BUSN20016 Report: Critical Evaluation of Social Marketing Approaches

This report provides a critical evaluation of social networking versus verbal approaches in trade and commerce, examining their effectiveness as marketing strategies. The research proposal outlines the problem statement, aims, and objectives, which include evaluating the differences between social networking and word-of-mouth marketing, assessing the persuasive nature of social networking, and recommending improvements for social networking marketing strategies. The methodology involves a mixed approach, using both qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (surveys) data collection methods, along with secondary data from books and journals. Data analysis will involve the use of Excel spreadsheets and statistical techniques like regression and correlation analysis, utilizing data from sources like the Australian Bureau of Statistics to analyze customer demographics, purchase behaviors, and platform preferences. The report aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of which marketing approach is more persuasive and reliable in the modern era.

Running head: SOCIAL MARKETING
Critical evaluation of the comparative study between social networking and verbal
approaches in trade and commerce
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SOCIAL MARKETING
Abstract
The purpose of this research proposal is to critically evaluate and highlight the difference
between social networking and verbal approaches. This research proposal is mainly outlined
with the involvement of the problem statement along with the discussion of the aim and
adjectives. The proposal also discusses the type of methodology that has been used in the
critical evaluation of the report. After the critical evaluation of the methodology approach,
the secondary data and the secondary sources have been stated. To conclude, this research
proposal will help in examining the difference between the various ways of marketing in the
modern era.

2SOCIAL MARKETING
Table of Contents
1. Problem statement..................................................................................................................3
2. Research methodology...........................................................................................................3
3. Data analysis and identification of secondary sources...........................................................4
References..................................................................................................................................5

3SOCIAL MARKETING
1. Problem statement
The traditional word of mouth marketing or WOM marketing is the way of marketing
in which a particular consumer reflects interests for a particular product or a particular service
with the help of verbal dialogs (Blazevic et al., 2013). In the word of mouth marketing, the
customer feels more satisfied as they are approached personally by the companies and
appears to be more effective and reliable as compared to that of the social networking where
the main objective is to connect with the people socially within a specified community (Scott,
2015). It is persuasive in nature because it does not contain any personal approach to each of
the individuals and thus consumers cannot rely on the means (McDaniel & Gates, 2013).
The aim of the research proposal is to evaluate the reliability of traditional word of
mouth marketing over social networking and the reason for being persuasive in nature.
The objectives of the research proposal are as follows:
1. To evaluate the difference between social networking and the traditional word of
mouth marketing.
2. To examine the persuasive nature of the social networking websites in the field of
trade and commerce.
3. To recommend the effective ways in which the social networking sites can improve
their marketing strategy.
2. Research methodology
The research methodology involves various techniques of research progression in an
organised and structured manner.
To organize a research proposal successfully it is important for the research to rely on
the substantial collection of both primary data and the secondary data (Ritchie et al., 2013).

4SOCIAL MARKETING
The primary data is of two type namely quantitative data including surveys or feedbacks and
qualitative data including interviews or case studies (Silverman, 2016). The secondary data
comprises data from books or journals. The chosen data collection method for this proposal
will be few interviews and surveys. It will also contain data from books and journals.
This type of data collection method is chosen for a better understanding of the
persuasive nature of social networking over a traditional word of mouth marketing (Perrin,
2015). The data collected from personal interviews will help to judge particular cases while
the data collected from the surveys will be helpful to determine a specific sample size within
a specific region (Hussein, 2015). Secondary data from books and journals will also be
referred for resourcing the collected data from primary sources. The research methodology
used in this proposal is the mixed methodology approach. The mixed methodology of data
collection will help to analyse both the qualitative and quantitative data.
3. Data analysis and identification of secondary sources
As mentioned in previous section, this study will be conducted with the help of
secondary sources for data collection and analysis. The secondary data will be collected from
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) database which is available online and it comprises
wide variety of data. Particularly, the demographic characteristics of the customers, purchase
behaviours and access platforms means online shopping websites, social networking sites or
word of mouth will be collected from the database.
The collected data will be structured in a well manner using Excel spreadsheet which
will comprise of the demographic characteristics, purchase behaviour of customers and the
platform that attracts them to go for shopping. Then, Regression and Correlation analysis will
be performed by choosing variables from the collected data.

5SOCIAL MARKETING
References
Blazevic, V., Hammedi, W., Garnefeld, I., Rust, R. T., Keiningham, T., Andreassen, T. W., ...
& Carl, W. (2013). Beyond traditional word-of-mouth: an expanded model of
customer-driven influence. Journal of Service Management, 24(3), 294-313.
Flick, U. (2015). Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research
project. Sage.
Hussein, A. (2015). The use of triangulation in social sciences research: Can qualitative and
quantitative methods be combined?. Journal of comparative social work, 4(1).
Irwin, S. (2013). Qualitative secondary data analysis: Ethics, epistemology and
context. Progress in Development Studies, 13(4), 295-306.
McDaniel, C., & Gates, R. (2013). Marketing research. Singapore.
Perrin, A. (2015). Social media usage. Pew research center, 52-68.
Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., Nicholls, C. M., & Ormston, R. (Eds.). (2013). Qualitative research
practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. Sage.
Scott, D. M. (2015). The new rules of marketing and PR: How to use social media, online
video, mobile applications, blogs, news releases, and viral marketing to reach buyers
directly. John Wiley & Sons.
Silverman, D. (Ed.). (2016). Qualitative research. Sage.
Tsimonis, G., & Dimitriadis, S. (2014). Brand strategies in social media. Marketing
Intelligence & Planning, 32(3), 328-344.