Social Media And Its

Effects As A Marketing
Communication Tool
i
Chapter One: Introduction
This first chapter introduces the reader to the topic of the thesis. The background
provides information, which gives the reader a closer insight into the history and
the current situation of the topic discussed in the paper. This is followed by a
general definition of the segments marketing communication and social media,
which the thesis is focused on. Subsequently the problem discussion narrows
down the topic, the research objectives, the methodology of the research and ends
with the definition of the research questions, which are answered in the main part
and illustrate the reason for this thesis.
1.1 ackground
Within the last 1 years more and more people have been able to access the
!nternet as a medium to communicate shop and gather information about relevant
topics "#ig 1 below$.
#ig 1% !nternet &ser "Source% !T& World Telecommunication' !(T !ndicators
)atabase$
1
*s soon as companies started to reali+e the change and saw the potentials of the
!nternet, they developed new approaches to present themselves and communicate
with customers in the online segment. The companies started to create static
websites in the beginning, which became more dynamic after the implementation
of Web ,.- in the early ,1st century. With the implementation of Web ,.-
companies were not only able to present themselves, but also the establishment of
two.way communication channels on the websites was technically possible. This
enabled companies to react more efficiently to the needs and desires of
customers. With the development of Web ,.- the so.far.inactive consumer was
now able to become an active and processing user. The factor of users now being
capable to develop, change and comment on web material became generally
known as user.generated content "&/($.The nowadays.visible outcomes of these
&/(s are blogs, 0ouTube, #acebook and other different platforms where users
can communicate or share content with each other. To reali+e the importance of
social media on the basis of Web ,.- and &/( it is illustrative to display some
facts about the impact of social media. Within the first eight months of ,--1 the
blog specialist search engine Technorati tracked a rise in the amount of blogs of
almost - million. 2n the famous video.sharing website 0ouTube, 1-- million
videos were being watched each day in ,--1 and the world3s number.one social
network #acebook already had 1,4 million users. 5egarding these figures one can
estimate how big the growth was in the last couple of years and still is. &sers are
organi+ed into groups or vested interests in which they are blogging and share
their information within all different kinds of social networks about certain topics.
5esulting from these kinds of social media actions, there can be seen great
advantages for companies, because of viral marketing and a vast range of the
information spread, but also disadvantages due to unsatisfied customers, who use
these channels to announce their dissatisfaction, which can ruin or weaken the
corporate identity "(!$ of companies or individuals. *s soon as companies reali+ed
how e6cited users were about sharing their e6periences with other participants in
cyberspace, they started to rethink their marketing strategies and tried to figure out
new tools to attract and reach their target markets. #rom this point on companies
2
had to and did invest into online marketing and especially into the social media. *s
an outcome, companies established themselves in social media by creating their
own blogs or social networks to get closer to their target customer. (ompanies use
marketing communication to keep in touch with consumers. There are also several
different kinds of social media, which the companies have to be aware of. !n order
to get a better understanding of the different marketing communication tools used
by companies and the diverse manifestations of social media, a definition of these
two fields will be discussed in the following paragraphs.
1.1.1 Marketing Communication
7arketing communications has the aim to get into contact with the target audience
and build up a communication channel between the company and the customer.
Therefore the marketing communications utili+es the 8marketing communications
mi69 shown in #igure ,. The marketing communications mi6 consists of five
diverse fields of communication channel% advertising, personal selling, public
relations, direct marketing and sales promotion. These different segments "#ig. ,
below$ of marketing communication "7*5(27$ build the platform of the business.
customer communication. !n order to get a better understanding of the composition
and the focus of the single segments within the 7*5(27 mi6, they will be
discussed in the following paragraph.
3
#ig ,% 7arketing (ommunication 7i6
I. Ad!ertising
*dvertising is the tool within the marketing communications mi6 with the largest
reach. !t includes all types of media like television, radio, print, online advertising
and any kind of ad which is meant to stimulate visual or verbal senses of the target
audience. *dvertising has almost no geographical boundaries and therefore
reaches the largest amount of customers. :ut also other sources of advertising in
public places like billboards, public transportation vehicles or even restrooms are
used as advertising space. ;ven the most unlikely places are used as a space for
placing ads in order to make the customers aware of the brand, company, or a
certain product. "Taylor, ,--<$
II. "ersonal Selling
=ersonal selling provides e6traordinarily good support in order to inform customers
about new products' services as well as a close connection between the company
represented by the company representative and the customer. :eing able, as a
company to sell personally to customers and improve the relationship between the
4
company and the customers will generate a large benefit for the company
regarding the customer relationship management. The reason for a business to
perform is to satisfy the needs of customers and therefore each company has to
evaluate the future needs and desires of its target customers. "=elsmacker, ,-->$
The best solution for evaluating the needs is via personal contact with the
customers, because through performing like this, companies get the necessary
information from the source, which actually creates the demand. Within personal
selling there is one top priority, which should be the attitude for each company
performing this kind of marketing communication. This attitude is 8the customer
comes first9. This means the company is adapting its products'services according
to the demand created by the customer and does not try to create demand for the
customer by selling them products the company thinks the market demands
III. "u#lic relations
=ublic relations "=5$ refer to how a company handles the flow of information
regarding its stakeholders, employees and all other kinds of the public, which is
somehow interested in the company. The importance of =5 as a tool of the
7*5(27 mi6es changes with the si+e of the company. Whereas =5 is less
important, but should still be taken into account, for small companies, it becomes
an essential part of the marketing communication for bigger organi+ations. The
main objective of =5 is to create a positive image of the company to the public.
"?unc+ik, ,--,$
The company communicates =5 via different channels, like sponsorship,
interviews, charitable events, financial reports to shareholders, factory tours or
lobbying just to mention a few. These events are supposed to get the company
closer to the customer by providing additional information and revealing more
information than the company actually has to.
5
I$. %irect Marketing
The difference between direct marketing and advertising is that the company
reaches out for their target customers without any intermediary channels as they
are used and required in advertising in order to get into contact with customers.
The different components of promotional tools used in direct marketing can be split
up into direct mailing, catalogues, inserts and coupons, online marketing as well
as telemarketing. !f performed correctly direct marketing is seen as one of the
most effective marketing communication tools, because the company creates in
the long run valuable relationships with its customers, who are always well
informed about changes or additional products' services in the portfolio of the
company. "@ash, ,---$
$. Sales promotion
Sales promotion is one of the more simple tools within the 7*5(27 mi6 and is an
essential part of the marketing communication for all types of companies. The
objective of sales promotion is to deliver an incentive for the customer to buy the
product. This incentive is normally delivered by providing free goods, gifts,
discounts, coupons or samples. ;verything that adds additional value to the
actually purchased products is seen by the customer as a benefit and therefore
appreciated by the customer. (ustomers have shown that they are willing to pay a
premium for real value and service, which can easily be influenced by sales
promotion.
1.1.& Marketing Communication Strategies
(ommunication strategies nowadays differ broadly from the ones in former times
or offline times. !t is important to understand the relationship between digital
communication and traditional communication in the old mediaA for e6ample, TB,
6
radio, newspapers, maga+ines and billboard ads, the communication model was
and is one.to.many compared to the one.to.one or many.to.many communication
model in digital media, like blogs, social networks, wikis and every form of vital
marketing campaign.
The 8best9 consideration nowadays for a company.to.customer communication is
the one. to.one or the one.to.many model. These models speak of a monologue in
the old media and a dialog in the new media, because of the interactivity of social.
network and forum users. 5esulting from this, the goal in traditional media was
branding by convincing the customer of a strong brand. !n contrast the digital
media is about communication with the potential customer or user in a dialog to
create interest by using a pull strategy. !n addition it can be said that it is a supply.
side thinking communication in the old media compared to a demand.side thinking
in the digital media, where 8customer pull becomes more important9. :esides this,
in old media communication, the customer is a target in comparison to the digital
media communication where the customer is a partner, by answering surveys and
product rankings.
* general definition of marketing communication can be stated as follows. !t is a
8process of sending promotional messages about products to target markets9.
Therefore the communication strategy is divided into different steps. #or the
purpose of this thesis it is suitable to take a .step model "#ig. 4 below$, which
includes objectives, target group, channels, measures and outcomes. *dditionally
there can be adapted budget, bodies involved and evaluation. This model is very
suited to showing the marketing communication strategy, because it describes the
process a company has to go through before they implement a successful strategy
"#ill, ,--$.
7
#ig 4% step (ommunication 7odel
1.1.' Social Media
Social media sites are enabled by the technical groundwork of Web ,.-, which
provided the possibility for internet users to create their own content "also called
&ser./enerated (ontent$. * social media side can be defined as an interactive
website providing information, while at the same time the content can be somehow
influenced. This process can be fairly simple by asking for a person3s opinion or a
rating, or rather comple6.
8
Objective
s
WHAT:
Measures
Outcomes
WHO:
Target
Groups
HOW:
Channel
Components
of
Communicati
on
Strategy
Components
of
Communicati
on
Strategy
The comple6ity of this interaction between the website and the users is almost
unlimited and provides a two.way communication channel for users. Social media
pages can be divided into several different types of networking website. The term
social media combines wikis, social bookmarking, social networking, social news
and social photo and video sharing. :ut each website, which allows a two.way
communication between users, is also defined as a social media site. !n order to
generate a better overview of the different types of social network "#ig. < below$
we will give a short definition of the social media occurrences.
(ig ): *e+ Social Media "latforms
9
I. ,ikis
Wikis are websites, which provide a database or a public document, where people
can add or change content found on the website. Wikipedia the online
encyclopedia, which is probably the best.known wiki, provides users with
definitions and e6planations in a wide variety of languages on almost every topic.
;ach user can share new information on the wiki or change already.e6isting
content on the page.
II. Social ookmarking
Social bookmarking is used to tag web pages on the !nternet. &sers can search,
organi+e and manage web resource bookmarks via social bookmarking providers
like 7r. Wong or )igg and like this share information with other users. :ookmarks
can be evaluated, commented on and the content can be described in order to
simplify the identification of the content. The difference between file sharing and
bookmarking is that there is actually no data transferred but the bookmark acts as
a reference for the actual source. :ookmarks can be stored privately, within a
certain group of people or shared publicly. Several display options for bookmarks
help users find the bookmarks they are interested in. This can be according to
categories, chronological order or a search engine.
III. Social -et.orking
Social networks are platforms, which allow users to generate a personal web
profile and connect it to other users. The best.known social network is #acebook,
which provides a platform to build a network of friends or people with the same
interests to build up relationships and keep in touch with other people via the web.
Social networks are designed differently. There are wide networks like #acebook,
which do not really set a focus on a certain user group, but there are also social
networks, which are speciali+ed on certain specific target groups like students,
professional categories or athletes. Within the social networks the users share
information, debate, share pictures and other media with friends and other users.
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I$. Social -e.s
Social news is a form of social bookmarking with the focus on sharing the latest
news with other users. Therefore special social news portals such as )igg or
0i//.de were developed. These portals share the latest news with other users.
There are all kinds of topics shared on news portals including technology,
entertainment economics and much more.
$. Social "hoto and $ideo Sharing
2n social photo. and video.sharing platforms "#ig. below$ users can upload their
own videos and photos and share them with other users. ;veryone or only a
selected audience can see these videos'photos. &sually the websites also provide
other functions to increase the communication on the webpage, by implementing
comment functions or rating systems. Bideos can be found by categories or by a
search engine, which simplifies the process of finding the right source. The best.
known video.sharing network is 0ouTube, which has about 1--,---,--- videos
viewed per day.
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(ig /: 0andscape of Social Media Manifestation
1.& Statement of 1esearch "ro#lem
Since the rise of the !nternet and its adaption by the public, the way companies
promote their products as well as the communication channels between the
companies and their customers have altered quite a lot. 7arketing and the way
organi+ations communicate their brands and products are nowadays becoming a
more and more challenging task. (ustomers are overwhelmed by marketing
commercials and promotional events.
2riginally companies set their promotional focus on traditional mass media
advertising. This includes TB commercials, radio announcements, print
advertisements in maga+ines or newspapers as well as billboard ads. While the
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!nternet is advancing across the globe as a marketplace and an entertainment
medium the effectiveness of traditional mass media is declining. 2ver time people
have shifted the time they spend on certain media. While print media has been
declining over the past forty years and TB is e6periencing smaller growth rates,
the !nternet is e6panding rapidly to become one of the most important media for
information sharing and as a marketplace for businesses and customers. The
reason for the decline and slower development of media like print and TB is fairly
easy to e6plain. =eople only have a limited amount of time and according to
statistics !nternet usage is advancing and therefore other media channels are of
declining usage.
*nother reason for the decline of advertency of advertisements in other media
than the !nternet is the occurrence of multitasking media usage. 7ultitasking
media usage means that people are using multiple media at the same time. So, for
e6ample, someone is watching TB while surfing on the !nternet at the same time.
This fact e6plains the loss of effectiveness of the TB commercial, because the
consumer is not paying his full attention to the advertisement and therefore the ad
loses its effect to make the person aware of a need.
#or sure there is still potential for traditional mass marketing and the effects of it
are still there, but they are fading slowly and shifting towards other media. What
also has to be taken into account is the segment of business companies are
advertising for. *lthough the trend is heading more and more towards the !nternet
and interactive media, there is still a difference regarding how fast and in which
degree companies have to or will shift their marketing efforts. !n product categories
like books, movies, music and other products, which are rich in information, it is
more essential for marketers to shift advertising and brand presence online rather
than in other segments, which still mainly use the traditional channels for
communicating. :ut the !nternet is not just the ne6t step for companies to
communicate with their customers and advertise products in a different medium.
With the !nternet and the development of Web ,.- the !nternet will cause a shift in
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the control of communication and advertising. The web switches the power of
control from the companies to the customer.
(onsumers find themselves in a strengthened position regarding the e6posure of
advertisements. !n the web the customer decides what he wants to see, read or
listen to so the companies have a hard time getting the attention of the customers
and delivering their message.
7ore and more companies have blogs and are connected with customers through
web gadgets "e.g., Twitter$ in order to keep them informed with the latest
information about new products and news concerning the organi+ation. These
pages are designed to be a communication place for the company and the
customer. (ustomers can leave comments in the blogs or share information
differently via ratings, for e6ample. :ut companies also have to be aware of the
fact that this is not the only place where information about the company is shared.
=eople also write about companies in their own blogs, too. *nd it is not only this
blog which maybe deals with the companyA there are a lot more. There is a whole
blog network combining people interested in the types of products a company
distributes or the company itself. !n these portals, blogs and people in social
networks share all kinds of information.
=eople who are satisfied share their e6periences with the product or service,
which is actually some kind of positive word of mouth via the web for the company,
but there is also a drawback about this kind of information sharing for companies.
*lso people who are not satisfied want to share their information with others and
form groups with other people with the same interests.
There is nothing worse than bad publicity, which is spread by the customers, for
companies. These information.sharing systems have hardly any boundaries and
information spreads like wildfireA especially if it negative information. There is not a
lot companies can do about people3s perceptions of a company on the web or
what type of information consumers share via blogs or social networks. !n order to
get some of the control back or be able to join the communication channels of the
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consumer companies need to be present where the consumers have their
communication channels and this is actually within blogs and social networks. The
discussion here is how companies should act in social networks and how
marketing communication is connected to these portals and what type of role the
company takes in the social network.
With regards to this discussion the research problem can be formulated as follows%
1.' 1esearch O#2ecti!es
The general objective of the research is to study how Social 7edia influence the
company3s marketing activities and communication process as a communication
tool.
The specific research objectives are to%
The advantage C disadvantage of using social media for the companies as
a marketing tool.
To understand the objectives and goals of companies in using different
social media.
To know what types of social media is used by companies to manipulate the
target group.
To e6amine how companies define about which social media is perfect for
them to reach the target group
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3o. does Social Media influence the Marketing
Communication of companies in the &1st centur+4
1.) 1esearch 5uestion
5esearch Duestion 1
#irst of all it is crucial to find out about the different social media and their features
in order to be advantageous for companies to advertise via their platforms. This
positioning in the markets is the main criterion for the companies to invest into
social media or into this special provider. :ut there are also disadvantages.
RQ1: What are the advantages and the disadvantages for companies of using
social media as a tool for marketing communication?
5esearch Duestion ,
*nother important issue in finding an answer the main problem is the question
about the long. and short.term objectives of the companies. The strategic
approach of companies has been always essential, and nowadays it is important
to know what long.term effects companies should e6pect when they invest in
marketing communication tools within social media. :ut also how they transport
their message to the target market respectively group is a crucial issue.
RQ2: What are the objectives of the companies using social media as a marketing
communication tool?
5esearch Duestion 4
!n order to reach and attract the right target group it is essential to find out about
the target customers and their needs.
RQ3: what tpes of media the companies use in order to reach the right target
group?
16
5esearch Duestion <
East but not least, it is crucial how companies define their suitable social media in
order to reach their target group. Sales decisions by the customers, as a result of
marketing efforts, are not the overall aim of companies. !t is more important to
create awareness of the brand, products and corporate identity "(!$ to the target
audience.
RQ!: "ow do companies evaluate social media communication channels the
use?
1./ Scope of the 1esearch
The scope of the study has been the four companies of :angladesh. Two
telephone operators /rameenphone, *irtel and two are consumer food producer
companies @estlF, !#*) 7ulti =roducts Etd. &sing Social 7edia as a marketing
communication tool are the main ingredients of this report.
1.6 Methodolog+ of the 1esearch
1.6.1 1esearch "urpose
*ccording to ;arl :abbie, there are three fundamental purposes for doing
research. These are e6planatory, descriptive and e6ploratory. ":abbie, ,--G$
:ased on the research problem and the research questions stated earlier in this
thesis, this research will be primarily e6ploratory and descriptive. This research is
e6ploratory because so far only little research has been done on the marketing
communication within social media. The effects of the social media to the
marketing communication behavior have not been investigated precisely yet. *nd
also the research has the purpose to develop subjective descriptions for a clearly
defined research problem.
17
1.6.& 1esearch approach
!n general the approaches for research are distinguished as two different basic
approaches. The research approach can either be based on quantitative or
qualitative data. Duantitative research has its focus on detecting differences or
sources in the form of numerical data in order to give an answer to the research
problem. !n qualitative approach the gained information does not come in numbers
or scales but mainly in words. Dualitative research has a wider range of potential
empirical information sources compared to the quantitative researcher. Dualitative
research approaches are characteri+ed for using diverse data sources to solve a
research problem. The qualitative data can come structured or totally unsorted.
This depends on the type of how the data is obtained. Structured data can be
obtained via standardi+ed interviews, while unstructured qualitative data can be a
result of field notes from an observation. This research followed the Dualitative
5esearch *pproach.
1.6.' 1esearch strateg+
5egarding the research questions posed in this thesis, a case study research
strategy is favorable to choose. !mplications for a case study research strategy are
that the researcher has low control over the behavioral events. The researcher has
the position of an interviewer and observer who does not influence actions or
behavior. The case study also focuses on contemporary events, which is given by
the topic of the thesis. The case study enables more than a single case to be
investigated. The analysis of different cases will lead to a better understanding of
the research problem and highlight different perspectives of the issue. (ases were
compared with each other to illustrate similarities or differences in the behavior of
the companies.
1.6.) Sample Selection
!n order to be able to answer the research questions posed in the first part of the
thesis, suitable respondents who will provide us primary information have to be
18
found. The companies we target for interviews have to fulfill certain criteria to be
matching for the purpose of the research. !n general we target different types of
companies. We target companies, which are planning or are already in the
progress advertising via social media. The companies know their motivation of
advertising in this new segment of marketing communication. *lso they are aware
of the advantages as well as the disadvantages of this communication channel.
They additionally have the e6pertise of what their customers are interested in and
how they like to be targeted. The companies we interviewed were /rameenphone,
*irtel, @estle C !#*) 7ulti =roducts Etd. Three of them are multinational
companies with lots of e6perience and high e6pertise in their market segments.
@ame of the people involved in those companies who gave interviews are%
1. 7d. *tique &l !slam, 7arketing 7anager, /rameenphone
,. 7uhammad Sa++ad 7ahmud, Specialist, 7arketing (ommunication, *irtel
4. 7d. Hiaul Iafi+, 7arketing (ommunication 7anager, @estle :angladesh
Etd.
<. ?amru++aman *pu, Senior :rand ;6ecutive, !#*) 7ulti =roducts Etd.
1.6./ %ata collection method
*fter having selected the research strategy the researcher has to gather empirical
data to analy+e the research questions. (ollected data is divided into primary and
secondary data. =rimary data includes all empirical proof that has been collected
for this particular research. Secondary data includes everything that has already
been collected by other researchers earlier.
)ocuments like articles and statistical analysis will be used as secondary data to
complete the information gained from the primary data collection.
The main source for primary information will be collected by interviews with
suitable companies in this segment. :y doing this the gathered information will be
19
specified to the topic and contain precise information to answer the research
questions.
!n this thesis ! have used a combination of an open.ended and a structured
interview, in order to get topic.specific information, but also gain an insight into the
thoughts behind the strategy of the companies.
1.6.6 %ata Anal+sis
*ccording to 7iles and Iuberman empirical data can be analy+ed in two different
ways. They differentiate between a within.case analysis and a cross.case
analysis. The within. case approach compares the gathered data to the theory
used for the research. #or a multiple case analysis the cross.case analysis will be
used. !n this situation the cases will be analy+ed looking at similarities or occurring
differences in the diverse cases.
The approach of 7iles and Iuberman to analy+e empirical data has been used in
this thesis. This study has also used the within case as well as the cross.case
analysis in order to reduce data and draw conclusions from it.
1.7 0imitation of the stud+
There are all kinds of companies and of course this thesis could not get hold of
every industry. Therefore this research is delimited in order to provide industry.
specific.information from two Telephones 2perators (ompany and two food C
beverage company. ;ach company is dealing in different market segments.
Therefore, generali+ations across industries and companies are difficult to make
due to the limitations of the collected empirical data.
20
Chapter T.o: 0iterature 1e!ie.
With massive importance being given to the concept of Social 7edia and its effect
on marketing communication in the recent times, prominent authors and business
professionals are conducting a lot of scholarly works in this regard.
*ccording to Wikipedia, social media is internet.based tools for sharing and
discussing information among human beings. Social media is all about networking
and networking in a way that espouses trust among parties and communities
involved.
Social 7edia, today, is among the Jbest opportunities available3 to a brand for
connecting with prospective consumers. Social media is the medium to sociali+e.
These new media win the trust of consumers by connecting with them at a deeper
level. Social media marketing is the new mantra for several brands since early last
few years. "@eti, ,-11$
Ea+er and ?elly3s "1G>4$ define social marketing as Kconcerned with the
application of marketing knowledge, concepts, and techniques to enhance social
as well as economic ends. !t is also concerned with the analysis of the social
consequences of marketing policies, decisions and activities.K
7arketing communication means using the specific mi6 of advertising, public
relation, direct marketing, personal selling and sales promotion tools that the
company uses to persuasively communicate customer value and build customer
relationship. "?otler C *rmstrong, ,-1-$ Social media can be used as a great
medium of marketing communication because through these marketers can easily
communicate with the consumers and can get feedback promptly.
Social media seem to be a tool that will increase in importance for marketing and
branding in the near future. #acebook currently has more than -- million active
users "#acebook ,-11$, and although Twitter is not having an established business
model yet, this is likely to change soon "Shayon ,-1-$. * ,--G @ielsen /lobal
21
2nline (onsumer Survey with over ,,--- subjects from - countries has come to
the conclusion that G-L of people trust recommendations from people they know,
while >-L trust recommendations that are posted online "The @ielsen (ompany
,--G$. These are strong arguments for investigating potential opportunities of
using social media marketing for branding in publishing, "2nline Mournal of
(ommunication and 7edia Technologies, ,-11$
/iven the increasingly large number of consumers using social media, companies
cannot ignore the power that is weaved within its networks. #or instance, =ower
5eviews statistics on social commerce stats state that there are -- million active
#acebook users, N million tweets and over 4 billion /oogle searches each. &sing
social media as a marketing communication tool provide large facilities to the
companies.
Social media has drastically changed how we communicate, social media tools
has redefined communication "5ich 7aggiani, ,-1<$. The elevator pitch about
these KintangibleK or long term benefits of social media is very simple "Iollier,
,--G$. * company becomes more attractive to the customers, and to current and
potential employees, if it has a well.built brand name. *s a result, social media will
help in building a good reputation for a business organi+ation. * couple of words
can describe a brand whether in the consumer or in the business space. :y
building a brand, it helps to reinforce the brand in the minds of the consumers.
Through social media, the company can repeatedly reinforce the brand name.
(ustomers e6perience a brand privilege while using a product or service and also
when interacting with a company "(arraher, =arnell, (arraher, (arraher, C
Sullivan, ,--N$. :rand awareness starts with the e6periences of the employees of
a company. !f a company is approachable, people.friendly, then the company must
make itself visible by inclusion on the web "(arraher, =arnell, C Spillan, ,--G$.
The major challenge for a social media is to be a reliable source for
communication as it is not for damage control. Social media can be used to be
realistic, transparent, and for being able to communicate issues on timeA thereby
reducing rumors, negative talk, and motivating people to speak for the company
22
"Iollier, ,--G$. * company must be truly dedicated towards conversation through
social media, as much as the customers are. The companies must take time to
review the conversation and must dedicate time and effort to respond to
customers responses. Social media is a cost.effective method for marketing
activities "=aridon C (arraher, ,--G$.
*s a communication tool of marketing, the companies should be alert in using
social media. !t can easily hamper the reputation of bran by slightly misuse or
indifference ":oyd, ). C ;llison, ,-->$. Social media allowed two.way
communication between brands and the customers and enabled customers to
react to the concerns of the customers. *s a result, if there was no response from
the business about the concerns, the customers would consider the company as
not reliable. 7oreover, the company would lose the brand loyalty and credibility.
Social media is not only a place to market the products and services of a
company, but also a place to interact with the customers to try and solve their
problems "The Mournal of *pplied 7anagement and ;ntrepreneurship, ,-11$
*lthough Social 7edias can help companies spread good news fast, it can also
spread bad news just as quickly. 7oreover, if customers want to vent their anger
on your product or service, they can use your social network account. 7anagers
need to understand how to handle those situations quickly and effectively. *lso, as
social media is not as widely moderated or censored as mainstream media,
individuals can say anything they want about a company or brand, positive or
negative ")ave ;vans, Make 7c?ee, ,--<$.
#inally, it is strongly believed that a small.scale internal social presence is much
more profitable than a large.scale outsourced one. *lso, Social media return on
investment is definitely about e6perience and insights, rather than about fans
number "Eevinson, M.(. C /ibson, S. ,-1-,$
23
Chapter Three: %ata "resentation and Anal+sis
This chapter presents C analyses the theoretical data, which was collected from
the four cases in order to be able to draw conclusions in the following chapter.
;ach of all four cases will be introduced with a brief background on the company,
which was mostly detected on the companies3 websites. *ll the other information
has been adapted from the interview guide, respectively the personal interview
done with each of the companies. The data presentation is structured into the
research questions and in data analysis part, it compares two mobile operators
with each other C two #7(/ "fast moving consumer goods$ companies with each
other in two cross.case analysis. The latter had to be done to discover differences
and similarities in the industries and between the two.
'.1 Case One: 8rameenphone
'.1.1 ackground of 8rameenphone
/ram eenphone is the largest mobile telecommunications operator in :angladesh
in terms of revenue, coverage and subscriber base. The company was
incorporated on 2ctober1-, 1GGN as a private limited company. /rameenphone
converted to a public limited company on Mune,, ,-->. Trading of the company3s
shares started at )haka and (hittagong Stock ;6changes from 1N@ov. ,--G. The
shareholding structure comprises of mainly two sponsor Shareholders namely
Telenor 7obile (ommunications *S ".1-L$ and /rameen Telecom "4<.,-L$.
The rest 1-.--L shareholding includes /eneral public C other !nstitutions.
/= was also the first operator to introduce the pre.paid service in September
1GGG. !n addition to core voice services, /rameenphone offers a number of value
added services, in each case on both a contract and prepaid basis. !t established
the first ,<hour (all (enter, introduced value added services such as B7S, S7S,
#a6 C )ata Transmission Services, !nternational 5oaming Service, W*=, S7S
24
based =ush =ull Services, ;)/;, personal ring back tone and many other
products and services.
/rameenphone nearly doubled its subscriber base during the initial years while
the growth was much faster during the later year. !t ended the inaugural year with
11,--- customers, 4-,--- by the end of 1GG1, N-,--- in 1GGG, 1G4,--- in ,---,
<>1,--- in ,--1, and >>,--- in ,--,, 1.1N million in ,--4, ,.< million in ,--< and
. million in ,-- customers. (urrently the customer base of /rameenphone is
over ,- million.
/rameenphone offers the widest coverage in :angladesh. The population
coverage has increased from appro6imately 1L in ,-- to above G-L in ,--N.
(urrently the population coverage is G1L "!ncluding voice call and ;dge'/=5S$.
!n additionA /rameenphone also offers /=5S in most of the country and ;)/; in
urban area.
'.1.& %ata "resentation regarding the 1esearch 5uestions
RQ1: What are the advantages and the disadvantages for companies of using
social media as a tool for marketing communication?
*ccording to 7r. *tique &l !slam, 7arketing 7anager of /rameenphone stated
that using social media as a marketing communication tool help the company in
many ways. 2ne of the most important advantages of using social media is
connecting directly with the customers and getting feedback through the social
media. #acebook is one of the popular social media where greameenphone can
get feedback, customer3s evaluation about their product. Through social media
customer can directly post into their pages or social media sites about their
e6pectation, complain, query. Social media brings the customer and
grameenphone more close. !t helps the company to build a interactive two way
communication with the customer. &sing social media as marketing
25
communication tool help the company for creating a value added customer
relationship.
*lso /rameenphone use different social medias as a promotional tool. !t places
different offers and and info, features about their product and services.
/rameenphone also provide services to any of customers inquiry and problems
through #acebook
The only disadvantage of using social media is customer can post complain in
different social sites directly and openly. !t can create negative impression in other
potential customer3s mind.
RQ2: What are the objectives of the companies using social media as a marketing
communication tool?
There are many different objectives behind the behavior of /=, for e6ample,
reaching the right target group by using the right channel. #urther it is important to
create awareness and building up "continue$ a brand image "(!$ by using 0ouTube
as a channel for new, high.quality videos of a new offers and products. #acebook
is used as a tool for starting a communication with the audience as well as for
finding out about preferences and criticism. Twitter is used as an informational
channel, with live news, actual press releases and always.updated information
about /rameenphone. The objectives behind the usage of all these different digital
channels are the same like behind the old media. /p just wants to have them
additionally to the traditional media in order to improve and increase the
communication and especially the dialog with potential customers. Therefore there
is only a difference in communicating not in the company3s goal or objective. The
objectives for the digital media are designed on a long.term perspective and like
mentioned above not because #acebook and certain media are popular at the
moment.
26
2f course the advancement of the =5 respectively the (!, like already mentioned,
is also a main objective. There are also many blogs about /= and wikis as well, in
this cohesion the, social media monitoring is getting crucial. :y doing that /= has
always a good overview about opinions and criticism and can therefore react
immediately. *nother objective in connection with saving money is the better or
more elaborate cost.benefit factor, because of the lower costs for the digital media.
RQ3: what tpes of media the companies use in order to reach the right target
group?
*ccording to 7d. *tique &l !slam, 7arketing 7anager of /rameenphone, the
target of /p is both the young and elder people,middle class to sophisticated
people. To reach with the right target group, /rameenphone uses #acebook,
Twitter, 0ouTube /oogelO and Einked!n. /p keeps posting about their new
products info, offers, discount or bonus gifts offers, qui+ contest info for attracting
the target group.
/p uses #acebook for posting all kind of offers, advertisements and promo
because all level of people in :angladesh uses #acebook regularly. !t use twitter
for posting press release. 0ouTube is the medium of providing videos about
company3s products and services. /= also have a character available in youtube
which help the customer in solving problem by providing a demo. *nd Einked!n is
used for recruitment.
RQ!: "ow do companies evaluate social media communication channels the
use?
27
/rameenphone uses four types of social media as a marketing communication
tool. They can measure the effectiveness of channel of communication by
evaluating the feedback of consumer in those social sites. =resently, 1-, G>,11>
fans are actively connected through grameenphone page and 1,<41 peoples are
talking about /p in facebook daily. *nd followers are following in their twitter
account. Biewers view their advertisements. To /p, #acebook is the most effective
and popular channel among the social media as people of :angladesh are mostly
involved and check the facebook in a daily basis. /p also check the competitors3
activity in the social media C 7r. *tiq recommended that /rameenphone is the
most popular company among the telephone operators in the social sites.
'.& Case T.o: Airtel
'.&.1 ackground of Airtel
#astest growing telecommunication sector of :angladesh had been incorporated
with the si6th mobile phone carrier which currently known as P*irtel . !t is worth
mentioning here that, this company was actually launched its commercial
operations under the auspices of the brand
PWarid Telceom in ,-->. Eater on, Warid telecom sold a majority >-L stake in the
company to
!ndia based company :harti *irtel Eimited for &SQ4-- million. The entire
management control was taken over by :harti *irtel Etd and was successful
enough to revamp the whole company under their own *irtel brand from ,-1-.
*fter it had been approved by the :angladesh
Telecommunication 5egulatory (ommission on Man <, ,-1-, the parent company
arranged for better management, control, operation for this fresh facet of them.
This financial arrangement is being used for the e6pansion, better network, better
coverage and capacity, innovative and new offers and services. *long with all
these arrangements, new facets, decisions and funding, *irtel.
28
:angladesh is undergoing a huge success and profitable business. )habi /roup
continues as a strategic partner retaining 4-L shareholding and has its nominees
on the :oard of the (ompany.

'.&.& %ata "resentation regarding the 1esearch 5uestions
RQ1: What are the advantages and the disadvantages for companies of using
social media as a tool for marketing communication?
*irtel is comparatively new company in :angladesh mobile phone operators. So it
is working hard for the development of its position in the market. The specialist of
marketing communication section of *irtel, 7uhammad Sa++ad 7ahmud told us
during the interview that his company is seeking for a great opportunity by using
the social media as a communication tool of marketing.
&sing social media provide a huge advantage for airtel. !t posted its offers,
services through the social media. *irtel can also interact with its customer easily
and can get customer3s opinion about their product through Social 7edias.
The disadvantage of using social media as a marketing tool is that as *irtel is a
new and less e6perienced mobile operator country, it has some maintenance
problem in its service which a matter of complain for their customers. The
customers continue complaining frequently in social sites, which is subject of fear
of airtel that they may lose the market reputation.
RQ2: What are the objectives of the companies using social media as a marketing
communication tool?
29
The main objective of *irtel is e6panding their product' service market through
using social media as a marketing communication tool. They want to engage their
customers in their social sites for getting customer3s feedback.
*nother objective is to create an integrated customer relationship through social
medias so that they can collect info about what the customers want from them.
RQ3: what tpes of media the companies use in order to reach the right target
group?
The target group of *irtel is the youth society of :angladesh aged from 11.,<. *ll
their promotion and offers are perfectly matched with the youth group. *nd the
youth society of :angladesh all.time keeps themselves busy with the social sites.
*irtel uses #acebook, 0outube, and twitter as marketing communication tools.
They also a have a #acebook page named 8airtel.bu++9 especially for the young
people.
RQ!: "ow do companies evaluate social media communication channels the
use?
*irtel uses four types of social media as a marketing communication tool. They
can measure the effectiveness of channel of communication by evaluating the
feedback of consumer in those social sites. =resently, 1, <-, ,< fans are actively
connected through airtel page. *nd many followers are following in their twitter
account. Biewers view their advertisements. To airtel, #acebook is the most
effective and popular channel among the social media as people of :angladesh
are mostly involved and check the facebook in a daily basis. /p also check the
competitor3s activity in the social media.
30
31
'.' Case Three: -estle angladesh 0td.
'.'.1 ackground of -estle angladesh 0td
Today3s @estlF, the worldRs largest food and nutrition company, founded by the
Ienri @estlF "1- *ugust 111< S > Muly 11G-$A a /erman confectioner in Bevey,
Swit+erland in 11NN. !n the food industry @estlF is the most trusted name with high
quality products. 8/ood food /ood Eife9 is the mission of @estlF, which drives the
company to provide consumers with the best tasting and most nutritious choices in
a wide range of food and beverage categories and eating occasions. The vision of
Tcreating shared value and the very own T(orporate :usiness =rinciple
shaped the company culture and made them a reliable investor over 1N countries
of the world. Today @estlF employs around ,1---- people and have factories or
operations in almost every country of the world with a total equity of (I# N,.N-
billion.
=opular @estlF brands started entering this part of the sub.continent during the
:ritish rule and the trend continued during the pre.independence days of
:angladesh. *fter the independence in 1G>1, @estlF World Trade (orporation, the
trading wing of @estlF S.*, sent regular dispatch of @estlF brands to :angladesh
through an array of indentures and agents and some of the brands such as
@;S=5*0, (;5;E*(, E*(T2/;@, and :E&; (52SS etc. became some very
common products.
@estlF :angladesh Eimited started its commercial operation in :angladesh in
1GG<. !ts total authori+ed capital is T?1. billion and total paid up capital is T? 1.1
billion. The only factory of the company in :angladesh is situated at Sreepur,
km north of )haka. The factory produces the instant noodles and cereals and
repacks milks, soups, beverages and infant nutrition products.
Today @estlF :angladesh Etd. is a strongly positioned organi+ation. The (ompany
is continuously growing through the policy of constant innovation, concentrating on
32
its core competencies and its commitment to high quality food to the people of
:angladesh.
Since the beginning of @estlF3s operation in :angladesh, the chairman of the
company has been
7r. Eatifur 5ahman, one of the top industrialists of the country, his firm Transcom
used to import the products of @estlF. Iis business house Transcom is still
involved in wide range of business like beverage, pharmaceutical, electronics,
newspaper, tea e6port, fast food franchises etc. Still he remains as an honorary
chairman of the company although his group Transcom does not capture any
share today as @estlF S.*. holds 1--L share of this company.
'.'.& %ata "resentation regarding the 1esearch 5uestions
RQ1: What are the advantages and the disadvantages for companies of using
social media as a tool for marketing communication?
@estle is a multinational company. 7any countries have an individual pages on
@estle. :ut in :angladesh, @estle creates a facebook page named @estle 7&@(I
:angladesh on their product @estle munch.
7arketing (ommunication 7anager Hiaul Iafi+ of @estle /roup stated that nestle
takes the advantage of social media as a marketing communication tool recently.
They post their offers, practices sales promotion about their product much.
)ifferent qui+ contest is also took place in the page.
RQ2: What are the objectives of the companies using social media as a marketing
communication tool?
The main objective of nestle is communication through social media. *s they are
33
new in this marketing practice, their present focus is getting their products popular
in the market
RQ3: what tpes of media the companies use in order to reach the right target
group?
@estle :angladesh uses only #acebook C 0outube. *nd their target group is child
to youth as the company only uses social media for @estle 7unch.
RQ!: "ow do companies evaluate social media communication channels the
use?
@estle :angladesh Etd is new in social media, so they have not any measurement
rules, but they follow other3s company3s practices in social media to improve their
practices in social media for a benefited marketing communication tool.
'.) Case (our: I(A% Multi "roducts 0td.
'.).1 ackground of I(A% Multi "roducts 0td.
!#*) 7ulti =roducts Etd. is the sister concern of !#*) /52&=. 7r. !ftekhar *hmed
Tipu is a successful entrepreneur whose contribution has shaped the transport
sector of :angladesh. !#*) *utos Etd., which started out in 1G1 as the pioneering
company of !#*) /roup, has flourished under his leadership, and its development
e6emplifies the dynamism and passion that goes behind establishing an
organi+ation which remains perpetually involved in the development of the
transport sector of :angladesh.
Since the beginning of the ,1st century, 7r. !ftekhar *hmed Tipu3s has involved
himself in the consumer and agro industry. !#*) 7ulti =roducts Etd. had
34
penetrated the consumer industry by producing and supplying premium *tta,
7oyda and Suji, followed by consumer iodi+ed salt and industrial salt
!nstituted in ,--4, !#*) 7ulti =roducts Etd. is recogni+ed as one the largest
consumer food producers in :angladesh. !t began its journey by erecting one of
the largest automated flourmills in the nation and currently contends as one of the
largest suppliers of flour products. (oncurrently the company also established
itself as one the largest suppliers of salt, both consumer and industrial grade,
following a thorough refining process that attributes to its superior quality.
(urrently the company is also a major manufacturer and supplier of ;//0 instant
noodles, stick noodles, a varied range of biscuits and cookies, packaged whole
spices and bottled drinking water e6tracted from local aquifers, all of which has
been established in its own industrial park. The company has a number of other
consumer products in its pipeline, which will manifest itself in the very near future.
'.).& %ata "resentation regarding the 1esearch 5uestions
RQ1: What are the advantages and the disadvantages for companies of using
social media as a tool for marketing communication?
*n !#*) 7ulti product Etd has different products in the market. :ut they use social
media only for the ;ggy, which represents the @oodles and (ustard (ake.
The Senior ;6ecutive :rand 7anager ?amru++aman *pu told us that to them, the
advantages of using social media as a marketing communication tool are huge.
!t helps them to interact with the customer easily. *nd also help them to get the
customer feedback about their product.
35
RQ2: What are the objectives of the companies using social media as a marketing
communication tool?
The objective of the company of using social media is to retain the e6isting
customer with making a smooth communication with them. *nd also provide many
useful info through the social media to help the consumer.
RQ3: what tpes of media the companies use in order to reach the right target
group?
!#*) 7ulti =roduct Etd specifies children and the parent3s society as their target
groups. 7ost of young parents use #acebook. So !#*) uses #acebook and *lso
0outube as marketing communication tools. They telecast an animated video of
chicken, which is their brand mascot for attracting the children. They also post
different qui+e competition in facebook page, which are arranged for the children.
RQ!: "ow do companies evaluate social media communication channels the
use?
!#*) multi product ltd.3s page !#*) ;//0 is the most popular page in the social
media among the #7(/ producers in the market of :angladesh. They evaluate
the effective social media of marketing communication by the participation and
response of the customers.
36
'./ Cross Case anal+sis
'./.1 Cross Case Anal+sis #et.een 8rameenphone 9 Airtel
Characteristics:Compan+ 8rameenphone Airtel
2bjective of using social
media
5etain present customer
and develop the customer
relation
)evolving the brand image
and promoting products
*dvantage of social media ;asy communication with
customers and providing
service to customer
problem
/etting customer feedback
for their new products.
)isadvantage of social
media
!nformation overflow and
frequent customer complain
8:urn #ingers9 due to little
e6perience and uncertain
future of different channels
(hannels (ace#ook; <ouTu#e;
T.itter; g=; 0inkedIn
(ace#ook; T.itter;
<ouTu#e
Target group Total 7ass people 0outh
37
'./.& Cross Case Anal+sis #et.een -estle angladesh 9 Ifad Multi
"roducts 0td
Characteristics:Compan+ -estle % Ifad Multi "roducts 0td
2bjective of using social
media
=romoting their new
products to the customer
keep present customer
satisfied and develop the
customer relation
*dvantage of social media ;ase mood of marketing
communication activities
and gaining customer
attention ;asily
/etting customer feedback
for their products and get
knowledge about product
availability
)isadvantage of social
media
8:urn #ingers9 due to little
e6perience and uncertain
future of different channels
Eot of customers feedbacks
to which company can3t
response time to time which
make customer angry
(hannels #acebook, 0ouTube #acebook C 0ouTube
Target group @estle 7unch is for youth
people
(hildren and their parents
38
Chapter (our: (indings
#rom the above case studies ! have found that in the business environment of
:angladesh using Social 7edia as a marketing communication tool is not very
popular yet. * few of the companies use social media for their marketing and
promotional activities. :ut they do not use all the available platforms of the social
media. 2nly in our telecommunication sector it is used widely. :ut #7(/ sector it
is not used that much. !n this sector near about three to four companies use social
media for their marketing. Two of them are @estle :d and !#*) 7ulti =roducts
Etd. &sing Social 7edia as a marketing communication tool has a huge
advantage. !t helps the company to interact with customers and getting their
feedback about the products easily than before. The only disadvantage using
social media is the negative reaction of the consumers can be published directly in
the social media which cannot be controlled.
!n :angladesh #acebook is the most used and also most popular social media for
using as a marketing communication tool. *nd then comes 0ouTube.
39
Chapter (i!e: 1ecommendation
Social media can support and integrate many functions at once% =5, customer
service, market research, e.commerce, video and banner advertising,
coupons'promotions, and more. The synergistic potential of all of these capabilities
combined makes social media a superb marketing tool. 7any of the principles of
traditional marketing can be effectively applied to social media. 5each, frequency,
service qualityUand, yes, conversions and salesUall can be considered and
measured.
!t can add a new era in the business. (ompany can develop their brand image and
customer relation by using it. Social media can be transformed into social
commerce. ;ach and every business should get them involved in social media for
the medium of marketing communication. !t can help them to e6pand their
business easily both in national and international area.
40
Chapter 6: Conclusions
This research brings into light that very few companies in :angladesh are using
social medias as a form of marketing communication tool. Social medias are new
form of communication and very much effective in a company3s marketing
practices. !t can help the companies in develop a two way interactive
communication system with her valuable customers. Through social media,
companies can also get the feedback or reaction of the customers to their
products more easily than the any other marketing communication tools. @ow a
day, social media has brought the customers and producers more close.
(ompanies can stay besides the customers easily, can interact with them in any
time and get feedback and suggestion from those customers about their new
products and services.
:ut in :angladesh, only a few companies are enjoying this advantage. To increase
the production and effectiveness in marketing activities, every company should
launch is presence in the social media. !nvolving in social media for the purpose of
using them as a marketing communication tool can add a new era in the marketing
communication system. Social media also gives the companies the opportunity of
being global. So every company should take the chance of using social media as a
marketing communication tool.
41