ABSTRACT
The
primary aim of this study is to examine how social media and electronic
marketing influence the marketing performance of MTN Nigeria. The study adopted
a survey design approach. The researcher utilized a multi-stage probability
sampling method. Abia State was divided into three educational zones: Abia
North, Abia Central, and Abia South. From each zone, 50 respondents were
selected, resulting in a total sample size of 150.
Primary
data were collected through structured questionnaires featuring open-ended
questions. The data for this study were primarily sourced from responses to the
administered questionnaires. The primary data from the respondents were
analyzed using SPSS Version 20, employing simple regression and Pearson Product
Moment Correlation models. Objectives (i) to (iii) were analyzed using simple
regression, while objectives (iv) and (v) were analyzed using correlation.
The
study revealed that search engine optimization significantly impacts customer
patronage, digital advertising significantly increases sales volume, and social
media marketing significantly enhances profitability for small scale
enterprises. These findings underscore the importance of strategic digital
marketing practices.
The
research concluded that: Search engine optimization is crucial for improving
customer patronage; Digital advertising plays a vital role in increasing sales
volume; Social media marketing is essential for boosting profitability.
Based
on the findings, the study recommends: Entrepreneurs should prioritize search
engine optimization to enhance customer patronage; Digital advertising
strategies should be intensified to increase sales volumes; Social media
marketing should be leveraged to improve profitability, ensuring that
businesses remain competitive and profitable in the digital age.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
to the Study
1.2 Statement
of Problems
1.3 Objectives
of the Study
1.4 Research
Questions
1.5 Research Hypotheses
1.6 Significance of the Study
1.7 Scope
of the Study
1.8 Definition
of Terms
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Conceptual Framework
2.1.1 Definition of Social Media Marketing Concept
2.1.2 Strategies for Social Media Marketing
2.1.2.1 Passive approach
2.1.2.2 Active approach
2.1.2.3 Engagement
2.1.3 Purposes and Tactics
of Social Media Marketing
2.1.3.1
Twitter
2.1.3.2
Facebook
2.1.3.3
Google+
2.1.3.4
LinkedIn
2.1.3.4
Whatsapp
2.1.3.5
Yelp
2.1.3.6
Foursquare
2.1.3.7
Instagram
2.1.3.8
YouTube
2.1.4
Social Bookmarking Sites
2.1.4.1
Blogs
2.1.4.2
Tumblr
2.1.5
Meaning, Concept and Development of
E-Marketing
2.1.6
The Importance and Scope of E-Marketing
2.1.7
The Challenges of Social Media and
E-Marketing
2.1.7.1 Affordability
2.1.7.2 Knowledge of the System
2.1.7.3 Likelihood of Unemployment
2.1.8
E-Marketing Strategies
2.1.9.
Types of E-Marketing
2.1.10
Small and Medium Scale Enterprises
2.1.11 Information Communication Technology (ICT)
and Small Business
2.2 Theoretical Model and Framework
2.2.1 Social Media and E-Marketing Model
2.2.2 Viral Marketing Theory
2.2.3 E-Promotion Theory
2.2.4
Electronic Customer Relationship
Marketing (ECRM) Theory
2.2.5
Permission Marketing Theory
2.2.6 Database Marketing Theory
2.3 Empirical Framework
2.4 Summary of Related Literatures Reviewed
CHAPTER
THREE
RESEARCH
MEHODOLOGY
3.1 Research
Design
3.2 Study
Area
3.4 Sample
size and Sampling Plan
3.5 Data Collection Procedure
3.5.1 Instrument
3.5.2 Source of Data
3.6.3 Validity
3.5.4 Reliability
3.6 Data Analysis Technique
3.5.5 Model
Specification
CHAPTER
FOUR
RESULTS
AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Questionnaire
Administration
4.2 General
Data
4.3 Hypotheses
Testing
4.3 Results
and Discussions
CHAPTER
FIVE
SUMMARY,
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5. Summary
5.2 Conclusions
5.3 Recommendations
REFRENCES
APPENDIX: RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Most of
these social media platforms have their own built-in data analytics tools,
which enable companies to track the progress, success, and engagement of ad
campaigns. Companies address a range of stakeholders through social media
marketing including current and potential customers, current and potential
employees, journalists, bloggers, and the general public (Bampo, Michael and
Dineli, 2008).
On a strategic level,
social media marketing includes the management of the implementation of a
marketing campaign, governance, setting the scope (e.g. more active or
passive use) and the establishment of a firm's desired social media
"culture" and "tone". To use social media effectively,
firms should learn to allow customers and Internet users to post user-generated
content
(e.g., online comments, product reviews, etc.), also known as "earned media", rather than use marketer-prepared advertising copy. While social media marketing is often
associated with companies, as of 2016, a range of not-for-profit
organizations and government organizations are engaging in social media marketing of
their programs or services (Bourkas, Savvi and Feng, 2008).
Social media itself
is a catch-all term for sites that may provide radically different social
actions. For instance, Twitter is a social site designed to let people share
short messages or “updates” with others. Facebook, in contrast is a full-blown
social networking site that allows for sharing updates, photos, joining events
and a variety of other activities. Social media often feeds into the discovery
of new content such as news stories, and “discovery” is a search activity.
Social media can also help build links that in turn support into SEO efforts. Many people also perform searches
at social media sites to find social media content. Social connections may also
impact the relevancy of some search results, either within a social media
network or at a ‘mainstream’ search engine (Campell, Leyland and Pierre,
2011).In the past decade, marketers used the internet as a communication tool
but as time passed; they realized the true potential of internet and the idea
of e-marketing evolved. Smith and Chaffey (2005), gave a short and basic
definition of E-marketing as “Achieving marketing objectives through the use of
electronic communication technology”.
According to Hoge
(2003), e-marketing (EM) “is the transfer of goods and services from sellers to
buyers that requires one or more electronic methods or media. E-marketing began
with the use of telegraphs in the nineteenth century with the advent and mass
acceptance of the telephone, radio, television and then cable, electronic media
have become the dominant marketing force. Hoge’s (2003), idea of E-marketing is
simple but it does not touch the important aspect of customers’ relationship.
Strauss and Ansary (2006), defined E-marketing as the use of information
technology in the process of creating, communicating and delivering value to
customers, and for managing customers’ relationships in ways that benefits the
organization and its stakeholders. This explanation tells us that e-marketing
is not only about selling product or providing series through information
technology but it does more than that. It is not just traditional marketing
using the information technology tools but it is a strategic model to achieve
brand value and provide customer satisfaction. On Market Conscious.com (2006),
the author simply stress on a website URL, in marketing effort. A clear and
very complete definition of E-marketing has been given on an educational
website; it says “moving element of marketing strategies and activities to a
computerized networked environment such as the internet or through digital
tools. (aced.Osu.edu/programs.e.agbe/page glossary/main.ntml, 2006).
From the above
definitions, the idea of E-marketing can be derived as a type of marketing in
which objectives are achieved through the use of electronic communication tools like internet,
interactive TV and mobile phones where online marketing is just limited to the
use of internet technology to attain marketing objectives.
There are many E’s
circulating in the text that is quit a confusing matter; E-commerce, E-business
and E-marketing. E-commerce is commonly thought to include e-trading, online
banking and shopping. It involves transaction where buyers actually buy and
shoppers actually shop (Smith, 2002). Others suggest that E-commerce is any
transaction such as a support enquiry or an online catalogue search. Hanson
(2005), explain that different activities over the internet can be group
according to their type.
E-business according
to Strauss and Ansary (2006), is bigger than e-commerce. They reckon e-commerce
as a subject of e-business. Strauss and Frost (2006), explains in their book
that e-business has a broader perspective. It involves automation of all
business processes in the value chain from procurement or purchasing of raw
materials to production, to stock holding distribution and logistics, to sale
and marketing, after sales, invoicing, debt collection and more. It includes
e-marketing and e-commerce.
E-marketing is at the
heart of e-business adding value to product, widening distribution channels,
boosting sales and after sales services, while getting closer to customers and
understanding them better. It is on this note that Chaffey (2003), defines
E-marketing as “applying digital technologies which form online channels (web,
e-mail, databases, plus mobile/wireless and digital TV to contribute to
marketing activities aimed at achieving profitable acquisitions and retention
of customers (within a multi-channel buying process and customers lifecycle
through improving our customer knowledge of their profits, behavior, value and
loyalty) (http//www.wnim.com/archive/issue214/e-marketingntml, 2006).
Chaffey, (2002)
definition reflects to the relationship marketing concept, it emphasize that it
should not be technology that drives e-marketing but the business model. It
also stresses that e-marketing is not effectives when used with other
conventional communications channels. Chaffey, (2002), also reckons that any communication
or message to the customer must be personalized and each buyer must be tested
distinctly (http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-marketing, 2006).
1.2 Statement of Problems
The realization of
the impact of effective social media and e-marketing in marketing performance
of MTN Nigeria is a welcome development. Hence, there is a changing paradigm or
focus where new realities make business organization to move from general
marketing to social and electronic marketing for relationship marketing.
Increasingly, a key
goal of marketing is to develop deep, enduring relationship with all people or
organization that could directly or indirectly affect the success of the firms
marketing activities. Most organizations fail to develop this enduring
relationship with their stakeholders. They fail to build mutually satisfying
long-term relationship with key customers, shareholders, employees and other
parties.
Again, some other
firms fail to understand the capabilities and resources of different groups as
well as their needs, goals and desires. They fail to shape, separates offers,
services and messages to individual customers. They fail to understand that
they can only achieve profitable growth through larger share of each customer
transactions by building high customer loyalty and focusing on customer
lifetime value.
Furthermore, the
practice of social media and electronic marketing to enhance one-to-one
marketing is not yet prominent in most electronic vendors. So far, these
electronic vendors have realized the need to deal with customers needs at a
time, as a result of advances in vendors customization, computers, the internet
and database marketing software; by that the required investment in information
collection hardware, and software many exceed the payoff.
Some others face the
problem of new marketing realities in changing demographic, government
policies, more sophisticated competitors and over capacity in the manufacturing
firms industry. Thus, their cost of social media and electronic marketing to
customers is rising as some others keep moving from one vendor to another due
to lack of customer satisfaction arising from poor customer management
relationship.
In the same
dimension, there is increased competition the marketing performance of
electronic product vendor firms. This is in addition to the problem of having a
deeper understanding of consumer needs due to changes in customer taste and
preferences. This has made it difficult to establish customer loyalty in the
long run. This study therefore is used to examine these problems and to find
solutions.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The broad objective
of this study is to examine how social media and electronic marketing can help
in the marketing performance of MTN Nigeria.
The specific
objectives are to:
i.
determine the effect of face book on sales turnover of MTN Nigeria
ii.
evaluate the effect of twitter marketing on customer satisfaction of MTN
Nigeria
iii.
analyze the relationship between YouTube and customer loyalty in MTN
Nigeria;
iv.
analyze the relationship between Intsgram and the market share of MTN
Nigeria.
1.4 Research Questions
The following
questions were designed to guide the research study.
i.
What is the effect of face book on sales turnover of MTN Nigeria?
ii.
What the effect of twitter marketing on customer satisfaction of MTN Nigeria?
iii.
What is the relationship between YouTube and customer loyalty in MTN
Nigeria?
iv.
What is the relationship between Intsgram and the market share of MTN
Nigeria
1.5 Research
Hypotheses
The following null
hypotheses were formulated to guide the study:
Ho1: Face book has no significant effect on sales
turnover of MTN Nigeria
Ho2: Twitter has no significant
effect on customer satisfaction of MTN Nigeria
Ho3: There is no significant
relationship between YouTube and customer loyalty in MTN Nigeria
Ho4: There is no significant
relationship between intsgram and the market share of MTN Nigeria.
1.6 Significance
of the Study
The significance of
this research study lies in the attempt to determine the impact of social media
and electronic marketing on the marketing performance of MTN Nigeria However,
it concerns the ascertainment of the contemporary challenges facing the of in MTN
Nigeria as well as offering a way forward out of the problems.
Furthermore, this
study at the completion will give the marketers of services insight into social
media and electronic marketing on the relevance of twitter, facebook, intagramm
etc as direct and relationship marketing platforms to their firm marketing
performance. Also, it will still guide future researchers who may wish to carryout
studies on the same area of study.
Further, it will
broaden the knowledge of students on this topic and its impacts in an
organization and finally to other marketing management aspects, the study will
place them on their appropriate positions in the management of firms.
1.7 Scope of the Study
This study intends to
analyze the effect of social media and electronic marketing as they relate to
marketing performance of MTN Nigeria. The study will be limited to MTN Nigeria
service providers and subscribers residing in Aba and Umuahia, Abia State.
Therefore, it covers their resources control and management. Areas to cover
will be the use of twitter, facebook, intagramm etc as direct and relationship
marketing platforms. However, marketing performance indices will cover customer
attraction, customer retention, sales volume and market share.
1.8 Definition
of Terms
a) E-commerce: it is the buying and selling of goods and services on the internet
especially the
b) World Wide Web (www): Here a company offers to transact or facilitate the selling of product
and services online.
c) Viral Marketing: It is the use of internet to create words of mouth effects to support
marketing efforts and goals.
d) E-business: Electronic business is the use of electronic means and platforms to conduct
a company’s business online.
e) Search Engine: It is a computer programme that helps a marketing manager to find
information that is needed.
f) Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): It is an approach that put information in a
standardized format easily shared between different computer systems.
g) Sponsored mobile post – Advertisements (Advertisers' blog posts)
will show up on user's Dashboard when the user is on a mobile device such as
smartphones and tablets, allowing them to like, reblog, and share the sponsored
post.
h) Sponsored web post – "Largest in-stream ad unit on the
web" that catches the users' attention when looking at their Dashboard
through their computer or laptop. It also allows the viewers to like, reblog,
and share it.
i) Sponsored radar – Radar picks up exceptional posts from the
whole Tumblr community based on their originality and creativity. It is placed
on the right side next to the Dashboard, and it typically earns 120 million
daily impressions. Sponsored radar allows advertisers to place their posts
there to have an opportunity to earn new followers, reblogs, and likes.
j) Sponsored spotlight – Spotlight is a directory of some of the
popular blogs throughout the community and a place where users can find new
blogs to follow. Advertisers can choose one category out of fifty categories
that they can have their blog listed on there.
k) YouTube: YouTube is another popular avenue; advertisements
are done in a way to suit the target audience. The type of language used in the
commercials and the ideas used to promote the product reflect the audience's
style and taste.
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