Use of Social Media Platforms in Product Marketing: Tesco Case Study

This report examines the impact of social media platforms on the marketing of products, using Tesco as a case study. The research explores the role of social media in product marketing, analyzes its impact, and recommends strategies for effective online marketing. The report begins with a background on the evolution of social media and its influence on consumer behavior, particularly in the context of business and marketing. It then presents the rationale, aims, objectives, and research questions that guide the study. A comprehensive literature review discusses the role and impact of social media platforms in marketing, covering both positive and negative aspects. The research methodology details the research philosophy (interpretivism), research type (qualitative), data collection methods (primary and secondary data), sampling technique (simple random sampling), and data analysis method (thematic data analysis). Ethical considerations, including privacy and data protection, are also addressed. The report aims to evaluate the pros and cons of using social media in product marketing, assess how social sites create market awareness, and analyze the impact on Tesco's performance and growth. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, including literature review and case study analysis to provide a thorough understanding of social media's impact on marketing, and provides recommendations for businesses looking to enhance their online presence and marketing effectiveness.

Research Methods
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Contents
Background......................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review............................................................................................................................4
Research Methodology....................................................................................................................6
Action Plan......................................................................................................................................8
Cost..............................................................................................................................................8
Time............................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
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Title – Use of social media platforms in marketing of products – A case study on Tesco-
Background
The evolution of internet has transformed many lives of people. The social media is biggest
channel through which people connect with each other and this has greatly impacted opinions
and perspectives of them (Shearer and et.al., 2021). Also, by using social media channels, people
are more connected in creating business and make them grow by following certain path which
helps them in marketing of products and services which they make reach to customers through
these channels. Social media platforms have also become source of business opportunities which
helps in expanding business by selling of products and services of company. Tesco is a British
multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer company which has created its channels
through social media so that they can reach large customer base.
Rationale
The present research is being conducted to find out the use of social media platforms in
marketing of products. Also, evaluation of role of social media platforms in marketing the
products will be analysed. Impact of social media platforms in marketing is analysed for the
company which will help in making the business grow on the verge that it achieves success and
develops through process. Different strategies will be recommended which will view the insight
in how social media sites can be used in marketing. Therefore, rationale is being created for the
purpose that it denotes key characteristics of the research project which is to be framed for
company and in evaluating business and how social media is helpful in marketing of products.
Aim – To examine the impact of social media platforms in marketing of products – A case study
on Tesco.
Objectives
 To evaluate the role of social media platforms in marketing of products.
 To analyze impact of social media platforms in marketing.
 To recommend strategies on how social sites can be used in marketing.
Research question
 What is role of social media platforms in marketing of products?
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 What is impact of social media platforms in marketing?
 How social sites can be used in marketing?
Literature Review
Role of Social Media Platforms in Marketing of Products
As per the view of Schwemmer and et.al (2018), Social media platforms is the factor
which helps the generation modify with new trends and technologies. By following the trends
and techniques of social media the company will be able to identify the key strengths and
opportunities which will help them in reaching to large customer base. Social media also helps
the company in marketing of its products and services which overall increases the sales and
induce profits. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram are the best sources
through business flourish and this helps the company in generating innovative ideas which grabs
customers and users attention. For selling the products and services of the company and make
them reach on large scale of customers and social media platforms have provided the privilege to
the companies. Social media platforms also help in promotion and branding of the products
which are to be made available to the customers. Therefore, marketing of products can be best
done through promoting them on social media platforms so that it encourages customers to buy
the products and services which are being rendered by the company. This has not only made the
buying process easier but has also innovated ways through which company can reach to the
customers on large scale. Marketing products through social media has also created many
opportunities in the business.
According to Bedard and et.al (2018), Along with the positive aspects, there are some
negative aspects too which affects the business and marketing of products on social media
platforms. First of all, social media platforms on negative aspect create chaos during the
marketing of products and services which are being made available to the customers by the
company. Due to lack of social media knowledge, the customers are not aware of how to buy the
products and services on platforms which make it available to them. The company also then
suffers the loss of the products which does not reach customers as expected. Wrong information
of the products and services are being conveyed to customers. Information of product to the
customers can be wrongly conveyed to them which create confusion in the marketing process of
the company’s products and services. This creates multiple complaints from the customer’s side
on the public domain or on the social media platforms. This creates negative impact of usage of
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social media platforms and demotivates the business which sells its products to the customers so
that it reaches to large customer’s base. Therefore, as there are positive aspects of social media
platforms in marketing products there are negative aspects which should be seen and rectified as
it is about marketing of products and services which serve customers as per requirements, needs
and wants.
Impact of Social Media Platforms in Marketing
As per Alalwan (2018), Social media plays a very important role in marketing.
Nowadays, everything is operated online and since customers spend more time on social media,
it is an appropriate platform for marketing. Social media has drawn the interest of customers and
has been more informative just like the newspaper or television. Earlier the companies use to
give the advertisements in the newspaper or television but now everything is done online on
social media. The companies can make the advertisement more appealing on social media than
on any other platform. This attracts more and more customers towards the product. Also
advertising it on social media saves the cost of printing it in the newspaper. So, it is money
saving. Nowadays people barely read newspaper or watch television. They spend more time on
social media. So, it is more advantageous for the company as more people will be able to see the
product that the company has to offer. Also the product which attracts the customers is shared
more on social media since people send it to their relatives or friends who eventually help in
developing a market and customers for the products. Social media also helps in making anything
viral in just few minutes. So if the products get viral it makes profit to the company. Therefore,
social media plays a positive role in marketing.
According to Pütter (2017), If social media has positive impact on marketing, it has some
negative impact too. Earlier if any product was launched and if it doesn’t turn out to be
favorable, the whole world wouldn’t know it. Just a group of people would know about it
because of the spread from mouth. But on social media people don’t step back from posting any
negative comment which millions of people read. This leads to disappointment and widespread
insult of the company. Also what is written in the comments stays there. Even if you delete it or
remove it, some people take screenshots or can even save that in their hard drives. Also people
who are not very fond of buying high end products may compare the prices online and in the
market. These comparisons could lead to loss to company since the market prices and the prices
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online on social media always differ. Also customers who don’t use social media often find it
difficult to order anything online. On social media some customers don’t find it safe to pay
online through their credit cards as they have a fear of being robbed or betrayed. Because of this,
many of customers don’t trust social media and eventually it has no positive impact on them.
Therefore, losing customers or their interest leads to huge loss of company.
Gap- the research will help in evaluating the pros and cons of use of social media in marketing of
products. Also, it will evaluate that how social site create awareness in market about products
and services. Besides that, this research will provide recent data about what is impact on Tesco
performance and growth by using social media.
Research Methodology
To conduct a research, it is important to select proper methods in it. This study is
conducted by following a step by step process which provides the details of the research project.
These steps are described as follows –
Research Philosophy
Research philosophy helps in understanding nature and scope. It also helps in explaining
way in which data should be collected and analyzed. There are two main types of research
philosophies: interpretivism and positivism. Interpretivism research philosophy is a kind of
philosophy which is used in qualitative type of research which is interpreted as human interest
into the study (Žukauskas and et.al., 2018). Whereas positivism is a kind of research philosophy
which is majorly used in quantitative type of research. It helps in viewing facts which is done
through observation. For this study researcher have focused upon interpretivism research
philosophy effectively and efficiently for results. This is because it will observe that how social
media can impact on marketing of products. Also, this philosophy is taken as researcher have
interest in the study topic.
Research Type
Identification of research type helps in identifies qualitative or quantitative research
methods that are used within a research. Two most common type of research methods are -
quantitative and qualitative research. Qualitative type of research focuses upon collection of non-
numerical data such as emotions, feelings, words, sounds and other unquantifiable and non-
numerical elements. Quantitative research type focuses upon collection of numerical data and
analyzing problem with help of statistical or numerical methods. As qualitative research is much
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easier therefore researchers have focused on qualitative research rather than quantitative one for
research to be conducted effectively for the case study.
Data Collection
It is process in which information is used from other related sources to search for answers
to the problems which have been occurred in the research and clarify them with accurate results
(Mkandawire, 2019). It can be divided into two parts - primary and secondary data. Primary data
collection refers to gathering of data for first time. This is done via questionnaire, interviews,
surveys, focus groups, etc. secondary data is collected from the previous data which is present
through journals, books and articles for the research. The researcher in this study will work upon
both secondary and primary data for effective use. In this secondary data will be collected from
journals, articles, etc. and primary data will be collected through questionnaire.
Sampling- The scholar will use simple random sampling technique to select participants. The
sample size will be 20 managers of Tesco.
Data Analysis
It is a process of interpreting and analyzing data to obtain the precise information. Aims and
objectives are effectively attained when the scholar is able to analyze the data efficiently.
Various tools and techniques will be available for interpreting data to be used. On the basis of
information and data is collected the information is gathered through it. Deep understanding is
required to interpret the data being collected for the research. In current study, thematic data
analysis method will be used. This method is chosen because it is easy to interpret data on basis
of themes made. It will help in analyzing data by developing themes and graphs and then
interpreting outcomes.
Ethical Considerations
Ethical considerations are one of the most important parts of a research which is required
to be adhered by the researcher (Fiesler, 2019). Some of the main ethical consideration that was
considered for this research is - Privacy of research participants which is protected and ensured
by the researcher. Data protection Act, 1998 was also followed in the research for the knowledge
to be acquired through. Participants in this study were not forced to work upon the research
rather they were free to not work for research as per their interest. This research also ensured
privacy of the participants on serious note. The consent of people has been taken who are
involved in research. Also, each individual dignity was maintained and they were respected and
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treated in an equal manner. Alongside it, data collected and results obtained have been protected
and secured in database. They are not shared with any other business or person
Action Plan
Cost
In deciding failure and success of the project, cost is an essential element which is to be
mentioned in the research (Kühnel, 2017). Cost is required by Tesco for successfully
implementing equality and diversity techniques within their organization is £2000. This helps in
making benefits for the company and to initiate the factors which are mentioned under cost
considerations effectively and efficiently.
Items Cost
Stationery £150
Travel cost £400
IT equipment £300
Salary to HR £350
Time
In order to successfully complete the project overall time period of 10 weeks is required by
Tesco so that they can successfully achieve their desired aim and objectives which will help
them in making the detail study and about the research which is being done and will help in
understanding what is actually being done in report on different aspects.
Resources
Proper planning of research can only be done by collecting resources which will help in
making research better in grounds of knowledge. There are various kinds of resources that are
required by Tesco for successfully framing this project (Momeni and et.al., 2018.). Some of main
resources required are Human, IT equipment, stationery, etc.
Data processing requirements
Certain software and tools are required to process the data of the company which delivers
information. The use of tools will help in data processing and obtaining relevant outcomes. Thus,
MS Excel is used for collecting the data and making the results accurate on the excel sheet.
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Moreover, for storing the excess data computer will be required and utilized. For processing data
in the software data analyst is required.
Information sources
For performing this study, there will be need of some important information. And for this,
questionnaire will be framed for collecting the data which will also gather the primary data.
Various questions in the questionnaire will justify the study and the research successfully.
Gantt chart
Activity 1st week 2nd
week
3rd
week
4th
week
5th
week
6th
week
7th
week
8th
week
9th
week
10th
week
Introduction
Aim and
objectives
Project
management
plan
Research
methodology
Data
Collection
Data Analysis
Conclusion
and
Recommendat
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ions
Submission
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Alalwan, A.A., 2018. Investigating the impact of social media advertising features on customer
purchase intention. International Journal of Information Management.42.pp.65-77.
Bedard, S.A.N. and et.al., 2018. Millennials' green consumption behaviour: Exploring the role of
social media. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental
Management.25(6).pp.1388-1396.
Fiesler, C., 2019. Ethical Considerations for Research Involving (Speculative) Public
Data. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction.3(GROUP).pp.1-13.
Kühnel, S., 2017. Toward cost-effective business process compliance: a research
agenda. Proceedings of the Informatik.
Mkandawire, S.B., 2019. Selected common methods and tools for data collection in
research. Selected Readings in Education.2.pp.143-153.
Momeni, K. and et.al., 2018. Allocating human resources to projects and services in dynamic
project environments. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business.
Pütter, M., 2017. The impact of social media on consumer buying
intention. Marketing.3(1).pp.7-13.
Schwemmer, C. and et.al., 2018. Social media sellout: The increasing role of product promotion
on YouTube. Social Media+ Society.4(3).p.2056305118786720.
Shearer, E. and et.al., 2021. News use across social media platforms in 2020.
Žukauskas, P. and et.al., 2018. Philosophy and paradigm of scientific research. Management
Culture and Corporate Social Responsibility.121.
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