Business Research: Using Facebook and YouTube for Brand Awareness

This research design proposal investigates the utilization of Facebook and YouTube as brand awareness tools within the electronics industry, focusing on Vodafone. The study explores the role of social media platforms in brand promotion, the changing trends in their usage, and the factors that influence their impact. The research employs a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection through primary and secondary sources, guided by an interpretivist philosophy and a deductive approach. The methodology includes a detailed discussion of research questions, objectives, and strategies, along with considerations for ethical conduct, validity, reliability, and a timeline for completion. The report aims to identify challenges faced by organizations in leveraging these platforms and to assess the benefits of brand awareness, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of social media's role in the electronics sector. The research also outlines data analysis techniques, ethical considerations, and measures to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings.

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

Business Research 1
Table of Contents
Part 2: Research Design Proposal..............................................................................................2
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Research questions.....................................................................................................................4
Research objectives....................................................................................................................5
Research methodology...............................................................................................................6
Data analysis..............................................................................................................................9
Ethical considerations..............................................................................................................10
Validity and reliability.............................................................................................................11
Timescale and Gantt chart........................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................14

Business Research 2
Part 2: Research Design Proposal
Research title: Use of Facebook and YouTube in electronics industry as a brand awareness
tool
Introduction
Social media is the sum of the two different words, social and media. Social media platforms
are used by the different organizations for the promotion or spreading brand awareness
among the customers and society. Companies are allocating more budgets to the use of social
media platforms for the marketing or spreading awareness of the products or services offered
by the organization. There are various benefits associated with the use of social media
platforms. These platforms include Facebook, YouTube, Google +, Twitter and Instagram
(Heinonen, 2011). The electronics industry is a growing industry and changes are taking
place in the business environment which is affecting the brand awareness program initiated
by the organizations operating in the electronics industry. Facebook and YouTube are the
most common social media platforms which are used by the organizations operating in the
electronics industry (Koniweski, 2012).
Organisations operating in the electronics industry are using Facebook and Youtube for
making the customers or potential customers aware of the products or services and for
spreading brand awareness among the society. Social media platforms help the businesses in
connecting with a large number of people and reduce the cost of the business. This research
will discuss the different aspects related to the topic of the research so as to gain knowledge
of the research topic. Facebook and YouTube are social media platforms which are used by
the different industries for enhancing the promotion of the products or services (Heinonen,
2011). This research will adopt different approaches or methods for the purpose of gathering
data related to the research topic. All these aspects will be discussed regarding an

Business Research 3
organization which is operating in the electronics industry and the name of the organization is
Vodafone. Vodafone is providing quality services to its customers and for the purpose of
brand awareness, it is using social media platforms.

Business Research 4
Research questions
Facebook and Youtube are common platforms used for the purpose of brand awareness of the
organisation. Different organisations adopt different platforms or approaches for the purpose
of brand awareness. There has been a change in the manner brand awareness programs are
conducted by the businesses. This research has been conducted with a motive to gather data
related to the research so as to conduct the research program successfully. Research questions
have been set for developing a base for the collection of the quality data. Research questions
formulated for this research program 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 impact on brand
awareness or not?
 Which challenges are being faced by the organisations of electronics industry while
using Facebook and YouTube for brand awareness?
 What are the benefits to the organisation associated with the brand awareness?

Business Research 5
Research objectives
The term brand awareness can be explained as extent to which customers or potential
customers are capable of recognising the brand. Brand awareness is an important element
which acts as a key consideration in consumer behaviour. Brand awareness is a key step
involved in the process of promotion of the business and its products or services. There has
been a change in the use of approaches for the purpose of spreading awareness in the society
for the enhancement in the sales and customer base of the organisation. Organisations are
using modern promotional tools for brand awareness. Brand awareness helps in making the
customers recognise and remember the brand. Focus of every organisation is on creating
brand awareness. The long-term growth of the business is dependent on the brand awareness
of the business. Objectives of the research program are listed below:
 To develop knowledge of the role and importance of Facebook and YouTube in
enhancing brand awareness.
 To analyse the trend of use of Facebook and YouTube in the changing business
environment.
 To identify the factors which determines whether these platforms are creating impact
on brand awareness or not.
 To identify the issues or challenges faced by the organisations while using Facebook
and YouTube for brand awareness.

Business Research 6
Research methodology
According to Koniweski (2012), there has been rise in the number of organisations using
Facebook and YouTube for the purpose of spreading or creating brand awareness in the
society. These platforms have gained much popularity in the fast changing business
environment due to the various advantages associated with the use of these platforms for
brand awareness. Facebook and YouTube are considered as effective brand awareness tools
which promote the business and helps in making society aware of the business. For collecting
data related to the different elements attached with the research topic, different method or
approaches will be considered. These methods or approaches will determine quality of the
data and reliability of the data presented in the research. These methods or approaches are
discussed in this section of the research.
Research method: data collection is an important activity which is responsible for the data
presented in the research program (Smith, 2015). There are various research methods
available which has been analysed as per the need or requirement of this research program.
On the basis of this analysis, mixed research method has been chosen for this research
program. Mixed research method has been selected. Mixed method will help in to obtaining
qualitative as well as quantitative data for the research program (Wilson, 2016). Qualitative
as well as quantitative research methods are used in the mixed method for the purpose of
collection of quality and reliable data for the program (Maijoy, 2011).
Research philosophy: the term research philosophy can be explained as the way or the
manner adopted for the collection, analysis, evaluation and interpretation of the data collected
for extracting conclusion and providing recommendations (Edirisingha, 2012). Interpretivism
philosophy will be applied in this research so as to use humanistic qualitative methods for

Business Research 7
conducting the process of data collection by adopting primary and secondary sources of data
collection (Winit-Watjana, 2016).
Research approach: a research approach is adopted for ensuring that the data is collected as
per the requirement of the research. For this research program, a deductive approach has been
adopted which will help in developing knowledge regarding the general aspects and moving
towards the specific aspects related to the research topic (DeValut, 2017). Data will be
accumulated for the general and specific aspects of the research so as to ensure that
objectives and research questions of the research are answered properly (Gorard, 2013).
Research strategy: selection of the research strategy is done for the purpose of accumulation
of the quality data as per the plans for answering the research objectives and questions.
Research questions and objectives are defined in the research with a motive to form base for
the collection of data related to the research. An explanatory research strategy will be adopted
in this research as this strategy will develop detailed knowledge of the different elements
associated with research topic (Ting, 2015). This strategy will help the researcher in
analysing the facts which are related to the research topic.
Data collection: data collection is the most important activity of the research as research is
based on the data collected with the application of different methods of data collection. Data
collection can be explained as the accumulation of the information by using different sources
for meeting the objectives. In this research, primary and secondary data will be presented
which will be collected with primary and secondary sources. Primary sources will be adopted
for the collection of the raw nature of data and first-hand information (Johnston, 2014).
Secondary sources will be adopted for the accumulation of second hand data which will
contribute to the reliability to the data presented in the research (Quick & Hall, 2015).
Procedure or technique: Random sampling technique will be adopted for the purpose of
selection of the samples for the analysis process. Random sampling is a fair approach which

Business Research 8
helps in analysis of the data within the timeframe (Kulshreshtha, 2013). Random sampling is
a fair approach for the selection of the samples (Nishad & Sankar, 2016).
Limitations: researcher need to consider few limitations while conducting the research.
These limitations include shortage of time, human resource and financial resource and lack of
permission to access the data.

Business Research 9
Data analysis
Data analysis can be explained as a process for the inspection, cleansing, transformation and
modelling the data for the purpose of extracting the useful data, drawing conclusions and
providing support to the decision making process. Data analysis is an important aspect which
determines the quality of the research and data presented in the research. Data needs to be
evaluated in a fair manner for the extracting the useful data from the collected data. In this
research, data will be gathered with the application of the different methods or approaches.
Data will be gathered with the application of the primary and secondary sources of data
collection. This data need to be analysed for the purpose of extracting the quality and relevant
data for the research.
Various alternatives have been evaluated for the selection of the suitable approaches for the
collection of data. For the selection of the samples for the data analysis process, random
sampling technique will be used. Data gathered will be assembled and evaluated for the
purpose of presenting the data in simple and understandable form. Data collected and
analysed will be presented in this research for enhancing the knowledge regarding the
research topic (Nirmala, 2013). Data analysis process will be initiated and completed within
the timeframe decided as per the action plan or timescale.

Business Research 10
Ethical considerations
The term ethics can be defined as the norms or the standards set for the purpose of
conducting the activity by distinguishing between the right and wrong. Ethical considerations
help the individual in determining the difference between the acceptable and unacceptable
actions. Ethics are the moral principles which guide the efforts of the individual towards the
right path. It is the responsibility of the researcher to ensure that the research is being carried
out in a fair manner and the data is presented honestly without harming the interest or any
individual or group of individuals. Consent of the publishers or the respondents need to be
obtained before presenting the data in the research. Confidentiality needs to be ensured and
the data collected and presented should not be misleading. Data must be presented as it is
collected from the different sources of data collection.

Business Research 11
Validity and reliability
Validity and reliability both concepts are used for the purpose of explaining, defining and
measurement of the biasedness and distortion of the data presented in the research program.
Both these aspects are related to each other as both focus on ensuring the quality and
trustworthiness of the data presented in the research program. It is essential while executing a
research that the responses or the data gathered for the research is true and presented in the
fair manner. Opinion of the researcher towards the research topic is based on the data
collected. Data collected for this purpose must meet the criteria of validity and reliability of
the data. For the purpose of ensuring the reliability and validity of the data collected in this
research, data will be gathered with the use of a mixed research method. This method will
help the maintaining reliability and validity by using both quantitative and qualitative
methods of data collection (Csikszentmihalyi and Larson, 2014).