Tandieka Johnson Services Marketing

The Effects of Social Media Marketing on Online Consumer

Behavior: A study of fashion brands.
Tandieka Johnson

Services Marketing

Key Words:

Fashion brands

Perceived Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing (SMM)

Student‟s online activity (SOA)

Purchase intention

Student Online Purchase Activity (SOPA)

Tandieka Johnson Services Marketing

Abstract

We live in an era where social media has a growing interest, and many compa nies
including Fashion brands have found this as their new way of advertising to their customers
as part of their marketing mix. Social media has become a key ingredient in today’s
marketing mix in general and in promotion mix in particular. Using some form of marketing
online has now become a norm for businesses, but more particularly in industries such as
fashion where trends are constantly changing. Social media allows customers to interact
with their favorite fashion brands or communicate with their friends about their favorite
brands. The obvious question however is; “Does Social media marketing influence
consumer online purchase behavior?”The purpose of this research is to understand the
effectiveness of social media as a marketing tool and to analyze the extent to which social
media helps to influence Kean students buying decision, resulting in online fashion
purchases. The answer to this research question can help companies to identify the
effectiveness or lack thereof of their online marketing strategies and influence them to
develop effective online marketing strategies.
Tandieka Johnson Services Marketing

Introduction
Shoppers embrace the Internet for a variety of reasons -- convenience, price, and selection --
and over the last few years, one of the major developments in the e-commerce arena is social
media shopping. Social media shopping refers to the use of virtual social networks, peer
reviews and other online social tools in the purchasing process. Today's consumer is heavily
influenced by the choices of his or her peers, which are further reflected in the way brands, are
using social media to capture attention.

Chi (2011, 46) defines social media marketing as a “connection between brands and
consumers, (while) offering a personal channel and currency for user centered networking and
social interaction.”

Social media marketing has grown in depth over the last few years with the increasing
popularity of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram just to name a few
and the obsession of living life in real time through these websites by connecting socially with
others through posts, tweets and images has increased the popularity of social media
marketing. With just the click of a mouse a customer who was innocently viewing their friend‟s
Facebook page can be a potential customer. Many companies have increased their social
media presence by creating company pages and accounts on these social sites and also
through direct marketing by advertising on these sites so customers are constantly in view of
their product offerings while socially connecting with others.

Social media marketing has its appeal to some customers and has been credited to sales
increases for some companies and the success of various retail sales promotions. Despite
these reports the question still remains to be answered, in reality, how effective is social media
marketing in influencing customer purchase as opposed to traditional/alternative forms of
marketing?
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Literature Review

Emotional Appeal

Companies use marketing to appeal to the emotions of their consumers to convince them to
purchase their products. They appeal to a fear, a concern, a hope, a want, a need, a desire; the
use of social media marketing is no different in this regards but in essence it is a little more
defined as to what the needs of the consumer is since technology is now being used to track
Customers online views to push ads with these content on sites they frequent. The US market is
a wants based market, one that survives on the desire of consumers to want more, to want to
look like their favorite celebrity, to want the latest gadgets to want to keep up with current
trends.

“These days, the notion of “keeping up with the Joneses” has been taken to a new level. No
longer content to silently ogle the neighbour‟s car, today‟s savvy consumers are using social
media platforms to compare their lives with those of people they barely know – and coming up
short. Through a heavily filtered lens, they are given snapshots of others‟ great, albeit highly
edited lives, and are made to feel that they are missing out.” (Haymarket Business Publications,
2014) Consumers‟ individual perceptions of what they think they want are what make them and
their emotions an ideal candidate for companies to target them with their advertising. The
problem arises however when consumers are so targeted they become anxious and feel
overwhelmed with all the targeted messages that they are bombarded with despite what form of
marketing it may take.

“The constant stream of curated aspirational identities filtered through Instagram is creating a
collective anxiety about where we are in life, (Lucie Green, Trends Consultancy, cited by
Haymarket Business Publications 2014).” She further adds “In effect, social media is creating a
driving, self-propelling force of anxiety that motivates us to want more, do more and be more.”

“The “discrepancy monitor” is described as a process that continually evaluates our current
situation against and imaginary gold standard. Facebook fuels this phenomenon and the cultural
belief that social networking is fostering a new kind of social anxiety is gaining significant
traction” (Haymarket Business Publications, 2014)

Despite their want driven insecurities consumers‟ are not entirely ignorant of the attempts of
companies to prey on these emotions by using social media marketing. Social media no longer
only provides a platform for staying connected, consumers‟ can also learn about their favorite
brands and their offerings. “Advertising is an industry that has, in many ways, built itself up by
capitalizing on consumers‟ insecurities.” (Haymarket Business Publications, 2014)
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Based on the anxieties of their consumers, companies need to be more cautious in their use of
social media marketing and it will do them well to not ignore the concerns of their consumers
since how their marketing appeals to their consumers‟ can be the deciding factor as to whether
or not the consumer decides to purchase their brand.

A letter by street artist Banksy which subsequently went viral declares: “They make flippant
comments from buses that imply you‟re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening
somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to
the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are
the Advertisers and they are laughing at you.” (Haymarket Business Publications, 2014)

“This is, of course an overtly simplistic argument, and there is far more nuance to how brands
are simultaneously trading on, and attempting to reassure anxious consumers. Nonetheless,
brands cannot afford to ignore the dissenting voices around them. After all, people boycott
brands they feel are acting badly, quicker than you can type a 140-character tweet.” (Haymarket
Business Publications, 2014)

Social media function

Despite the growing popularity of social media marketing by companies and the success in
financial numbers that companies have reflected as a result of this use of marketing there is still
a section of the American consumer population that believe social media marketing in no way
impacts their purchase and rather social media has one basic function and it is specifically for
this function they use social media – to stay connected socially with friends.

“A clear majority of Americans say social media have no effect at all on their purchasing
decision. Although many companies run aggressive marketing campaigns on social media 62%
in the U.S. say Facebook and Twitter among other sites do not have any influence on their
decisions to purchase products.” (Swift, Art; 2014)

While consumers may not be paying attention to aggressive marketing campaigns by

companies on social media their mere presence on social media sites sets them as a potential
target for them to be advertised to since even a basic Facebook function as viewing their
friends‟ “wall” on Facebook can influence their purchasing decision since consumers are now
taking to this medium to give detailed critique/experiences of their use of products and services.

“Despite tremendous numbers of Americans using social media institutions such as Facebook,
Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter, only 5% say social media have “a great deal of influence” on
their purchasing decisions, while another 30% say these channels have “some influence.”
These data from Gallup‟s new State of the American Consumer report are based on American‟s
self-reported estimates of how much social media campaigns affect their purchasing decisions.
While social media may have more influence than some Americans realize or will admit, these
data show that relatively few consumers consciously take into account what they learn from
social media when making purchases.” (Swift, Art; 2014)
Tandieka Johnson Services Marketing

The face of social media users have changed over the years from as young as 9 to age 99 are
Facebook, Twitter and other social media users so social media marketing have to take these
differences of age and stage in life when targeting consumers. “Social media influence on
American‟s purchasing decisions decrease with age. Among traditionalists, (those born prior to
1946), a solid 75% say that social media do not have any impact on whether they purchase a
product or service.” Further “millennials (those born after 1980) were the most likely to say that
social media have at least some influence on their buying decisions (50%).” (Swift, Art; 2014)

“Americans use social media to connect with friends, family.” “Not surprisingly, an overwhelming
94% of social media users say they use these channels to connect with friends and family,
illustrating the primary need that social media fulfill. 29% say they use social media to follow
trends and find product reviews and information, while 20% say they use social media to follow
trends and find product reviews and information while 20% say they visit social networking sites
to comment on what‟s new or write product reviews.” (Swift, Art; 2014)

Whether or not this survey accurately captured the American consumer‟s opinion or extent of
the influence of social media marketing on their purchases there is no denying that there is
some influence. Even the basic function of using social media to connect with friends
consumers are constantly presented with advertising; from their friends posts about their opinion
on a product to images being posted by their friends and the constant invitation to join various
groups as has becoming popular on social media to form virtual brand communities to share
similar interests with others on some brand or product.

“Consumers who engage with brands often do so when they are already attached to a product
or service. Companies that engage their customers – by providing exceptional service and a
pleasurable in-store experience – will, in turn, drive those customers to interact with them on
social media. Simply promotion products and services on Facebook or Twitter [are] unlikely to
lead to sales.” (State of the American Consumer Report, 2012 as cited by Swift, Art; 2014)

Brand Reach and influence through Social Media

More brands have taken to social media to create a presence and help to influence customer
purchase of their products. Through fan pages, brands get customer involvement in their
products and create awareness through EWOM. “Facebook is the most popular social media
site with an audience of approximately 160 million U.S. visitors each month.” (Lipsman et al,
2012)

Brands can engage fans on Facebook and influence purchases by targeting two potential
audiences, “fans of brands and friends of fans” (Lipsman et al, 2012). “When a brand focuses
on acquiring and engaging fans, it can benefit from a significant secondary effect – exposure
among friends of fans that often surpasses reach among fans.” (Lipsman et al, 2012)
Tandieka Johnson Services Marketing

The effort of ensuring that social media fans become purchasers for brands can only be
determined by the methods employed by brands on social media platforms and how they use
this medium to effectively advertise their products and encourage customer interaction and
involvement. Lipsman et al posits that “the value of a fan can be assessed in three primary
ways: increasing the depth of engagement and loyalty among fans; generating incremental
purchase behavior and leveraging the ability to influence friends of fans.”

The objective of brands on social media should be to create a brand impression; one that when
successfully implemented translates their fan value into financial value for the company.
Lipsman et al believes that creating a brand impression can only be achieved through four
primary vehicles, “page publishing, stories about friends, sponsored stories and social
advertisements.”

Using Facebook as the focus for their case study since it accounts for 90% of all time spent on
social networking sites in the U.S. Lipsman et al has concluded that “a large portion of FB users‟
time is spent on the individual‟s homepage that features the Newsfeed and social media brand
content is primarily
consumed within the Newsfeed, as opposed to on the brands‟ fan pages.”

The ultimate objective of a brand‟s social medial presence besides creating awareness for their
brand is to translate those fan numbers to actual financial figures, hence the continuous
question is “what is a fan worth? And what is the return on [their] social media investment?”
(Lipsman et al, 2012) The researchers believe that in answering this question it is important to
quantify the value of the fan which can be considered through “increasing engagement and
loyalty among fans, generating incremental purchases among fans and positively influencing
friends of fans.” (Lipsman et al, 2012) The analysis of their research revealed that for
companies like Starbucks analysis of in-store purchase patterns in “May 2011 Starbucks fans
and friends of fans spent 8 percent more and transacted 11 percent more frequently than the
average internet user who transacted at Starbucks.”

The findings of this article indicate “the measurement of Social Media effectiveness by using a
measurement approach that focuses on reach and frequency within audience types can lead to
a dramatically better understanding of how and where brand messages are reaching
consumers. This same focus means that marketers also can better place their social media
strategy within the broader framework of their marketing objectives for key consumer
segments.” (Lipsman et al, 2012) Understanding how to interpret this information and effectively
use their social media presence to their benefit is the key to brands effectively turning their fan
numbers to actual dollars.

Turning awareness into loyalty: Lessons from Zara

Some brands believe it is sufficient enough to have a presence on social media and creating
brand awareness and this will drive traffic into their stores and increase purchase. Gamboa and
Goncalves chose to examine fans and non fans of the Zara brand on Facebook and believe for
Tandieka Johnson Services Marketing

brands to hold this belief is too narrow “Facebook may also act as a vehicle for achieving
customer loyalty.”

To consider social media as a marketing tool, brands must understand social media, an
understanding that cannot come without an understanding of Web 2.0 which is the new way in
which end users use the World Wide Web. “Most all brands today participate in Web 2.0
through a website, a blog, a Facebook page, Twitter, LinkedIn, or some other online space.
Web 2.0 represents a powerful medium because customers are – or at least, can be there.”
(Gamboa and Goncalves, 2014)

Facebook is the most popular social medium to date and more brands are choosing this
medium over others to promote their products; Facebook is the preferred medium for business
to consumer relations. “Zara ranks as one of the fashion brands with the largest number of and
most valuable fans. Syncapse (2013) estimates the value of a Zara fan as $405.54.” (Gamboa
and Goncalves, 2014) Zara recognizes the need for fan/customer involvement in their products
on social media to influence their in store purchases. “Customers have a large say in
determining the brand‟s line: client suggestions are integrated into the clothes production.
Featuring designs culturally in tune with customers, Zara has positioned itself as the clothing of
the middleclass.” (Intedex, 2013 as cited by Gamboa and Goncalves, 2014)

“Customer satisfaction is a key determinant of customer loyalty: Satisfied customers tend to buy
more and comment positively about the brand. Customer satisfaction is an emotional response
that relates to the comparison between product/service performance and customer expectation.”
(Cote and Giese, 2000; Lin and Luarn, 2003; Oliver, 1999 as cited by Gamboa and Goncalves,
2014)

The need for businesses to invest in social media cannot be underscored, this is a long term
investment that can in the long haul impact how customers view the brand and in return
influence their purchasing decisions. More and more brands need to connect with their
customers through social media platforms such as Facebook. “From an economic point of view,
the feasibility of companies using social media fully justifies the investment. From the social
point of view, although Facebook users are mostly young people with no or very little income,
they represent potential future buyers. As such valuing them and winning their commitment to
the brand right now is essential.” (Gamboa and Goncalves, 2014)

Gamboa and Goncalves „research also revealed when comparing them to luxury brand Dolce
and Gabbana that D&G had more fans (40.9%) than customers (15.5%) compared to Zara‟s
(94.4%) customers and (25.4%) fans.
Tandieka Johnson Services Marketing

Research Method
Research Context:

To achieve the objective of this research, hypotheses were established to get a detailed
understanding of Kean University student engagement on social media sites. The variables
used were aimed at understanding how through their engagement they were influenced to make
online purchases. The established Hypotheses were as follows.

H1 - Students online activities impact how they are influenced by social media marketing.

H2 - Student online purchase activity is a direct result of social media marketing.

H3 - Student online purchase activity is a direct result of social media marketing

Measurement and Research Instrument:

Data collection was achieved by using an online student survey. A short description of the
survey and the link was sent to individual student emails to garner their responses. All variables
were aimed at studying the student‟s online behavior to better understand their purchase
intention based on their online interactions. A 7 point scale was used to measure most of the
responses with 1 being strongly disagree and 7 being strongly agree. For the variables that did
not have ascaled response system, a number system was used to substitute the responses to
process the data. A sample of the data collection method used is included below.

Variables Scale
On average how much time do you spend Less than 5 minutes – 1
per session on social media? 5- 15 minutes – 2
16-29 minutes – 3
30 – 60 minutes -4
More than 60 minutes -5
How long have you been using social 1-6 Months – 1
media sites? 6 months – 1 year – 2
1-2 years – 3
2-3 years – 4
More than 3 years – 5
The ads that appear on my social media 1:_:_:_:_:_7
profile are relevant for my personal
interests and I enjoy seeing them
How many times did you take action based 1:_:_:_:_:_7
on an advert you saw on social media
(visiting the site or buying the product)?
Social media is very important to my life. 1:_:_:_:_:_7
I use social media mainly for Networking 1:_:_:_:_:_7
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I use social media to learn about 1:_:_:_:_:_7

information on products and services
I use social media for entertainment 1:_:_:_:_:_7
I use social media to keep in touch with 1:_:_:_:_:_7
family and friends
Which of the following fashion brands have H&M – 1
you made online purchases from? Zara – 2
Forever 21 – 3
SheInside – 4
SammyDress– 5
How often do you make online fashion Less than once a month – 1
purchases? Once a month – 2
3 times a month – 3
4 or more times a month – 4
Are you a Facebook fan of any of the H&M – 1
following fashion pages Zara – 2
Forever21 - 3
SammyDress – 4
SheInside -5
Which of the following do you prefer to Facebook -1
connect with fashion brands on? Instagram – 2
Twitter – 3
None of the Above – 4
Before purchasing clothing online, I check 1:_:_:_:_:_7
social media sites for customer reviews
Before purchasing clothing online, I check 1:_:_:_:_:_7
social media sites for promotions
Before purchasing clothing online I check 1:_:_:_:_:_7
social media sites to ask a friend's opinion
about a particular brand.
How likely are you to recommend these 1:_:_:_:_:_7
brands since becoming a fan or follower or
since becoming aware of their social media
activity?
You are influenced to buy a specific brand 1:_:_:_:_:_7
based on information received on social
media
Through what other medium do you learn Television – 1
about these fashion brands. Radio – 2
Newspaper – 3
Magazines – 4
Other – 5
How do you view an ad message on They are the same – 1
Facebook or Twitter versus traditional I prefer social media because it is more
medias such as TV, radio and newspapers interactive - 2
I prefer traditional ads because it is less
interactive. – 3
Tandieka Johnson Services Marketing

Data Analysis
The data for this research was collected via the internet using Google forms to create a survey,
and the link was sent to students to fill the information. To process the data received from the
respondents the SPSS Data analysis program was used. The program was used to determine
the relationship between the variables and test the hypotheses to see if they fit the model. The
Regression model was used to analyze the data to determine the relationships between the
independent and dependent variables.

TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA DAILY

Time spent on social media - SOA

40

35

30

25

20

15 Time spent on social media

10

0
Less than 5 5 - 15 16-29 30-60 More than
minutes minutes minutes minutes 60 minutes

The chart above indicates that the majority of the respondents to the questionnaire spend a
significant amount of time on social media, namely Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on a daily
basis, with most people spending more than an hour online. This is an indication that there are
more exposed to Social media marketing advertising strategies by various fashion brands to
influence their online purchasing activities.
Tandieka Johnson Services Marketing

REASONS FOR USING SOCIAL MEDIA DAILY

Reasons for using Social Media- SOA

Keep in touch with family and

friends
Entertainment

Get information about products

and services
Networking

Social media is an important part of the of people‟s day as indicated in the preceding bar graph;
the pie chart above however shows the reasons why persons use social media on a daily basis.
While networking takes up a significant amount of time, notably, researching information about
products and services to make informed online shopping decisions has a significant number of
respondents.
Tandieka Johnson Services Marketing

The SPSS analysis of the data indicates that the Regression model fits well. An analysis of the
variance shows that the relationship between the dependent and independent variables and
how they interact with each other. The F test and significant level should be 2 or greater or less
than 0.5 respectively as an indicator that the results are significant and speak well for the model,
my models meet both of these requirements. The T valueresults is a strong indicator that my
Independent variable Social Media Online activity influences the Dependent variable; for each
unit increase of Social media online activity my dependent variable will go up by .948 units for
my first hypothesis. For both hypotheses, the results indicate that my hypotheses can be
supported. The SPSS results are included in the following sheets.
Tandieka Johnson Services Marketing

Managerial Implications
Marketing Managers should be aware of the importance of Social Media sites in influencing
online shopping and they should be able to identify and target the different level of customers
that occupy the various social media spaces to influence their online shopping behavior.

Based on the interests of the customers; and this can be easily identified through the results
that indicate the reasons for which they use this medium and the length of time they spend
doing so, they can tailor their online advertising activities to cater to the online shopping needs
of customers. Marketer‟s online advertising strategy must evolve overtime with the growing
needs and changing interests of the customer expressed in their posts and involvement in
interest groups etc.

Conclusions/Limitations

Limitations of this study a low response rate as well limited sampling. The choice of Kean
university students as the sample subjects may not adequately represent the general attitude of
customers with regards to Social Media Marketing.

To reduce the lengthiness of the online survey certain research questions had to be tailored to
garner answers using the scale system and in doing so some of the statements did not
adequately represent the question that was desired to be asked by the researcher and may not
accurately represent customer attitudes.

The sample did not involve demographic variables such as age, sex, ethnicity and student level
therefore the research can be improved and extended using these variables.
Tandieka Johnson Services Marketing

References:
Gamboa, AnaMarigarida and Helena Martins Goncalves, 2014. “Customer Loyalty through
social networks: Lessons from Zara on Facebook.” Business Horizons, Vol. 57, Issue 6 p. 709-
717

Lipsman, Andrew, Graham Mudd, Mike Rich and Sean Bruich, 2012. “The Power of „Like‟: How
Brands Reach (and influence) Fans Through Social – Media Marketing.” Journal of Advertising
Research, Vol. 52, Issue 1 p. 40-52

Haymarket Business Publications Ltd, 2014. “Constructed Reality” Marketing to consumers in

the age of social anxiety.” p. 1-5

Swift, Art, 2014. “Americans Say Social Media Have Little Sway on Purchases.” Gallup Poll
Briefing.

Chi, Hsu-Hsien. 2011. “Interactive Digital Advertising VS. Virtual Brand Community: Exploratory
Study of User Motivation and Social Media Marketing Responses in Taiwan.” Journal of
Interactive Advertising.