Naga City Science High School

Balatas, Naga City

Consumer Perception on Social Media Hoaxes in Food

Businesses

A Research Study Presented to

Dr. Maria Wendy N. Solomo, Faculty Member of Senior High School of
Naga City Science High School in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements in Practical Research 1
ABM A – G4

Beriña, Jerick A.

Cortes, Djon Gregorio Patricio L.

Echano, Claren May V.

Macayan, Ma. Keila B.

Tapit, Jaymark R.

March 2017
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

In the 21st Century, internet has been a part of the development and innovation of

different aspects of lifestyle. One aspect that extensively uses the World Wide Web is the

field of commerce. Before internet has been prevalent around the world, there were only

few marketing strategies that were utilized such as word-of-mouth and direct marketing

(cult-branding.com). However, as commerce has propagated the Internet, a new form of

marketing strategy has emerged: Social media marketing. social media marketing,

(SMM), is a form of internet marketing that implements various social media networks in

order to achieve marketing communication and branding goals (Wordstream.com).

According to Entrepeneur.com, leveraging the power of content and social media

marketing can help elevate your audience and customer base in a dramatic way. An

article in Hubspot also stated in its statistics that 92% of marketers in 2014 claimed that

social media marketing was important for their business.

Although social media marketing has been proven to be essential to some

marketers, the building amount of competitors in food businesses gave rise to different

misconceptions such as hoaxes in the internet that changes the perception of the

consumers in purchasing food products (Quinn, 2014).

However according to Coner (2014) hoaxes perpetuated through the social media

are one of the evident problems of food businesses nowadays. Fake news could spread all

over the internet and consumers who are not critical readers will immediately believe it.

If not given a solution, it will cause a loss of sales and will ruin the company’s reputation.
 With this, the present study will find out if fake news affects the consumers’

buying decisions in food businesses and to help in eradicating the said problem.

Statement of the Problem

The study aims to determine if the consumers believe in the hoaxes spreading in the

social media about food businesses.

Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the common news about food businesses that spread in the social
media?
2. In which age group is affected the most by social media hoaxes? In which age
group is affected the least?
a. 18-25 years old?
b. 26-35 years old?
c. 36-45 years old?
d. 46-55 years old?

3. What is the consumer’s perception about this news spreading in the internet?

Significance of the Study

The importance of the study will provide benefits to different areas. This study is

significant as the community of producers need to consider the effects of social media

hoaxes in their business and to their consumers.

The study will also give benefits to the following areas:

 Food businesses - this will help them eradicate fake news circulating in the

internet.
  Consumers- They will realize and help consumers make wise decisions

and become critical readers.

 Researchers – this will aid as a related study for the further studies

conducted.

Scope and Delimitation

• The study will not include people outside the age groups as respondents. The

researchers will only conduct in a specific place in Naga City. Hence, this study

only covers Naga City consumers.

 Definition of Terms

Marketing – the activities that are involved in making people aware of a company

products

Perception - a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something; a mental

impression.

Social media - a term that describes a new way in which end users use the World Wide

Web, a place where content is continuously altered by all operators in a sharing and

collaborative way (Kaplan and Haenlein 2010).

Social media marketing (SMM) - a marketing strategy that primarily uses social media
 Notes

DeMers, J. (2015, September 20). The Top 10 Benefits Of Social Media

Marketing.Retrieved February 12, 2017, from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/08/11/the-top-10-benefits-of-social-
media-marketing/#575f91ab2a4d
Social Media and Marketing: Start With A Plan. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2017,
from http://www.wordstream.com/social-media-marketing
Gunelius, S. (n.d.). 10 Laws of Social Media Marketing. Retrieved February 12, 2017,
from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/218160
 CHAPTER II
Review of Literature and Studies

This chapter presents the related literature and studies after the thorough and in-

depth search done by the researchers. This background examines current literature and

studies that focuses on a retailer’s development and use of social media as an extension

of their marketing strategies.

Related Literature

In today’s technology driven world, social networking sites have become an

avenue where retailers can extend their marketing campaigns to a wider range of

consumers. The tools and approaches for communicating with customers have greatly

changed with the emergence of social media. The tools and approaches for

communicating with customers have changed greatly with the emergence of social

media; therefore, businesses must learn how to use social media in a way that is

consistent with their business plan (Mangold and Faulds, 2009).

To consider social media as a marketing tool, one must understand every aspect of

it. Kaplan and Haenlein (2010, 61) define social media as “a group of Internet based

applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and

allow the creation and exchange of user generated content.” Sinclaire and Vogus (2011,

294) cite O’Reilly’s (2005) definition: “social media is a broad term that describes

software tools that create user generated content that can be shared.” However, there are

some basic features necessary for a website to meet the requirements as a social network

website: the site must contain user profiles, content, a method that permits users to
connect with each other and post comments on each other’s pages, and join virtual groups

based on common interests such as fashion or politics. (Gross & Acquisti, 2005; Ellison,

Steinfield & Lampe, 2007; Lenhart & Madden, 2007; Winder, 2007; Boyd & Ellison,

2007 as cited in Cox 2010).

Social media marketing (SMM) is a form of Internet marketing that utilizes social

networking websites as a marketing tool. The goal of SMM is to produce content that

users will share with their social network to help a company increase brand exposure and

broaden customer reach (Margaret Rouse, 2014). However, due to the rise of

competitors; it is inevitable that there is fake news circulating in the social media. As

social media enables information to spread faster--regardless of whether it is true or

verified--even respectable news outlets get caught as they attempt to out the food

businesses (Augie Ray, 2013).

Bandwagonism, as defined in the Oxford Dictionary of Psychology, the

bandwagon effect is a phenomenon whereby the rate of uptake of beliefs, ideas, fads and

trends increases the more that they have already been adopted by others. In other words,

the bandwagon effect is characterized by the probability of individual adoption increasing

with respect to the proportion of people who have already done so. Social media

amplifies this effect by allowing more people to become content creators and by

facilitating more connections to more people. This is one of the main causes of social

media hoaxes because with the emergence of social media, the liberty of creating fake

news and user generated content is widely accessed by many people.

Related Studies

Social media plays an important role in how consumers discover, research, and

share information about brands and products. A study conducted by a company named

NMite in 2011 stated 60 percent of consumers researching products through multiple

online sources learned about a specific brand or retailer through social networking sites.

Active social media users are more likely to read product reviews online, and 3 out of 5

create their own reviews of products and services. Women are more likely than men to

tell others about products that they like (81% of females vs. 72% of males). Overall,

consumer-generated reviews and product ratings are the most preferred sources of

product information among social media users.

Chu (2011) also found that users who are Facebook group members maintain a

more favorable attitude toward social media and advertising. Users who have more

positive attitudes toward advertising are more likely to join a brand or a retailer’s

Facebook group to receive promotional messages. Based on this result, Chu (2011)

suggests that a link exists between consumers’ use of and engagement in group

applications on a social media sites. The relationship between consumers’ use of and

engagement with group applications influences the rate and effectiveness of advertising

on social media, particularly Facebook. Generally, as Chu (2011) notes, Facebook’s

college-aged users have the most favorable attitudes toward social media advertising and

are the largest growing demographic, which suggests that social media sites are a

potentially rich platform for online advertising campaigns, especially for companies with

a younger target market.

 Cox (2010) also investigated the correlation between age and attitude and found

that social network user attitude toward online advertising formats (i.e. blogs, video, and

brand channel or page) differed to some extent across age groups. She explains that users

who fall in the 18-28 age brackets had strong positive attitudes towards blogs, video, and

brand channel ad formats. This was because users’ found these ad formats to be eye

catching, informative, and amusing. The 35-54 age groups preferred ad formats on video

and brand channels because they found them to be more eye catching, informative, and

had better placement within the online 11 page layout. Overall, online advertising formats

with positive attributes are welcomed by users; however, ads that are intrusive or

interfere with online social networking activities, such as pop up, expandable, or floating

formatted ads were disliked by network users (Cox 2010).

According to Chi (2011) users perceive advertising differently depending on the

social network, which suggests user motivations for online social networking may play a

vital role in defining consumer’s responses to social media marketing. The Technology

Acceptance Model determined that consumers, specifically students, hold a hierarchy of

trust when using social media such as Facebook. Student’s trust ‘real’ friends, then

Facebook friends, followed by expert blogs and independent review sites and lastly

celebrities and e-retailer sites (Harris and Dennis 2011).

Di Pietro and Pantano (2012) conducted further research using the Technology

Acceptance Model to discern that enjoyment is the major factor that influences

consumers to use social networks as a platform for assisting in their buying decisions.

They found that the fun provided by Facebook, as well as the opportunity it provides

users to ask for suggestions in an easy and entertaining way, motivates individuals to pay
more attention to the products promoted on Facebook. “Facebook promotes a consumer

to consumer approach, exploited by consumers to share experiences and create a common

knowledge on products and services; on the other, it provides managers a direct channel

for communicating with clients through a business to consumer approach” ( Di Pietro and

Pantano 2012, 20). Retailers can improve their Facebook page appeal by adding games,

contests, and interactive applications, which can attract more users (Di Pietro and

Pantano 2012).

State of the art

These references guided the researchers in gathering sufficient data that has a

bearing on the present study. The data gathered are the information needed for the study

to succeed. The following literature and studies have certain similarities to the present

study.

The related literature has a relevance to the current study because social media

marketing is essential in understanding the rise of social media hoaxes in the World Wide

Web. The emergence of social media also gave users to create user generated content

regardless whether it’s true or fake. The review of literature states that studying social

media marketing and the effect of social media in consumers will help in understanding

the problem of social media hoaxes in food businesses.

The related studies has a bearing to the current study because as stated by NMite

in 2011, Chu (2011), Cox (2010), Chi (2011) and Di Pietro and Pantano (2012), it is vital

for retailers and marketers to be aware of the factors that affect consumer attitudes and

motives because consumers are increasingly creating content about brands, something

previously controlled solely by companies. NMite (2011) suggests that consumer

generated reviews and product ratings are the most preferred sources of product

information among social media users. Chu (2011), Chi (2011) and Di Pietro and Pantano

(2012) states that Facebook group users maintain a favorable attitude towards social

media adveritising. However Cox (2010) said online advertising formats with positive

attributes are welcomed by users; however, ads that are intrusive or interfere with online

social networking activities, such as pop up, expandable, or floating formatted ads were

disliked by network users (Cox 2010).

The current study is unique as it focuses on the social media hoaxes effect to the

consumers in food businesses. The study’s main objective is to find out whether the

consumers believe in what they read in the internet or not and how it will affect the

company’s sales and reputation. The stated literature and studies paves way in finding out

the answer and solution to this problem.

 Notes

Chi, Hsu-Hsien. 2011. “Interactive Digital Advertising VS. Virtual Brand Community:
Exploratory Study of User Motivation and Social Media Marketing Responses in
Taiwan.” Journal of
Interactive Advertising 12: 44-61.
Cox, Shirley A. 2010. “Online Social Network Member Attitude Toward Online
Advertising Formats.” MA thesis, The Rochester Institute of Technology.
Chu, Shu-Chuan. 2011. “Viral advertising in social media: Participation in Facebook
groups and responses among college-aged users.” Journal of Interactive Advertising 12:
30-43.
Di Pietro, Loredana and Elenora Pantano. 2012. “An Empirical Investigation of Social
Network Influence on Consumer Purchasing Decision: The Case of Facebook.” Journal
of Direct Data and Digital Marketing Practice 14: 18-29.
 Chapter III
Research Methodology

The research method that the proponents will use in concluding the study is the

homogenous sampling method. The researchers decided to conduct the data gathering in

Plaza Rizal in Naga City wherein there are numerous food business establishments.

The respondents chosen from each age range will be asked questions asking their

perception about social media hoaxes in food businesses. The study aims to know the

perception of the majority of the consumers and how it affects their buying decisions.

Interview method will be utilized in data gathering. There will be questions that

will help in gathering sufficient data for the study. (Refer to instrument)

Subjects of the Study

The locale of this study is in Downtown of Naga City. The study will be targeting a

number of 12 respondents, 3 from each age group across Downtown if Naga City

particularly in Plaza Rizal in Elias Angeles Street.

The respondents represent a small group with ages ranging from 18-55 years of

age. There will be a division of respondents according to age in gathering data across

Downtown of Naga City. Table 1 represents the division.

There are 3 respondents from the 18-25 years old age group, 3 respondents from

the 26-35 years old age group, 3 respondents from the 36-45 years old age group and 3

respondents from the 46-55 years old age group. The researchers decided to conduct the

distribution in one locale only because it is not considered as a variable in the study.
 Table 1

Division of the Respondents

Age Group No. of Respondents Percentage

3 25%
18-25 years old

3 25%
26-35 years old

36-45 years old 3 25%

46-55 years old 3 25%

Research Instruments

The gathering of information for the study was made possible through the

use of the questionnaire on the perception of consumers on social media hoaxes in food

businesses.

The research instrument designed by the researchers went through content

validation. The questionnaire was validated by an expert in the field of Accountancy.

Modifications and revisions were made after due consideration of comments and

suggestions.

Questionnaire on the Consumer’s Perception on Social Media Hoaxes in

Food Businesses.
 Naga City Science High School
Senior High School – Accountancy Business & Management

Balatas, Naga City

Research title: Consumers’ Perception on Social Media Hoaxes in Food Businesses

I. Personal Profile
Name (optional): _________________________ Date: ________
Gender: ( ) Male ( ) Female Age: ____

II. Questions Comments:

A.

1. Have you read fake news in the internet

about food businesses? If yes,
proceed to question #2.
2. What kind of fake news have you read
in the internet?

B.

1. Do you believe in the news that you have

read in the internet? Explain your answer.
2. Do you check the sources of the article
that you have read?

C.

1. What are your thoughts about the

fake news spreading in the internet?

2. What do you think are solutions to

this problem? Validated by:

CPA

Julieta O. Tino
 The researchers formulated the questions to provide answers to the problem

of the study. The instrument asked question such as, are the respondents easily persuaded

by the different news about food businesses and does it affect their consumer’s decision.

The table of specification for the research instrument for the perception of

consumers in social media hoaxes in food businesses in illustrated by Table 2.

Table 2.

Table of Specifications

Item number Question Item number on instrument

1 What is the common news A. 1 and 2

about food businesses that
spread in the social media?

2 In which age group is B. 1 and 2 and their age

affected the most by social

media hoaxes? In which age

group is affected the least?

a.18-25 years old?

b.26-35 years old?

c.36-45 years old?

d 46-55 years old?

3 What is the consumer’s C. 1 and 2

perception about this news

spreading in the internet?