The Impact of Social Media Marketing on Consumer Buying Behavior

This report examines the impact of social media marketing strategies on consumer buying behavior. It begins with an introduction outlining the aim, objectives, and background of the study, emphasizing the increasing use of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for marketing purposes. A comprehensive literature review explores the current trends in social media marketing, its influence on consumer purchasing decisions, and the challenges faced by businesses. The research methodology outlines the qualitative approach and the use of secondary data analysis. The findings highlight the positive impact of social media on consumer behavior while acknowledging the loss of customers who rely on traditional marketing methods. The conclusion emphasizes the need for a balanced approach between traditional and social media marketing channels. The report recommends strategies for companies to optimize their marketing efforts, considering both the advantages and disadvantages of social media marketing.

INQUIRY BASED
LEARNING

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Aim..............................................................................................................................................3
Objectives....................................................................................................................................3
Background..................................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................3
Social media marketing in present era.........................................................................................4
Impact of social media marketing on buying behaviour of the customers..................................4
Challenges that arise in social media marketing..........................................................................5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY....................................................................................................6
ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS........................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

Title: “The impact that social media marketing strategies have on the buying behaviour of the
consumers.”
INTRODUCTION
Aim
To analyse the impact of the social media marketing practices on the consumer buying
behaviour.
Objectives
 To identify the concept of social media marketing practices.
 To understand the manner in which the social media marketing affects the buying
decisions of the consumers.
 To ascertain the challenges that arises in the implementation of the social media
marketing tactics.
 To recommend appropriate strategies that can be adopted in order to minimise the
challenges identified.
Background
Social media has emerged as a very successful option and a feasible marketing platform
where the companies have increasingly become active on such platforms. Tools like Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitter handles etc. have become increasingly popular amongst the customers
today and by presenting innovative marketing campaigns the companies are able to attract the
attention of their targeted consume segments (Madhuhansi, 2019). However it is important to
analyse and indentify that how such social media marketing campaigns are affecting the buying
decisions of the customers and what are the positive or negative aspects that are associated to it.
This research will present an analysis on this very topic and then develop appropriate findings or
conclusions.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature review is a secondary research mechanism where the research papers and articles
or journals that have already been published in the similar topic by other authors are analysed
(Saboo, Kumar and Ramani, 2016). The literature review is a comprehensive part that helps in
evaluating the different and contradictory viewpoints that have been presented by the different
authors and then collectively develop a strong argument for the research that has been proposed.
For the current topic as well, this can be done in a following manner.
3

Social media marketing in present era
The research paper published by Sudha and Sheena (2017), state that the concept of social
media marketing has emerged in the past few years and has since then become extremely flexible
and a favourite marketing platform for many companies. The authors further state that using
social media as a marketing tools has become a preferred choice of the customers as well as
companies as it is the most flexible, feasible and powerful tool for advertising and marketing is
the present era. The trends have now changed and shifted from the traditional media to this
modern media marketing platforms where the reliance on these platforms has increased too much
and the companies strive towards achievement of their objectives solely based on the social
media marketing aspects. The authors conclude that the social media marketing has indeed
presented some new opportunities and options before the companies and especially the smaller
firms or individual sellers who can minimise their marketing budgets by using such platforms.
However, contradicting the point above, another research paper published by Khatib
(2016), states that the shift from the traditional media has affected an entire customer segment of
the companies. There are many customers or people who get regular knowledge and updates
regarding different or new products and services solely from the mediums such as TV, radio,
newspaper etc. and the abolishment of using any of these mediums clearly points out that the
companies are losing this segment. The authors further claim that the ease and flexibility that
social media marketing channels provide is commendable but this large segment of people who
can be potential customers must also not be forgotten. As the authors have concluded, a balance
is the most appropriate strategy that companies can adopted in order to enhance the overall sales
and reach of their products towards the customers.
Impact of social media marketing on buying behaviour of the customers
Another research paper that is published by the Zhang and Mao (2016), the customers have
increasingly become more inclined towards the use of such social media marketing websites and
platforms. The recent years has seen the development of the social media platforms not just as
the communication platforms as they were earlier perceived to be, but it has also evolved into a
better marketing platform. The consumers have been found to be positively influenced by the
different advertisements that they see or the trends that are being followed etc. Additionally, it
has also been identified that the majority of teenage consumers and the middle aged consumers
have become interestingly active on such social media platforms and these two segments being
4

the most targeted segments, the companies have increasingly been using this for the purpose of
marketing. He rating s of the companies have improved and the customer engagement level and
techniques that are being adopted has also simplified immensely by the use of such social media
marketing platforms.
On the contrary, the research paper by Hanaysha (2018), clarifies that the customer has
become unreliable due to such social media marketing techniques. They state that the inclination
of the customer has indeed shifted towards these online and social platforms but yet the easy
availability of the multiple numbers of options has made the customer non- committal i.e. a
company can no longer relay that if a customer is interested in any product or activity then they
are going to claim it for sure. The authors have further declared that the overall involvement of
the customers has also declined and the loyalty or commitment that they used to have towards
any particular brand is also declining where they tend to go for pricing with quality approach
rather than just quality or just pricing.
Challenges that arise in social media marketing
In order to identify and analyse the different challenges that can arise in the establishment of
the practices of social media marketing, the Lim and et.al. (2017),have conducted a detailed
research on all such challenges. The major challenge is to gain the customer loyalty towards the
company where there are a multitude of the competitive products that they can easily access.
This widens the scope at which the customers can access the products and therefore, returning
back of the customers through this medium gets very difficult. Another major challenge is the
fact that the local companies who are not so adept in the marketing skills and strategies that can
be adopted, are regularly losing their market share to the bigger companies and this is not a good
aspect of the economy.
In addition to the point above, the Lou and Yuan (2019), also quote additionally that the
tapping of the customer’s desire in a correct manner was already challenging enough for the
companies where they had to innovate their products regularly, but now the need for innovative
marketing has also arisen. The increased competition and ease of imitating the strategies that are
being used is one of the major challenges that are faced by companies during the social media
marketing strategies. In addition to this, the challenge of targeting and occupying the customer
segment who is still dependent on the traditional media marketing platforms acts an another
major barrier because the traditional media usually requires more investment and expenditure,
5

which might not be possible for the smaller owners and entrepreneurs. The authors have argued
that this makes them devoid of a major segment of the public as TV advertisements and
newspaper advertisements are the most common source of getting any potential customer’s
attention. Hence the authors have concluded that the challenges that arise in the social media
marketing platforms are also numerous and immense.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methodology helps in the analysis of the various tools and techniques that can be
used by the researcher in order to conduct the intended research comprehensively. For the
current research this can be done in a following manner:
 Research Type: There can be two broad classification in which the research that has been
undertaken i.e. the qualitative and quantitative research. Quantitative research is
associated with the analysis of numerical figures and the qualitative research analyses the
different facts and theories that exits (Page and et.al., 2017). In the current research, the
researcher has used the qualitative research aspect as the analysis is on the impact that
social media marketing has on the buying behaviour of the consumers. This will help in
analysis of different facts and aspects of the research so that a comprehensive analysis
and findings can be presented.
 Data Collection: Data can be collected in the primary and the secondary manner where
the primary data is collected by the researcher themselves i.e. the original data is
collected in this aspect. Contrarily, in secondary research, data is collected from the
research papers, articles, journals or case studies that have already been published
previously by other authors (Cuervo‐Cazurra and et.al., 2017). In the current research,
only secondary data analysis has been done in the form of literature review so that a
comprehensive analysis could be presented where the different aspects related to the
impact of social media marketing on the customers could be ascertained adequately.
 Ethical Consideration: The researcher has complied with all the ethical norms by
attaching a declaration form that clearly states that the work of research that has been
carried out is an original piece of work presented by the researcher themselves.
Additionally it will also be stated that all the secondary references have been made only
after the prior approval of the authors regarding their use in the research (Basias and
Pollalis, 2018). The citations have been given to the places wherever the secondary
6

reference has been made so that the readers can ascertain that the view presented is by
other authors.
Research Limitations: Due to the lack of adequate time and resources, the research could not be
conducted in extreme depth and the primary research also could not be performed (King and
Mackey, 2016). Another major limitation is that the quantitative research could also have been
undertaken generating more specific results but even in the qualitative research that has been
undertaken; the analysis has been done in a detailed and comprehensive manner.
ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
The literature review done above points out that there are multiple aspects related to the
impact that social media marketing has on the buying behaviour of the customers. First of all it
was identified that the social media and its use has increased in multi folds in the previous years
and the companies have increasingly been focusing on the marketing through this medium
(Khatib, 2016). It was also analysed that the consumers are increasingly preferring shopping
through these social media platforms and the impact in their buying behaviour has been positive.
However, the research also identified that due to this advent in the social media marketing, the
customers that could have been attracted through the traditional media are being lost slowly and
this signifies the loss of a prominent market share (Madhuhansi, 2019).
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
On the basis of the research done above, it can be adequately concluded that the impact of
social media marketing on the buying behaviour of the consumers is indeed positive and the
companies are taking best advantages of such platforms by using rigorous strategies for
marketing and promotional activities. It was also concluded that there were some negative
aspects and impact as well that is associated with the social media marketing and this is in the
form of those customers who are acquainted with the use of traditional marketing media only.
Based on the conclusions that were drawn and findings, there are certain recommendations that
can be made in the context of social media marketing:
 The companies should strive towards attaining a proper balance between the traditional
and social media marketing channels so that an appropriate mix of consumers can be
targeted accordingly. This depends on the company regarding the proposition which they
should invest in the traditional marketing and the part which should be invested on the
social media marketing.
7

 Innovation and creativity is the key behind attracting the eye of the consumer, the trends
should be followed by the companies should always strive to present something new and
innovative to the public.
8

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Basias, N. and Pollalis, Y., 2018. Quantitative and qualitative research in business & technology:
Justifying a suitable research methodology. Review of Integrative Business and
Economics Research. 7. pp.91-105.
Cuervo‐Cazurra, A., and et.al., 2017. Research methodology in global strategy research. Global
Strategy Journal. 7(3). pp.233-240.
Hanaysha, J.R., 2018. An examination of the factors affecting consumer’s purchase decision in
the Malaysian retail market. PSU Research Review.
Khatib, F., 2016. The impact of social media characteristics on purchase decision empirical study
of Saudi customers in Aseer Region. International Journal of Business and Social
Science. 7(4). pp.41-50.
King, K.A. and Mackey, A., 2016. Research methodology in second language studies: Trends,
concerns, and new directions. The Modern Language Journal. 100(S1). pp.209-227.
Lim, X.J., and et.al., 2017. The impact of social media influencers on purchase intention and the
mediation effect of customer attitude. Asian Journal of Business Research. 7(2). pp.19-
36.
Lou, C. and Yuan, S., 2019. Influencer marketing: how message value and credibility affect
consumer trust of branded content on social media. Journal of Interactive
Advertising. 19(1). pp.58-73.
Madhuhansi, W.T., 2019. Impact of Social Media Characteristics on Consumer Buying Decision
Process in Western Province, Sri Lanka. Global Journal of Management And Business
Research.
Page, D., and et.al., 2017. Optimising early neonatal nutrition using translational research
methodology. Nutrition & Dietetics. 74(5). pp.460-470.
Saboo, A.R., Kumar, V. and Ramani, G., 2016. Evaluating the impact of social media activities
on human brand sales. International Journal of Research in Marketing. 33(3). pp.524-
541.
Sudha, M. and Sheena, K., 2017. Impact of influencers in consumer decision process: the fashion
industry. SCMS Journal of Indian Management. 14(3). pp.14-30.
9

Zhang, J. and Mao, E., 2016. From online motivations to ad clicks and to behavioral intentions:
An empirical study of consumer response to social media advertising. Psychology &
Marketing. 33(3). pp.155-164.
10