The Influence of Social Media Marketing on Consumers Behavior

Advertising has seen a drastic change over these years. Increasing exposure of people to social media has opened up new opportunities for the companies to target the newly emergent section of people that are savvy with social media. Nowadays, social media is being increasingly used by customers for seeking information about products/services and they are moving away from traditional media, viz. radio, television, and magazines. India is not an exception to this paradigm shift. The growing popularity and wide acceptance of social media is increasingly drawing the attention of companies and hence they have now started directing their advertisements to social media users so as to attract and influence their attitudes and invoke purchase intentions.1 Industry and academia both are interested in exploring and understanding the issues those results in the formation of ―Consumers‘ Attitude toward Social Media Advertising‖ and further determining its effect on their ―Purchase Intentions‖. However, only few researches have been conducted on this subject and a comprehensive study is needed in the Indian context. Social networking ratings were one of the main fields of social media coverage. For goods and services, customer feedback is readily accessible, providing tremendous value for both customers and firms. Indeed, companies are aggressively encouraging consumers to evaluate and track web products and services. These actions generate mouth-word electronic. This word of mouth, created through social media, assists customers in their buying choices. Research indicates that client ratings on the internet have risen rapidly. Online advertising is one form of digital commercial which, as internet connectivity is ubiquitous in the industry, has become a successful means of marketing communication.2 it is the latest and most rapidly increasing advertising method. The internet also offers all kinds of website connections, banner website advertisements, and tiny website ads, for advertisement by clicking. In contrast to traditional print and TV media, web ads are distinct in the way audiences visit advertisements where publicity is put in front of their audience. Banner advertising, interstitial ads, text ads, publicity and HTML ads are online publicities and are considered a dominant means of marketing their goods and services via Internet by businesses. Different kinds of measurements such as hits, clicking, website frequency and website time forecast the behavior of consumers in an immersive world.3

Advertisers are finding innovative avenues to attract customers through technological progress and the growth of digital media use. Several surveys show that social network sites are increasingly used. When services of social networks becoming the dominant social events forum, further publicity on social networking sites is accessible, In order to obtain quick and effective knowledge about customer needs and desires, several companies are using modern web-based tools. In fact, advertisement messages are broadly distributed through social networks. To reach the profile

communities. There are two major criteria for successful social networking ads; firstly that connections inside the social network are important for the target publicity.4 the second prerequisite is to easily integrate social knowledge into the current targeting approaches to forecast response rates. Through using 39 Facebook connections, companies will enter the Social Network on a regular basis with millions of eyes, desires, desires and wallets. Naturally, Facebook works to promote the ad program on the website. An application on the website will make advertising on Facebook, which allows people to generate their own ads on the website. Through using their own Facebook account, users may generate their own ads. Social network ads may be one of the cheapest and most targeted means of publicity. Businesses must understand that their clients can now be located in this area and that it takes them to comfortably remain competitive in this room. However, rising numbers of firms who learn this modern publicity tactic would find it more challenging to break through and several companies are struggling to be noticed. So, although Social networking offers a wide range of marketing opportunities, increasing rivalry renders it challenging to gain recognition: still an insightful approach may be implemented. SNS marketing is not just done by page creation; images may be uploaded links etc. through the banner marketing style. Banner ads are the omnipresent immersive posters running down the profile on the right-hand side. When a consumer clicks it to close or reduce it, another ad will simply show. Banner advertising will never vanish many people find that this form of messaging functions to socialize with people as people log in to synchrony networking sites. If you meet businesses and companies who promote their goods and services with a page close to yours, you are more likely to sign out than you would when there is a flagrant advertisement. Marketing also performs best if consumers do not realize why they are targeting.5

There are different ways of advertising like online ads, digital advertisement, electronic advertisement, printed advertisement (magazines, journals and newspapers), television ads, posters, sponsors, events, audio visual ads and endorsements. However, as consumers are frequently exposed to a number of advertisements, they tend to get immune to these commercial advertisements. Therefore, besides the conventional advertising, various non-traditional advertising strategies have also emerged into picture.6

The concept "social network marketing" can be seen as a marketing strategy for using social media sites. Weinberg (2009) notes that social media marketing is networks, to advertise their blogs, goods or services and to interfere with and tap into a much broader audience that might not be possible through conventional advocacy.7 It is no longer striking that most mass media ads are not as effective as in the past, but through mass ads, the message usually reaches much more users than the prospective client. The social web is where individuals with common interest may come together to share thoughts, comments and ideas. Thus, marketers should become, instead of continuing as broadcasters, aggregators for their customer groups, i.e. the web should not simply be considered an advertising channel.

Boyd (2007) made fundamental distinctions between social media and the media prevailing prior to it. According to him, social media is not a broadcast medium like other traditional publishing medium, and is organized around many to many rather than one to many communications models, it is open and disruptive, and it is the way in which we organize to communicate with each other to gain information, understand the world and our position in it. highlighted that social media is different from traditional computer-driven interaction in three prominent ways: a change in area of interest from the desktop computer to the web with better approachability,8 a change in value creation from the company to the customer as a result of increased interface, and a change in the area of authority from the company to the consumer. Thackeray et al. (2008) people on social media can undertake several activities like collaborating, exchanging information, sharing and sending messages over an electronic medium, engaging collectively and interacting, sharing contents like ideas, text, photos, images and video, and they are creators and co-creators of this material.

The typical WOM extension to the Web is essentially e-WOM or electronic word of mouth. The practices of e-WOM vary in many respects from those of the modern world. WOM communication in the marketing literature is a 'oral, individual correspondence between a recipient and a communicator that the beneficiary considers to be non-commercial in respect of a company, a commodity, a service or a supplier.' However, e-WOM involves a kind of Internet conversation, not face to face or orally.9 "E-WOM" means online WOM contact "to a large number of individuals and organizations through the Internet": "any favorable or derogatory statements or interactions with others a few days and has therefore grown massively in the number of individuals to be approached. e-WOM contact may be done through many channels such as web-based platforms, discussion boards and websites of social networking. There are some distinct features of Internet communication. The contact may be addressed concurrently to several people, rendered open permanently to others and the recipient is relatively anonymous. The Internet often promotes the exchange of connections, photos and knowledge amongst users by making it convenient for the user to post marketing messages. Therefore, it is more probable that e-WOM would contain appeals to publicity than conventional WOM. WOM is particularly well-suited for on the Internet through easy dissemination of content amongst users, and hence there have also been new ways for businesses to use WOM marketing. Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) find that businesses, for example in relation to conventional marketing campaigns, may make direct communication with consumers at reduced cost and productivity compared.10

In the case of ads between customer attitudes and their behavioral intentions, some research has identified beneficial relationships. Behavioral purpose implies "an indicator that a person is ready to act." In their research claimed that factors influencing "Consumers' attitude to social media ads" may influence their intent to engage in e-WOM online behaviors, the intention to access and buy the product from the web pages of those companies who advertised products/services.11 Intention to participate in e-WOM conduct e-WOM implies web consumer information sharing. "e-WOM shall express 'any favorable or derogatory comment rendered about a product or business made accessible to several persons or organizations on the Internet by future, current or former consumers.' Purpose to participate in online speech-of-mouth (e-WOM) behavior is described as "consumer intentions to exchange details with other members of their social networks regarding goods, brands and/or businesses." Intent to visit company websites Much of the Internet is utilized by users in two forms, i.e. for the quest or purchase of a good or a service. Consumers' favorable reaction to social network advertising would improve their likelihood of accessing the website of the firm for more details on goods / services that would further boost purchasing intentions. Intentions for buying ―Intention to purchase‖ mean that consumers are ready to purchase goods or services digitally. Intention to purchase is 'a client's sense of belief in buying a certain good or service.' Intention to buy the desire to buy is "the chance of the consumers, that customer perceptions towards advertisement affect the intentions of buying. 12

During past few years, social media has gained popularity among individuals as well as business organizations across the world. Companies are widely making use of social media for advertising their products, to connect with their customers, and to do market research in order to expand their businesses. The significance of social media lies in interaction between individuals and in the facilitation of interactive, quick, asynchronous and cost-effective communication. In 2012, the growing use of social media in Fortune 500 companies was investigated and the findings suggested that 28 percent of the companies have their own corporate level blogs, 73 percent of the companies have their corporate Twitter account, 66 percent of companies have opened a corporate Facebook page. Social media has turned out to be vital for companies for their value chain activities. It has now become a mandatory element in companies‘ marketing strategy rather than merely a discretionary element of the promotional mix. Social networking services are being adopted rapidly by consumers into their daily lives which is evident from the enhancement in the users across the world. According to Statista Report (2017) on Number of Monthly Active Users Worldwide as of 4th Quarter 2017, Facebook was the first social network to cross the mark of 1 billion registered accounts and has 2.05 million monthly active users followed by YouTube having 1,500 million users. The third position is shared by WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, having 1,200 users each. Instagram, the photo-sharing app, which is ranked seventh in terms of number of users, had above 700 million active monthly accounts. According to Internet World Stats Report (2017) of Internet World Stats: Usage and Population Statistics, the growth of world internet usage from 2000 to 2017 is 976.4%, Among total internet users across the globe, 49.9 percent internet users are in Asia and Indian internet users are 23.8 percent of total users of Asia with a penetration rate of 34.4 percent. Hence, India is a leading country in terms of social media usage.

Previous analysis shows that firms have a way of benefiting from social networking and also a strategic edge when used appropriately. The best companies have established robust social networking campaigns in support of their targets in Dutta (2010). Social networking changes customer and workplace behavior by being multinational, accessible to all, open, engaging, and real-time.

research by Colliander and Dahlen (2011) found that social media was more successful than conventional web media and those social media ads and word of mouth advertisements are more comparable. The usage of social media allows advertisers to stand back and concentrate on establishing relationships from conventional campaign thought.13 Managers cannot manage conversations personally with customers, but they may use approaches to manipulate and mold the discussions in a way that is consistent with the purpose and success of organizations.

Social media has appeared as a powerful medium for companies to communicate with their current and prospective customers, and for advertising their products. It is the user-generated media that allows the creation of information and its dissemination online where the buyers may engage and companies may interact with them. Companies, earlier never had the opportunity to communicate with millions of customers together, get feedback quickly, convey offers to customers at relatively low costs. Highlighted that social media made feasible for companies to communicate with their customers and vice-versa, and it can be used by customers to communicate with each other. social media helped customers in searching, evaluating, choosing and buying goods/services and hence made them more sophisticated. social media is relevant in both ways, as prompt (awareness) and as validation (aid to the buying decision) in the different stages of consumer decision process. mentioned the following reasons for the important role performed by social media in companies‘ advertising strategies: enhancing brand recognition, improving brand loyalty, providing innumerable opportunities, increasing inbound traffic, decreasing marketing costs and improving customer experiences. highlighted the importance of marketing on social networks viz. it exposes company to the public, self-promotes and promotes the success of the business; market research; creates and expands partnerships; improves ranking in search engines; reduces costs involved in marketing; enhances the number of followers and subscribers; develops a dialogue with the target audience; improves customer relationship; acquires new contacts that qualify for business; establishes itself as an authority in the respective field of activity. in today‘s scenario companies are making use of varied types of social media platforms for leveraging their various business functions like marketing, customer service, research and development, HR, finance, advertising, sales etc.14 Consumers can be referred as actors who play important role on the stage of the marketplace. Consumers can be called, in general terms, as the individuals who buy products either for self- consumption or for someone else; however, there is a difference between a buyer and a consumer. Buyers are the ultimate, individual, or institutional purchasers whereas consumers are end users of the products or services, who buy only for ultimate consumption. Attitude refers to ―consumers‘ psychological likelihood as demonstrated by assessing a particular object with some extent of favour or disfavor‖. Attitude toward advertising can be defined as ―a learned predisposition to respond in the consistently favorable or unfavorable manner to advertising on general‖. Thus, attitude toward social media advertising can be considered as attitude of consumers toward this mode of advertising in general and it does not refer to consumers‘ attitude toward a particular advertisement via social media. Earlier researches have verified that consumers‘ attitude toward social media advertising is a key factor for determining advertising effectiveness.

A number of researches have established positive relationship in case of advertising among attitude of consumers and their behavioural intentions. Behavioral intention means ―indication of an individual‘s readiness to perform a given behaviour‖. Nevarez and Torres (2015) in their study asserted that factors that affect ―Consumers‘ Attitude toward Social Media Advertising‖ may influence their intentions to participate in online eWOM behaviours, intentions to access the websites of the companies which advertised products/services and purchase the product through this sites.15

eWOM means the online exchange of the knowledge by the consumers. eWOM conveys ―any positive or negative statement made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company, which is made available to multitude of people and institutions via the Internet‖.

With the rising popularity of the internet and social media throughout the world, the fundamental communication options for both businesses and individuals. In today's world, social media advertising has become an unavoidable component of every company's Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) program and serves as a vital component of its promotional mix. Companies utilize a variety of social media channels to market their products and services. Companies, on the other hand, are very worried about how to get customers to respond positively to their marketing on social media sites. Several factors impact "Consumers Behavior toward Social Media Advertising," Consumers' attitudes regarding social media advertising influence their willingness to participate in e-WOM activities, as well as their willingness to visit the company's website and make purchases there. As a result, it's equally critical to comprehend the ramifications of "Consumers' Behavior toward Social Media Advertising."

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Research Scholar, Shri Krishna University, Chhatarpur M.P.