
Research and findings
It has been known after knowing about the customer feedbacks that prices affect a lot
while making any decision regarding restaurants. Pricing is always a factor in every industry
which affect the sales of entire business. People go to the websites and different applications
to check out the prices of food. All the prices are available on websites which help customers
in knowing about prices of food and they take decision accordingly(Windels, 2012). From
the different articles it has been found out that costly restaurants with higher pricing are only
chosen by those who have higher level of income. So if any hotel wishes to increase it
consumers than it must maintain decent and affordable pricing. So it has been summarised
that to attract consumers and increase sales, pricing is the most important factor which should
be considered by restaurants. Such pricing strategies should be formed that it gives profits
and helps in achieving objectives along with attracting maximum number of people.
4

Theme 5: There is a high competition in restaurant within London.
There are many new openings in the industry and every person establishes business in order
to earn money. So restaurants keep such pricing and quality of food that it attracts maximum
number of people. This increases competition because every one is giving best pricing and
quality in order to gain maximum profits from the firm (Clarke, 2018). This all will help the
restaurants in gaining market position and higher profits. There are many restaurants in
London which makes the business tough in order to gain higher profits because people have
many options where they can go and enjoy food. So it should be kept in mind that best
quality food at reasonable prices can only help in dealing with higher competition.
Research and findings
It has been found out from various feedbacks and research that to gain competitive
advantage it is really important to provide the best quality services. People are ready to give
money for services they get but no one likes to wait for food or poor services results in
lacking of business. It has also been find out by the internal research that quality of food and
hygiene is an important factor to gain competitive advantage(Windels, 2012). Customers like
to go to those restaurants where there is a good and fast service policy along with high
quality of food. In addition to this, it is found from different articles that to gain competitive
advantage and higher position in market all the factors should be considered that affects a
business.
Theme 6: Instagram is effective in attracting customers
As per the different marketing research and various marketing platforms it can be
summarized that different social media platforms helps in gaining majority of market. A
business can be expanded and products can be advertised through different social sites.
Instagram is one of the social site where millions of people are connected with each other.
This helps restaurants in letting about their business and food to the customers. On the other
hand, it has been found out that various features of instagram helps in expanding more about
the restaurants or its any new additional food or service.
Research and findings
5

As per the different articles and research it has been found out that social media is the
most effective platform for developing and advertising of a business. Social media sites are
very helpful in attracting consumers (Quinlan and et.al., 2019). It will help in letting know
people about the new dishes that has been added in any restaurant or opening of the new
same. In addition to this, it is summarised that Instagram new feature of hash-tag helps in
more socialising and connecting people. This keeps people updated about any new opening
of restaurant or its different foods and services. In addition to this, it has been possible to take
customers feedback from comment sections. It helps in improving quality and taste where the
food lacks. It is the way to find out the drawbacks and positive areas where the restaurant
should continue their business. It is not possible to know much about the views and thoughts
of consumer. This will only be possible through such platforms and Instagram plays a great
role in it.
Theme 7: Customers considers feedbacks and comments of others buyers at the time of’
purchasing products on social media network
Customer reviews and feedbacks are influencing individuals to purchase or not to
purchase a product or service offered by organisation . It helps people to get a basic idea
related to the quality and satisfaction of the products offered by a company.
Research and findings
According to Carlson (2018), customer considers feedbacks and comments by others on
various social media pages and platforms of the company. The opinions or feedbacks of
consumers with respect to a particular product or service offered by an organisation.
Nowadays, each and every individual go through social media platforms of the companies
before purchasing any product or service. Therefore, positive reviews of customers on a
Facebook, Instagram etc puts a positive impact on the demand of a company's products and
services. It also helps in attracting potential customers in the market that leads to increased
sales and profit.
Themes 8: Social media marketing is less expensive as compare to other marketing
method
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Marketing is an essential method or function performed by every business or organisation
to promote its goods and services in the market. It helps to attract more customers in the
market and increase sales of a business. In the present world most of the organizations are
shifting to social media marketing which is very effective and efficient.
Research and findings
According to Geurin and Burch (2017), social media marketing is very easiest method of
promoting products or services in the global market. It does not require much finance or
capital investment. The social media marketing can be performed easily with a computer and
internet access. The article and books related to social media marketing concluded that it is a
effective & efficient method of promoting goods and services in a global market. It can help
organisation to promote products in a different markets all around the world. Unlike the
traditional marketing method social media marketing does not involve any kind of production
such as in posters, hoardings etc. Therefore, it is comparatively less expensive then any other
type of marketing methods.
Theme 9: Social media helps in obtaining information regarding range of restaurants
and its foods items
Social media is a huge platform used by mostly all restaurants, they use it promote their
food items and services to a large audience. Due to increasing user of internet it is very easy
for the restaurants to enhance their visibility and attract customers from global market. The
restaurants can promote their products and services easily among a huge number of people to
increase the number of customers and sales.
Research and findings
According to the Zha and et.al, (2018), social media can assist people to collect and
obtain important information related to a wide range of restaurants all over the world along
with their products and services. This can help people to select or visit restaurants which are
providing most satisfactory products or services according to their needs and requirements.
This can also help the customers to obtain convenient food services and restaurant can make
use of most attractive or innovative methods to promote their food menu to a large audience
easily.
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CHAPTER 5 - RECOMMENDATIONS & CONCLUSION
It is concluded from the above dissertation that Social media marketing is a highly
effective technique progressively utilized by most of the organisations now, it assist the
organisations to market their goods and services in a more effective manner. The social
media marketing consists the utilization of different social media platforms such as
Instagram, Facebook etc. Social media marketing is a mixture of strategies utilized over the
internet which helps in guiding buyers and shoppers to link insights, getting knowledge about
goods and their experiences with others. Online media sites like Facebook, Twitter,
WhatsApp YouTube, Instagram etc. The restaurants can use the following social media
techniques and strategies to effectively promote their products or services as well as attract
maximum number of customers in the market.
1. Instagram marketing - Instagram is a highly popular platform for photo sharing, it has a
high integration with Facebook. It is utilised 95% of the time when customers are posting
images to their friends of Facebook. Restaurants can use Instagram along with their
Facebook strategies or they can use the site on its own (McGorry and McGorry, 2017).
There are various ways in which restaurants can use Instagram as mentioned below -
 Using trending or popular hash-tags – In order to increase awareness about both the
Instagram profile and restaurant different trending hash-tags can be used such as
#cheesecake along with a attractive photo of the dish.
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 Photos of menu items – Restaurants can also use Instagram to post photos of their menu
items or dishes. Instagram is used by many users all around the world and the number is
increasing day by day. Restaurants can post images of their dishes or infrastructure to
promote their business.
2. Facebook Marketing – Facebook provides an amazing opportunity for dining or
restaurant establishments to connect with their customers effectively. Number of
Facebook users is increasing day by day which is a great chance for any type of
businesses and organisations to attract and grab maximum number of customers through
this social media platform (Assimakopoulos and et.al., 2017). There are various ways in
which can be effective for restaurants for Facebook marketing as described below -
 Cover image – It is useful for restaurants to take full advantage of the cover image, you
have 851*351 pixels to promote the business without any cost. Restaurants can include
photos of people having a good time with their friends and enjoying good time or
delicious photos of the foot offered by the restaurant. The cover image can be changes
whenever a new item or dish is introduced by the restaurants. An example of this
technique is illustrated below -
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 Facebook Page tabs – Restaurants can use tabs on their Facebook page in order to
stimulate people to visit their stores or eatery. The first four tabs are main which are
showed on the front page. The first four tabs can be locations, photos of food, deals and
menu items. Below is an example of Facebook page tabs -
 Using a lot of photos of the Food items – Another method which can be used by
restaurants in Facebook marketing is posting large number of photos on their page or
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profile. It may help to attract a huge number of people and take interest in the dishes
offered by restaurants.
 Geo Target the ads – Facebook ads assist restaurants to do specific and niche targeting,
Facebook provides an opportunity to target ads to be visible only individuals in a
particular geographic location of the organisations. Companies can also target their ads to
be seen by those with specific likes and by those who like specific pages or profiles. Exclusive offers and deals – Posting exclusive offers and deals on the Facebook page can
also helps in promoting products and services. Restaurants can give deals to the
customers such as Like their page and get a special discount coupon. This can increase
the number of visitors on the page and also attract more customers to buy food items
offered by the restaurants.
3. Twitter marketing – Twitter is a very effective and successful marketing tool or
technique for restaurants, both for small and large restaurants or eatery. The Restaurants
can update or tweet about their food items, services or offers, Twitter is used on mobile
by a huge number of people. Therefore, restaurants can easily communicate with their
customers. Some ways to use Twitter marketing are described below -
 Including link to the restaurant's menu – Including links in the tweets gives followers
further action to take and provoke them to interact with the restaurants more. Restaurants
can include a link to their menu so that the followers can make an easy choice of dining
with them (Dahl, 2018).
 Including image of the dishes or food – Although twitter is a site based on text, updates
including photos in them get shared and can help restaurants to get more followers on
Twitter as well as may drive great number of customers to the business.
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REFERENCES
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Zha, X., Yang, H., Yan, Y., Liu, K. and Huang, C., 2018. Exploring the effect of social media
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