MN6P12 Proposal and Literature review

Objectives-

• To determine the concept of social media in M&S.
• To identify the importance of social media in organization.
• To analyse the impact of social media on business performance.
• To recommend how Marks and Spencer can be used as tool to increase their productivity and profitability.

3. Rationale for choosing research topic

The research topic is based on impact of social media to raise business performance and activity. Researcher chose this topic because they want to find out possible outcomes and results of social media while using in business. They want to identify the benefits that social media provide to organization, whether it is beneficial or not.

4. Background of research topic

Social media is set of applications that allow users to share information and create content for specific purpose in social networking (Rashidi and et.al., 2017). It is form of electronic communication through which people can create online communities to share, personal message, ideas, data and other content such as product promotion videos. In context of business, social media sites are used to promote services, goods, brand in target market place that helps to generate awareness in regard to all these things in effective manner. Several benefits associated with social media websites, that impact positively on performance of companies. It helps to build effective connection between firms and its consumers.

In today period, there has been high affect of social media on business performance, this is because of change in technology.

Literature review

Concept of social media-

According to Chou, (2019) social media is interactive computer based technology that facilitate sharing and creation of data and other types of expression through virtual communities. It also facilitates improvement or development of online social sites by connecting person profile with those of other groups. Networks formed by social media will modify way number of people communicate as well as think. They help to introduce pervasive and substantial modifications to communication between companies and consumers. It also differs from paper based media and traditional electronic media such as Broadcasting, TV in many ways, including reach, usability, quality and performance. Its outlets operate in dialogic transmission programs, contrast to traditional media which manage under mono logic transmission ways. Social media is quite beneficial as it helps to enhance person sense of connectedness with online and real society and will be efficient communication tool for businesses.Get assignment help to achieve excellent grades!

Akbar, Toma and Fensel, (2016) contradict that, social media is collection of range of online communication channels or sources dedicated to content sharing, business based input, collaboration and interaction. All applicant and websites dedicated to micro blogging, social curation, book marking, networking and wikis are among various types of social media. Different kinds of social media are available in market that can use by most companies to enhance their performance and promote products or services offered. Facebook, google plus, twitter, LinkedIn, Wikipedia and twitter are the types of social media consist with many benefits. It offers several benefits to businesses as it permits management to reach out to target consumers and to gain attention of more clients. People usually access social media facilities via web based technology on laptops, computer and desktops that provide networking functionality to their smartphones or other electronic devices. As, individual engage with these electronic things, they can create effective interactive platforms through which they can communicate and discuss content posted through online sources.

McCay-Peet and Quan-Haase, (2017) stated that social media is becoming an essential part of life online as social applicants proliferate. Traditional online sources platforms include social elements such as feedback fields for users. Within businesses, it is used to market goods and foster new business as well. There are different types of business applications of social media is accessible, such as social media analytics, SMM, customer relationship marketing (CRM), in terms of consumer feedback, enterprise social networking and crowdsourcing. Integration of all sites of social media in business world posses opportunities, some sites are especially designed to set expectations for right behaviour that people post will not expose the organization to legal issues. Social platforms support management of organization to connect with available people in market and also help to increase their awareness about their brand.

Significance of Social media

Tuten and Solomon (2017) provide their views that social platform helps to connect business with customers and also increases awareness about brand so that they boost the sales. In fact, social media is actually work to attract large base of customers and this in turn also assist business to enhance their current sales. Further, business and specially small and large business uses this method, if people did not know about any business, at that time, social media boost company's visibility among potential customers. Thus, in this modern era, every company wants to attract new customer and retain old ones. That is why, they prefer social media because it show authenticity. On the other side, Fuchs (2017) explain that customers are not interested in business when they publish dry and corporate style social media post, instead of that they prefer to use those advertisement which actually helps to attract their eyes.

Another importance of using social media is presented by Hjorth and Hinton (2019) that business use social media because it helps to improve the frequency, quality and also reach large population without any error. Therefore, in this modern and digitalized era, not a single company use traditional method of marketing because it only reach to some customers. Therefore, at this time, social media open a dialogue between business and target audience by enabling users to engage back directly. This is a platform where customers also provide their own views whether they like a product or not so that other may also easily influence from this. As a result, it foster business operation and also make rotation of money. Bruns (2018) also stated that social media channel is intended to reach different audience in a personable and useful way that keep engaging the audience within a business and this in turn also increases website traffic and foot traffic. Take dissertation help to achieve best grades!

Overall, it is clearly reflected that social media plays one of the most important factor that creates positive impact upon business performance such that it is actually introduce to impress customers and this in turn assist to enhance financial performance of a business as well. That is why, majority of the company uses this marketing tool to attract range of customers.

Impact of social media on performance of business

Jones and Glynn (2020), have stated that the changing dynamics have made it necessary to take the offline business store on the online social media platforms. The dynamics of conducting business have changed today where even if a business does not have any physical presence, it is mandatory to have an online store. The authors have further elucidated that the business have started to appoint a separate person appointed on the designation of Social Media Marketing Manager whose sole purpose is to analyse the trends related to the viewers of the social media advertisements and how many of them are being converted into the actual customers. Such managers hired have also the responsibility of identifying the social media strategies adopted by the competitor companies (Significant of Social media, 2019). It can be stated that it is necessary today to develop strategies for online marketing and therefore the business performance gets highly positively influenced by the correct strategies for marketing products on social media platforms.

Another research paper published by Chae,, McHaney and Sheu (2020) has also illustrated that for every business, it is necessary to have a voice ion the social media platforms today where the users are able to remember their advertisement strategies and tactics rather than simply posting up the advertisements. The managers decide the frequency of the posts, what is to be posted, how it is to be posted etc. and all this is highly dependent on following the trends that are prevalent. The businesses with stronger marketing tactics and constant as well as effective online presence are found to generate positive impacts of such social media marketing strategies because this help in targeting customers at a wider range and the ease of doing business through such online mechanisms increases the feasibility and ease of doping business at a global level.

5. Research questions and methodology

• What is the impact of using social media in business performance?
• What are different approaches of social media through which company may reach to customers?

Research philosophy

It is the plan which helps to determine the nature and source that is directly related to the research. Further, it is the notion about the ways through which data about the phenomenon is collected, analysed and gathered (Quinlan and et.al., 2019). There are four types of research philosophy i.e. Positivism. Interpretivism, Realism and Pragmatism.

Above all, researcher chooses Interpretivism research philosophy that helps the researcher to interpret the outcomes generated by the sample size. This method also assist to determine the impact of social media and its impact upon business performance.

Research approach

It is the plan and process which is comprises of different steps of broad assumptions in detail manner, so that it will help to collect data and interpret the same. There are three types of research approach, deductive, inductive and abductive research approach (Walliman, 2017).

From the above, researcher chooses Inductive research approach that helps to conduct the research in precise manner. As this method is based upon the nature of research problem which is being addressed and aid to determine the impact of social media upon business performance.Want essay writing services UK? Talk to our experts Now!

6. Relevant data required and data collection methods

Data collection

In research, data collection is highly significant which can be done through primary and secondary sources. For assessing the impact of social media marketing on the business performance of M&S both primary and secondary data will be collected (Creswell and Creswell, 2017). With regards to primary data gathering, survey will be conducted on 30 managers of M&S. By this, scholar would become able to assess the extent to which social marketing helps in enhancing sales, customer base, market share etc. Along with this, books, journals and scholarly articles pertaining to social media marketing will be evaluated for developing brief thesis.

Sampling

In relation to survey, due to having limited time period, it is not possible for the researcher to conduct study on identified population. For the purpose of sample selection, one can use either probabilistic or non-probabilistic technique. In this, for addressing research problem prominently 30 managers of M&S will be selected referring purposive sampling technique. This sampling technique, non-probabilistic method, will assist in gathering suitable views from identified respondents in line with the research issue or problem.

Data analysis

For presenting suitable solution of research issue selection and usage of appropriate data analysis technique is highly required. There are mainly two techniques which scholar can use for the purpose of data analysis namely SPSS and thematic perception test technique (King, Horrocks and Brooks, 2018). Thus, for analysing the extent to which business performance is influenced due to the usage of social media thematic perception test technique will be employed by the researcher.

Read more: Business and the Business Environment

7. Accessibility, reliability, validity and ethics

For this current study, researcher first uses key terms in order to attain defined aim and then these key term helps to attain long term goals. Further, while surfing in internet, researcher also faces issue such that access denied and this in turn delay the project.

Reliability and validity: In order to check the reliability and validity of the study, researcher chooses latest articles as a secondary data collection from 2015 onwards. Moreover, the sample size are also valid because through their view point, researcher easily identify the impact of social media upon business performance.

Ethical issues:

• Researcher should take consent of all participants before conducting a research.
• Moreover, researcher also maintain proper confidentiality and make sure that personal information should not be transfer to third party (Creswell and Creswell, 2017.).
• There must be proper communication between all researcher and participants so that researcher attain the defined aim and objectives in defined time.
• Lastly, scholar must comply with data protection act.

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