LSC UoS BA Business: Research Proposal on Social Media & Fashion

This research proposal investigates the impact of social media marketing on the fashion industry, focusing on its influence on efficiency, productivity, and sales. The study aims to determine effective digital marketing methods, evaluate factors influencing online purchasing behavior, examine the benefits of social media channels, and identify suitable social media platforms for companies like Marks & Spencer. It reviews existing literature on digital marketing, brand equity, and social media's role in customer relationship management. The research will utilize both primary and secondary data, employing questionnaires to gather insights. The proposal highlights the shift in consumer decision-making due to technology, the importance of social media in marketing, and the challenges and opportunities it presents for businesses. Ultimately, the research seeks to provide valuable insights for developing successful digital marketing strategies in the fashion industry.

Research Proposal
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Abstract
On the basis of this study, it is determined that the significance of the social media
platforms is more which can useful to maintain the sales and revenue of the company. In this
study, researcher will mainly utilise appropriate tools and techniques related with the social
media platform. There are various social networking platforms which can
usually improve the effectiveness of the organisation. The research will
expand on previous knowledge which can provide the in-depth
comprehension of the long-term obtained from the social media marketing
strategy. The study will mainly find out appropriate outcomes with the
help of primary and secondary data and utilised questionnaire method to
collect the data. The primary concern of this research is to identify the
impact of digital marketing channels with an indication as to the
importance of social media marketing to a business competing in the
worldwide fashion marketplace.
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Table of Contents
Research Proposal......................................................................................................................1
Abstract......................................................................................................................................2
Introduction................................................................................................................................4
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................5
Methodology..............................................................................................................................9
Limitations of Research...........................................................................................................12
Research Plan (Timeline).........................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................14
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Title –
“To study the impact of social media marketing on the efficiency and
productivity of the Fashion Industry”
Introduction
In this modern era, technologies are taking the wider place which
can useful to improve the operations and managerial task of the
organisation. With the highly advancement of the technology, it is
identified that there are various social media platforms mainly utilised by
the organisations which can improve the effectiveness of the organisation.
It is necessary for the organisation to offering businesses with an ever-
expanding range of appropriate options for the reaching the target
audience. It is analysed that, development of social media's effect
changed the culture in which people live since its creation, notably in the
previous few years. Social media channels originally designed as a
techniques and tool to reconnect with the long-lost acquaintances,
establish bridge relationships & interact more readily, it has now
expanded into an integral ingredient of the how individuals conduct our
daily lives & as an outcomes , it can transform the way companies work
throughout the world (Abidin, 2016).
The internet has evolved into a worldwide commerce hub, with shopping
online power influencing market behaviour including sales mostly in
fashion market. Whereas in the past, businesses needed to invest in brick
and mortar store, sales advertising channels & a wide network of partner
news sources to expand their commercial core audience, now all company
require are e-commerce sites online with accompanying facebook profiles
to increase product, generate clicks & eventually promote the product.
Aim
“To analyse the role of social media marketing on the performance and sales of the fashion
industry, A case study of Mark & Spencer”.
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Research Objective
 To determine the digital marketing methods on the marketing and
selling process of the company.
 To evaluate the influence the appropriate factors that include in the
online purchasing behaviour.
 To examine the benefits of social media channels on the sales and
revenue of the company.
 To identify the most appropriate social media platform on the
development of Marks and Spencer.
Research Questions
 What are the digital marketing methods on the marketing and
selling process of the company?
 How to evaluate the influence of appropriate factors that include in
the online purchasing behaviour?
 What is the benefits of social media channels on the sales and
revenue of the company?
 What are the most appropriate social media platforms on the
development of Marks and Spencer?
Rationale & Contribution to Research
The main purpose of this research study is to provide crucial insight
into the real effect of a social media following on selling in the fashion
business, along with requirement of the business that may be impacted
by online key characteristics like PR antics and content creators. The
research will contribute to existing research & commercial knowledge
while also revealing new correlations that can be used to construct a
successful digital marketing programme as part of a larger strategic
planning (Collis and Hussey,2013).
Literature Review
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To determine the digital marketing methods on the marketing
and selling process of the company.
According to Berthon , revealed that the implications of the highly
technological revolution, particularly Web 2.0, are primarily focused on
three aspects: - a shift in the locus of consumer decision - making from
desktops to the web, a shift in the locus of generating profits from an
organisation toward the purchasers, and a transfer in the coding region of
power from enterprises to purchasers. There are various traditional media
platform like magazines, print, posters, radio & television are examples of
traditional marketing tactics that give a one-way communication process
to customers with the only goal of obtaining a broad potential reach
( Davenport, Bergman, Bergman and Fearrington,2014). However, these tactics have
demonstrated that obtaining large-scale reach does not always equate to
a meaningful marketing exchange, with customers acting as innocent and
frequently unwitting spectators to marketers’ efforts. The information
acquired by the appropriate customer is limited as an outcome of the
absence of contact, reducing the possibility for additional brand
investment & prospective consumer purchase demand. Consumers
rejecting the "one way" conception & embracing a bilateral method that
facilitates the two-way interchange of views, attitudes, and ideas is
developed further by Mangold and Faulds.
Many companies have opted to reduce their upfront advertising and
promotional expenses in radio, news papers, and television in favour of
possibilities that allow customers to learn about and connect with the
businesses of behind brands (Heale and Twycross, 2015).
Customers will be able to communicate and also interact with the
organisation using technologies, resulting in higher brand recognition,
participation and customer participation & purchasing stimulation. Web
2.0 is defined as "the technical infrastructure to accommodate the social
phenomena of communal media and encourages consumption content" (,
and so serves as the foundation for all digital advertising.
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To evaluate the influence the appropriate factors that include in
the online purchasing behaviour.
According to Schivinski and Dabrowski, (2016). Explained that the
strength of a company's brand attitude may be utilised to predict key
interest behaviours such as contemplation, buy behaviour, purchasing
considerations, and purchase decisions It is also identified that Styles and
Ambler, defined brand equity as "a key marketing asset which may evolve
a link with an organization & its stakeholders, resulting in increased
confidence and long-term purchase behaviour" (Keller, 2013). Moreover,
brand personality is defined as an overall assessment of a company & it is
shaped by product-related characteristics like serviceability, durability,
flaws, and features like finally, competence (Keller, 2013).
It is identified that consumer behaviour mainly influenced by internet-
based media in many ways, encompassing opinions, understanding,
storage of knowledge, dispositions, purchasing intentions & post-purchase
communications and review. Consumers now regard digital platforms as a
more reliable source of information about products & companies than
marketing & advertising delivered via traditional means.
Schivinski and Dabrowski (2016) revealed that, it show that a company's
brand may have a significant impact on customer purchase decisions It is
analysed that any combinations of modifications in perceived brand or
brand attitude might influence customer behaviour. User-generated user -
generated content, in particular, had a favourable influence and affect on
both business brand personality and brand equity, according to studies,
but corporate communications mainly influenced brand image.
Furthermore, both brand image and brand attitude have been
demonstrate to influence customers' purchasing intent favourably (Lee and
Watkins, 2016),
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To examine the benefits of social media channels on the sales and
revenue of the company
According to Hanna, Rohm, and Crittenden, (2011), defined that the true
impact of the social networking sites environment is everything is linked
with the company which are mainly realizing social media's growing
impact on the individuals, and as a result, social media advertising has
created new opportunities for businesses, advertisers, and thinkers.
Modern marketers are recognising the power of online technologies in
delivering communications messages via online dialogues, which have
expanded the potential of consumption exchanges in the marketplace.
This works best when conventional media (radio, television & also print
media) are supplemented by social media engagement across numerous
platforms. For instance (e.g. Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter &
LinkedIn).
With the emergence & emergence of social media, the ways by which
merchants engage with customers have changed dramatically; as an
outcomes, most of the organisation must become competent at
leveraging social media as a form of their broader business objectives to
assure survival and future growth. This is extremely analyse and accurate
for all businesses attempting to compete in the industry in their
respective industry.
Social media marketing is mainly modified and also changed into the
appropriate way of life for many individuals & it is no longer simply a fad.
This has resulted from the increase in online communities & networks,
which give a platform for individuals to share messages, hobbies &
eventually their lifestyles with one another with small exertion or cost.
When it comes to (CRM) customer relationship management and also
social media presents both possibilities & obstacles. The influence of
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social media, according to Schivinski and Dabrowski, may be observed in
the introduction of new pathways via which sectors can deepen and widen
their relationships with customers and grow brands through the
employment of a diverse technology strategy (2016). Social networking
sites, in particular, take benefits of the strength of interactive connections
& mass expertise to create a range of language channels via which
businesses and people may communicate (Puth, Neuhäuser and Ruxton, 2014)
Conversely, Schivinski & Dabrowski, (2016), explained that point out the
potentially harmful effects of actuality which brand pages on the social
networking sites are unrestrained populations where, unavoidably,
consumers will connect and engage in candid and open conversations
about their opinions on merchandise, facilities, or associations due to the
peer-to-peer format of discourse.
To identify the most appropriate social media platform on the
development of Marks and Spencer
The exponential rise of social networking websites (SNS) like Facebook,
YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn, as well as photo-sharing services
including Instagram & Pinterest, has resulted in what has been dubbed
"the social media phenomena" (Kietzmann et al, 2011). These websites
draw billions of visitors, many of whom integrate them into their daily
lives.
In the recent decade, the numbers of users. facebook has roughly
doubled, rising from.97 billion in 2010 to 2.77 billion in 2019. (Statista,
2019). Facebook is the largest social online website in the world, with over
2 billion account holders (Facebook, 2018), surpassing YouTube (1.9
billion), Instagram (1 billion), and Twitter (1.1 billion) (335 million).
T according to Statista (2018), defined that here are three main forms that
company can perceive as part of social mainstream press utilise when
company use the word SNS. Facebook is widely recognised as the
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quintessential social networking site, with the bulk of its features designed
to enable social two-way connections between its users and their friends.
Twitter is a micro blogging service that clearly distinguishes from
Facebook in that users' personal user profiles include relatively small
personal information. Instead, users are provided a one-way
communication channel in the form of personality 'tweets,' that may be
tracked & subsequently replied to by those who have no direct link with
one another & Instagram has recently surpassed 1 billion active users
globally, making it one of the quickest developing photo-sharing platforms
(Kaur, 2016),
With the help of smart phones & also real-time experience capture, the
site provides interconnected intimate for a quasi audience, transforming
unforgettable moments & activities into functioning brains that can also
be disseminated to a massive network of persons at the click of button.
Connections on Facebook are referred to as 'friendship,' but they are
referred to as 'supporters' or 'subscribers' on some more disconnected
one-way video aggregation sites like Instagram, Twitter & YouTube. This
shows that Facebook friendships are mutual, but Twitter & Instagram
friendships are not (Dahl, 2021),
Methodology
Research Methods
As a result, understanding the key characteristics of the various
approaches is critical in order to select the most appropriate method for a
project.
 Qualitative research mainly concentrates on evaluating
participants' perspectives in order to obtain a better knowledge of a
certain demographic or course of specialization. In terms of
quantitative research, data is often acquired through interview
sessions with smaller sample size. Sample sizes are lower, but they
provide a better grasp of a topic area and also provide academics
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additional insight. In order to complete this research, qualitative
research will also considered by the researcher.
 Quantitative research mainly focuses on the gathering to analyse
and explain a hypothesis. Questionnaires & analytical processing
reporting systems are used to collect data, with sample sizes
significantly larger than qualitative inquiry samples.
Research Design
In this research, In order to choose a suitable design for this project,
many research approaches were investigated, with theoretical and
practical methodology being the two primary categories. The research
approach for a project is the most important component of research
activity. In this research, descriptive and exploratory research design will
be used which can useful to maintain the applicability of the research. In
contrast to research design, questions are fitted to a format that can also
be readily controlled & analyzed accordingly. This technique is considered
as more analytical & rational (Armstrong, Delia and Giardina, 2016).
Research Philosophy
The data management techniques of investigations are inextricably linked to research
strategy. The course adopted by an investigation in its effort to stabilize data is determined by
the research philosophy chosen. The significance of philosophy in research is not confined to
the treatment of data; it has an impact on every decision made by an investigator. Positivism
& interpretivism, are some of the most appropriate and also frequently researched
philosophies. The method that different research philosophies adapt to an event or
phenomena differs. Researchers select research approaches that are appropriate for the study's
goals & efficiency.
Research Approach
According to Liu (2016), the inductive approach is used to analyse known
arguments and develop unproven conclusions. Another important part of
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research technique is the strategy applied to the qualitative research. For
the sake of achieving the objectives, this research will take a deductive
method. In complement to the points of view and considerations,
researchers use the interpretivist paradigm in their studies (Rishi and
Bandyopadhyay, 2017).
Research Strategy
Every research study mainly necessitates the gathering & analysis
of data of some sort. Data gathering is an important component of
research process & numerous procedures for data collecting have been
supported by the evidence. The main data or primary data acquired for
the study may be utilised to categorise the research strategies. Data
selection is influenced by several research characteristics, while research
method selection is influenced by the set of information.
Data Collection
There are two data types; primary and secondary.
 Primary data – Experiments, surveys, observations, and interviews
can all be used to obtain the primary data. It is well known that the
data gathering technique is essentially determined by the research
method, and that quantitative and qualitative research
methodologies have different approaches.
 Secondary data – Secondary data refers to data gathered and
given by companies or individuals with the exception of the
researcher. Which kind to choose is largely determined by the
information necessary and the research topic under consideration. It
is critical to evaluate the basis of any knowledge, how it will be
acquired, and, most importantly, which technique will be used to
acquire it (Kumar, 2018).
(Bresler and Stake, 2017).
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