Business Research Proposal: MD4002 Social Media and Marketing

This business research proposal examines the role of social media in marketing, specifically focusing on the marketing of cloths. The report includes an introduction outlining the research aims, objectives, and background, followed by a comprehensive literature review. The proposed research methodology is detailed, covering research philosophy, approach, design, data collection methods (primary and secondary), sampling strategies, and data analysis techniques. Ethical and professional considerations are addressed, along with anticipated challenges and potential mitigation strategies. A research timetable is provided to outline the project's timeline. The study aims to recommend social media marketing strategies to improve organizational performance. The research employs both qualitative and quantitative methods to gather comprehensive data, including surveys and secondary data from various sources.

Running Head: BUSINESS RESEARCH
BUSINESS RESEARCH

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction, Aims and Objectives........................................................................................3
2. Literature review....................................................................................................................4
3. Proposed Methods of Research..............................................................................................4
4. Data Analysis.........................................................................................................................7
5. Ethical and Professional Issues..............................................................................................7
6. Anticipated Challenges and Potential Mitigation..................................................................8
7. Research Timetable................................................................................................................8
References................................................................................................................................10

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1. Introduction, Aims, and Objectives
Introduction
This research mainly depicts the social media in new market. Social media could facilitates to
company for sharing views and opinion towards products on front of others. Moreover, it also
discusses the research title, research aim, and objectives, research objectives, research
hypothesis, and research background. It critically evaluates literature review of the research
topic. In last, it discusses research methodology section that entails different tool to collect
the information of the research matter.
Research aim and objectives
This research is focused on evaluating social media in marketing. The investigator will
complete the following objectives:
 Critically evaluates key concept of social media and marketing of cloths
 Explore the role of social media in marketing of cloths
 Recommended social media marketing strategies for improving organiztaional
performance.
Research hypotheses
 There is a positive relationship between social media and marketing
 There is no relationship between social media and marketing
Research background
Social media plays an essential role in sharing information of products and services to a huge
number of consumers. Moreover, social media leads to the organization to share their opinion
and views towards products and services of the organization. Social media could offer an
opportunity for the organization to directly meet their potential consumers and make a
favorable decision with respect to the current issue. It could be effective in comprehending
their needs towards goods and services (Tuten and Solomon, 2017). This research is

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significant for the reader as well as researcher to gain their understanding about the social
media in marketing. It could assist to the research to make their career in the marketing field
and support to sustain their position in the organization.
2. Literature review
This literature review is effective to comprehend the meaning and concept of social media as
well as marketing. It could also be effective in gaining knowledge about the role of social
media in marketing. It could also support to understand different strategies for improving
social media practices in marketing. Social media could lead to the firm for directly meeting
with their consumers and comprehend their opinion and views of the consumers towards their
experience, and need for specified products and services (Sajid, 2016). The social media
could offer an opportunity to the firm for increasing their sale in the least time. It is also
stated that social media represents a lower cost, which is practiced to the mixed tool and
social interaction by entailing words. These tools could be associated with the internet as well
as mobile. The social media could consider different sources to deliver their services like
YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Google. It is also stated that social media offers
a way for marketers to converse with their potential consumers (Tiago and Veríssimo, 2014).
It supports to personalize each brand in the marketplace. For improving social media
practices, the organization has used training and development method and improve the skills
of the employee towards the use of social media. The organization should also a response on
each tweet of fans page to make the connection between organization and consumers. It could
be effective in getting a reliable outcome (Ashley and Tuten, 2015). In addition, ASDA could
use different sources of social media like YouTube, Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, and LinkInd
and marketing of clothing products and services. It could lead to the company in getting the
reliable conclusion.

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3. Proposed Methods of Research
The research methodology section is effective for collecting reliable information about
research issue. In the research methodology, different kinds of research approach such as
research design, research approach, sampling method, data collection method, research
limitation, and ethical consideration (Constantinides, 2014). These are discussed below:
Research philosophy
In this study, the researcher will use intreprtivism philosophy as compared to the realism, and
positivism philosophy. This philosophy could be effective in getting the conceptual
information about the research matter. This research is subjective in nature hence this method
will be more suitable compared to others.
Research approach
In the research study, there are certain tools that are considered named inductive and
deductive approach. These methods are used to get theoretical and conceptual information
towards the specified concern. Moreover, it is stated that the inductive approach implies in
getting the conceptual data about the current issue (Alalwan, et al., 2017). For conducting this
study, the deductive approach will be used as compared to the inductive approach due to
obtaining feasible information about the research matter. The deductive approach is used to
develop a research hypothesis and accept and reject them accordingly. The deductive
approach is effective to get reliable information about the research matter (Dahnil, et al.,
2014).
Research design
Research design considers different methods like mixed research design, qualitative and
quantitative research design method. In this study, the researcher will use the mixed design to
conduct this study. The mixed research design consider two methods like qualitative as well
as a quantitative research design method for getting information towards the research issue

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(Tsimonis and Dimitriadis, 2014). The qualitative research design leads to the investigator for
collecting theoretical information towards the research issue. Apart from this, quantitative
research design is effective in getting numerical information towards the research issue.
Both, qualitative and quantitative methods are effective in collecting feasible data with
respect to the current dilemma. Moreover, qualitative research design is gathered by
considering existing sources, as it is known as books, articles, online and offline sources. The
quantitative information is gathered by different sources like survey through questionnaire
method. The main reason of selecting the mixed research design method is to get the benefits
of both conceptual and statistical data towards the research matter.
Data collection methods
The data collection method is practiced to collect reliable data towards research issue such as
primary and secondary data collection method. The primary data collection method is vital in
getting statistical data towards the study issue. The primary data collection method could
consider certain sources to get reliable data like survey through questionnaire method,
observation, and interview method (Trainor, et al., 2014). These methods will be effective in
getting reliable data in the context of the specified study dilemma. The secondary data
collection method leads to getting theoretical information by entailing different sources
named online and offline sources, web, books, and magazines. It will lead to the researcher
for getting accurate information about research matter (Lamberton and Stephen, 2016). In this
study, primary and secondary data collection method will be used by the researcher to collect
theoretical and non-numerical information about research issue. The primary data collection
method is quantitative method while the secondary data is qualitative method. In this, the
survey through questionnaire method is a source of quantitative method as it could support to
get opinion and views of research candidates towards research issue. The secondary data will
be collected by considering existing sources like academic journal, books, online, and offline

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sources, as it leads to get a reliable outcome. Moreover, secondary data collection method is
crucial in getting conceptual data in the least time. But at the same time, it is stated that the
primary data collection tool could be time-consuming as compared to secondary data
collection method. The secondary data collection method is costly as compared to the
primary data collection method. Moreover, the primary, as well as secondary data collection
method, is effective in getting reliable information about study matter (Chang, Yu, and Lu,
2015).
Sample Frame and Strategy
Sampling method leads to select a suitable sample size for conducting the study in a
systematic way and reach a reliable conclusion. Sampling frame considered different
strategies as it could be known as probability and non-probability sampling method. The
probability sampling method enables the researcher to offer equal opportunity to candidates
of research to being a part of the study. In addition, the non-probability sampling method
permits the investigator to select the research candidates on the basis of age, gender,
experience, and region, which could create biases in the study. It will lead to getting a
favorable outcome (Zhu and Chen, 2015). For conducting this study, the investigator will use
the probability sampling method and get without biased research outcome. In this study, the
investigator has selected 50 employees of ASDA and comprehends opinion and views of
researcher with respect to the social media in the marketing of cloths.
4. Data Analysis
In this study, the researcher will select different methods to examine the collected data and
reach a reliable conclusion as it is known as statistical data analysis and content analysis
method. In addition, it is stated that the content analysis method is effective in evaluating
theoretical information about study matter (Stephen, 2016). Apart from this, the researcher
will evaluate the numerical information by entailing Ms-Excel Software to examine gathered

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information and make a favorable conclusion. The researcher will use ANOVA and
regression test to test the hypothesis as it could be effective in evaluating the relationship
between the social media and marketing.
5. Ethical and Professional Issues
Ethical consideration mandates to the investigator for conducting their research in a
systematic manner. In this, the qualitative and quantitative research design is practiced by the
investigator in this study hence the investigator has accountable for securing the numerical as
well as conceptual information that is collected by the research candidates. Moreover, it is
evaluated that ethical norms will be practiced by the investigator for performing the
researcher in an appropriate manner. It will facilitate to the investigator for conducting
suitable behavior in the working place. The investigator could also convey each research
candidates for sharing its personal data during the study. Moreover, the researcher will imply
consent form and research candidates datasheet
In addition, the investigator will use the consent form as well as research participants’
information sheet that will be required for maintaining ethics in the research. The research
candidate’s data is associated with age, gender, position, and experience. This ethical consent
form will be submitted after the research completion (Balakrishnan, Dahnil, and Yi, 2014).
6. Anticipated Challenges and Potential Mitigation
In the research study, the researcher could mainly focus on certain factors like time, cost, and
resources. Secondly, research methodology could be a major problem for ASDA due to
selecting inappropriate method of study. The proposed sample size for this study is
determined 50 workforces of ASDA that could be lesser sample size. It could be quite
ineffective for getting reliable information about the research matter. Thirdly, it will be
complicated for the research scholar for daily travel to social media organization for getting
the data due to different policies of organizations. Therefore, the investigator will use

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different email as well as phone to get the different responses of research participants, which
could decline probabilities for getting a reliable result. Forth, the mixed research design could
also improve the quality of research result, which could be a major problem for the
researcher.
7. Research Timetable
Gantt chart will support the researcher to identify initial day as well as last day for the
completion of research milestone (Abel, Buff, and Burr, 2016). The following chart
demonstrates the same:
Research milestone Initial Day Last Day
Duration
(in days)
Determination of research
issue 05-03-2019
05-04-
2019 30
Literature Review 06-04-2019
08-05-
2019 32
Collection of data(primary
and secondary data
collection method) 09-05-2019
10-07-
2019 61
Data Analysis (Ms-Excel
software and literature
review) 11-07-2019
11-08-
2019 30
Final submission of report 12-08-2019
13-09-
2019 31

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Determination of research issue
Literature Review
Collection of data(primary and secondary data collection
method)
Data Analysis (Ms-Excel software and literature review)
Final submission of report
10/27/2018 5/15/2019 12/1/2019
3/5/2019
4/6/2019
5/9/2019
7/11/2019
8/12/2019
30
32
61
30
31
Gantt chart
Initial Day Duration (in days)
The above chart and table demonstrated that there are many research activities that will be
accomplished to meet the aim of study like Determination of research issue, Literature
Review, Collection of data(primary and secondary data collection method), Data Analysis
(Ms-Excel software and literature review), and Final submission of the report. The data
collection take61 days that is higher as compared to other research activities. The researcher
will assure that these research activities will be accomplished in the specified period.

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References
Abel, J.P., Buff, C.L. and Burr, S.A., 2016. Social media and the fear of missing out: Scale
development and assessment. Journal of Business & Economics Research (Online), 14(1),
p.33.
Alalwan, A.A., Rana, N.P., Dwivedi, Y.K., and Algharabat, R., 2017. Social media in
marketing: A review and analysis of the existing literature. Telematics and
Informatics, 34(7), pp.1177-1190.
Ashley, C. and Tuten, T., 2015. Creative strategies in social media marketing: An exploratory
study of branded social content and consumer engagement. Psychology & Marketing, 32(1),
pp.15-27.
Balakrishnan, B.K., Dahnil, M.I. and Yi, W.J., 2014. The impact of social media marketing
medium toward purchase intention and brand loyalty among generation Y. Procedia-Social
and Behavioral Sciences, 148, pp.177-185.
Chang, Y.T., Yu, H. and Lu, H.P., 2015. Persuasive messages, popularity cohesion, and
message diffusion in social media marketing. Journal of Business Research, 68(4), pp.777-
782.
Constantinides, E., 2014. Foundations of social media marketing. Procedia-Social and
behavioral sciences, 148, pp.40-57.
Dahnil, M.I., Marzuki, K.M., Langgat, J. and Fabeil, N.F., 2014. Factors influencing SMEs
adoption of social media marketing. Procedia-social and behavioral sciences, 148, pp.119-
126.
Lamberton, C. and Stephen, A.T., 2016. A thematic exploration of digital, social media, and
mobile marketing: Research evolution from 2000 to 2015 and an agenda for future
inquiry. Journal of Marketing, 80(6), pp.146-172.
Sajid, S.I., 2016. Social media and its role in marketing.

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Stephen, A.T., 2016. The role of digital and social media marketing in consumer
behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology, 10, pp.17-21.
Tiago, M.T.P.M.B. and Veríssimo, J.M.C., 2014. Digital marketing and social media: Why
bother?. Business horizons, 57(6), pp.703-708.
Tiago, M.T.P.M.B. and Veríssimo, J.M.C., 2014. Digital marketing and social media: Why
bother?. Business horizons, 57(6), pp.703-708.
Trainor, K.J., Andzulis, J.M., Rapp, A., and Agnihotri, R., 2014. Social media technology
usage and customer relationship performance: A capabilities-based examination of social
CRM. Journal of Business Research, 67(6), pp.1201-1208.
Tsimonis, G. and Dimitriadis, S., 2014. Brand strategies in social media. Marketing
Intelligence & Planning, 32(3), pp.328-344.
Tuten, T.L. and Solomon, M.R., 2017. Social media marketing. Sage.
Zhu, Y.Q. and Chen, H.G., 2015. Social media and human need satisfaction: Implications for
social media marketing. Business horizons, 58(3), pp.335-345.