Social Media Marketing and Brand Loyalty

This assignment investigates the relationship between social media marketing and brand loyalty. It delves into different social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, analyzing their role in shaping consumer perception and fostering loyalty. The study considers factors such as user-generated content, marketer-generated content, and visual research methods to understand the impact of social media on brand equity. Additionally, it references academic sources and online resources to provide a comprehensive analysis of this dynamic relationship.

Research Proposal

Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................1
Title.............................................................................................................................................1
Explanation of the title................................................................................................................1
Research Aim..............................................................................................................................1
Project objective..........................................................................................................................1
Project scope...............................................................................................................................2
2. Literature review..........................................................................................................................2
Literature gaps.............................................................................................................................3
Literature Opportunities..............................................................................................................3
3. Research Questions......................................................................................................................3
4. Research design and Methodology..............................................................................................3
Type of research..........................................................................................................................3
Validity and reliability................................................................................................................4
Sampling.....................................................................................................................................4
Sample size..................................................................................................................................4
Data collection method...............................................................................................................5
5. Research Limitations...................................................................................................................5
6. Time Schedule.............................................................................................................................6
7. CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................10

Illustration Index
Illustration 1: Facebook home page...............................................................................................10
Illustration 2: Twitter homepage....................................................................................................11
Illustration 3: LinkedIn Homepage................................................................................................12

1. INTRODUCTION
Title
To analyse the main impacts of the use of social network in the business activities – A
case study on Morrisons.
Explanation of the title
Social media has become an important part of everybody's life. There are some dedicated
websites and application which are solely made to build social network or relations where people
get to share about their personal interest, background etc. The study will be related to find out the
advantages and disadvantages of social network in promoting the success of business activities.
The research will be conducted considering various social media networks available such as,
Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, My Space and many other websites that are used by the companies
in promoting their business activities. Social media have become a common platform of business
promotion since it is cheaper than compared to that of other available sources.
Another important aspect of this topic is to understand the role of social network in
creation of the brand. The prime concern of any organization is to reduce marketing cost so that
it can earn higher profits. Hence, social media make the company to interact directly with the
potential customer without his physical presence. It makes the process easy, convenient and
viable as well.
Research Aim
To analyse the main impacts of the use of social network in the business activities
Project objective
Based on the aim of the research, below objectives are framed which will assist in
accomplishing the aim of the research in effective and efficient manner:
 To assess the impact of use of social network in business activities
 To analyse different social networks used by Morrissons
 To evaluate various advantages of use of social networks for business activities
 To evaluate various disadvantages of use of social networks for business activities
 To assess impact of use of social networks on creation of brand image of Morrisosn in the
market
1

Project scope
The study will prove to be beneficial in understanding the advantages and disadvantages
of social network. Further, it will also act as a guidance to the organizations who have not yet
started online promotion or are planning to do so. In addition to this, another important aspect of
this study will be assessing the methods of social networking that are frequently used by the
manager so that they increase their customer base.
2. Literature review
Impact of social network on business activities
According to Heymann-Reder (2012) Social media networks plays an important role in
the development of the organization. Presence of large and complex set of customers can be
directly handled through social media websites. People are even allowed to lodge their complain
though it. It helps in developing two way communication with the service users. It becomes easy
for the company to guide the customers regarding their new interface, products, discounts and
services.
Advantages of Social media network
According to Kim and Ko (2012), social media can be used to an asset by Morrisons. It
can develop new strategies through which it can ascertain the taste and preferences of the
customers. Further, targeting college students and youngsters become easy as majority of the
individual remain online on one or the other social media platform. On the critical note, as per
the views of Erdoğmuş and Cicek (2012), it acts as a useful source where information can be
provided through blog writing where new ideas and\techniques can be learnt by the feedbacks
from the customers.
Disadvantages of Social media network
As per the views of Goh, Heng and Lin (2013), people get addictive to social media
hampering their social life with friends and family. It cut the people off from the society. In
terms of organization, there are several potential customers those who do not like to use social
network. It may lead to loss in the business as well. However, in contrast ton this, as per the
views of Aral, Dellarocas and Godes (2013), the company can not rely on this media of
campaigning due to involvement of high level of cyber risk and cheating in it.
2

Literature gaps
The major gap that can be assessed is that it will become difficult to go through all the
data available on secondary sources. It is time taking and not convenient for the scholar as well.
In order to cope up with this gap, the latest books and journals will be considered to conduct the
research and review secondary data.
Literature Opportunities
The topic chosen by the researcher has not been investigated much. Hence, the research
opportunity for the present study is wide. Further, concentrating on the retail sector, the
importance of social media is higher. Hence, the present study on social network will prove to be
helpful for the researcher and readers.
3. Research Questions
Research questions are divided into primary and secondary questions mentioned as
follows:
Primary questions
What are the main impacts of the use of social network in the business activities?
Secondary questions
What are the social networks used by businesses?
What are the advantages of use of social networks for business activities?
What are the disadvantages of use of social networks for business activities?
What is the impact of use of social networks on creation of brand image in the market?
4. Research design and Methodology
Type of research
There are mainly two types of research that can be conducted on a project. Qualitative
and Quantitative method. To conduct the present research, qualitative research technique will be
used as it will help in gaining detailed picture of the study. Further, it will help in preparing the
analysis that in the generalized context as well. The in depth knowledge can be gathered by
analysing the data through thematic technique of qualitative analysis. Quantitative method may
not be convenient for the researcher as the result obtained from it are quite limited and specific
and hence can not be generalized in wider context. Further, it requires extensive statistical
analysis using appropriate statistic al tool and hence it becomes a difficult method to adopt
(Kokk and Jönsson, 2013).
3

Validity and reliability
It is important that the research conducted by the researcher is valid as well as reliable.
Hence, in the present study, in order to raise validity and reliability several aspects will be
considered by the scholar. Hence, with the similar aim, adequate data will be gathered to remain
informative of the topic. The data that is copyright protected in much more valid and reliable as
they are helpful in gathering appropriate solution to the research problem. Hence, copyright
protected information will be used to collect the secondary data (Smith, 2015). The data gathered
from the secondary sources will be according to the themes prepared based on the research
objectives. It will be helpful in gathering suitable data for the present research.
In addition to this, the latest books and journals will be used to understand different
aspects of social network. It helps in presenting highly reliable and valid data. Tools and
techniques that will be used are highly reliable in order to draw out appropriate conclusion.
Qualitative type of research will be conducted by the researcher where data will be analysed
through thematic perspective. In this manner, all the chosen tools and techniques are logical
which makes the data and its conclusion highly valid and reliable.
Sampling
Sampling method is used to select a valid selection based on certain stated criteria
according to topic chosen. The small selection made is known as sample. Appropriate method is
required to be chosen in order to collect valid information from the population. In order to draw
out the results, purposive sampling method will be used from non probability sampling methods.
Since, equal chance of being selected is not provided to all the individual in the population rather
purposive drawn has been made. Purposive sampling refers to judgemental selection of the
sample considering different criteria (Yin, 2013). The goal of the present study is to analyse the
main impacts of the use of social network in the business activities. It relevant answers can be
received through managers as they are very well are about the growth in the opportunities of the
social media contributing to the success of the company.
Sample size
A sample of 20 managers will be selected in order to conduct the survey in order to reach
to the results. The sample is sufficient enough to draw out the results as the managers can
directly tell that whether they have been able to draw out any benefit from social network in
growth of the organization or not.
4

Data collection method
A survey will be conducted through questionnaire in order to successfully achieve the
aim of the research. The nature of the research is qualitative hence, it will be the viable option for
the researcher to opt for questionnaire format. Further, thematic analysis based on every question
will also become easy and convenient to draw conclusion of the research. A wide range of
questions can be asked from the people which can help in fulfilling the aim of the research.
Further, it is convenient, reliable and least time taking for the researcher. Moreover, it will help
in bringing out appropriate results to the current study.
5. Research Limitations
There are various research limitations that can be encountered by the researcher while
conducting the present study. It may have significant impact on the quality, scope, and value of
the research. Some of the limitations are mentioned below:
 Prolonged process: The process of carrying out a research may prove to be long and
hence require sufficient time. The current study will collect data through questionnaire
which will require time. Further, the researcher also have to go through relevant books
and journals in order to make the knowledge base about the topic strong and informative
which is a time consuming process. However, the researcher has gathered limited time in
order to provide a complete and informative study. It may act as a barrier in developing
quality conclusion to the research.
 Insufficient secondary information: The present study will be conducted on impacts of
the use of social network in the business activities. It will require that the research must
possess secondary information regarding social media network which can be collected
through books, journals, blogs, reports and articles (Punch and Oancea, 2014). However,
the researcher may not access to some sites due to requirement of heavy payment or are
blocked. It may limit the knowledge of the researcher and insufficient access to
secondary as well.
 Biasness in the research: The quality, scope, aim and value may deviate due to biasness
of the researcher. This biasness can be noticed while framing questionnaire as he may
will prepare it from his own point of view. It can act as a limitation for the research.
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 Financial constraint: Another important concern for the researcher will be budget
constraint as a particular amount of fund will be allotted top the research and it will be
difficult to extensively conduct the research in it (Venkatesh, Brown and Bala, 2013).
6. Time Schedule
Time schedule helps in how much time will be required to complete the research. It is
planned that the whole research will be conducted in 15 weeks
Task
1st
Wee
k
2nd
Week
3rd &
4th
Wee
k
5th
& 6th
Wee
k
7th
Week
8th
Week
8th &
9th
Week
10th
&
11th
Week
12th
&
13th
Wee
k
14th &
15th
Week
Planning of
research
Introduction
Designing aim and
objectives
Reviewing the
literature
Accessing to
various books and
journals
Altering aims and
objectives based on
it
Framework of the
research
Designing research
methodology
Collection of data
through survey
Analysing the
collected data
Findings and
interpretation
6

Conclusion
Revision of the
conducted work
Final submission
7. CONCLUSION
From the entire research proposal, it can be concluded that, social networking plays an
important role in the life of the customers. The researcher will able to draw out appropriate
conclusion by carrying out the research through above mentioned methodology. In the end, it can
be inferred that a sample of 20 managers will be used to analyse the main impacts of the use of
social network in the business activities
7

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Aral, S., Dellarocas, C. and Godes, D., 2013. Introduction to the special issue—social media and
business transformation: a framework for research. Information Systems
Research. 24(1). pp.3-13.
Cope, D. G., 2014, January. Methods and meanings: credibility and trustworthiness of qualitative
research. In Oncology nursing forum (Vol. 41, No. 1).
Erdoğmuş, İ. E. and Cicek, M., 2012. The impact of social media marketing on brand
loyalty. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 58. pp.1353-1360.
Goh, K. Y., Heng, C. S. and Lin, Z., 2013. Social media brand community and consumer
behavior: Quantifying the relative impact of user-and marketer-generated
content. Information Systems Research. 24(1). pp.88-107.
Heymann-Reder, D., 2012. Social Media Marketing. Addison-Wesley Verlag.
Kim, A. J. and Ko, E., 2012. Do social media marketing activities enhance customer equity? An
empirical study of luxury fashion brand. Journal of Business Research. 65(10).
pp.1480-1486.
Kokk, G. and Jönsson, S., 2013. Visual research methods and the importance of analytical
spaces. Management & Organizational History. 8(2). pp.174-184.
Punch, K. F. and Oancea, A., 2014. Introduction to research methods in education. Sage.
Smith, J. A. ed., 2015. Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage.
Venkatesh, V., Brown, S. A. and Bala, H., 2013. Bridging the qualitative-quantitative divide:
Guidelines for conducting mixed methods research in information systems. MIS
quarterly. 37(1).
Yin, R. K., 2013. Case study research: Design and methods. Sage publications.
Online
Exploring Facebook. 2017. [Online]. Available through
<https://www.gcflearnfree.org/facebook101/getting-started-with-facebook/3/>.
[Accessed on 14th October 2017].
Meet the New Recruiter Homepage, Redesigned to Make You Even More Productive. 2017.
[Online]. Available through
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<https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/2013/04/linkedin-recruiter-
homepage>. [Accessed on 14th October 2017].
Twitter's homepage over the years. 2017. Available through
<https://techcrunch.com/gallery/twitters-homepage-over-the-years/>. [Accessed on 14th
October 2017].
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APPENDIX
Facebook
Twitter
10
Illustration 1: Facebook home page
Source: Exploring Facebook, 2017

LinkedIn
11
Illustration 2: Twitter homepage
Source: Twitter's homepage over the years, 2017

12
Illustration 3: LinkedIn Homepage
Source: Meet the New Recruiter Homepage, Redesigned to Make You Even More
Productive, 2017