Business Research: Facebook, YouTube for Electronics Brand Awareness

This report, focusing on the electronics industry, explores the use of Facebook and YouTube as brand awareness tools. It begins with an introduction to the concept of brand awareness and its importance, particularly for companies like Vodafone. The research investigates the role of Facebook and YouTube, analyzing their trends, and identifying factors that determine their impact on brand awareness. The report also addresses the challenges faced by organizations in this context, such as security concerns and the potential for negative impacts on brand equity. Furthermore, it examines various methods for measuring the effectiveness of these social media platforms, including exposure, engagement, and influence, and concludes with a review of relevant literature and a proposal for research design. The report aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how social media can be leveraged to enhance brand visibility and customer engagement in the competitive electronics market.

RUNNING HEAD: Business Research
Use of Facebook and YouTube in electronics industry as a brand awareness tool

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Table of Contents
Part 1: Research Evidence Review............................................................................................2
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Research questions.....................................................................................................................4
Research objectives....................................................................................................................5
Literature review........................................................................................................................6
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
Part 2: Research Design Proposal............................................................................................12
Introduction..............................................................................................................................12
Research questions...................................................................................................................14
Research objectives..................................................................................................................15
Research methodology.............................................................................................................16
Data analysis............................................................................................................................19
Ethical considerations..............................................................................................................20
Validity and reliability.............................................................................................................21
Timescale and Gantt chart........................................................................................................22
References................................................................................................................................24

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Part 1: Research Evidence Review
Research title: Use of Facebook and YouTube in electronics industry as a brand awareness
tool
Introduction
Revolution has taken in the business environment for spreading brand awareness in the
society. Organisations are focusing on the use of innovative approaches for the brand
awareness process. Social media platforms are being widely used by the different industries
as a brand awareness tool and marketing tool. Different industries have acknowledged the
importance of social media platforms as a brand awareness tool for the organizations.
Organisations are shifting from traditional to modern approaches or means for brand
awareness. It has been identified that there is a strong relationship between social media
platforms and brand awareness (Moses, 2016). Vodafone is focusing on enhancing the brand
awareness in the society for gaining a competitive advantage over the others in the electronics
industry. Competition in the electronics industry is rising due to which need arises to use
effective platforms for brand awareness and marketing of the products or services. Vodafone
is constantly focusing on exposing the brand for making the customers recognize the brand.
The term brand awareness can be defined as the ability of the customer to recognize the
brand. Spreading brand awareness can help the organization in enhancing the customer base,
well-informed customers or potential customers, familiar customers and provides positive
responses. Brand awareness is dependent on the external brand communication is done by the
organization. Facebook and YouTube are used by a large number of organizations for brand
awareness and making the customers aware of the organization and products or services
provided by the organization (Debono, 2013). This research program will provide knowledge
of the use of Facebook and YouTube as a brand awareness tool in the electronics industry.

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This research will also discuss the ways which can help in measurement of the impact social
media platforms Facebook and YouTube on the brand. This research will develop knowledge
of the factors which helps in the determination that whether social media platforms Facebook
and YouTube are creating an impact on brand awareness or not.

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Research questions
Research questions have been formulated so as to develop a base on the basis of which
information related to the research will be accumulated. These research questions are stated
below:
 What is the role or importance of Facebook and YouTube in spreading the brand
awareness in the society?
 What is the trend of use of Facebook and YouTube in the business environment?
 Which factors determine whether Facebook and YouTube create an impact on brand
awareness or not?
 Which challenges are being faced by the organizations of electronics industry while
using Facebook and YouTube for brand awareness?
 What are the benefits to the organization associated with the brand awareness?

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Research objectives
Research objectives define the scope of the research or the aspects which will be discussed in
this research for developing knowledge. Research objectives of this research are discussed
below:
 To develop knowledge of the role and importance of Facebook and YouTube in
enhancing brand awareness.
 To analyze the trend of use of Facebook and YouTube in the changing business
environment.
 To identify the factors which determine whether these platforms are creating an
impact on brand awareness or not.
 To identify the issues or challenges faced by the organizations while using Facebook
and YouTube for brand awareness.

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Literature review
Concept of brand awareness
In the words of Xu & Chan (2010), brand awareness plays a vital role which acts as a
dominant factor in making choice for purchase. Brand awareness is the initiation stage in the
process of developing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Brand awareness has helped
Vodafone in making the customers and potential customers aware of the brand or the
products or services offered by Vodafone. A brand must be available in the mind of the
people so as to enhance the customer base and attracting the customers. Brand awareness will
help the customers in making choices. There are various benefits associated with the concept
of brand awareness (Ryan & Jones, 2012). These benefits include differentiating from other
brands; higher awareness results in enhanced sales and establishes an emotional connection
between the brand and customers. Brand awareness will help the organization in
differentiating it from the others brands. Vodafone can use brand awareness from
differentiating it from the competitors. High level of awareness in the market will help the
organization in enhancing the sales of the organization. An emotional connection is
established between the customer and brand (Ye, et. al., 2011).
Use of social media platforms Facebook and YouTube as brand awareness tool
According to Laroche, et. al. (2013), social media platforms Facebook and YouTube have
helped organizations in enhancing the brand image in the market. Different organizations are
using Facebook and YouTube for making the customers aware of the products or services
offered by the organization and promoting the brand. A large number of users is using
Facebook and YouTube for the purpose of connecting with each other and collecting
knowledge or data related to different aspects. Increase in the use of these platforms has
motivated different organizations to use these platforms for brand awareness (Nam, et. al.,

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2011). Vodafone is using Facebook and YouTube as a powerful tool for sharing information
with the people.
Different organizations have used Facebook and YouTube for reaching a large number of
people and minimising the cost of the company. Use of social media platforms has helped the
organizations in targeting the audience, building brand awareness and increasing the sales of
the organization. Facebook and YouTube can be used by the organizations for the creation of
the virtual brand community. Social media platforms have the capability to change the
perception of the customers towards the brand. For the purpose of building brand equity, the
organization needs to build brand awareness (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010).
Reasons behind using social media platforms Facebook and YouTube as brand
awareness tool
Social media platforms are considered crucial as these help the organization in enhancing the
number of subscribers and promote the products or services offered. Facebook and YouTube
can be used by Vodafone for increasing the presence of the brand among the society. There
are various reasons responsible for the use of Facebook and YouTube as brand awareness
tools. These reasons include boosting targeted traffic, boosting search engine optimisation,
building relationships, acting as a customer support tool and enhance the customer base by
making them aware (Montgomery, 2017).
Vodafone can use Facebook and YouTube for boosting the targeted traffic. Social media
platforms can help the organizations to enhance the traffic on the websites of the
organization. Social media platforms help in boosting the search engine optimisation which
helps in making the brand appear in the top of the list of suggestions on the internet. Another
reason is to enhance the customer base by spreading brand awareness among a large number
of users of the social media platforms. Use of Facebook and YouTube will help the
organizations in developing healthy relationships between the brand and the customers. An

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organization can take immediate actions by using social media platforms for the issues faced
by the customers (Odhiambo, 2012).
Link between brand awareness, brand image and brand loyalty
Impact of the brand awareness can be seen on the brand image and brand loyalty. All these
three aspects are related to each other. Facebook and YouTube are being used by the
organizations for the purpose of enhancing the knowledge of the customers which helps in
gaining positive response towards the brand. Perception of the customers towards the brand
shapes the image of the brand in the mind of customers. This perception can be changed by
spreading brand awareness with the help of social media platforms Facebook and YouTube.
Brand loyalty among the customers can be developed with the help of brand awareness.
Vodafone can use the concept of brand awareness for building a positive brand image of the
company and developing loyalty among the customers. Brand awareness will motivate the
customers to consume the products or services offered by the organization which will provide
a quality experience and develops brand loyalty.
Manner in which Vodafone can use social media platforms Facebook and YouTube for
boosting brand awareness
In the words of Hines (2017), with the change in the business environment, social media
platforms are seen as a brand awareness tools or marketing tools. Use of social media
platforms has acted as a digital publicity beast for spreading brand awareness in the society.
One of the most important factors which must be considered by an organization for brand
awareness is the selection of the platforms. With the use of Facebook, organizations are
capable of expanding the reach of the posts which is based on the higher engagement rates
(Kelly, 2010). Vodafone can use Facebook and YouTube for interacting with a large number
of people in the short span of time for making the customers recognize the brand.

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Factors which determines whether social media platforms Facebook and YouTube
affects brand awareness
The aim behind the brand awareness is to promote the brand and enhancing the reputation of
the organization by making the brand recognized by the customers and potential customers.
There are various factors available which help in determining whether Facebook and
YouTube can affect the brand awareness. These factors include audience, unique visitors,
influence, engagement and action, and loyalty. One of the most crucial factors is the audience
and unique visitors (Zinnbauer & Tobias, 2011). The organization needs to analyze the level
of effectiveness of the recognition of the brand among the audience. For the creation of the
brand awareness, organizations need to communicate the brand on a frequent basis. An
organization needs to analyze the type of influence the brand is having on the customers or
users of Facebook and YouTube. Type of influence can be positive or negative which
determines the chances of success in brand awareness. Engagement level of the customers in
the brand awareness campaign needs to be analyzed for analyzing the number of customers
responding to the brand message (Paquette, 2013).
Challenges associated with the use of social media platforms Facebook and YouTube as
a brand awareness tool
Vodafone may face several challenges while using Facebook and YouTube as a brand
awareness tools. These challenges need to be analyzed properly so as to analyze the impact of
the social media platforms. These challenges include acting as a double aged sword, hacking
issues, lack of proper security, lack of safety to the confidential data and possibility of a
reduction in the brand equity (Kaplan & Michael, 2010). This approach of using social media
platforms as a brand awareness tool can affect the reputation of the business in a positive as
well as negative manner. An organization needs to adopt security measures for reducing the
chances of hacking or lack of proper security. Confidential data of the organization may get

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leaked due to the increasing hacking activities. There is a possibility of a reduction in the
brand equity as the website or page of the organization provides poor information, weak
structure or information content (Pookulangara & Kristian, 2011).
Ways for measuring the impact of social media platforms Facebook and YouTube on
the brand of Vodafone
There are numerous ways available which can be used by Vodafone for the measurement of
the impact of Facebook and YouTube on the brand of the organization. These ways include
measurement of exposure of social media, measurement of engagement of the customers or
users and measurement of the influence. Organisations need to analyze the reach of the
organization by using the social media platforms. Identification of this reach will help in
making decisions. Vodafone can track the number of users engaged in the brand. Another
measure or way is to measure the engagement of the users as this will help in identifying the
number of people interested in the brand. This can be done with the help of Radian 6 and
Biz360. Influence of the approach can be measured by identifying the type of response of the
users towards the brand (Paquette, 2013).

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Conclusion
Thus, at the end of the research program, it can be summarised that Facebook and YouTube
are commonly used by the organizations for the purpose of spreading brand awareness in the
society. Brand awareness plays a vital role in shaping the performance and future growth
prospects of the organization. Every organization focuses on creating positive brand
awareness in the society. This research program has covered the objectives and questions
framed on the basis of which data related to the research has been gathered. This research has
developed the knowledge of the concept of brand awareness and use of Facebook and
YouTube as a brand awareness tool.
This research has also discussed the reasons hidden behind the use of social media platforms
as an awareness tool. These reasons can help Vodafone in taking a decision regarding the use
of Facebook and YouTube as a brand awareness tool. The discussion has been made
regarding brand awareness, brand image and brand loyalty for explaining the link between
these aspects. These platforms can be used by Vodafone for the expansion of the number of
people viewing the posts and promoting the brand. Different factors have been discussed
which which helps in taking decision regarding the use of brand awareness as a tool. This
research has also discussed the challenges attached with the use of Facebook and YouTube as
a tool for brand awareness and the ways for measuring the impact of Facebook and YouTube
on the brand of the organisation.