Impact of Social Media Marketing on Consumer Decision Making: Hilton

This report investigates the impact of social media marketing on consumer decision-making within the UK hospitality sector, with a specific focus on the Hilton hotel. The research employs a qualitative methodology, utilizing an interpretivism philosophy and a descriptive research design. The report outlines the aim to investigate the impact of social media marketing on customer decision making in the context of the UK hospitality sector, with objectives to articulate the concept of social media marketing over consumer decision making, outline the influence of using social media marketing on the decision making by consumer with respect to Hilton, identify the challenges being faced by Hilton in using social media marketing and influencing the consumer, and recommend the strategies to Hilton in increasing the consumer with use of social media marketing tools. It includes an introduction, literature review, and a detailed research methodology chapter covering research methods, philosophy, design, approach, data collection, sampling, and data analysis techniques. The study also addresses ethical considerations and research limitations, concluding with a data analysis plan and discussion of ethical values. The report aims to provide valuable insights into how social media influences consumer choices and offers strategic recommendations for Hilton to enhance its marketing efforts and customer engagement.

RESEARCH
METHODOLOGIES

Table of Contents
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................2
RESEARCH DESIGN PROPOSAL...............................................................................................3
Chapter 1 Introduction................................................................................................................3
Chapter 2 Research methodology...............................................................................................4
Chapter 3 Data analysis...............................................................................................................7
Chapter 4 Ethics, values..............................................................................................................7
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................9
Chapter 1 Literature review introduction....................................................................................9
Chapter 2 Literature review........................................................................................................9
Chapter 3 Literature review conclusion....................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

RESEARCH DESIGN PROPOSAL
Chapter 1 Introduction
For the business to get successful it is very essential for the company to work in
accordance with the latest changes taking place in the business environment (Stephen, 2016). In
this highly competitive world the most important change is the technological changes taking
place in the environment. This is very much essential for the company to adapt to all these at
least changes as if they will not adapt then they will become obsolete in their working. The
current report will analyse the impact which the social media have on the consumer decision
making. This is because the use of social media for marketing purpose is very essential and this
affects the consumer and their decision to buy the goods and services.
The present report is based over hotel Hilton which is a large American hospitality
company which manages the consumer all over the globe. It is very essential for the hotel to use
all the latest technology and among it the most important is the social media marketing. The
social media is the latest thing in which each and every person is involved and this is also a good
tool for the company to use for the purpose of marketing. The current research will mainly focus
on the fact that the social media marketing has a high impact over the decision of the consumers.
This is because the social media influences the consumer to a great extent. Thus, the present
research will outline the methods being used in the whole research. Also, the research will
outline the different sources and articles in form of reviewing of the literature.
Aim and objective
Aim
“To investigate the impact of social media marketing on the customer decision making in context
of UK hospitality sector. A study on Hilton.”
Objectives
 To articulate the concept of social media marketing over consumer decision making.
 To outline the influence of using social media marketing on the decision making by
consumer with respect to Hilton.

 To identify the challenges being faced by Hilton in using social media marketing and
influencing the consumer.
 To recommend the strategies to Hilton in increasing the consumer with use of social
media marketing tools.
Rationale
The major reason for the selection of the topic of impact of social media over the
consumer decision making is that the consumer are the king of the company. This is because if
the consumer will not be satisfied then they will not use the services of the company. Thus, this
research will help in finding the impact which the social media has over the decision making by
the consumers. Also, another major reason for the selection of topic is the academic and personal
interest of the researcher themselves.
Chapter 2 Research methodology
Research methods: It is an effective approach because it helps in gaining relevant set of
knowledge which leads to collection of the appropriate set of data. It is classified into
quantitative and qualitative research methods. The qualitative research methods is highly
associated with the analysis of the various non- numerical set of data which is considered to be
very useful gaining wide degree of perspective on the subject matter (Almalki, 2016). The key
methods which are highly associated with the qualitative research tends to include observation,
interviews, oral history, open ended surveys, focus groups, content analysis, etc. On the other
hand, quantitative methodology is based on effectively measuring the statistical numerical data
with the use of questionnaire, polls, surveys, etc. The researcher of the study will select
qualitative research methods to investigate the impact of social media marketing on the customer
decision making in context of UK hospitality sector.
Research philosophy: It is a belief or a phenomenon which is useful in analysing the
relevant set of data which is believed to be true. It is classified into positivism and interpretivism
philosophy. Positivism approach is an effective concept which is considered to be very relevant
in ascertain the positive aspect of the knowledge which helps in predicting the natural
phenomenon. This methodology is very prominent as it helps in gaining verified and positive
data sets which is usually based on empiricism. Interpretivism philosophy is usually based on the
human subject and also the trained research because it helps in interpreting the various
phenomenon of the research. Interpretivism method tends to highly go beyond empirical

evidence which includes subjective opinions, values, emotions and various other key elements of
the study (Basias and Pollalis, 2018). The researcher of the study will select interpretivism
philosophy to articulate the concept of social media marketing over consumer decision making.
Research design: Research design is beneficial as it helps in integrating various key
components in a logical way to address the problem associated with research. It is classified into
exploratory and descriptive research design (Creswell and Creswell, 2017). Exploratory research
design is carried out because it is very relevant in evaluating the research problems by providing
theoretical or hypothetical idea to the specific problem associated with the research. Descriptive
research design is very prominent because it helps in describing the various characteristics of the
particular phenomenon. The researcher of the study will select descriptive research design to
outline the influence of using social media marketing on the decision making by consumer with
respect to Hilton.
Research approach: It is one of the most relevant procedure which is useful in effectively
setting broad set of assumptions in a detailed manner. It is classified into inductive and deductive
approach. Inductive research approach is very useful because it helps in attaining regularities,
patterns and resemblance which helps in generating theory and attaining appropriate set of
conclusion (Jensen, 2017). On the other hand, deductive approach is usually based on
development of the hypothesis which is very relevant to test the specific theory. The researcher
of the study will select inductive approach to identify the challenges being faced by Hilton in
using social media marketing and influencing the consumer.
Data collection: Data collection is one of the most prominent approach because it helps in
measuring and gathering information associated with the certain set of variables. It helps the
researcher in answering various question and problems related with the research. It is classified
into primary and secondary source of data collection (Kumar, 2019). Primary data collection
method is used when the research want to gain information which is new and fresh and has never
published anywhere (Johnson, and Christensen, 2019). This can be collected with the help of
interviews, survey, questionnaire, polls, etc. On the other hand, secondary data is the information
which is second hand and has been used by the researcher earlier. This helps in further grasping
more knowledge on such research topic. Such data can be collected through books, manuals,
transcripts, journals, articles, newspapers, internet, etc. The researcher of the study will select

primary and secondary source of data collection in order to investigate the impact of social
media marketing on the customer decision making in context of UK hospitality sector.
Sampling: Sampling is referred to as one of the most prominent process which helps in
using statistical analysis within the prescribed predetermined manner. The sample is usually
taken from the large population (Kumar, 2019). It is classified into probabilistic and non-
probabilistic sampling methods. The probabilistic sampling methods are the ones which gives
equal chance to all the people within population to get selected within the sample size.
Probabilistic sampling methods includes simple sampling, random sampling, stratified sampling,
etc. On the other hand, non- probabilistic method does not gives equal chance to all the people
within population to get selected within the sample size. The researcher of the study will select
random probabilistic sampling method where 20 customers of the Hilton group to articulate the
concept of social media marketing over consumer decision making.
Data Analysis: It is considered to be as one of the most evident procedure which helps in
transforming, cleaning and modelling data which is evident in discovering crucial information
for better decision making (Quinlan and et.al., 2019). It is classified into SPSS analysis and
thematic analysis. SPSS analysis helps in interpreting the complex set of large information which
helps in better decision making. Thematic analysis is relevant to analyse the themes, patterns and
ideas which is evident for better decision making and gaining in- depth knowledge on aims and
objectives of the research study (Litosseliti, 2018). Thematic analysis is very useful in gaining
rich description on the relevant themes. It helps in interpreting all the data effectively. The
researcher of the study will select thematic analysis to recommend the strategies to Hilton in
increasing the consumer with use of social media marketing tools.
Ethical consideration- this is the most important thing to be considered at time of
accomplishing the research in successful manner. This is majorly pertaining to the fact that is the
research will not be in ethical and morally correct manner the research outcome will not be good
(Sudha and Sheena, 2017). Hence, the most important ethical consideration is to get the ethical
consent form signed by the respondent and participant. The major reason underlying this fact is
that this signed document will allow the researcher in using the personal data of the researcher in
the research. Also, another major consideration for the research to be ethical is that the data must
be collected from all the reliable and valid sources. This is majorly due to the fact that if the data

will not be good then this will affect the quality of the research and the result of the research as
well.
Research limitation- this is also very essential to be studied because everything has some
or the other limitation which restrict the working of the research. The major limitation which
hampered the research was the time as the time was very limited and the researcher had to
complete it in that specific time period only (Chivandi, Samuel and Muchie, 2019). Also, the
resources of the research were very limited but then also the research was completed in effective
manner in the limited resources only. Another major limitation was the finance and the budget as
it was very less. But then also the researcher managed to complete the whole research in the
limited budget only.
Chapter 3 Data analysis
Research question
1. What is the concept of social media marketing over decision making by consumer?
2. What is the influence of use of social media marketing on the decision taken by the
consumers?
3. What are the challenges being faced by company in making use of social media
marketing for influencing the consumer decision making?
The analysis of data is very essential for the researcher because of the data will not be
analysed in proper and effective manner then the research outcome will not be attained in the
intended manner. For the analysis of the data the tool used is the thematic analysis and this is
used because of the fact that this includes use of chart, graphs and tables.
Chapter 4 Ethics, values
The ethics and values are important for the researcher to undertake as the research is not
complete is the research does not include ethical values. This is pertaining to the fact that ethical
working ensures that no work is being done in wrong and false manner. Also, it is necessary for
the researcher to ensure that the moral values are achieved while undertaking the research as this
will ensure good quality of research.
Task Mode Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors
Auto
Schedule
d
Formulation of research
aim and objective 5 days Mon 5/11/20 Fri 5/15/20
Auto Reviewing the literature 6 days Mon 5/18/20 Mon 5/25/20 1

Schedule
d
Auto
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Research methods
selection 8 days Tue 5/26/20 Thu 6/4/20 2
Auto
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Formulation of
questionnaire 3 days Fri 6/5/20 Tue 6/9/20 3
Auto
Schedule
d
Sending questionnaire for
data collection 4 days Wed 6/10/20 Mon 6/15/20 2,4
Auto
Schedule
d
Collecting of data 6 days Tue 6/16/20 Tue 6/23/20 5
Auto
Schedule
d
Data interpretation 10 days Wed 6/24/20 Tue 7/7/20 6
Auto
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Conclusion and
Recommendation 4 days Wed 7/8/20 Mon 7/13/20 7
Auto
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Formatting 2 days Tue 7/14/20 Wed 7/15/20 8
Auto
Schedule
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Taking feedback 4 days Thu 7/16/20 Tue 7/21/20 9
Auto
Schedule
d
Doing changes as per the
feedback provided 6 days Wed 7/22/20 Wed 7/29/20 10
Auto
Schedule
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Final submission 1 day Thu 7/30/20 Thu 7/30/20 11

LITERATURE REVIEW
Chapter 1 Literature review introduction
The literature review is defined as a technique which is being used by the researcher in
order to conduct the secondary research. This is majorly pertaining to the fact that under this
technique the researcher uses and reviews different types of articles, journals, books and other
published data relating to the research topic. Then in the words of the different authors and
publishers make the use of the data in the research (Nash, 2019). The area of the literature review
is very wide as it includes the study of the different forms of literature and it can be accessed
from anywhere at any time. The major objective of reviewing of the literature is that this helps
the person in surveying the literature relating to the research topic. Also, this helps the researcher
in gaining knowledge by studying the different articles, books and journal. Thus, this increases
the knowledge and information base of the researcher and this makes it easier for the researcher

to carry on with their research. Another major objective of using this method of literature review
is that this helps the person in critically reviewing all the different sources of information. The
critical review refers to as the studying the research topic by including the positive and negative
aspect relating to the study of the research. Also, another major importance of using the literature
review is that this helps the researcher in presenting the data in more organized and effective
manner.
Chapter 2 Literature review
Theme 1- Concept of social media marketing over decision making of the consumer
As defined by Alalwan (2018), social media marketing has become an influential tool in
the business. It has turned out to be an effective method for drawing customer’s attention. Social
media marketing has the potential to put the customers at the centre of the business and also it
provides marketers a new set of tools which can be used to interact with the customers in a far
better and innovative ways. To make it successful marketers need to understand the influence
and impact of social media over the customers buying behaviour. Social media works effectively
are mostly all age groups but primarily for millennial. It has a huge impact over the shopping
process of the consumers. As per Lim and et.al (2017), consumers who use social media while
doing shopping are more likely to spend on their purchases in comparison to those who don’t.
Businesses can also encourage its people to use social media for do shopping by including point
of sale marketing in their social media marketing. It has a big influence over the buying
behaviour of the consumers. Companies are showcasing its products and services on the social
media platform in an attractive form such as asking for review, experience, advice, feedback etc
which helps them in starting a conversation with the customers and make them feel happy with
the services. Such activities undertaken by the companies draws attention of the customers which
helps in influencing customers buying behaviour in appositive way towards the company’s
products and services. Customers also have a feeling of attachment towards the particular brand
and product and use to shop more frequently of that brand product or services.
According to Kang and Kim (2017), social media works as a word of mouth. It has an
impact over awareness and brand attitude and it is so strong that it is also known as buzz
marketing. For example, images shared by someone on social media can affect the behaviour of
the other users in respect to that product, place and so on. This creates a change in needs and
demand of the particular product in the mind of the customers. Customer are now a days before

initiating the shopping looks for the latest and the upcoming products of the company or a
particular brand which makes it easy for them to shop and this is done through social media
marketing tactics. Social media has made it possible for customers to gather information of the
brand, products and services and all these information influences the buying behaviour of the
customers and leads them to have the product even though there is no specific need about of it.
This change is not limited to the one or two customers but to the larger group of people.
Marketers are using social media to grab large group of customers which helps in increasing
brand awareness among the users which results into the sales. Thus, social media has
significantly impacted the decision-making process of the consumers.
Theme 2: Influence of the use of social media marketing over the decision making by the
consumer.
In the words of Varkaris and Neuhofer, (2017) the social media advertising is very essential to be
used in the business environment especially in the hospitality sector. This is majorly pertaining
to the fact that the use of social media is very prevalent among the consumer and people. Thus,
anything which is more popular over the social media affects the consumer to a great extent.
Thus, for the companies the use of social media as a technique of marketing is very useful. Also,
the social media marketing increases the consumers and affects the decision making by the
consumers.
But against of this Keegan and Rowley, (2017) argues that the use of social media marketing is a
good influencer for the consumers and the decision making by them. This is pertaining to the fact
that if anything will be trending over the social media platforms then this will motivate the
consumer in purchasing or buying the thing. This is because of the fact that the social media
includes the coverage of the goods and services from all over the world. Thus, if anything is
trending over this platform then is means that the product or service is popular in the whole
world. Thus, this will attract the consumer and the consumer will get influenced to use that
product or that particular services.
For instance, these social media platforms allows the user to share their experience and feeling
over these social media platform and through this the people can express their views and feeling
relating to any of the product and services. Thus, this influences the consumer to buy that
product or to experience the same service. Hence, the feeling of one consumer affects and
influences the other consumer as well to purchase or consumer the same product or the service.

In this regard Grover and Mandan, (2017) articulates that the feedback and experiences of the
other consumer affect the decision of the other consumer to a great extent. This is majorly
pertaining to the fact that the social media has become has become an integral part of the life of
the people and if there is anything trending over the social media then the other people also get
attracted towards that thing. Also, many of the companies uses the social media to advertise its
product and services among the consumer with help of these social media platforms. This is
because these are the latest trend or methods which are being used by the different companies
and especially in hospitality sector. The different hotels and bars and restaurant use this method
and get themselves rated over the social media platforms. Thus, this help the hotel and other
related business to manage and promote them within the market. This also attracts the consumer
as the rating of the hotel is good then the consumer will like to go to the place and enjoy their
stay.
But as per the views of Muzellec and O'Raghallaigh, (2018) the major impact of this is that the
hotel or any other business can add to the comments and goodwill of the hotel over the internet
with help of some critics. This also has a major impact over the working of the hotel and the
consumer at time of deciding that whether they need to go in the hotel or not. This is majorly
pertaining to the fact that these reviews of the high profile people and the critics’ help the
consumer in deciding that whether they need to go to the place or not. This affects the decision
making process as if the reviews will be good then the consumer will decide to go to the place
and on the other side if the reviews will not be good then the consumer will decide to not go to
such place and go to some other place which is having good reviews by the critics.
Theme 3: Challenges being faced by the company in making the use of the social media
marketing and impacting the decision making by the consumers.
As pr the views of Wang and Yu (2017) there are many of the challenges of using the social
media as a marketing tool. This is majorly because of the fact that the social media affects the
goodwill of the company to a great extent. This is due to the fact that nobody has control over the
people who post messages over the social media platforms and if any person post wrong or
misleading message for the company then the company cannot trace that from where the
message has been posted. Thus, the security issue is the major challenge which is being faced by
the company at time of making use of social media marketing for impacting the decision making
of consumers.