SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS IMPORTANT ON CONSUMER

BUYING BEHAVIOUR: AN EMPARICAL STUDY WITH

REFERANCE TO DELHI & NCR

A Survey Project Report Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of The

Requirement For The Award of Degree of Bachelor of Commerce

Submitted by:
UMAIR SIDDIQUI
Roll No: BCM-16-46

Under the Supervision of

VIVEK SINGH

Submitted to:
AL-FALAH UNIVERSITY
DHAUJ, FARIDABAD, HARYANA
2018
 CERTIFICATE

On the basis of declaration submitted by UMAIR SIDDIQUI student of B.COM (Bachelor Of

Commerce).I hereby certify that the work which has been presented in the SOCIAL MEDIA
AND ITS IMPACT ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR: AN EMPARICAL STUDY
WITH REFERENCE TO DELHI AND NCR ” is in partial fulfillment of requirement for the
degree B.COM (Bachelor Of Commerce) and submitted to the Department of Commerce, AL-
FALAH UNIVERSITY is an authentic record of my own research carried under the supervision
and guidance.
The project report being submitted by me is an original work and my indebtedness to other
works publication has been duly acknowledged at the relevant places.
It has not been submitted in part or full for any other Diploma or Degree of any University.

(VIVEK SINGH)
 DECLARATION
I UMAIR SIDDIQUI, hereby certify that the work which has been presented in this report titled
“Social media and its impact on consumer buying behaviour : an empirical study with
reference to DELHI & NCR” is in partial fulfillment of requirement for the degree B.COM
(Bachelor Of Commerce) and submitted to the Department of Commerce, Al-FALAH
UNIVERSITY is an authentic record of my own research carried under the supervision and
guidance of VIVEK SINGH.

The project report being submitted by me is an original work and my indebtedness to other
works publication has been duly acknowledged at the relevant places.

It has not been submitted in part or full for any other Diploma or Degree of any University.

(UMAIR SIDDIQUI)
B.Com (Hons)
BCM-16-46
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the support and help of all who have assisted
me in the project. Without their contribution and advice, I would have never been able to
progress with the work in the project.
Firstly, I would like to sincerely thank my project supervisor, VIVEK SINGH for his guidance,
support, technical knowledge and encouragement in the whole research process and work.
Secondly, I would like to thank all the participants who were involved in the focus group
discussion of my study. The information and feedback provided were extremely helpful and
useful for the design of the questionnaires in the survey. They provided a lot of personal insights
and idea that makes me become more familiar with the area.
Thirdly, I am grateful to all faculty members of AL-FALAH UNIVERSITY, and my friends
who have helped me in the successful completion of this of this research project. I would also
like to thank all the participants who contributed their valuable time to complete the survey
questionnaires of my project. The data collection made it possible to obtain results and complete
my research.

Thanking You
UMAIR SIDDIQUI
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The project work is pursued as a part of B.COM (Bachelor of commerce) Curriculum at ―AL-
FALAH UNIVERSITY, New Delhi.
Social networking is currently the most popular activity by customers online. The concept of
customer engagement has become commonplace among marketers. More and more resources are
being invested in social media and brands from all over the world continue to grow their online
fan base.

This study investigates the impact of social network marketing of brands on consumer
purchase intention and behavioral change and how it is affected by the mediating role of
consumer engagement. It analyses data taken from 81 existing users of social network
marketing websites in India. It aims to analyze how brands engage customers online and
how does that engagement affect the buying behavior of a customer, whether the changes
are positive or negative. Results indicate that social network marketing is significantly
related to consumer purchase intention. They further demonstrate that consumer engagement
acts as a partial mediator in how social network marketing impact on consumer purchase
intention.
 INDEX

CHAPTER-I INTODUCTION

1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………

CHAPTER-II LITERATURE REVIEW

2. Introduction…………………………………………………………………….
2.1 Problem Discussion and Purpose…………………………………………..
2.2 Research Outline……………………………………………………………..
2.3 Research Limitation………………………………………………………..

CHAPTER-III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3. Introduction………………………………………………………..
3.1 Objectives of the Study………………………………………….
3.2 Research Technique…………………………………………..
3.2.1 Questionnaire Development……………………………
3.2.2 Sample Selection…………………………………………..
3.2.3 Sampling Problems……………………………………..
3.2.4 Sample Size….…………………………………………
 3.2.5 Limitations and Constraints………………….
3.3 Research Quality…………………………………………..
3.3.1 Reliability and Validity………………………..
3.3.2 Respondents………………………………………
3.3.3 Valid/Invalid…………………………………………….
3.4 Research Design…………………………………………………
3.5 Research Data Collection……………………………………….
3.5.1 Primary Data……………………………………………
3.5.2 Secondary Data………………………………………..
3.6 Research Population and Size……………………………………
3.6.1 Research Population……………………………………..
3.6.2 Research Sample………………………………………..
3.7 Research Instrumentation………………………………
3.7.1 Sampling Technique……………………………..

CHAPTER-IV DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4. Data Analysis and Interpretation……………………………..

CHAPTER-V THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

5. Introduction……………………………………………..
5.1 Fashion Industry and Social Media……………………..
5.2 Consumer Behaviours an Social Media………………
5.3 Consumer Motivation on Social Media…………………
5.2 Types of Social Media Usage and Activities………………………..
5.3 Customer Engagement…………………………………………………
5.4 Different Levels of Engagement on Social Media…………………..

CHAPTER-VI FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

6. Findings and Conclusion…………………………………………….

BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………..

QUESTIONNAIRE………………………………………………………
 CHAPTER-I

INTRODUCTION
Social networking is currently the most popular online activity among consumers worldwide.
According to recent statistics, it accounts for almost one in every five minutes spent online, and
reaches 82% of the entire world’s online population, which represents an audience of nearly 1.2
billion internet users. Not surprisingly, the industry has followed the consumer and almost 94%
of all businesses with a marketing department have established their presence and continuously
pursue engaging their customer base on at least one of the “Big Three” social media platforms:
Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Without any clear definition, application or measurement, the concept of customer engagement
has become commonplace among marketers. More and more resources are being invested in
social media and brands from all over the world continue to grow their online fan base. However,
if we take a better look at the engagement metrics, such as “Talking about it” on Facebook, we
will see that even the most popular brands struggle to engage with more than 1% of their entire
fan base on Facebook.

Even though social media platforms usually present engagement in terms of level of interaction
between the brand and the fan base, it is in fact a more complicated concept comprising three
distinct dimensions: behavioral engagement (actions), emotional engagement (feelings)
and cognitive engagement (thoughts). These three dimensions are also expected to play different
roles in the overall process of engaging a customer with a brand on social media. It is believed
that a number of different factors may be driving the customers to engage with a brand on social
media and a number of different outcomes can be expected dependent on the type of
engagement.
The customer-brand relationship quality together with online social media platform related
factors will influence the overall level of customer brand engagement, which in turn will havean
effect on the intention to repurchase the brand (behavioral brand loyalty) and recommend it to
others (word-of-mouth).
The increasing accessibility of social media platforms should be viewed positively as such
platform appear to facilitate consumer engagement. Further, these social media platforms can
provide opportunities for the consumers to get connected with retailers as well as other buyers.
Through social media use, sellers can build a relationship with existing and new consumers and
consequently, a community of users of social media platform can be formed whereby sellers and
buyers interact and communicate with each other in terms of problems and solutions to resolve
problems.
The rapid increase of social media has also affected consumer behavior since there are
interactions in these platforms related to consumption. Organizations benefit from the use of
social media by engaging with loyal consumers, improving perceptions about the brand and learn
more about consumers’ behavior. Also customers benefit while interacting through social media
as they gain value before and after the purchase of products or services. Customers not only
become more satisfied and loyal but also experience relationship benefits after engaging with
theon-line brand community such as entrainment. A one-time purchase or even repeat purchases

of the same product does not equal engagement with the customer.

It could be evident that the customer is satisfied with the product or service but even satisfaction
and retention does not necessarily signify customer engagement (Sashi, 2012).
Engaged customers are likely to recommend products through blogs, social networking sites or
word-of-mouth in a way that they become advocates of the brand. They help sellers understand
their needs and contribute actively in the product development process. Through social media,
organizations can establish an advanced communication with existing and potential clients
before, during and after the transaction period with information, promotions and new product
announcements.

Sharing news, photos, experiences and opinions on social media and being affected by them
represents a quite natural process for a great number of people. Through the years, social media
studies and research have increased interest in the web. In fact, the Internet is studied as a source
of data about society and culture. Social media is characterized by invisible codes which enable a
type of ubiquitous connectivity. All one needs is internet connection to interact with others and
to share information. The most broadly agreed features of social media may be presented in three
parts: i) Public nature (free access to content, e.g. Twitter) and private nature (access restrictions,
e.g. Instagram); ii) Communication (for instance, rapid and effective, relational maintenance,
enable users to create content – real or fake, and communities according to common interests and
so on); iii) information flow (instantaneous and fluid, public or controlled, traceable - through
location, connections, profile, tags, retweets, use of @ and so on). Second and equally important
is social media performance - usually measured by number of likes, views or retweets, for
instance. Performance might be influenced by a popular user opinion or by a group of people
with common interests within a community. Social media such as Facebook, twitter and
YouTube are dynamic tools that facilitate online relationships. It is a relatively low cost firm of
marketing and allows organizations to engage in direct and end -user contact. Given the choices
made available to consumers and the influential role of social media marketing, the brands and
consumers have a changing role to play in the organization’s strategy in that they now have an
economic impact. Brands influence customer choice and these customers influence other
customers. These changes of events affect repurchases, which further affect future earning and
long term organization sustainability. So, after the introduction or emergence of social media,
each and every organization started to perform their marketing activities on those social media
websites which are frequently used by the people due to the advent of technological
advancements and internet.
 CHAPTER-II
LITERATURE REVIEW

2 .Introduction:
Brand communities on social media offer both companies and consumers a new channel to
communicate to each other (Gummerus et al., 2012). It constitutes a powerful marketing tool that
has been added to company’s marketing strategies and brand building activities (Brodie et al.,
2010). Several studies have established a conceptual framework of brand communities on social
media, facilitating marketers and researchers a better understanding about the characteristics and
limits of to interact and communicate within this new platform (e.g. McAlexander et al., 2002).
Consumers’ motivations to join social networks have been identified, analyzed and supported by
several studies. Consumers have been recognized to join social media in order to get some type
of information and request for help; to improve their skills and knowledge about certain product
or service (Shao, 2009, Park et al., 2009, Brodie et al., 2011a, Zaglia, 2013), to support the brand
they like (Universal McCann study, 2011; Hennig-Thurau et al. 2004), for merely curiosity or
because some other friend suggested to join the group (Zaglia, 2013). Further, consumer
behavior on social media has been also researched (e.g. Brodie et al. 2011b) and motives to
engage on brand communities (e.g. Wolny and Mueller, 2013; HenningThurau et al. 2004;
Kishnamurthy and Dou, 2008; Nolan et al, 2007 as cited in Brodie et al. 2011b). In addition,
consumer’s activities on social networks are identified (e.g; Shao, 2009) and conceptualized by
examining the motivation behind each activity (e.g. Heinonen, 2011). Academics have found that
users are not really active online; and the fact is that the majority of users consume the content
and just a few produce it. Wolny and Mueller (2013) emphasize the needed to understand
consumers’ motives for engaging on social media communications. Messages launched through
this new media have a strong influence over various aspects of consumer behavior, including:
awareness, information acquisition, opinions, attitudes, purchase behavior, post-purchase
communication and evaluation (Manglod and Faulds, 2009). Researches have showed that in
general, consumers join brand communities to fulfill their need for identification (Habibi et, al.,
2014, Hennig-Thurau et al., 2010, Park et al. 2009) and information (Shao, 2009, Park et al.,
2009, Brodie et al., 2011a, Zaglia, 2013). Members feel identified with the symbols and meaning
that the brand stands for; but also to share their passion and feel gratification from participating
in the community (Zaglia, 2014). Additionally, Brodie et al (2011a) observe that consumer brand
engagement is a process initiated generally by the consumers’ need for information. Zaglia
(2013) supports this assumption and 13 claims that one of the main consumer motivations to
engage is to obtain the necessary knowledge or skills to better use the product of their favorite
brand. Further, Universal McCann study (2011) and Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004) specify four
more motives to engage on social networks: users concern for other consumers, to get economic
benefits, play the role of platform assistance and helping the company. Former motivations are
summarized into two groups: rational motivation and emotional motivations (Kishnamurthy and
Dou, 2008). Despite of previous studies focus on consumer behavior towards social media and
brand communities, it still is considered a lack of research about online consumers’ behavior and
its relationships towards brand communities (Habibi, et al., 2014, Gummers et al., 2012).
Therefore, this work intends to understand behaviors and patterns characterizing the fashion
consumer on social media and analyse in which degree fashion consumers engage with brands on
social media.

2.1 Problem Discussion and Purpose

With the explosion of social networks usage among individuals and the potential for business to
get closer to consumer (Baird and Parasnis, 2011), understanding consumer behavior on the new
media, as targeting the right customers can bring higher effective marketing strategies to the
company (Salomon and Rabolt, 2004). Knowledge about the type of individuals that consume
the content and to identify motivations, activities, and feelings towards brands are considered of
great importance for marketers (Hanna et al., 2011). Brand community members play an
important role for companies on social media. For instances participants support the service
department by helping other members and fixing each other’s problems with the brand (Schau et
al., 2009). Sometimes users play the role of brands’ advocates (Habibi et al., 2014) trying to
create a good image for the company (Schau et al., 2009). On the other side, users reveal a great
amount of information on their social profile (Schiffman et al. 2010), which is identified and
used by companies and marketers to better know consumers’ needs which help to micro target
the market (Schiffman et al. 2010) and to offer customized products, services and marketing
campaigns (Salomon and Rabolt, 2004; Shih, 2009, pag.82). Social media and brand community
members might be a source of product improvement and innovation, because some users are
highly engaged with the brand and its future matters to them (Von Hippel, 2005 as cited in
Habibi et al., 2014). It means that individuals on social media 14 and brand community members
may influence others’ consumer behavior in favor of the brand. For instances, by increasing
brand loyalty (Mc Alexander et, al., 2002), brand equity (Schivinski, 2013), trust (Habibi et, al.,
2014) brand awareness (Manglod and Faulds, 2009) and profits (Henning-Thurau et al. 2004
cited in Brodie et al, 2011). As managers have become more comfortable including social
networks and brand communities as part of its business’ marketing communication strategies, the
interest to understand consumer behavior on social media platforms has been raised too.
However, consumers’ motivations depend on different elements that characterize the individual.
In the fashion industry for instances, consumers and marketers face to a rapidly change in styles
and designs as preferences for colors and patterns change drastically (Diamond, 2005). Thus,
marketing campaigns and activities must adapt to this rapidly alteration and to a short selling life
period that characterizes fashion products. Decisions to consume fashion products are generally
less time consuming and more impulsive than to buy furniture, for instances. Consequently, the
purpose of this study is to understand fashion consumer behavior on social media, what motivate
consumers to interact with fashion brands and other consumers, identify which kind of activities
they carry out online and finally, determine in which level consumers engage with brands on
social media.

2.2 Research Question

This study was structured around the following four research questions formulated to answer
unfulfilled gaps founded in previous researches and the literature regarding to consumer behavior
toward fashion brands on social media. 1. How do consumers behave towards fashion brands on
social media? 2. What motivate consumers to follow fashion brands on social media? 3. What
kind of activities do consumers develop when they follow fashion brands on social networks? 4.
In which level consumers engage with fashion brands on social media?

2.3 Research Limitations

The scope of this study is limited to identify the motivations for fashion consumers to follow and
engage with fashion brands on social networks and brand communities. However, the term social
media and brand community cover any kind of social network where consumers congregate and
interact to each other; nevertheless this paper focus on the most popular social networking sites
and brand community: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube. Further,
one of the main limitations of this research is the few studies focused related to the fashion
industry on social media. In addition, because of the rapidly and constantly advances and
improvements social media have suffered during the latest years; some studies are considered
obsolete and no longer useful for current research. In business practice, the term ‘‘engagement’’
was first introduced by Appelbaum in the year 2001. During the last two decades, the concept of
‘‘engagement’’ has been used in various fields including marketing, psychology, sociology,
political science, and organizational behavior (Brodie et al., 2011; Hollebeek, 2011; Van Doorn
et al., 2010; Ilic, 2008). Voyles (2007) emphasized “companies are now realizing that
engagement is also a more strategic way of looking at customer and stakeholder relationships”.
Hence, major companies like Starbucks, have made customer engagement central to their
customer strategy (Belicove, 2010). Kumar et al. (2010) defined customer engagement as,
“Active interactions of a customer with a firm, with prospects and with other customers, whether
they are transactional or non-transactional in nature”. As stated earlier, with the advent of
internet, IT services and social media network information services, consumers are turning away
from traditional sources of communication and are choosing online product reviews posted by
users on social media as basis of their purchase decision making. Nielsen (2012) reported that
46% of online users use social media when making purchase decisions online. Hence,
engagement of consumers in social media has become very important for researchers and
practitioners regarding brand equity as research is needed in this area to develop further
academic and managerial insights.

Consumer engagement is receiving increasing attention in recent marketing literature.

Heralded by a key research priority (MSI, 2010), the concept has been the subject of a
number of special issues in international academic journals (i.e. Journal of Service
Research, 2010; Journal of Strategic Marketing, 2010; Journal of Product and Brand
Management, 2014). With its roots in relationship marketing (Fournier, 1998), consumer
engagement offers a further enhancement of the current theoretisations around consumer
and brand relationships. Its added value lies in supporting the increasingly interactive and
experiential nature of consumer relationships (Vivek Beatty and Morgan, 2012), while
extending their scope beyond core purchase situations. By being engaged, consumers exhibit
dispositions that go beyond traditional market-ascribed consumer behaviors, in accordance
with the value co-creation logic (Vargo and Lusch, 2004). Using this conceptual lens allows
the assumptions of conventional relationship marketing and its concern with linear
company–consumer, exchange-centric relationships to be relaxed and expanded to provide a
richer notion of relating to a brand (Viveket al., 2012).
Consumer engagement is also of pragmatic relevance: having an engaged consumer base is
quickly becoming one of the key objectives of many marketing professionals. The
reportedly positive implications of engagement for consumer behavior and brand
performance (Brodieet al., 2011, 2011) are driving the academic and practical interest in
explaining and manipulating the concept (Viveket al., 2014).

Safko and Brake (2009, s.6) define social media as “activities. practices and behaviors among
communities of people who gather online to share information, knowledge, and opinions using
conversational media. According to Robinson(2007) social media are the tools used for
communication that have Web 2.0 attributes that is, they are participatory, collaborative, have
knowledge sharing and user-empowering tools available on the Web. As an effective use of time
and resources, social media marketing give companies better communication grounds with the
consumers to build brand loyalty beyond traditional methods (Jackson, 2011; Akhtar, 2011). A
study by Info-graphics puts forward that at least half of Twitter and Facebook users say they
have become more likely to talk about, recommend or purchase a company's products after they
began engaged with the company on social media (Jackson, 2011). Businesses can promote
products and services, provide instant support, and/or create an online community of brand
enthusiasts through all forms of social media such as social networking sites, content
communities, virtual worlds, blogs, microblogging sites, online gaming sites, social
bookmarking, news sites, forums and more (Zarella, 2010; Kaplan and Haenlein, 2009;
Weinberg, 2009). Additionally, social media enables consumers to share information with their
peers about the product and service brands (Stileman, 2009; Mangold and Foulds, 2009). These
conversations between the peers provide companies another cost effective way to increase brand
awareness, boost brand recognition and recall, and increase brand loyalty (Gunelius, 2011).
Thus, it can be said that social media helps firms to build brand loyalty through networking,
conversation, and community building (McKee, 2010).
Social media marketing is different than traditional methods of marketing; therefore, it requires
special attention and strategy building to achieve brand image and loyalty. Social media
marketing is related to relationship marketing, where firms need to shift from “trying to sell” to
“making connections” with the consumers (Gordhamer.2009). companies also need to keep away
from “big campaigns” and stick to small acts since small campaigns can reach to a lot of people
and accomplish the objectives in a very short period of time (Coon, 2010). Social media
marketing is also more sincere in its communication with the consumers, trying to show what the
brand is rather than trying to control its image. Finally today’s customers are more powerful and
busy, therefore, companies should be reachable and available in every social media
communication channel such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Forums at any time (Gordhamer,
2009).
People who engaged with a brand on social media on a daily basis were likely to make twice as
many purchases from that brand than someone who engages only monthly. The new customer
life cycle with social touch points at every stage.
The results indicated that people who engage regularly with brands on social media tend to be
better customers. For example, 71% of customers who engage through social media with one
quick-service restaurant chain were likely to prefer that chain to similar restaurants, compared to
47% of non-engaged customers, and 75% of engaged customers were likely to have bought
something in the restaurant in the past 12 months, compared to 66% of non-engaged customers.
This might not be a big surprise, but what we did find striking was that engaged social followers
follow a four-phase customer life cycle in which they 1) discover your company and products; 2)
explore whether what you offer is right for them; 3) buy your products and services; and 4)
engage with you, and with their friends and peers, after their purchase. At each stage they turn to
social media. The sales funnel of the past was linear, starting with awareness and ending with a
purchase. But today the consumer journey is cyclical — and offers huge opportunities for brands.
(Megan Haller Oct 2013Consumer Insights, Retail, Technology

In today’s borderless world, people throughout the globe are using social media in real time for
various purposes of communication, with majority spending almost a quarter of their daily time,
surfing social networks (Forbes, 2017). Companies offering services and products are
determined to get the attention of social network consumers thus, these companies are
redesigning their marketing strategies and policies. Among these is the strategy of integrating
social media into their marketing scheme, one aspect of change that is hoped to project their
products, services and brands to the outside world.
It is also important to understand how effective is social media in arousing purchase intentions
among consumers. This is because research (Smith, 2011) has shown that 88 per cent of
marketers are utilizing social media as a marketing tool where a total of USD 60 billion is being
spent annually for social media advertisements in the U.S. Moreover, the contact that companies
are able to develop with their customers through the social media platform is also expected to
generate higher returns for the marketers (Okazaki & Mueller, 2007). Observations indicate that
many of these consumers tend to be loyal and provide recurrent purchases.

In studying the field of marketing, advertising and selling, it cannot be disputed that a purchase
intention tends to occur at the phase of the Asian Journal of Business and Accounting 10(1),
2017 175 The Impact of Social Network Marketing on Consumer Purchase Intention in Pakistan:
Consumer Engagement as a Mediator decision-making process where the consumer has
developed a definite readiness to proceed towards a product or brand (Dodds, Monroe, &
Grewal, 1991; Wells, Valacich, & Hess, 2011). This purchase intention is an imperative indicator
for evaluating consumer behavior since it can gauge the likelihood of a consumer to purchase a
product. The higher the purchase intention, higher a consumer’s readiness to purchase a product.
Review of literature shows the previous studies carried out by the researcher in this field.
Previous studies are reviewed in order to gain insight into extent of research. There search
problem can be more understood and made specific referring to theories, reports, records and
other information made in similar studies. This will provide the researcher with the knowledge
on what lines the study should proceed and serves to narrow the problem. The main objective of
the study is to measure Brand Awareness of TNPL products among the people and the reviews
are as follows:
Brand
A traditional definition of a brand was: “the name associated with one or 
more items in the product line, that is used to identify the source of character of the ite
m(s)”
(Kotler, 2000).
 The American Marketing Association (
AMA) definition of a brand is “a name, term, sign,
symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one
seller or group of sellers and to differentiate
them from those of competitors”
 
Brand Equity(Rooney, 1995)
defines brand equity as
a set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand’s name
and symbol that adds to or subtracts from the value provided by a product or service to a
customer. However, many factors can be attributed to the value of the brand for example
awareness, recall and recognition. Brand equity as a differentiating factor that can influence
consumers’ response to brand’s marketing activities. In an attempt to define the relationship
 between customers and brands, the term brand equity in the marketing literature emerged There
have been different perspectives or considering brand equity; the customer-based perspectives,
the financial perspectives and combined perspectives. The first perspective of  brand equity is
from a financial
market’s point of view where the asset value of a brand is
appraised
(Farquhar, 1991)
. Customer-
 based brand equity is evaluating the consumer’s
response to a brand name.

CHAPTER-III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3. Introduction
This study aimed to analyze consumers’ motivations for following fashion brands on social
media and to which level individuals engage with brands in the context of the fashion industry.
In order to implement the research purpose and to give answer to the research questions, the
research output needs to collect and generate quantificational data from active users on social
networks. Hence, a quantitative approach is chosen for this research. This procedure is consistent
with previous studies in online contexts (Bagozzi & Dholakia, 2006; Casaló, Flavián, &
Guinalíu, 2008). Particularly when it comes to the study of consumer behavior or social media
the literature review has showed a number of researches have applied quantitative approach
(Dong-Hee, 2010; Wolny and Muller 2013). The method chosen to collect the data is cross-
sectional survey, administered through web-based survey. The online survey is launched within a
link on Facebook. This platform is considered a powerful communication channel where users
are able to create a profile of them, explore others’ people profiles and interact with each other.
The questionnaire link was posted and promoted through the social platform Facebook
encouraging people to share it among their friends, family and any other type of groups who
could be a potential respondent for the questionnaire. Some of the reasons why the survey was
chosen and other research approaches rejected rely on the fact that using a web-based survey is a
more effective and efficient way to reach respondent. It means that the answers were easier and
 faster to collect but also easier to administer (Blaxter, 2006). Geographical boundaries were
eliminated; costs of using the survey software was relatively low, compared with other research
approach in terms of time consuming, quantity of money and difficulty of gathering and
analysing of the data. Finally one more reason for choosing the survey is that, by having a good
sample; it is possible to provide a good representation and general results (Blaxter, 2006).

3.1 Objectives of the Study

1. To measure the engagement of brands with customers through social media.
2. Determine the effectiveness of social media engagement on reach and creation of awareness.
3. To study the effectiveness of social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn on the
4. consumer behavior.
5. Determine the relationship between social media engagement of brands advertising and
purchase decision.
6. To measure the effectiveness of brands in bringing a positive change in customers buying
behavior and perception.

3.2. Research Technique This study aims to identify consumer behavior and
engagement towards fashion brands on social networks. For that purpose, a self-completion
online questionnaire was created and launched through the most popular social network,
Facebook. This technique was chosen because it enabled collecting data from a large number of
people and obtaining general results, which represent a great population (Rowley, 2014). The
main reasons for using this platform were because Facebook is considered a powerful
communication tool that can reach a big scope of people, no matter where they are, or from
which country they come from. In addition, this information is collected in a short period of
time, easily and with low costs or no costs at all. The creation of the survey and the
implementation of the self-completion questionnaire have been developed through the online
service: Google docs.

3.2.1 Questionnaire Development

The questionnaire is compound of 26 close questions and three open questions. Close questions
are easier to answer and administer (Bryman, 2012), and the data gathered is simpler and faster
to analyze by using statistic programs such SPSS. Q9, Q28 and Q29 are open questions. Q9
tries to identify those fashion brands consumers like on social media. Q28 and Q29 are
demographic questions. According to Bryman, (2012, p.247), open questions give the
researcher opportunities of getting revealing information about consumers, which is useful for
exploring new areas in which the researcher has limited knowledge. Nevertheless open
questions also present some disadvantages such time-consuming to administer, greater effort
from respondents or tendency to avoid. Hence, the questionnaire count just with two open
questions being the rest closed questions, which are easier for the respondent to answer, but also
easier to administer and evaluate (Bryman, 2012 p.249). The questionnaire was structured as
follow: Section 1: Consumer behavior on social media: refer from questions 1 to 2. Section 2:
Consumer’s interest about fashion: refer from questions 3 from 15. Section 3: Consumer’s
motivation to follow fashion brands on social media: refer questions 16 and 23. 26 Section 4:
Consumer engagement and activities on social media: question 24. Section 5: Consumer
demographics: refer from question 25 to 29. 3.1.2 The process of the questionnaire design. The
pre-test questionnaire comprises five sections counting 32 questions in all. On the base of the
pre-test some changes have done and added to the questionnaire. The final questionnaire
embraces five sections with 27 questions in total. To avoid the reader to get bored when filling
up the questionnaire, just one definition about ‘consumer engagement’ is given. Others key
words such ‘posts, follow, social media/networks, fashion brand, etc.’ are taken for granted that
are understood among social media users. The questionnaire was originally written in English
and pre-tested via e-mail. Then, once made the changes and ready to send it to the audience, the
final questionnaire was spread out it via social media. However, later on, due to the difficulties
of getting answers, the questionnaire was translated into Spanish and, spread out via the Spanish
version of the social media Facebook.

3.2.2 Sample selection

Bryman, (2012, p.195) proclaims how important is for the researcher the selection of an
appropriate sample, which is representative of the population and which findings are
generalizable. This research attempts to study consumers’ motivations for following brands on
social networks and the level in which consumers engage with fashion companies within the
context of social networking. Accordingly, members who participate in this kind of community
are considered appropriate samples to address the research question and to draw conclusions
about the population. Hence, the target population is defined as “Social media users that
follow/like any kind of fashion brands in any type of social media site”. However, since this is a
student project with limited resources, having a poor representative population to answer the
research questions is, according to Bryman (2012, p.198) acceptable, when the difficulties faced
28 are justified and explained. Likewise, the population sample of this research may not be
representative of the general population, since the majority of respondents are familiars, friends
and contacts from the author’s social network who probably share similar characteristics
concerning variables such as age, socioeconomic class, education o even interests.

3.2.3. Sampling Problems

Some difficulties have faced in the context of sampling during the developing of the survey.
Firstly, time and resources constraints were a reality that limited the expansion and the
opportunities to reach out many potential participants (Bryman and Cramer, 2005). The survey
was spread out within the social network Facebook and shared with friends and specific groups
on Facebook, so the potential population who could fill up the survey became bigger. Besides,
personal e-mails were sent other individuals who did have not an active profile on Facebook but
in other social networking sites. However, despite of the effort to spread out and push people to
collaborate by answering the questionnaire, a high rate of non-respond was the main result
(Bryman and Cramer, 2005).

3.2.4 Sample size

According to Bryman (2012 p.198) the bigger the sample, the more representative the research
is likely to be. This is because bigger samples tend to reduce the effect of sampling error
(Graziano and Raulin, 2013). Fowler (1993) as cited in Bryman (2012) declares that it is not
realistic that researchers specify in advance ‘a desired level of precision’. Thus, for the aim of
this research, the questionnaire was open for 12 days, hoping to get the higher amount of
answers. Finally, a total of 99 individuals participated in the questionnaire, which was
considered acceptable due to the limited time to finish the research and the difficulties faced
during the process of collecting answers.

3.2.5. Limitations and Constraints

Several limitations and constraints were faced during the collecting data process. One of the
limitations of this research was the language barrier. Since the survey was conducted in English,
not everyone had access to the questionnaire. Further, due to the difficulty to obtain 29 answers,
the questionnaire was translated into Spanish, with the inconvenience of combining all data into
one document. Besides, the fact that English is, as said before, a limitation to communicate, it
was possible that the respondents misunderstood some questions. However, to avoid this kind of
complications a pilot study has been done and thus, ensured that survey questions operated well
(Bryman, 2012).

3.3 RESEARCH QUALITY

For quantitative researches, reliability and validity are central topics to evaluate (Neuman,
2003). The former author suggests that reliability consist when the same thing is repeated under
the same or similar conditions. To improve the reliability of this study, the survey was pre-
tested before it was officially launched. Therefore, it was ensured that the questionnaire was
easy to understand and it embraced a number of questions to measure the phenomenon
considered on the research questions. On the other side, validity refers to the issue of an
indicator really measures the concept that is assigned to measure (Bryman, 2012)…estimates
the extents to which the test or set of data or design actually measure, reflect, or produce what it
is supposed to measure, reflect, or produce (Newman and Benz, 1998 p.32). Hence, despite of
validity is more difficult to achieve and absolute validity is impossible to get (Neuman, 2003);
concepts and operational definitions in this study attempt to interrelate and fit to each other
within the area of consumer behavior towards brands on social media.

3.3.1 Reliability and Validity

Validity is concerned with the extent to which an instrument measures what it is intended to
measure and reliability is concerned to with the consistency of the measures (Bryman, 2012).
The reliability of an instrument is associated with its validity. It means that an instrument cannot
be valid unless it is reliable (Tavakol and Dennick, 2011). It is widely known the method
Cronbach’s Alpha to measure the internal consistency of a test or scale. The reasons for using
Cronbach alpha method is because is commonly used with multiple Likert scale in the
questionnaire (LaerdStatistics, 2015). The output is expressed as a number between 0 and 1.
And the results describe the extent to which all the items in a test measure the same concept. 30
Reliability also estimates the amount of measurement error in a test with itself (Tavakol and
Dennick, 2011). Table 1. Reliability statistics The results obtained after the test of reliability
Cronbach’s alpha suggest that the questionnaire is reliable. Results higher than 0.7 are
considered reliable; according to (Tavakol and Dennick, 2011) there are different reports about
the acceptable values of alpha, ranging from 0.70 to 0.95, however a high value of alpha might
mean redundancies and the length of the questions should be reduced.

3.3.2 Respondents
During 15th and 25th May 2015, a total of 99 respondents participated in the survey.
Respondents come from nine different nationalities such Greece, Spain, Sweden, Germany,
USA or UK among others. Due to the difficulties to get responses, the questionnaire was
translated into Spanish and spread through the Spanish version of Facebook. Responses
gathered on the pre-test were deleted and not taken into consideration for the final results.

3.3.3 Valid/Invalid
responses In order to guarantee the respondents’ presence on social media, the questionnaire
was mainly spread through the popular social network Facebook. This guaranteed that
respondent’s were actives at least on this platform; assuring a higher probability of valid
responses. Nevertheless, Q12 ask to mention those fashion brands that users like on social
media. The result here is that those respondents, who do not like any brand on social media,
were not able to answer this questions.

3.4 RESEARCH DESIGN

Again, the aim of the survey is to find out how, why, where social media has influenced
individuals in the process of decision making, as well as, hopefully, to identify new insights that
companies may take advantage of. The survey was carried out in the form of questionnaire.
Since there was only one chance to collect the data, the researcher had to identify precisely of
what data is needed, and to design the questionnaire in order to meet the research objectives
(Saunders et al. 2009). The questions (Appendix 2) for the questionnaire were designed and built
closely upon the theoretical framework – decision making process, information processing
theory, and social media marketing, which has discussed thoroughly in previous chapters of the
research. In order to ensure respondent decodes the questions .Ethel Lee in the way the
researcher intended, the clarity of the questionnaire structure was a dominant factor. Since the
researcher had to keep an appropriate length of the questionnaire, thus, not every theory
discussed previously could all be included in the questionnaire. The logical order of the
questions was structured mainly based on the steps carried out during the decision making
process – problem recognition, serach of information, evaluation of alternatives, final decision,
and post purchase behaviour. Components of information processing theory were integrated in
the questions as well. As stated in the begining of the research, the researcher tries to examine
the relationship between social media and consumer behavior from a consumer perspective,
therefore, they are many questions subjected to indivduals’ beliefs and attitudes, which are
expressed in the form of scale questions. Condiering the matter of subjectivity, the use of close
questions was critical in order to allow statistical conclusions to be made in a relatively objective
manner; likewise, a few open-ended questions allow individuals to develop own responses, and
may reveal attitudes or facts (Grummit 1980). The questionnaire was sent out via school e-mail
(see Appendix 1) to all international business program students and teachers in TUAS, as well as
all personal contacts of the researcher who are currently living in Finland, which yields the
sample size to be approximately 150 individuals. Participation was voluntary and the questions
were designed in English.

3.5 RESEARCH DATA COLLECTION

There are two distinct research methods – quantitative and qualitative, in collectiing data for the
purpose of obtaining information from them, to solve or answer a particular research problem or
question (Ghauri & Grønhaug 2005, 109). Quaitative data is any data collection technique or
data analysis procedure that generates or uses numerical data (Saunders et al 2009); whereas
qualitative data is in form of descriptive accounts of observations or analysis which is conducted
through the use of conceptualization (Ghosh and Chopra, 2003; Ghauri & Grønhaug 2005, 110).
Although it is usually better to link quantitative data with other methods (such as in-depth
interviews) in order to complement the findings of a research (Saunders et al. 2009), this
research is to identify the stage where social media has interfered in the consumer decision
making process, in which is to describe facts and reasons in different phenomena (social media
and traditional mass channels) and to explain the case-and-effect relationship between
overwhealming information on social media and consumers’ responeses. For the purpose of this
research, quantitative data was gathered and utilized. With the strategy of survey, it allows the
collection of a large amount of data from a sizeable population in a highly economical way
(Saunders et al. 2009), it 46 TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Ethel
Lee is also a logical and critical approach which allows the researcher to control measurement
and outcome. Since the scope of the research focuses on a geographical area; thus the aim of the
research method is to reach individuals ranging in different age and gender groups within
Finland, and the more responses are collected the higher the credibility of the findings are.
Taking the sample size into consideration, the researcher has decided not to conduct any in-depth
interviews with the targetsed respondents as the results may be difficult to analysize due to the
subjectivity of individuals’ beliefs and attitudes. Besides, the survey was not created merely as a
collection of quantitative data, because few open-ended questions are included where
respondents can have a chance to comment, to express, or to add extra. By adding open-ended
questions to survey data collection, it helps the researcher to gain valuable qualitative
information and insights for deeper analysis. While comprehending the qualitative data,
Saunders et al. (2009) have mentioned summarizing of meanings as one of the analysis
processes, which implies condensation of meanings from the large amounts of text into fewer
words, while becoming familiar with the main themes evolved from data collection.

3.5.1 PRIMARY DATA

In primary data, qualitative research through surveys and questionnaires has been adopted. The
primary data was collected through the interview techniques, questionnaires and information was
collected pertaining to customer responses to social media influence of brands on their buying

behavior.

3.5.2 SECONDARY DATA

It was collected through scanning, searching and disseminating information through various
websites and existing research papers about customer engagement of brands and how it affects
the buying behavior of customers.

3.6 RESEARCH POPULATION AND SAMPLE

3.6.1 RESEARCH POPULATION

The research population consists of people at random using social media sites.

3.6.2 RESEARCH SAMPLE

The questionnaire was distributed to 100 people online out which 81 people responded.

3.7 RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION

3.7.1 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

Convenience sampling was used because the questionnaire was distributed to anyone at random
basis who was within reach.
 CHAPTER-IV
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Q1. WHAT CATEGORY DOES YOUR AGE LIE IN?

INTERPRETATION.
After conducting the survey on a total number of 81 respondents the studies shows that 63% of
the respondents fall under the age category of 20-29 years,15% under -19 years, 7% under 30-
39years and 4% each under 40-50 and 50+years which depicts that the majority of respondents
lie under the age group of 20-29 years.

Q2. WHAT ARE THE MAIN PURPOSES FOR WHICH YOU USE
INTERNET?
INTERPRETATION
The study shows that 33.3% of the respondents use internet for entertainment, 24.7% for

study,21%for social networking, 19.8% for work and 1% for shopping.

Q3. WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SOCIAL MEDIA SITES DO YOU USE

ON A DAILY BASIS?
INTERPRETATION
The study shows that 56.8% of the respondents use social networking like facebook on a daily
basis, 30% other websites like instagram,pinterest and 12% use microblogging sites like twitter
on a daily basis.

Q4. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN BECOMING A FAN OF FOLLOWER OF

BRANDS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA SITES?
INTERPRETATION
The study shows that 59% of the respondents are interested in becoming a fan or follower of
brands on social media sites, 38.3% are not whereas 2.5% people say maybe.

Q5.WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SITES DO YOU PREFER TO

CONNECT WITH BRANDS?
INTERPRETATION
The study shows that 49.4% people prefer instagram toconnect to brands, 37% via facebook,
6.2% via twitter and 7% prefer other websites.

Q6. BEFORE PURCHASING AN ITEM DO YOU CHECK IT ON SOCIAL

MEDIA SITES?
INTERPRETATION
The study shows that 72.8% of the people check an item online before purchasing it, 25.9% of
the respondents don’t.

Q7. FOR WHAT REASONS DO YOU USE SOCIAL MEDIA BEFORE

PURCHASING AN ITEM?
INTERPRETATION
The study shows that 44.4% of the people check social media sites before purchasing to check
user reviews, 29.6% to compare prices,14.8% for promotional offers and 11.1% to actually
purchase the product.

Q8. HOW OFTEN DO YOU MAKE A PURCHASE ONLINE?

INTERPRETATION
The study shows that 42% of the people make purchases monthly, 33.3% monthly, 22.2%
fortnightly and 2.5% people have never purchased online.
Q9. DO YOU THINK HAT WITH SOCIAL MEDIA SITES, YOU ARE
ABLE TO SEEK OUT PRODUCTS/SERVICES INFORMATION
ACTIVELY?

INTERPRETATION
The study shows that 55.6% of the people say they can seek information actively, 37% maybe

and 7.4% people say they cant seek information actively.

Q10. ARE YOU LIKELY TO CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS A
CERTAIN BRAND OR PRODUCT OR SERVICE AFTER YOU HAVE
READ POSITIVE COMMENTS/REVIEWS ONLINE ABOUT IT?

INTERPRETATION
The study shows that 50.6% of the people say they might change their attitude after reading
positive reviews about a product or service on social media sites, 40.7% respondents say yes and
8.6% say they will not change their attitude about a product.
Q11. DO YOU AGREE THAT INFORMATION SEARCHING IS EASIER
VIA SOCIAL MEDIA COMPARED TO MASSMEDIA (TV,NEWSPAPER)?
/

INTERPRETATION
The study shows that 44.4% of the people agree that information seeking has become easier,
11.1% strongly agree, 19.8% people are neutral about this, 7.4% disagree and 17.3% people
strongly disagree.
Q12. DOES SOCIAL MEDIA TRIGGERS YOU TO PURCHASE A
PRODUCT/SERVICE?

INTERPRETATION
The study shows that 60.5% people say that yes social media triggers purchase of a product
whereas 38.3% people say no, it does not triggers purchase and 1.2% people are neutral about
this.
Q13. WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO FAMILY OR FRIENDS FOR
BUYING ONLINE ON THE BASIS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING
AND BRAND IMAGE?

sE

INTERPRETATION
The study shows that 81.5% of the respondents would suggest buying online tofriends and
family on the basis of social media image whereas 18.5% of the respondents wouldn’t suggest
buying online on the basis of brand image.

CHAPTER-V
 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
5. Introduction
‘The ways consumers communicate with each other have been changing dramatically over the
last decade, and the same is true for how consumers gather and exchange information about
products and how they obtain and consume them’ (Henning-Thurau, et al, 2010). The
development of new technologies offers consumers a great number of options to obtain
information from products and services; but also to share experiences, opinions and ideas with
others consumers. At the same time, new media offer companies multiple ways to reach
consumers, communicate with them and study their online behaviour, which is of particular
relevance for customer relationship management (Henning-Thurau, et al, 2010). Brands are using
social media to promote themselves, provide information and engage with customers (Kim and
Ko, 2010). In addition, and according to Henning-Thurau, et al (2010) taking advantages of the
new media involves a deeper knowledge of the reasons consumers are on social media and how
they influence consumers’ affect and behaviour. Social media is defined in the literature as ‘the
two-ways communication platforms that allow users to interact with each other online, to share
information and opinions’ (Kim and Ko, 2010). Social media platforms have revolutionized the
traditional foundations of marketing, advertising and promotions and have transformed the
Internet from a platform for information to a platform of influence (Hanna et al, 2011). The
intense growth of social media platforms such as Facebook (1.44billion active users, Satdista
(2015)), Twitter, (288 million active users) or Instagram (300 million active users Satdista,
(2015)) allows people and organizations to create online communities to interact and
communicate with others (Carlyon, 2011). In parallel with the increased use of social media and
online communities, companies have created brand communities on social media, which have
become a main point of reference for both customers and firms to engage with each other .

5.1. Fashion Industry and Social media

Not many years ago, it was hard to know what was happening around the most wellknown
fashion shows taking place within the preeminent cities for fashion such Paris, New York 17 or
 London. Before social media, this privilege was reserved just for a few individuals. However,
today, thanks to the development of the new technologies and the extended use of social media,
fashion is accessible to almost everyone, everywhere. Nowadays, any individual with Internet
connection can get access to any fashion event from any part of the world at any time. Big
fashion capitals are no longer far away from ‘fashionists’ and individuals with an interest in
these types of events due to the facilities offered by broadcast streaming and social media; which
operates as fast respond to inform what is happening among the assistants and participants of
these events. Technology has changed the fashion world, and marketing campaigns are also
adapting to this change. Companies and organizations of all sizes within he fashion industry ‘are
adopting social media as a marketing strategy to reach their customers online and reignite brand
passion and customer loyalty’ (Lee, 2009). However, being active online is not enough and
companies must also find the formula to be effective on the new media (Hanna et al, 2011). A
good example showing the effectiveness that social media can bring to brands is demonstrated on
the marketing strategy carried out by the fashion designer Marc Jacobs, who recently left the
Louis Vuitton brand; and who launched one of the most viral marketing strategies on social
media to promote his new brand. The opening of a new pop-up store ‘Daisy Marc Jacobs Tweet
Shop’ in Manhattan, accepted social currency in exchange for goods. Rather than taking cash or
credit, customers could pay with tweets and pictures on Instagram and posts on Facebook tagged
with #MJDaisyChain to purchase fragrances, small accessories and the chance to win larger
prizes (Ribeiro, 2014). This is just an example of the thousand of strategies fashion brands are
developing on social media, but also as a way to give a ‘human voice to the brand’ since
companies and designers use social media to post videos, commercials and fashion shows for
instances (Stephenson, 2009).

5.2. Consumer behaviour on social media

Consumers use social media in different ways, moved by different reasons and motivations.
Broadly, the theory classifies the behavior into passive and active (Universal McCann study
 (UM), 2011). Passive behaviours are those demanding less effort and involvement such online
reading or browsing for instances. Active behaviours require higher cognitive processing and
involvement such writing, creating videos or post
ing for instances. 18 Li and Bernoff (2008) introduced social technograhics, a way of classifying
individuals into groups, regarding their behavior in social media. With the characteristic that
individuals from each group could belong to others group, it means that the groups overlap and
people participate in multiples behaviours. Later, in 2010, Bernoff (2010) improved this
classification, which is illustrated in Figure 1. Figure 1. Different groups of consumer behaviour
on SM Understanding online consumer behaviour is fundamental for marketers to develop
successful marketing strategies. Further, the analysis of consumer’ engagement help marketers to
identify better ways to reach the target market on social media and determine the activities
consumers are more enthusiastic to participate in (Bernott et al, 2010).

5.3 Consumer motivation on social media

Consumer motivation is, in general terms, the reason for an action (Jackson and Shaw, 2009)
produced as a result of an unfulfilled need, which consumers try to fulfil by selecting goals and
acting in a specific way. These goals and the specific behaviour depend on their personality,
perceptions, previous experiences and attitudes (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2009, p.107). For
example, all individuals need to fulfill their need of be dressed and to be protected from the cold.
However, the specific kind of cloths and brands they buy may be the result of secondary needs or
motives such as: fulfills social needs, increase self-steem or increase group feeling. From a
psychological point of view, consumers frequently end up desiring a particular brand for the
augmented benefits that a product often provides, like brand images and status (Jackson and
Shaw, 2009). Stafford, Staddorf and Schkade (2004) identified three motives for engage:
information, entertainment and social aspects. Shao (2009) supported and extended these
findings by adding two more motives: self-actualization and self-expression. Further, Park et al.,
(2009) found four motives for using social network sites: socializing, entertainment, self-status
seeking and information. Universal McCann study (UM) (2011) revealed that individuals
participate in social networks to promote themselves, to share new experiences with others
and/or to have fun and spend time. Consumers also use social networks to support a cause they
like, to feel part of a community, to learn more about the community, to share appreciation with
 others, to associate with something they think is cool, to get free content, to fill time, because it
was recommended or to get advance news of products. Consumers’ motivations may be
summarized into two main categories (Krishnamurthy and Dou, 2009): rational and emotional.
Rational motivations assume that consumers behave rationally by carefully considering all
alternatives and choosing those that give them the greater utility (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2009,
p.110). In the scope of social networks, Krishnamurthy and Dou (2009) categorize rational
motivations those consisting in sharing knowledge with others and advocate a particular opinion
toward an issue. Studies demonstrate that one of the main users’ motivations to join brand
communities is to obtain the necessary information or skills to better use the product of their
favourite brand (Zaglia, 2013). On the other side, emotional motivations imply the selection of
goals according to personal or subjective criteria utility (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2009, p.110).
Krishnamurthy and Dou (2009) identify emotional motivation in social networks as those
behaviours that comprehend social 20 connections and self-expression. Social connection means
the creation of new relationships and connections with friends, family or others Internet users;
and self-expression refers mainly to amusement and enjoyment (Heinonen, 2011). Social identity
theory declares that consumers join a brand community to fulfil their need for identification with
symbols and groups; which gives them the ability to augment their self-concept .

5.2. Types of social media usage and activities

Consumers are taking part in different types of activities ranging from consuming content,
participating in discussions and sharing knowledge to contributing to other’s consumers
activities (Heinonen, 2011). Individuals on social networks share pictures, videos, articles and
news; participate on forums or provide other kinds of valuable information. Today, social
networks count approximately 1,96 billion users all over the word (Stadista, 2015). However,
despite of the great amount of users, studies have found that users in general are not as active
online as it has been believed (Heinonen, 2011). Consumers in social networks act in different
ways. Shao, (2009) identifies three main actions that users develop: 1) participants consume
information and entertainment; it means that consumers just read the content that other users post
on the web. 2) Consumers participate in social interaction and community development, it
happens when users comments other’s people’s comments and interact with other users; and
finally, 3) individuals use social media to express themselves and to be up to date; which means
 to post people’s own creation and content on the site. Heinonen (2011) classify the activities
based on consumer input and consumer motives. Consumer input refers principally the
consumption and participation, and barely to production. Further, the motives that incite
consumers to visit social media networks are: information, entertainment and social connection
(Heinonen, 2011). This classification is based on the motivation behind the activity, which is
analysed and further, activities related are also identified.
● Information activities (Heinonen, 2011) This group include activities such as: acquire
information about products or download content, gather information from more formal user-
generated sources, share information and access to knowledge online, such as opinions and
comments; follow 21 current news from all over the world and use knowledge for ones own
benefits, such as processing content or exchanging products.
● Entertainment activities Heinonen, (2011) declares that consumers in social media develop
four different types of entertainment activities: escaping the real world and relaxing, looking for
inspiration and encouragement, enjoying oneself online and self-expression which include
selfarticulation and self-promotion.
● Social connection activities Finally, related to social connection activities, Heinonen (2011)
identify that users develop the following activities in social media: learning about friends and
acquaintances, sharing and experiencing with others, connecting with people, knowing what is
happening in one’s own community, keeping up relationships within one’s own network and
creating and managing a social network of friends and acquaintances..

5.3 Customer Engagement:

social brand communities Social networks based on brand communities are defined as a
specialized, nongeographically bound community, established on a structured set of social
relationships among admirers of a brand (Muniz and O'Guinn, 2001). These communities are
based on shared interests and symbols, which habitually are related to a consumption activity. As
a consequence, these communities have a very high influence on the buying behaviour of their
members and are, therefore, of high importance for firms (Wiegandt, 2009). When it comes to
consumers’ willingness to engage with companies online, from a rational or economic pint of
view, consumers revealed that mostly they interact occasionally and only a very small percentage
engage regularly by responding to posts and creating content (Baird and Parasnis, 2011). From
an online marketing perspective, customer engagement is ‘intended to increase the time or
 attention a customer or prospect gives to a brand on the web or across multiple channels”
(Chaffey, 2008). Hollebeek (2011, p. 6) defines ‘customer brand engagement’ as “the level of a
customer's motivational, brand-related and context dependent state of mind characterized by
specific levels of cognitive, emotional and behavioural activity in brand interactions’. Engaged
22 customers are likely to recommend products to others and even add value to the community
(Sashi, 2009). Customers in general, engage with firms in four different ways: by buying the
firm’s product, by suggesting the firm to other prospects using the firm’s recommendation
program, by influencing other customers through online social media channels, and by providing
feedback to the firm (Kudar, 2013). The study by Brodie et al., (2011) classify, from a
psychology perspective, three different kinds of engagement: (a) social engagement: defined as
high sense of initiative, involvement and adequate response to social stimuli, participating in
social activities, interacting with others (Achterberg et al. 2003, as cited in Brodie, 2011); (b)
task engagement: characterized by active striving and effort, and (c) occupational engagement:
defined as a lifestyle in which the person has a stability among activity and rest, a variety and
range or meaningful occupations/routines and the ability to move around society and interact
socially (Bejerholm and Eklund, (2007) as cited in Brodie (2011)). The customer engagement
cycle proposed by Sashi (2009) define customer engagement as those delighted and loyal
customers who share their satisfaction with others individuals on their social networks and
become advocates for a brand, product or company. Further, Sashi (2009) construct a customer
engagement matrix with relational exchange and emotional bonds and identify four different
types of customers: transactional customers, delighted customers, loyal customers and fans.
Henning-Thurau et al., (2004) identify eight elements that stimulate consumers to engage:
expressing negative feelings, concern for other consumers, self-enhancement, advice seeking,
social benefits, economic benefits, platform assistance, and helping the company. Hence,
customer engagement is a process that enhances consumer loyalty and satisfaction, consumer
empowerment, connection and emotional bonding, trust and commitment, as consequence of the
perceived co-created value of the engagement process (Brodie et al, 2011,b). Despite the
popularity of customer engagement and the benefits that would bring to the company, marketers
face to the challenge of measuring those benefits. Kumar, (2013) claims that it would be possible
by quantifying customer experiences and deriving value out of it through customer management
strategies. It also declares that the key of engaging with customers profitably is in recognizing
 the sources of profit contribution; in other words, focusing on maximizing profitable customer
engagement. The study by Forrester (2008) identifies a variety of metrics for assess engagement
including measurements of results (such as sales volume), emotion (such as customer
satisfaction), and engagement with the Web site (such as frequency of site visits). Finally, the
study concludes that organizations should find the right metrics to monitor 23 the progress of the
right engagement focusing on involvement, interaction, intimacy, and influence. The Gallup
Consulting (2009) uses 11 questions to measure rational and emotional factors of consumer
engagement and identify four levels of consumer engagement: fully engaged, engaged,
disengaged and actively disengaged. Gallup assumes that engaged customers are not just
satisfied and loyal, but also emotionally attached to the brand’s services and products.

5.4 Different levels of engagement on social media

Building on the discussion above, it is proposed different levels of consumer engagement based
on the motivation for the action, type of activity on social media and frequency of interactions
with brands. Examining consumers’ activities and the motivation behind the activity; two levels
of engagement are identified in terms of frequency for action: high engagement and low
engagement. A high brand consumer engagement is considered when individuals have an active
role on social networks. The frequency of visit is at least once per day, and users are familiar
with activities such as recommend the brand to others, share information about product and
services, post comments, upload pictures or videos and/ or participate actively within the
community. On the other side, low engagement could be identified with consumers that rarely
interact with the brands that they like. Some of the activities they develop consist on reading or
browsing the content exposed on the sites for instances.

CHAPTER-VI
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION
From the above studies we can conclude :
 Youth is more into using internet and social media sites which is also the main target of
brands.
 The study also depicts that most of the people that were surveyed use internet for
entertainment purposes.
 Facebook and instagram is the most widely used social networking sites, so brands which
engage customers through facebook and instagram have higher chances of getting more
customers.
 Majority of the respondents i.e. 59.3% are interested in becoming a fan or follower of
brands on social media sites which shows a potential for these brands to increase
customer engagement which in turn will result to more turnover of customers loyalty and
positive brand image.
 72.8% of the people check online before making a purchase of which 49.4% check it for
reviews. So good user reviews can get brands more customers.
 The studies also the majority of respondents i.e. 48.1% shop only once in few months
online.
 The study shows that brands engaging through social media help people in searching
information more actively.

 Through social media engagement of brands and positive reviews/comments about a

product or service,it helps customer change his attitude towards a product.

 61.7% of the people say that social media triggers to purchase a product or service which
shows effectiveness of social media engagement of brands.

 80% of the people also say that they would suggest a friend or a family member to buy a
product online because of its positive image on social media sites, which again shows the
importance of positive engagement of brands.

This overall concludes that people are using social media sites actively. Brands need to connect
to the audience and build a goodwill as social media is influencing buying behavior. Any product
or service with good attributes and reviews will generate traffic and will initiate them to buy a
product. So a positive engagement of brands is very necessary for better business and goodwill.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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QUESTIONNAIRE

Q1. Which category does your age lies in?

 0-19 yrs
 20-29yrs
 30-39yrs
 40-49yrs
 50+yrs

Q2. What are the main purposes for which you use internet?

 Work related
 Study
 Entertainment
 Social networking
 Shopping

Q3. Which of the following social meida sites do you use on a daily basis?

 Social networking(facebook)
 Microblogging (twitter)
 Other

Q4. Are you interested in becoming a fan or follower of these sites through social media?
 Yes
 No
 Maybe

Q5. Which of the following sites do you prefer to connect with brands?

 Facebook
 Twitter
 Instagram
 Other

Q6. Before purchasing an item do you check it on social media site?

 Yes
 No

Q7. For what reasons do you use social media before purchasing?

 Compare prices of different websites

 User reviews
 Promotional offers
 Actually purchasing the item

Q8. How often do you make a purchase online?

 Fortnightly
 Monthly
 Once in few months
 Never

Q9. Do you think that with the social media sites, you are able to seek out products/services
information actively?

 Yes
 No
 Maybe

Q10. Are you likely to change your attitude towards a certain brand or product or service after
you have read positive comments/reviews/online articles about it?
 Yes
 No
 Maybe

Q11. Do you agree that information searching is easier via social media comparing to mass
media?

 Strongly Disagree
 Disagree
 Neutral
 Agree
 Strongly Agree

Q12. Does social media triggers you to purchase a product/service?

 Yes
 No

Q13. Would you recommend to family/friends for buying online on the basis of social media
advertising and brand image?
 Yes
 No