Social Media Marketing and Consumer Behavior: A Research Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the influence of social media marketing on consumer behavior. It begins with an introduction to the topic, highlighting the increasing importance of social media in connecting businesses with consumers and the evolution of marketing strategies. The report then delves into the research question: "How does social media marketing influence consumer behavior?" The study examines the shift from traditional marketing models to social media marketing, emphasizing the role of social networks in shaping consumer perceptions and facilitating information sharing. The report includes an analysis of five external secondary sources, including studies on the automobile industry, the tourism sector, airline industries, branded products, and viral advertising. These sources provide concrete examples of how social media platforms impact consumer choices, brand loyalty, and purchasing decisions across various industries. The report discusses the challenges faced by marketers in managing brand reputation and the importance of understanding consumer insights in the context of social media. Overall, the report highlights the significant role of social media in the modern marketing landscape and its profound effects on consumer behavior.

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SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
SECOND LITERARY RESEARCH
[Pick the date]
STUDENT NAME

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INTRODUCTION
Social media marketing is one of the recent topics that are discussed among researchers with
great consideration. It is one of those platforms that connect businesses with the customers,
suppliers, business colleagues and with dealers in digital manner. The information’s shared
can be in the form of pictures, messages, activities, promotions, etc. Managers in today’s
business use this tool to ascertain selling of products with brand recognition and perform its
distribution with ease (Claywell, n.d.). The reason to implement social media marketing has
arise so much that business without it cannot be developed and diversified in growth oriented
way. There are many social networking sites that assist marketing like Google+, Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. On the other hand customers who are connected with social Medias
are more benefitted as they get to choose products from a wider market and with getting fair
comparisons of it. Social Medias continues to evolve and develop which is why more
customers are getting attached to it and to understand consumer’s behaviour is the major task
of marketers (Popova, n.d.). This research paper will make a brief study about the influence
that social media marketing has on customers while making an analysis of it with suitable
examples.
FIELD OF RESEARCH
“How the social media marketing influences consumer behaviour?” is the topic for the
critical literature review. As discussed by Amir and Fakete in their research paper, which is
also an internal secondary source used, social network influences people through multifaceted
interpersonal affects (Fakete, 2017). Advertisements through social networking provide an
opportunity for customers to change their perceptions regarding products while creating a
network of communiqué. The traditional model of marketing has changed to social media

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marketing as shown in the below figure. Social media helps consumers gain information’s
from their peers which makes challenging for the companies to substantiate huge
investments.
Figure: Communication model
Source: (Fakete, 2017)
Social media marketing has shifted consumer’s behaviour in their favour and made a
substantial increase in their demand and discriminating attitude towards buying products. It
had not only built an influencing approach of consumers towards targeted market, but also
created a horizontal way of product creation and delivery. If the marketing agencies or
companies provide consumers with the products of their interest, consumers would likely
prefer opting for those companies and to make fair comparisons of companies, consumers
shares information’s from social Medias (Claywell, n.d.).
Organisations and retailers nowadays know factors that affect consumer’s outlook and
purpose since consumers responds to current and successful brands. Thus, more organisations
and marketers are getting engaged with social Medias and incorporate digital modernization
into their systems in order to get linked with customers (Elison, 2007). The firms also have to
face potential challenges at this age of social commerce. In the world where social media
plays a significant role, the capability of generating and controlling of consumer’s insight
along with managing brand reputation in competitive marketing environment have become

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tough for marketers. Thus, power on consumer’s side seems favourable with the
implementation of social networking in today’s buying and selling trend of market.
EXTERNAL SECONDARY SOURCES
Source 1: (Smith, 2016)
Author: Kit Smith
Year: 2016
According to Smith, the recent trend of fashion in automobile industry had made car
companies take a new look according to consumer’s perspective of getting new technology
each day (Smith, 2016). It becomes necessary for the car manufactures to align with
customers demands that can be easily done with the help of social networking. In 2015,
study made by Polk Automotive suggested that 88% of millennial utilised social networking
and internet while comparing brands available in cars and their specialities. Since consumers
are more influenced by social media than any other mode, heading to car showrooms turned
out only to be investing substance of time by car companies. In the article, Smith has given a
clean picture about consumer’s preference for social media marketing by making research of
their viewpoints in car selection. Most of consumer’s choice was made due to visibility of
their preferred brand in social media sites like Tesla, Ferrari, and Porsche. Although these
cars were recognised as luxury brand and out of their reach, they likely wished for their
consideration about those cars. While making the brands recognisable, social networking also
helped in creating attentiveness of buyers while manoeuvring their purchase decisions.
Therefore this article proved an important example in understanding the affect social media
marketing has on consumers buying behaviour in cars.

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Source 2: (FOTIS, 2015)
Author: John F. Fotis
Year: 2015
The effect of social media marketing has influenced the consumer’s choice of holidaying
also. According to Fotis, Social Medias facilitates people’s expressions and ideas along with
recognising their personal thoughts and opinions. Many holiday packaging companies assists
consumers in making their choice of plans while giving them favourable and comparable
budgets. Here social Media marketing becomes significant for buyers as unnecessary time
constraints are removed as compared to traditional ways of communication along with
providing online tools to share multimedia contents. Easy to use websites have been created
in recent years which claims that more than 1.3 billion users actively uses social networks
before planning a holiday where more than 50% utilises online website to plan for them.
Many tourism guides are reviewed by people digitally after returning back from tours which
further helps in search processes made by others. Websites like TripAdvisor is one of the
leading tourism sites which serves more than 260 million users per month and advises about
their plans around the globe.
Other behavioural changes which have been recognised in consumer’s behaviour are their
change in lifestyle and values. Nowadays consumers prefer shorter leisure time and giving
value monetarily while planning a new endeavour. While others who can spend more may
wish to get luxurious trip with or without extending travelling time. Whatever the case may
be, web searches always have proved beneficial for them. Many academic learning focuses
on utilisation of social media during the research period of travel process (Ray, 2017). In
literature researchers have given an insight and attempted to provide overall force that social
media marketing has during three stage of travel process. During the approaching stage,

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social Medias proved to be trustworthy source of information which is used by consumers to
attain knowledge about their preferred destination. In second stage, social websites help in
making plans and executions while giving budgets and rational picture of their planned
travelling. And in the third stage i.e. after the completion of trip, the sharing of views and
experiences met during the travelling stage is done which ultimately helps in assisting others
who are still planning. Therefore the overall process is responsible to great extent in changing
the behaviour of travellers who are planning to have a tour.
Source 3: (Venkatachari, 2014)
Authors: Kavitha Venkatachari and Aziz German Wala
Year: 2014
The research made on an aircraft industry relating affects of social media marketing on
consumers is based on objective about finding out how the media marketers control the
activities of airline industries while analysing the ways in which consumers makes
preferences during selection of their style of transport. The success of social media marketing
can be seen easily by all airline industries as it provides detailed information’s to consumers
while accessing interaction between them. Jet Airways is one of the leading airline industries
who have made a survey in which consumers behaviour can be judged after getting connected
with them through social Medias. Social media sites not only provide customers with direct
purchasing of products but also offer various promotions and gains. In this competitive
market, in order to gain competition, airline companies provides discounts and offers which
can be informed to customers within the help of social medias. This information’s shared can
affect the consumer’s behaviour while selecting the company that gives maximum benefits to

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them (Parker, 2006). Thus while gaining insight about customer’s demands in cost reductive
manner, the effectiveness of companies marketing strategy is maximised. Companies also
benefits by selling reservations which comes closer to deadlines by approaching to customers
via emails and telephoning along with giving advertisements in social Medias. The analysis
made by the company shows that people considered price more than quality here and
considered social media sites to make comparisons among different available airline
agencies. Therefore, from the research made by Venkatachari and Aziz can provide an
evidence which shows how consumers behaviour is affected with social medias while
selecting airline company for their travelling.
Source 4: (Godey et al, 2016)
Authors: Bruno Godey, Aikaterini Manthiou, Daniele Pederzoli, Joonas Rokka, Gaetano
Aiello, Raffaele Donvito and Rahul Singh
Year: 2016
Engaging and interacting with customers is been created by social medias which had brought
a new era for brands and companies. The expansion of marketing channels provides immense
opportunities to the companies by reaching its consumers in a speedy way. The only
challenges that is faced by marketers of branded products while managing brand is
difficulties in measuring the force of social Medias activities i.e. good and bad comments
made by users. Positive comment enhances the markets while negative makes an
unfavourable effect (Godey et al, 2016). According to the authors of the journal, the effect of
social media marketing on consumers buying behaviour in luxury and branded products is not
limited to product awareness only but also creates brand loyalty and word of mouth feature in

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it. The objective of this journal is to measure the relation between social media marketing
endeavour and behaviour of customers towards branded items. Social Medias has changed
the content creation of brands, distribution processes and consumers choice by giving
substantial alterations to brand images and presentation techniques that could attract buyers
toward it. Famous brand like Louis Vuitton and Catwalk posts videos in social Medias like
You Tube and Facebook while making huge number of fans around the globe. Many luxury
brands like Burberry, Amazon, Wal-Mart, etc. have created their own online shopping sites
that offer 24 hours service to customers. Comments and critiques made by celebrities and
renowned person make customers get attached to those online websites and thus increase
sales from social sites (Rohampton, 2017). From the journal, it can be ascertained that
without social media marketing availability of luxury and recognised brand products would
not have been easier. The behaviour of using ordinary products by consumers has changed
immensely in recent years and seems to increase with the increase of social sites of branded
products (Lumen, n.d.).
Source 5: (Paquette, 2013)
Author: Holly Paquette
Year: 2013
According to Paquette, Social media’s have increased the rates of viral advertising which
provides more information’s to end users (Paquette, 2013). For example, a student seeking a
diploma course for any subject likes engineering or science stream can easily search from
social sites about available course materials or universities those are suitable. On the other
hand, financial banks nowadays are becoming very supportive for students seeking to learn

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and are ready to provide bank loans for higher studies (Sen, 2017). Students posting their
requirements in social Medias can be approached by banks or financial institutions. Thus, the
scope of solving financial problem for enhanced learning is solved and customer, here
student, can apply for further studies which was not possible earlier.
Online advertising not only helps in sales of products but customer services also. Since
critiques are made on social websites, online services are largely used by consumers
nowadays as they get quick response from it as compared to traditional methods of
registering complaints. On the other hand companies get benefitted by reaching to the
customers who otherwise have been difficult to reach. Thus viral communication gives
marketers a scope of licensing itself through a delivery of message while making close and
personalised manner of communicating targeted consumers. Studies have also found that
making short interactions with customers through electronic modes have always helped them
in gaining their advices for enhancements in services (Chu, 2009). For example any problem
which is been faced continuously by customer can be bought into notice and any suggestions
for improvement in those areas can be made. If the company responses positively, customers
will surely give higher ratings and also may make suggestions to others for using that
company (Creative Commons , n.d.).
CONCLUSION
After reviewing several articles, journals, books and newspapers, it can be said that affect
social media marketing has on customers is immense and in present world social networking
is inevitable part in marketing business. The influence that social media has on consumers
have been both positive and negative. If customers are satisfied with the marketing agencies,
the results become positive. On the other hand any negative comment can provide adverse

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affect over marketer and may be forced to eliminate itself socially. Brand recognition along
with product awareness is prime feature that is carried through social networking markets and
to obtain available information’s is advantage obtained by consumers. Thus both ends get
equally benefitted and are reliable on each other (FOTIS, 2015). Consumer’s behaviour
which is affected while buying or selecting product or services makes marketing strategies of
organisations according to it. While organisations make marketing strategies that could easily
attract its consumers. Therefore on concluding note it can be said that both customers and
social media marketer’s behaviours depend on each other while affecting both buying and
selling capabilities.

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