TOPIC :STUDY ON IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ON

CONSUMERS DECISION MAKING PROCESS

OBJETIVE OF STUDY

1. To determine how social media impacts consumer decision process.

2. To understand the differences between impact of marketing on social media and through
mass media.

Need for study

1. To identify the factors which drive to make decision for an internet user
2. To inculcate the necessary information for improving social media marketing
 INTRODUCTION

Human beings are social beings and nowadays, consumers are participating in number of
activities, from consuming content to sharing knowledge, experiences, opinions, and involved in
discussions with other consumers online. Online world has become a new kind of social
communication, connecting people to variety of online communities has been growing during
past decade.

In recent years the online environment is viewed by users from a new perspective, in a
commercial way. Its development and the emergence of online stores have turned users into
consumers. Also the most important role of social media has changed the way of how consumers
and marketers communicate.
Informational society influences affects the consumer decision processes and product
evaluations. Social media provides a new channel to acquire product information through peer
communication.
Moreover, by using social media, consumers have the power to influence other buyers through
reviews of products or services used.
On a daily basis in present-day, 500million tweets are sent, 5.25billion pieces of content are
shared on Facebook, 2 billion search queries are made on Google, 42000 hours of video are
uploaded to YouTube, 95million photos are shared on Instagram, and 571 websites are created.
Social media has become a very useful tool in buying behavior decision making. It is influencing
consumers in a dynamic manner. Now consumer is taking help of social media regarding
purchasing of any product. In today's scenario social media like Blogs, Instagram, Facebook,
Twitter, Youtube, etc. are playing a very important role in consumer buying behavior decision
making process directly and indirectly. In recent trend of innovation in management social media
becomes powerful and cost free approach to promote product to consumer.
As opposed to traditional media, social media allows conversation readers/viewers/listeners to
participate in the creation or development of the content.
McKinsey (2011) reveals that as companies carry on their business and interact with individuals,
they generate a tremendous amount of digital “exhaust data” i.e. data created as a byproduct of
other activities.
Social media sites smartphones and other consumer devices have allowed billions of individuals
around the world to contribute to the amount of big data available. In the early 1990’s, when
World Wide Web (WWW) was introduced in India, the percentage of people using internet was
just 0.2%. Gradually, the reach of internet started increasing and is around 33% of the Indian
population at present and most of the internet users view/follow social media sites. The
percentage of Indians using internet is projected to reach 50% by 2020. The technical revolution
during the last decade has drastically bought marketers to a new era Traditional advertising via
mass media is on decline. As per the survey result majority of the youth’s are using social media.
Everyday people buy things that are relevant to their needs. At the same time they are making
purchasing decisions. Specific consumer behaviour is defined as “the activities people undertake
when obtaining, consuming, and disposing of products and services”. Consumer behaviors are
influenced by personal and environmental factors. The online social networks provided facilities
for consumers to interact with one another, accessing to information, comments, reviews, and
rates that help them for purchasing decisions in different ways.
Social media puts consumers back to the center of the business world and provides marketers a
new set of tools to interact with consumers and to integrate them into the brands through
innovative ways. In essence, marketers have to understand how the social media has influenced
consumer buying behavior
 Scope of Study

I selected this topic because the research will explore whether social media influence people’s
buying decisions or not and if they do influence then the extent to which they impact their
purchases.
Social media has become an outlet for many people to build relationships, possibly sometimes
deeper than they do in the traditional sense. Before purchasing items, consumers can look to their
online communities for opinions on items they are considering to purchase. The research will
also state whether the advertisements on mass media are still attractive or not. This research will
also state which social networking site is more popular among people. I would also like to focus
my research on discovering the point in the purchase funnel where consumers reach out to their
online communities. Is it during the research phase or perhaps at another time?

Considering the limited time and scope of this research, many theories related to the subject were
covered but an in-depth research can be conducted covering a wide area for research so as to
provide a big picture for the readers. The future research could focus on what various social
media sites can do to popularize themselves so that most of the consumers look up to their sites
for the information. The research can also be done on what basis marketers should select a social
media to advertise its products or services.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research conducted would be an exploratory research as it is undertaken to explore and
understand the existing matter at hand and is not done to solve any problems. Exploratory
research is research conducted for a problem that has not been clearly defined. It often occurs
before we know enough to make conceptual distinctions or posit an explanatory relationship.

Both primary and secondary data are used in this research. Secondary data- theoretical
framework serves as the foundation for this research and primary data aims to answer the
objectives stated in the research and to provide evidence in supporting the secondary data. The
primary data of this research were collected through questionnaires.
Questionnaire
Name

Gender
o Male
o Female

Age
o Below 16
o 17-25
o 26-45
o 45 & Above

1. Which of the following social media sites do you use on a daily basis?
o Facebook
o Twitter
o Instagram
o Snapchat
o Youtube
o Blogs/Forums

2. Average daily time spent on social media sites?

o Less than 2Hrs
o 2-4 Hrs
o 4-7 Hrs
o 7-10 Hrs
o 10-14 Hrs
o More than 14 Hrs
3. Do you think nowadays social media is playing important role in buying behaviour decision
making?
o Strongly Agree
o Agree
o Neutral
o Disagree
o Strongly Disagree
4. Does social media influences you to purchase a product/service?
Strongly Agree
o Agree
o Neutral
o Disagree
o Strongly Disagree

5. Do you take any information from social media websites before purchasing any product?
o Always
o Somtimes
o Never

6. Do you find advertisements on mass media still attractive?

o Yes
o No

7. How effective is mass media in luring customers and aiding them in decision process ?

1 2 3 4 5 Very
Not at all effective
8. Which media type is better in the following parameters?

Social Media Mass Media

Informative
Interesting
Interactive
Reliable

9. Rank on a scale of 1-5 for the source of information on social media you use before a
purchase. (1-Low & 5- High) *

1 2 3 4 5
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Snapchat
YouTube
Blogs/Forums
10. Do you change your initial purchase preference after searching relevant information via
social media sites?
o Always
o Often
o Sometimes
o Rarely
o Never

11. Do you agree that social media provides an effective and powerful platform for consumers to
communicate with each other and with the companies?
o Strongly Agree
o Agree
o Neutral
o Disagree
o Strongly Disagree

12. Which stage of your buying decision has been affected mostly because of social media?
o Exposure to product
o Problem recognition
o Search for alternatives
o Evaluation of information
o Post-purchase evaluation