Advertising refers to non-personal information communication that is normally influential and paid for in nature regarding ideas, services, and products by recognized sponsors via several media. Whereas, social media is the gathering of public technologies that have facilitated an insurgency is a user-created content, publishing and universal community of customer views (Ayarekar 2015, p.58and59).
According to Naidoo (2011, p. 9and10), advertising aims to sway the manner under which buyers perceive themselves as well as how purchasing some merchandise could demonstrate being profitable to them. The information transmitted through pleas persuades consumers purchasing decision. The core to the use of social media platforms is the mode in which consumer fortified and buyer created content can as well persuade image. The viral environment regarding relevant communication of the brand brings to the fore why the utilization of social media platforms is either a threat or a prospect for existing advertisers. In order to establish the comparative nature and influence of the pressure on a single brand, it is necessary to put the content source into regard, virtual source of authority as well as the present content. Additionally, marketing is pertinent for several undertakings as well as being a very significant element for any business plan or strategy. Several big corporations in South Africa splurge millions in finances on business marketing while smaller corporations majorly depend on more cost-effective and creative techniques. Due to the extreme competitiveness of the current global business today, the employment of social media networking site marketing has eventually become the latest marketing trend. It is one that is quickly spreading and to last longer through social media platforms, for instance, community sites, blogs, film sharing platforms, and Facebook to advertise businesses or products.
Furthermore, the author states that trendy and fashionable networking platforms, for example, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook composes of almost five million daily visitors. Therefore they should be regarded as an essential advertising hub. Advertising products or a business through these platforms come as propositions for attractive business as a result of the huge quantity of reliable everyday traffic. The vast technological progress has made social media to be very flourishing as well as an essential section of business due to the total amount of individuals that gain accessibility to these platforms daily. Additionally, advertising carried out in social networks diverges from the conventional service and product advertising since it does not rely on only unidirectional association involving consumers and the marketer. A social network marketing promotion to thrive must be intended to generate a murmur. Advertising through social media is a unit that functions alongside a range that is continuously evolving. The accomplishment of the advertisements promotion depends wholly on the advertiser’s capability to attract and lure social media users to confer about the promotion of a product.
Nazeer(2017, p. 1) states that life is considered difficult without the presence of mass media. The media entertains, informs, invades and makes people aware of what is occurring in various locations. The media is among the significant elements due to social change and novel media has authority on culture and society. The evolution of social media has significantly modified the landscape image of communication. Examples of social media include Myspace, Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn and Facebook and all these platforms are essential for corporations to maintain express relation with their existing clients. Currently, corporations have created fully fledged divisions that control and design social media in relation to the company’s promotional activities and requirements. Traditional and social media are distinct as the latter is created by consumers of these sites plus the consumers possess extra management over its utilization. The clients also at times produce the employed content. Hence, in case the social network is made a part of an advertising promotion, it possesses the ability to enhance brand awareness as well as advance its reputation and image. There can also be an increase in the retail website traffic that could lead to an increase in sales plus general fundamental advertisement plan enhancement. Similarly, there is customization of information to specific audiences when advertisers post their promotions on Facebook. It enables them to aim at persons on grounds of demographic information and mutual interest. Facebook provides the opportunity and platform to get to the targeted audience via cost and interesting free than the conventional advertising means. These occur as divergent methods are employed by Facebook promoters to efficiently distribute and publicise business information so as to sway purchasing choices since promoters are given smart marketing by Facebook that enables them to display every information to their audience.
According to Zeng, Tao, Yang, and Xie. (2017, p.1), explains that several decades ago, numerous thriving advertising cases of social media have gradually fascinated worldwide firms, for instance, P &G with “Smell Like a Man, Man” and K-TEC’s “Will it blend”. Advertising through social media is characterized by numerous merits, for example, the co-development of advertisements involving advertisers and users, correct targeting, and bilateral communication between users, advertisers as well as communities. These trends promote advertisers to devote huge sums of the promotional budget in the growing industry of social media. The revenue from advertising through the social media by 2020 in the United States will go beyond $30 billion. Furthermore, in spite of the rewarding merits of advertising through social media, and over 1/3 of its users regard on-line society promotion is upsetting. Similarly, a high quantity of disappointing scenarios, for example, Apple’s Ping and MySpace have happened as a result of advertiser-user conflicts. To add on, advertiser-user variance hampers the intention of user’s involvement with online communities that includes a big negative degree of persuasion on the user’s view of community promotion.
It was basically an issue of time before advertisers and businesses realized that social media was a perfect advertising avenue to enable a forward drive for their companies. The presence of social media as a tool of marketing provides advertisers with the extraordinary advantage of being at similar locations with their clients, communicating with them as well as obtaining admission to their preferences, needs, wants, patterns of purchase and attitudes. The availability of these insights enables companies to obtain exclusive possibilities of targeting the exact precise audience as well as generating information that is customized to every client’s need and permits them to construct reliable and loyal relations with their audience. On the contrary, several corporations are reluctant to utilize social media platforms for advertising since there is the inadequacy of regulation regarding content. Furthermore, there is available information regarding how social media helps in selling services or products (Maurer and Wiegmann 2011, p. 1). Additionally, according to Al-Sadani (2015, p.15), advertising via social media has to be targeted for various age categories and markets including teenagers as corporations cannot agree to miss out on the employment of social media as an avenue of marketing. “Consumer-generated content is having an impact on brands (both positive and negative), and new media are on the agendas of marketers of all products, not just those targeted at young people. Consumers will create content about brands whether the marketers of those brands like it or not”. Furthermore, “in many markets, companies failing to develop effective websites and digital marketing capability are now at a significant disadvantage. The use of social media to engage with business customers and to build ongoing relationships is a big growth area”
Bashar, Ahmad,and Wasiq (2012, p. 88)opine that social media sites are a platform where an individual forms interest communities to facilitate connection with other people. Social networking platforms employ the technology of social media to link with others and construct relations. These sites permit people to create their personal profiles surrounded by restricted structures, sharing with different users plus viewing and traversing their catalogue of affiliations as well as those created by other users inside the structure. Therefore, it is summarized that social media is a subset of social networking platforms. Additionally, the mounting reliance on technology for essential communication underscores the significance of examining how these sites of networking affect everyday processes. Sites, for example, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are persuading the manner in which users maintain, cultivate and establish an assortment of public relations, from casual acquaintances to close friendships. Furthermore, buyers current prefer to obtain more information regarding products prior to purchase and social networks have the capability of persuading and influencing buying choices as several groups trust their opinions than advertising planners. Therefore, buyers presently own the authority to retaliate at the product as well as transmit their views regarding the product thereby making advertisers treat buyers differently.
1.2 Problem formulation and development
There exists several information that are available and applicable for utilization of advertisement within the Facebook social media platform. The data present includes regularity of visit, mean length of visit, figure of exceptional visitors, page opinions. These show essential failure in obtaining information regarding the influence of advertising on social media. The available data is only about friends, impressions, players, friends, posts and visitors. The arithmetic does not capture the background regarding consumer interaction with the brand, impacts of interaction, level of commitment felt during the course interaction as well as after, brand awareness, brand image, purchase intent, brand connection and brand loyalty. The inability of advertiser’s to access buyers with genuine information regarding available products and personalized messages make it difficult for them to achieve their end goal. Therefore, the dissertation will examine the influence of advertising through social media.
1.3 Objectives of the study
The topic of the study is to examine the influence of advertising through social media and the objective are as stated below;
i. To identify the level of employment of advertising through the social media
ii. To examine the extent of effectiveness of social networking sites advertising
iii. To establish how advertising through social media can improve communication between consumers and companies
1.4 Justification
The study will assist commercial and academic researchers in conducting their study investigations on the novel social media means of advertising plus its new aspects. The aim of the empirical research is the provision of insights regarding the use of social media for advertising especially through Facebook as well as its effectiveness that will act as an outline for other advertisers and network operators for future research. The research investigation will establish the influence of advertising through social media.
Methodology
2.1 Data Sources
In carrying out the study, there are two pertinent approaches to data gathering and these include primary data and secondary data gathering approaches. Under the secondary data compilation technique, the investigator depends on current resources of information that is compiled by a different researcher for a distinct rationale, for example, a United States client spending survey that makes information available on what individuals in the United States purchase, for instance, food, individual care articles, and insurance as well as prices paid of service and products. In a case where the study investigator sends surveys with different questions in order to obtain a response to a particular matter, the information acquired is primary data and if the primary information is re-utilized to respond to a distinct study question, it translates into secondary information. Secondary information can be either external or internal. Internal secondary information is information that a company or a person already gathered, except that it is needed for a different study intention, for instance, the utilization of advertisement information to establish the accomplishment of novel products. Similarly, external secondary information is data that different individuals, organizations and companies possess. The advantage of utilizing secondary information results from it being cheap as well as easier to acquire although the process involved is lengthy (Mooi and Sarstedt, 2011, p. 29and30). On the other hand, secondary data sources include websites, magazines, journals, books and online sources. The researcher’s reliance on the content of a secondary nature easily exposes the study to transferable inaccuracies. The employment of secondary sources also affects its credibility. Additionally, the merit of secondary information is the minimised costs and its simplicity incurred by the researcher in collecting data. The researcher also uses less time in collecting the data compared to scenarios when there is the need for dependence on primary information gathering techniques.
However, the collection of primary data focuses on compiling raw information expressly from the study field with face to face interface with the selected respondents. The techniques under primary data compilation include surveys, questionnaires, interviews, observations, case studies and experiments. All these provide the investigator with different merits and disadvantages. In this specific research, the researcher will use the attained literature in obtaining information on the theme. The literature review will present the foundation under which the examination will be prepared to represent an ending on the topic as plus explaining the influence of advertisement through social media. The approach possesses an advantage with the enhanced ease in comprehending the theme and categorically allowing for the data presented on the diverse corporations. Furthermore, the study reliability is brought into inquiry in employing this technique taking into account it relays strongly with secondary information gathering approach. The investigator will depend on the objectives to present a viewpoint on the theme. All the objectives will expose the link between advertising and social media that will aid in responding to the study questions as well as resolving the study problem.
2.2 Research design
The investigator decided to analyse the collected information with the qualitative study technique. The development of a qualitative study begins with the whole study process starting from creation of study objectives to generation of the study questions. The creation of qualitative questions and objectives for the research supports the process of information collection as well as the resultant analysis. These developments direct the investigator to the production of qualitative content (Mainardi and Crescentini 2009, p. 434). Recognition of challenges associated with consistency within the research is a segment of qualitative research that the investigator will utilise in the on-going research study. In this technique, the investigator focuses on collecting information that is qualitative in nature and focusing on analysing its realism technique basing on the developed themes. The approach of realism considers the universal values, opinions, experiences and cultures that currently exist as shown in the information compiled (Eaton and Ihuah, 2013, p. 937). The method takes into consideration that the examination of occurrences presents the necessary credibility to depend on the presented data. The investigator will generate premises from content presented by the objectives and study all with the employment of the various compiled information from information gathered through the secondary approach and conferred in the subsequent study section. The gathered data will later be analysed using pragmatism that will enable guidance of the examination of content to disclose the location of the study in responding to the study questions.
2.3 Sampling
This is a process of employing a minor figure of the selected populace in order to build a conclusion concerning the entire populace. The populace refers to the category that is to be generalised in the findings. With regards to this study, users of social media are the targeted group. They are not found in any the record of the existing number of users in the social media platform, but the sample and population will be found from the platforms official database. (Hoibo 2014, p. 41). The study will employ both purposive and simple random models. The purposive model is frequently utilized in qualitative study techniques as it regards a mixture of individuals, categories and institutions with basis on the pertinence to research goals and questions. It is carried out basing on specific information personalised by a selected group that seems insufficient to the distinct groups (Robinson 2014, p. 32). The nature of model was employed in selecting users, company managers and social media division supervisors. These specific individuals were selected since they possessed required knowledge involving advertising and social media. Furthermore, the author adds that the simple random model concerns the procedure of choosing the required cases from the catalogues that engross the whole targeted populace following a particular selection procedure. The implementation of the simple random model is general in its outlook of a survey study. The technique is essential as the investigator is less burdened of employing the whole selected sample as it would make information analysis obscure. It will be utilised for selection of the size model from the business and indigenous community.
2.4 Sampling size
The sampling size will consist of 145 chosen respondents. The survey had 30 uncompleted questionnaire surveys thus leaving the model with only 115 respondents that fully completed their questionnaires. The analysis was executed after deleting the incomplete questionnaires. The size of the sample must be very big (Hoibo (2014, p. 42).
2.5 Research instrument
Bastos et al (2014, pr. 4) opine that a study instrument is considered effective when it possesses the capability to constantly produce similar outcomes after it is continuously applied to similar categories of themes. The theory is regularly employed in numerous levels of the study procedure that, for instance, when an information compilation administrator completes a quality regulation confirmation, resubmitting certain queries to similar theories previously consulted within the confirmation-reconfirmation stage under which consistency and reliability of the prearranged responses are observed. Additionally, the research instruments employed in the study includes surveys, interviews and questionnaire. Gill et al (2008, pr. 3and4) state that the structured or prepared interviews are orally managed questionnaires whereby a catalogue of programmed questions are posed, with either minimal or no disparity as well as without a scale for summary questions to the reactions that necessitate supplementary explanations. Therefore, these structured interviews are comparatively easy and quick to oversee and it is useful in case there is a need for clarification for some questions if required. The demerit with the approach is there is a limited response from the selected respondents and is not essential in relation to depth as it does not provide for detail of information. On the contrary, there are no pre-perceived ideas regarding unstructured interviews and they are executed with either minimal or no arrangement. These interviews majorly begin with opening questions as they advance based on the first reaction. These interviews are normally extremely time-consuming as it lasts numerous hours and difficulty in administering it to the selected participants. A difficulty is faced during participation as the absence of pre-arranged interview inquiries presents minimal direction on what is to be discussed that several respondents find obstructive and confusing. The advantage of these is mainly in situations where there is the need for detail of a particular theme and where nothing is acknowledged regarding the subject matter as well as the requirement for a distinct viewpoint about known topic areas.
According to Zohrabi (2013. p. 255), a questionnaire is among the original resources of acquiring information in a study. A questionnaire needs to be unambiguous, reliable and valid and there are three categories of questionnaires and these include mixed, open-ended and close-ended questionnaire. The closed-ended questionnaires present the researcher with quantitative data, whereas, open-ended questionnaires provide qualitative data. Additionally, the author adds that open-ended questionnaires lead to elevated levels of discovery though with difficulty. They make it very intricate in comparing interview and discussion reports. Open-ended questionnaires accurately reflect what participants need to respond in relation to the presented questions. Questionnaires provide an effective method of gathering information on large-scale, can be mailed concurrently to several individuals, the researcher can easily and fairly collect information in the study sites and the respondents "anonymity makes them share information more easily". Furthermore, the similarity of questions to the various respondents implies the information is correct, matching and standard, they are an effective way of data collection from numerous participants and the closed-ended survey is cost-effective and efficient regarding analysis. On the other hand, questionnaires provide responses that are questionable, incorrect, low rate of return whenever it is sent by mail or posted, unclearness and vagueness of certain questions result in unrelated and inaccurate reactions and other questions might cause misinterpretation (p. 256).
2.6 Quality and Appropriateness of data collected
Conducting of a research implores that an individual must follow set standards of quality that are responsible for the development of reliability and validity of collected data and the whole study. The data validity originates from the capability of the study investigator to center on resources that are currently related to the study field. The employment of outdated data can impact on the reliability and validity of the whole study investigation. The need to focus on current sources to acquire secondary information supplements to validity addition of the study process. It aids on current content development and presents applicable resolutions that are realistic to the existent world. Reviewing of content from scientific journals that are authentic further adds credibility of reliability and validity. On the other hand, utilization of undependable data acquired from resources for instance web site and non-authentic sources impact on the quality in relation to the study. Furthermore, close relation of these with need for ethics in the study is significant in guaranteeing relevancy of the study content in responding to the study questions as well as offering clarifications to the study predicament under assessment.
2.7 Data Analysis
The study method and nature of information used seeks the researcher to have an analysis of the qualitative data. Examination of information on the creation of different subjects represents the study of analysis. The study investigator will use approaches to coding to the various premises developed to enable simplicity in identification and analysis. The deficiency of efficient approaches to coding will lead to uncertainty regarding the data and impact the outcomes of the research. The premises of the information will be analysed and assessments carried out for the drawing of conclusions.
2.8 Ethics of Research
The research ethics begins from strategizing, realisation and supervision of the whole procedure and it needs execution of the principled deliberation that guarantees the study investigator continues to be objective. The study methods scrutinised principally, the employment of the pragmatism method depends on the values, views and culture held by society is susceptible to partiality and prejudice that possesses an effect on the content of the study. The pragmatism method might impact the researchers’ decision due to reliance on collected information instead of facts. The dependence on secondary information is unproductive as it is susceptible to elevated degrees of copyright breach and dishonesty if inappropriately developed. As the study investigator aims to provide sufficient citations for the preparation of work as well as guaranteeing citation of used authors plus references shown at the end of the work implies forgetfulness may lead to dishonesty and plagiarism. Lastly, the use of somebody else’s work without permission shows unethical behaviour.
2.9 Methodological limitations
The study investigator stumbled upon various challenges during the conduction of the study research. These limitations threatened the whole study process resulting in the development of countermeasure requirements to avert them. The existing limitations immensely began from the kind of information utilised bearing in mind it was majorly secondary data. The limitations are discussed below;
Reliability
The study investigator largely depended on secondary information and the objectives in scrutinizing the study subject. The information acquired by these methods is susceptible to inaccuracies by various researchers that render the study subject to a similar error. The focus of acquiring information from reputable and reliable journals enhances the consistency of the study subject.
Limitation of the scope
The research is restricted in relation to the scope due to the augmented intricacy in tapering the subject. The study investigator encountered difficulties in working within the stated scope. The researcher also depended on secondary resources that expressly affected the study outcomes basing on the area and topic of targeted coverage.
Time limitation
The amount of time provided for the study was inadequate thus impacting the researchers’ ability to investigate the subject matter in its entirety. The limited time duration impacted on the capacity to evaluate more data and numerous case studies regarding the subject which later impacted on the study outcomes.
Limitation due to material accessibility
A section of acquired journals required purchase or subscription to enable access and use for the study. The monetary restraint affiliated with these impacted on the researchers’ capability to acquire these much-needed journals for employment in the research. The information accessibility limitation resulted in the presence of inadequate content on the premise that impacted the researchers’ capability to carry out a comprehensive study.
Literature Review
3.1 The influence of advertising through social media
According to Putter (2017, pr. 1), corporations all over the globe are continuously in the quest for fresh ways to easily access their clients. Only a few years ago, print advertising and television were major elements of strategic advertising. In the present epoch, the ever existent conventional streams of advertisement are only an undersized portion of the different methods employed to facilitate advertising, branding, and marketing of products. The mounting social media focus streamlined the state of advertising and drifted the manner in which organizations communicate with their future audience. Therefore, the efficient and reliable employment of social network sites has developed into an integral part of maintaining and creating a competitive edge in advertising of products. Consequently, corporations currently attach a considerable worth in the manner under which social networking sites should be employed in order to profile client perception of the brand as well as manipulate their purchase decision. The organizations that are amalgamating strategic techniques in the utilization of available social media platforms shall possess an advantage against corporations that are not participating in the technological drive.
According to Wright (2010, p. 76), the growth of advertising through the social media brings a continuous drift to create personal interactions between marketers and customers. In the current computer age and era, several individuals in western countries are discovering novel approaches of connecting with those that possess similar minds. The citizens of developed economies are further fascinated in satisfaction of their requirements to achieve elevated self-esteem and actualization. The growth of social media platforms reveals the trend. There are several individuals owning personalized websites that enable them to load information regarding themselves, creating their personal blogs, posting their pictures as well as uploading their personalized videos. These on-going trends in the social media make it relevant for an advertiser to comprehend the significance of self-actualization and esteem in the highly characteristic communities by designing demands that gratify these elevated personalized requirements. Therefore the creation of these makes advertisers fulfill their consumer's needs and satisfy their individualistic appeals.
Cision (2016, pr.1and2) states that universal advertising and digital marketing includes a wide assortment of marketing products and services offered via the internet. The rise of dominance through social media has resulted in expected acceleration on the significance of digital advertisement for several businesses. As stated by Zenith, the worldwide expenditure on advertising in relation t social media over the subsequent four years is anticipated to surpass newspapers. Advertising through social media is mounting at a rate of 20% per annum and speculated to be valued at 50.2 billion dollars in 2019 in comparison to 50.7 billion dollars on newspapers.
Guda Van Noort and Hilde (2014, pr. 1), states that stimulated and motivated by the escalating recognition of advertising through social media particularly in the
