Impact of Social Media Marketing on Consumer Behavior at Metro Inc.

This report investigates the influence of social media marketing on consumer buying behaviors, specifically examining the case of Metro Inc. in Canada. The research addresses how social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram affect marketing efficiency, brand awareness, and consumer purchasing decisions. The study includes a literature review discussing the impact of social media on brand outreach and customer relationships, as well as the methodologies used, including both primary and secondary data collection through surveys and interviews. The findings are analyzed using SPSS, Pearson’s technique, and ANOVA to ensure the validity and authenticity of the research, which aims to understand how social media marketing strategies influence consumers' buying intentions and behaviors. The report highlights the importance of social media in reaching different market segments and fostering brand loyalty, ultimately leading to increased sales and revenue for the company. The research also emphasizes ethical considerations, such as confidentiality and academic purpose.

Running head: BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS
Business research methods
Name of student
Name of University
Author note

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BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS
Table of Contents
1. Research question and short form proposal......................................................................3
1.1 Research questions.........................................................................................................3
1.2 Short form research proposal.......................................................................................3
2. Literature review and methodology development............................................................4
2.1 Literature review............................................................................................................4
2.2 Methodology and methods............................................................................................4
Appendix B...............................................................................................................................5
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................6

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Impact of social media marketing on the buying behaviours of consumers at Metro Inc.,
Canada.
1. Research question and short form proposal
The research is proposed to analyse how the use of social media marketing has helped
the company, i.e., Metro Inc. in Canada to influence the buying behaviours of consumers and
generate higher sales and profit in business (Hajli, 2014).
1.1 Research questions
The questions of the research are as follows:
 How effective the use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, etc. has been for Metro Inc, Canada to improve its marketing efficiency
and influence its consumers to make purchases?
 Does the social media marketing allows for generating higher brand awareness among
people and gain greater outreach o different market segments quite easily?
1.2 Short form research proposal
The use of marketing techniques with the integration of these techniques with various
social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. has helped in building
brand attitudes and behaviours as well as enhanced the awareness among people regarding
the brand and its attributes. This has not only fostered the development of brand image and
reputation, but has even allowed the consumers to get influenced to make purchases via
making decisions and remain connected with the brand effectively (Balakrishnan et al.,
2014). The social media marketing has acted as great tool for the companies like Metro Inc to
reach out to the customers and brand prospects as well as create more opportunities to make
the customers acknowledged with the products and services delivered. The customers could
also present their opinions and feedbacks in the form of posts on the social networks, which

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enhances visibility of the brand and its connection with its customers quite comprehensively
(Wolny & Mueller, 2013). With this, the company could attain greater sales and generate
more revenue in business too.
2. Literature review and methodology development
2.1 Literature review
Alalwan (2018) stated that the social media marketing has been a trend nowadays, for
the marketers all across the businesses to reach out to more customers and established good
relationships with them too. The social media marketing has not only enhanced the brand
outreach to its customers, but has also helped in allowing the customers to interact with the
brand and resolve their queries (Alalwan, 2018). The social media marketing comprise of
various digital and online forums such as blogs, websites, chat rooms, consumer to consumer
emails and social networking websites, which have established communication between the
brand and its customers, while at the same time, enabled value creation too (Erkan & Evans,
2016). This has allowed the customers to know more about the products and services,
furthermore, post purchase, communicate their experiences with the products and services
delivered. It has allowed the companies to respond to their consumer shifts through increased
use of the social media marketing channels much more comprehensively (Boateng & Okoe,
2015).
On the other hand, Ramanathan, Subramanian & Parrott (2017), also argued that a
most of the people are habituated with the use of social networks, the companies have pushed
beyond their boundaries to excel in terms of marketing with the inclusion of these social
networks. The social media marketing has also helped in targeting a huge number of people
from the social networks, which also made them believe that the company has introduced
new ways of make the products acknowledged by them, furthermore, their buying behaviours

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have been influenced (Palinkas et al., 2015). Thus, the social media marketing has brought
efficiency while reaching out to the customers and even promoted the brand by establishing a
sense of trust and loyalty among them to facilitate their own existence and association with
the brand much more effectively.
2.2 Methodology and methods
The methods followed in the research are considered as important for brining positive
outcomes and also to understand about the various methods and techniques followed by the
research to maintain authenticity and reliability during the research. While there have been
acqusitions of both primary as well as secondary data, the random probability sampling
method could help to distribute a set of survey questionnaires to a group of sample of
respondents selected randomly form a huge population (Sutton & Austin, 2015). The
responses provided by them on the survey questionnaires have been recorded as quantitative
data whereas the managers of the organisation have to be interviewed to collect their
feedbacks and opinions, usually, considered as the qualitative data and information of
research, done with the use of non-probability convenient sampling technique (Alshenqeeti,
2014). The secondary data and information should be collected on the basis of assessment of
various secondary sources of data including journals, articles, documents found on internet,
websites, etc. The Pilot tests and use of Pearson’s technique, ANOVA could be supported by
analysis of data by SPSS tool, which should represent the validity and authenticity of
research largely too. None of the respondents should be forced to take part in research, all the
research materials must be kept confidential and the research should be conducted for
academic purposes and not to draw commercial benefits, which should maintaining validity
and ethicality too (Palinkas et al., 2015).

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Appendix B
1. Title of project
Impact of social media marketing on the buying behaviours of consumers
A case study of Metro Inc., Canada.
2. Statement of purpose
The statement of purpose of research represents the effectiveness of social media
marketing in influencing the purchasing behaviours of consumers for Metro Inc. in Canada.
3. Background
The research background highlights the importance of how social media marketing
tends to create more outreach to different market segments and also raise brand awareness,
which can easily encourage or influence consumers to make decisions regarding purchase of
products from Metro Inc (Hajli, 2014).
4. Significance
The significance of research is that it has helped in drawing light on a subject that is
uncommon, but a major marketing trend nowadays. It can allow the marketers to establish
good interaction and relationship between the brand and its customers, furthermore, influence
buying intentions and purchasing decisions.
5. Description of project
The research project describes about the impact caused by social media marketing and
its efforts put by Metro Inc to attract more customers, create brand awareness and drive their
behaviours towards making purchase of the products and services of the brand consistently to
raise profit level and sales (Alalwan, 2018).

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6. Preliminary literature review
Boateng & Okoe (2015), stated that the social media marketing has been a trend
nowadays, for the marketers all across the businesses to reach out to more customers and
established good relationships with them too. Alalwan (2018) argued that with the
widespread use of social networks, the companies have managed inclusion of these social
networks for enhancing the brand outreach to its customers, thereby, allowed the customers
to interact with the brand and established good relationships to influence their buying
decisions largely (Alalwan, 2018).
7. Data analysis plan
The SPSS tool could be used here to analyse the quantitative data whereas it could
also be supported with the help of few other techniques such as Pearson’s, ANOVA, etc. to
ensure that the research data and information are valid, authentic and appropriate to meet the
research purpose and requirements properly (Alshenqeeti, 2014).
Social
media
marketing
Greater
brand
outreach,
awareness
Influence
buying
behaviours
Generate
higher
sales and
profit level

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BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS
Bibliography
Alalwan, A. A. (2018). Investigating the impact of social media advertising features on
customer purchase intention. International Journal of Information Management, 42,
65-77.
Alshenqeeti, H. (2014). Interviewing as a data collection method: A critical review. English
linguistics research, 3(1), 39-45.
Balakrishnan, B. K., Dahnil, M. I., & Yi, W. J. (2014). The impact of social media marketing
medium toward purchase intention and brand loyalty among generation Y. Procedia-
Social and Behavioral Sciences, 148, 177-185.
Boateng, H., & Okoe, A. F. (2015). Consumers’ attitude towards social media advertising and
their behavioural response. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing.
Erkan, I., & Evans, C. (2016). The influence of eWOM in social media on consumers’
purchase intentions: An extended approach to information adoption. Computers in
Human Behavior, 61, 47-55.
Hajli, M. N. (2014). A study of the impact of social media on consumers. International
Journal of Market Research, 56(3), 387-404.
Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Green, C. A., Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N., & Hoagwood, K.
(2015). Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed
method implementation research. Administration and policy in mental health and
mental health services research, 42(5), 533-544.
Ramanathan, U., Subramanian, N., & Parrott, G. (2017). Role of social media in retail
network operations and marketing to enhance customer satisfaction. International
Journal of Operations & Production Management.

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Sutton, J., & Austin, Z. (2015). Qualitative research: Data collection, analysis, and
management. The Canadian journal of hospital pharmacy, 68(3), 226.
Wolny, J., & Mueller, C. (2013). Analysis of fashion consumers’ motives to engage in
electronic word-of-mouth communication through social media platforms. Journal of
marketing management, 29(5-6), 562-583.