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Dissertation Proposal On Social Network Marketing
Dissertation Proposal On Social Network Marketing
Table of contents
Abstract ……………………………………………………………………..3
Introduction ………………………………………………………………….4
Statement of the problem …………………………………………………….6
Background of study ………………………………………………….….…6
Hypothesis …………………………………………………………..………..8
Methods and procedure……………………………………………….………9
Objective one………………………………………………….………9
Objective two………………………………………………….………10
Objective three……………………………….……………………….11
Objective four…………………………………..…………….………11
Findings …………………………………………….……………..…….……11
Interviews …………………………………..………………….…….12
Statistics ………………………………..……………………..……..14
Analysis …………………………………………..…………………………16
Limitations …………………………………………..………………………20
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..21
References …………………………………………..………………………22
Dissertation proposal
SOCIAL NETWORK MARKETING
Abstract
This project will look at the social network marketing and how it can be used to help businesses. Some of the social networks include: Facebook, Orkut, LinkedIn, MySpace, Friendster, Twitter, Mixx, Flikr, Stumble upon, and Reddit. Combination of both primary and secondary research will be employed to see how social networks have changed our day to day life and also the direction businessmen are taking as a result of the social network. The project will summarize by looking at the way social network is bringing change to the society, especially the way people do business, communication between buyers and sellers, and how the businessmen get to market their products as well as how the buyers are able to know of the products in the market.
Description: I will try to investigate how the society has been transformed by these new technologies especially the social networks. I will look at how people have moved from just looking for information to an extent of participating in the social spaces together with other people through internet. I will also look at effects brought about by social media in business especially in public relations, marketing and advertisements. I will also try to look at how the social network marketing functions and why should use the social networks to market their products.
This will assist in making the conclusion that will summarize the effects of social networks to the society and especially to the business people. I will predict what these changes mean to our culture and the future the business people have if the social network accelerates with the current pace. It will answer the question how the social network marketing is changing the modern society especially the way business is done, and how communication is done between the buyers and sellers.
Introduction
Social marketing has very much integrated itself in day to day activities and especially it has a great impact to the world of marketing, with entrepreneurs and consumers enjoying a lot of benefits as well as changes. It is among the latest tools which are available to the marketing managers today. Some of the most popular and used social networks include: Facebook, Linkedln, Twitter, MySpace among others such as blogs, video promotion found on You tube, email marketing etc. The truth of the matter is that the migration from the traditional marketing to the current internet marketing is a process which has happened over the last decade. However, I intend to look into the difference between the ordinary marketing and the social network marketing, advantages and disadvantages of social network marketing, transformation of the society by social networks as well as its impact on other businesses.
A study has shown that in the United States, for six hundred small business people, about 90% of them are in the social networks.They argue that the method is cheap and very easy to use. It is a method that many have embraced because one can be able to update the business profile in the account regularly. For example, in a restaurant business, one would take photographs of well prepared nice looking food and post them in the account like in Facebook. This will attract many of the people who will see the photos. Also one could take photos of customers being served and many more. For one to use social media to promote his or her business, the following steps are important.
One, look at the business assets and the customers you are targeting. This is important because one might think the people to see the adverts are all interested and potential customers only to be shocked. After this, one can sign up on social media. Like in Facebook, it allows one to make a business page. Read the rules carefully and understand then create the account if the assets of the business can allow doing it. LinkedIn for example allows for every person employed in the business to be an advocate. It is difficult and stressing to manage many social networks and therefore its important to find a manager for your social media such as HootSuite or Ping.fm. . This can be done even before postings and friend requests are done. This gives you a chance to be able to manage all the business accounts in one site and format the messages to send to all without using a lot of time. After one is involved more in the social media, SproutSocial.com is the best manager though at a fee of about nine to forty nine dollars. One is given a grace period of about thirty days to ensure it works well. This one allows one to create the accounts of the business followers where you can manage them in track engagement. The inbox is one for the messages from many networks.
Have information on the social media pages before adding followers and friends. This will make the people you request to view the page and decide whether they would want to follow you. Ensure to entice as many followers by the information. One can post photographs and videos of the business on the page for people to admire them. Start searching for the followers by looking for keywords. Add few people at a time and comment on their posts. One can also start with family members and friends. These are people who cannot let you down. Start to engage the followers and friends for example in conversations and debates. This makes them feel like they already knew you and also it builds trust. The followers get impressed and feel that they would want to work with you.
Statement of the problem
The aim of this project is to look at a new technology that has succeeded its way in the every day lives of human beings especially in work and in business. The presence of social network cannot be denied and its transition has come very drastically. As a result, the fact that it is a very new concept, little research has been done on the concept. This leads to my conclusion that social networks in business are changing.
Historically, social network refers to a social structure made of a group of individuals or organizations and the dyadic ties between them. Today, a new form of social network has been created and has been greatly received. It has become broader to an extent that it has become a necessity in business world. The relevance, quick dissemination and the instantaneous way of taking off of the social network marketing in the business world make it important to investigate it and its effects in the entrepreneurs.
As a business person and a student pursuing business related courses, I have always been encountering the concept of social network marketing and have been trying to do research on how effective it is, as well as the effects it has to the business world. My researches though, have not been very fruitful and therefore want to use this opportunity to explore this concept to the best of my ability. I plan to look into the topics mentioned and the future it holds to the society.
Background of study
Marketers should always be where the potential buyers are and especially on the social network sites. Many marketers have started using the social networks to sell their business products and to have financial freedom. Other than marketing, it also offers services and products to the required audience and gives more benefits when using dialogues as well as personal connections and gain broader audience for the product. Marketing in these sites is quite tricky as online community on social network sites does not like open commercial messages.
There are a lot of active users in sites like Facebook and Twitter. 2.6 billion minutes are used on Facebook on daily bases. Social networking is a rapidly growing phenomenon worldwide. This strengthens trust, relationships, loyalty and also maintains awareness in minds of members of a community. It also provides a unique opportunity for business people to stay close to customers, their worries, desires and also their concerns. Despite the fact that it has all these benefits, building active community would take a lot of time and is difficult even though it is cheap. The alternative method is to connect up in an established community which has great independence. However, social networks are part of the most dynamic dialogue and opportunities that marketers of today enjoy most.
Social networking has several advantages that make it interesting and important marketing tool to be used in any business. It is cheap as compared to other advertising methods. It is also easy to review and record any marketing campaign that makes it easy to critically look at the changes that need changes in the products and services.
On the negative side, social networking has disadvantages. One, the business may be one of the major target for detractors and criticism that would make investors who may be interested in the business venture move back after viewing the criticism. Other disadvantages may include, safety and security of a business, business could be vulnerable to scams and theft as well as the violation of the copyrights. Social networks in general require updating severally and it consumes a lot of time.
Research questions/ Hypothesis
The aim of this dissertation proposal is to look at how the social network marketing helps in effective marketing of a business. Some of the objectives include;
Look at the impact of social network marketing in other businesses.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of social network in business.
Look at how the social network marketing is effective.
Transformation of society by the social networks
Methods and Procedures.
The research methodology explains the activity of the research, proceedings, the ways of measuring progress and the success of the project. It provides the richness of the human knowledge, the tools used to do research and the skills in doing the research. It is a study of a full academic field .It can also be said to be defined as the science which studies how research is done. It is also the way data is collected in projects of research. Many methods are used in the research projects. These vary according to nature, aim and objectives, scope, thesis and sources of data that are used. Some of the methods used in this research are discussed below.
Triangulation
This is the use of several methods both qualitative and quantitative research in studying the same research. It’s a methodology that requires quantitative and qualitative research team to maintain integrity of the methodologies.
Objective one: Look at the impact of social network marketing in other businesses.
Interview will be done to two marketing managers to explain they gained the knowledge of the impact of social network marketing in the businesses. The interviews will be short and personal offering realistic data that will give us detailed information about the first objective, with the hope to obtain first hand knowledge. The questions will be the same to both marketing managers. This is because the reason for an interview is actually straightforward, where the interviewer and the respondent get into an informal conversation about a certain agenda of interest. The interviewer may continue the conversation by picking on the themes and cues coming from the respondent. This means, the respondent gives the direction into which the interview proceeds. Comprehensive information can be got from an interview though the strength of the interview may not be always accurate as interviewees would tend to feel that they are being forced to give better responses. Articles and case studies obtained online will be referred to give an elaborate view on the impact of social network marketing in businesses.
Objective two: Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of social network in business.
The best method to use in this objective would be mixing email and personal interviews. The format of questions will be simple, precise and concise, easy to understand so that the respondents do not have problem in giving their answers. About seven questionnaires will be given. Some will be closed while others will be open questionnaires. Closed questionnaires will have a lot of boxes to tick in while the open questionnaires will allow free responses for the respondents use their own words in answering the questions. Other resources like internet, books, case studies and journals will also be used to give more information on the advantages and disadvantages of social network marketing. This is because some people may not give accurate responses especially during the face to face interview.
Objective three: Look at how the social network marketing is effective.
Third objective looks at the effectiveness of the social network marketing. To be able to obtain better outcomes, we use interviews, journals, statistics and books to have a better understanding of the concept. Observation method could be also used could also be used as it provides better information as well as examples illustrating the effectiveness of the social network marketing. It therefore can be used to obtain quantitative data which will be combined to a study of participant observation.
The report has looked at the insights of theoretical outline which makes the essentials of methods used. It explains why the researcher has chosen these research methods and also the use of these methods is appropriate to objectives of the chosen research project. It also shows the evidence of using the secondary data that supports the choice of these methods.
Objective four. Transformation of society by the social networks
The fourth objective looks at how the society has been changed by the social network. We will use interviews, information from journals and books to be able to obtain better results. The interview will be done to two individuals who will explain what they feel the social networks have done to the society.
The Findings.
This is the most important part of the research as it gives chance to discuss the findings that are based on the methods which were used. The findings are obtained from analyzing the statistical data as well as the interviews that were used for research. Some of the important points are connected to the ideas that were in the literature review and the evidence that is got from the research.
Finding obtained from interviews.
Manager, Cumin Restaurant in Nottingham.
Does your business have any profile in any of the social networks?
Manager: Yes I have a personal profile.
Which one?
Manager: I have one on Facebook, and I also realized that a business can have a community page and I made one.
Do you often update the profile?
Manager: I have a web designer who updates the business page once per week.
Does it make any difference in your business?
Manager: Well, it is very new but several customers have given reference from the Facebook. I still believe as time goes, we will get more.
What encouraged you to join Facebook?
Manager: My web designer told me about it and I thought of giving it a trial.
Is there any advantage on the business for using Facebook as compared to other traditional methods?
Manager: The main advantage is that you can make any choice among the ones they have depending with your budget, then make it more effective.
What are the disadvantages of using social networks to a business?
Manager: When negative comments are posted, they are viewed by many people who may tarnish the name of a business. It does not have privacy.
Can you recommend other businessmen to have a profile on the social networks?
Manager: Yes, it is effective as compared to other forms of advertisement.
What effect has the social networks have had to the society?
Manager: It has made the world to be a small village, one is able to chat with people living all over the world, it is also quick method of delivering information.
The Findings from the Email Interview.
Supervisor, Park Plaza Restaurant, Nottingham.
Does your business have any profile in any of the social networks?
Supervisor: Yes, I was given the liberty for making a profile page because it is good for the restaurant.
Which one?
Supervisor: We settled on Facebook.
Do you often update the profile?
Supervisor: I ensure that I ho to the profile on daily bases so that if there are any necessary updates I make them.
Does it make any difference in your business?
Supervisor: It is fun to follow links and this has gained us good publicity. We have not measured the difference but we believe it is doing well.
What encouraged you to join Facebook?
Supervisor: No one encouraged me. I thought about it myself as it is an upcoming trend to have a profile on Facebook and many businesses have done so.
Is there any advantage on the business for using Facebook as compared to other traditional methods?
Supervisor: Yes. It is very cheap, easy to operate and manage, cost effective. They are also very contemporary.
What are the disadvantages of using social networks to a business?
Supervisor: The disadvantages are that it may take time for results to be seen, has no privacy and also people can have fake profiles.
Can you recommend other businessmen to have a profile on the social networks?
Supervisor: Of course yes. They are there to be made use of and be used efficiently as they are cheap and affordable but must be managed well and updated regularly.
What effect has the social networks have had to the society? It is a true revolution. One just needs to be connected and will send information to millions of people from wherever you are.
Data from Global social Media Statistics
The data shows compiled information on online market research and internet statistics. Some of the information obtained is provided below.
Facebook has over three hundred and fifty million users who are active. This has been a big increase from the previous two hundred and fifty million six months ago. Of these, 50% log into Facebook every day. An increase from the previous one hundred and twenty million. About thirty five million of the users usually update their personal profiles every day. Photo uploads have also increased by 100% and above. There are about two billion uploads in the site every month. There are also seventy plus translations found in the Facebook. Each user in Facebook has over one hundred and thirty friends as compared to the year 2009 when they had about one hundred and twenty friends. The number of those people who use mobile phones to access facebook has increased by more than 100%. This is because they have increased from thirty million in the year 2010 to the current over sixty five million users. There are also about four billion pieces with contents such as stories and blog posts which are being shared every week on Facebook. When it comes to business people, more than seven hundred have Facebook accounts. Facebook purpose built pages have created about five billion fans.
Twitter on the other hand has seventy five million accounts. Linkedln has more than fifty million users as well. In Europe alone, there are over eleven million users. India also has over three million users. This has been seen as an increase of about one million members in each month.
Wikipedia has over fourteen million articles. This means that the eighty five thousand contributors have posted more than one million posts in six months time.
About fifteen percent of bloggers use more than ten hours in every week to blog. About seventy percent are always talking about the brands they have on their blog, and thirty eight percent of the bloggers will post new products or brands.
Mobile advertising is also increasing at a very high rate. This is seen especially in countries like Asia and also North America who are leading in mobile advertising. Many people have mobile phones and therefore it is easy to reach them through this method either by sending them short messages or using the social networks like the Facebook, e-mails and Tweeter. The Graph below shows the rate of growth in mobile advertising in various countries, a study carried out from October to December 2009.
Source: Experian Hitwise,2010.
Analysis
We have now been able to collect the primary and the secondary data for this research. The remaining part is now to analyze the data which will be done by looking at each of our objectives and see whether they are in line with our literature review.
Objective one: Look at the impact of social network marketing in other businesses.
It has been proved from the interview and statistics that the social marketing is the best marketing tool for businesses. The traditional methods have been challenged in the past years as many business people opt to advertise their products online. These social networks such as the Facebook, Tweeter and LinkedIn have been said to be the best for marketing. The respondents commented that it would take time for the customers to know that a business is being advertised in Facebook for example, but the moment they know, results will be seen and they are good results. This is because many people are in these sites and it is easy for them to identify what is being advertised once they are in the sites.
Objective two: Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of social network in business.
The advantages that have come up very well from the two managers is that there are great choices that one can make depending with the money one has and if one is not interested, he or she could just have a profile page that is not published, then put more effort on ensuring that it is effective. Other advantages are that it is cheap as compared to the traditional methods like the television and newspapers, therefore the best alternative especially to the small businesses as well as the upcoming businesses. It is also easy to manage as one can easily make changes like photographs of new products and others.
On the other hand it has disadvantages like, a business could be a target for criticism that could be a serious problem to the business as people would turn off when they read the negative comments. It is also prone to piracy and fraud, violation of the copyrights and others.
Objective three: Look at how the social network marketing is effective.
As it has been commented by the two respondents, it would take time for a person to identify how effective the social networking is effective in advertisement. However, when the business profiles are made, they do exist in the sites as ‘people’ and friends could interact with their brands share information and other things. This actually enhances a brand to make use what is known as conversation marketing. This improves the brand personality and if the person in the brand is likeable it facilitates internalization of a message whereby the customer adopts the belief of a brand like it is his or her own. It therefore offers an opportunity for the business to have engagement with the potential customers. According to the statistics obtained from the global social media, it is evident that the method is effective as millions of people have accounts on the social networks. This shows clearly that the potential customers can be reached very effectively.
Objective four: Transformation of society by the social networks.
According to the two respondents, it is evident that the social networks have greatly changed the lives of people. This is because unlike the traditional methods of advertisement, where one had to travel to the media houses to advertise a product, nowadays one can do the same while seated with just a mobile phone. This also can be viewed by many people in the world as it is said that the world has been made to be like a village.
Advertising and marketing have been greatly transformed. Businessmen who embrace change have the power to reach the customers. This is because one can be able to have a direct conversation with his or her customers and share about the available products and the tastes and preferences.
Many people spend their time in Facebook, e-mail, Skype and also Tweeter. A click of button makes a person be able to send comments or reply to many people. A lot of time is spent on the social networks by people browsing, chatting or even advertising their businesses and others (customers) looking for the commodities and services they want. This therefore becomes an avenue for business. The graph below illustrates the time (hours in billions per month) that is spent on certain internet categories
Source: com Score Media Matrix, Worldwide. March 2007 to October 2011.
Limitations
The objectives of the dissertation have been met and I have found out that social network marketing is a very efficient way of advertising businesses especially small businesses and the upcoming ones. The research used various methods such as interview, questioners and also statistical data to be able to come up with these findings. Better results can be obtained if there is more time as well as using more methods to obtain the information.
There were few problems encountered when the author was gathering the information. One, the aim of doing five interviews was not achieved because of lack of time. There was also a lot of pressure because I still had other assignments which required to be submitted the same time as this. This was the first research and it made the researcher to learn a lot of things such as taking an interview and time management which needs to be taken care of. It has also made me use a referencing style which I am not very good at, the Oxford referencing style. However, if I was given more time, I would take great care on time management, be keen on grammar and punctuations as well as improve on the skills of referencing.
Conclusion
Advertising and marketing have been greatly transformed by using the social media. Businessmen who embrace change have the power to reach the customers. This is because one can be able to have a direct conversation with his or her customers and share about the available products and the tastes and preferences.
The main aim of the dissertation proposal has actually been met by the researcher by looking into details on the effectiveness of the social network in businesses. The research employed various methods so as to obtain the results. These methods include interviews, and questionnaires through the e-mail. The research could have yielded better results if it could have been improved and use other methods such as having more interviews with the businessmen and include contingency plan for businesses if the time is inconvenient.
Even if there were problems encountered like not meeting the targeted people due to inadequate time, the overall comment is that the outcome of the research is relevant to the main aim of the dissertation proposal. The interviews and questionnaires are very much relevant to the project.
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