Social Media (Facebook) Marketing: A Study of Readiness in Indore City
 
Akash Agrawal1*, Dr. N. Gopal Krishnan2
1 Research Scholar, Department of English, Kalinga University, Naya Raipur
2 PhD Guide.  Kalinga University, Naya Raipur

Abstract - Marketers and advertisers in the city have little choice but to use social media to spread the word about their wares, thanks to the explosion of internet use in recent years. The use of social media of all kinds has exploded in Indore in recent years. In the past, advertisers and marketers could reach their target audiences and compete with one another in an advertising "war" via the use of conventional media. As Facebook has expanded, so have the methods used to promote its users' goods and services. Studies of Facebook advertisements and the level of user engagement they inspire are still in their infancy in Indore.

Preparedness for Facebook ads among chronic social media users: A total of 178 young people from Indore City were surveyed. The study's young participants in Indore showed not just a high level of familiarity with Facebook ads, but also a positive attitude toward those they saw. The current research concurs with its predecessors in finding that advertising on social media is more engaging and forceful. Facebook ads are more noticeable and may be strategically placed to reach a certain demographic. Compared to other social media platforms, more detailed but concise messages may be communicated.
Keywords - Social Media, Advertisement, Facebook, Marketing, Ad Target Audience

INTRODUCTION

18 years ago, on Feb 4, 2004, Mark Zuckerberg launched a website called Facebook. Facebook is an online directory that connects people through social networks. Facebook's MAUs will reach 2.8 billion by the year's end, 2021. Because of this, Facebook has become an indispensable medium for commercial promotion. Facebook established the network in order to sustain ongoing connections. A Facebook account is a brand presence on social media. Social media has fame as an impactful medium of providing information to target.
Durkin (2013) & Dwivedi et al. (2015) argued that Internet would become the future tool for the advertising and marketing of the product and services. More and more people will explore product using their hand-held devices. Internet would be the main source for the information in the coming future.
Social media marketing (SMM) is a term coined by Jara, Parra, and Skarmeta (2014) to describe the use of online communities to attract and engage a larger number of potential buyers. According to Kim and Ko (2012), social media marketing is a kind of "identity-motivated communication" aimed at youthful customers, with efforts also directed at those in older age brackets.
On the other hand, social media marketing is seen as an appealing strategy by Richter and Schafermeyer (2011) because of the ease with which social platforms provide two-way connection with customers.
Everyday techniques of communication and advertising have evolved throughout time, with social media becoming as the dominant channel of dissemination in the twenty-first century. When compared to conventional methods, the information and ideas presented, explored, and expressed via social media are revolutionary. When it comes to social media, Facebook is at the forefront of a new age. Compared to China and India, Facebook would be the largest nation in the world. Brands may use Facebook to improve their customer service and build stronger relationships with their audience.
Today's marketers perceive social media as a fantastic chance to increase their market share. Businesses are increasingly interested in social media marketing. Connecting with others is a two-way street on social media. Dissatisfied customer can protest, raise complaint out loud and can damage brand image of the marketer. Traditional media like television, radio, newspaper and magazines are in one direction static show technologies. Over the past 70 years, there has been a sweeping change in how business processes are conducted and how people respond.
Social media is being extensively used by all brands, despite of size and revenue of the business. Social media is relatively cheap compared to the traditional media. It can be argued that evolving social media reflects the changing socio-economic development of people. Social media networks facilitate two-way online interaction and maintain social connections with the customers.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Taubenheim et al. (2008) reported that their social media marketing turned out to be cost efficient and helped create a viral impact in promoting the heart-truth message to reach out to a wide range of women, ultimately showing a drop in the death rate of women from heart disease in 2008 compared to 2002.
According to Gupta, Tyagi, and Sharma (2013), social media is the best way to get the word out to the public, both when things are going well and when disaster strikes.
Bajpai & Shriwas (2019) indicate that social networks provide a virtual platform where people of similar interests may gather to communicate, share and discuss ideas.
Yamin (2017) said that marketing professionals are dubious about the usage and benefits of digital marketing and have been observed in lack of proper segmenting, proper market targeting as well as improper and confusing positioning of product.
Rohm & Hanna (2018) have found out that online services tools are more influencing than traditional mode of communication. Marketing professionals have positive outlook and findings that users’ experience increase in self-esteem and enjoyment along with the use and involvement with social media (Pai and Arnott, 2018).
Digital marketing tools, which rely heavily on the Internet, have become indispensable for modern enterprises. Because of the dynamic nature of the internet, marketers need to tailor their efforts specifically to the medium. It is important in digital marketing to have a firm grasp of branding, price, distribution, and promotion. (Yannopoulos, 2019).
Companies need to use customer-focused communication methods to increase sales and satisfaction. Social media is both an active and passive marketing tool. The Passive strategy focuses on mining the public realm of social media for actionable client feedback. Social media are used in an active strategy for communication, direct sales, new client acquisition, and ongoing client maintenance. (Mangold and Faulds, 2019).

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This research adopted quantitative methodology approach and survey method is used as research design. The questionnaire is used as the survey instrument. 200 questionnaire was distributed to young people of Indore city between the ages 20 to 30 years. Data collected form students belonging to Engineering, Management, Pharmaceutical, Law and Science backgrounds. 22 responses were found incomplete and rejected. 178 responses found suitable for the study.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Twenty-two of the two hundred questionnaires sent out had incomplete replies and were thus discarded (11%). Microsoft Excel 2019 was used for the statistical analysis of 178 valid replies (89 percent). The presentation of data and discussion of important results are combined as follows..
Table 1: Demographic Variables
From the Table 1 above, 53% of the respondents were Female and 47% were male shows an almost even distribution of survey. Table represent majority (48%) of the respondent were below 21 years of age. Only 15% were of more than 27 years of age. Data shows that percentage of the level of the study for surveyed students were almost even.
Table 2: Social-Media (Facebook) Usage
 
 
Eleven statements were presented to young people in Indore to gauge their reactions to Facebook ads. According to the results shown above, 92% of respondents had a Facebook account. 63% of respondents had had a positive Facebook-using experience in the last four to six years, whereas 26% have only had a Facebook account for one to three years. There is widespread approval among Indore's young (89%). According to the statistics, Facebook is widely used by the young people of Indore, and it is not something they are unfamiliar with. 71% of respondents use Facebook on a regular basis, and 78% spend less than an hour a day on the site. Only 17% of people said they spend less than two hours a day on it.
 
Most respondents (88%) said they have no problems accessing their Facebook account from their mobile device. Whereas just 12% utilize a personal computer. The proliferation of smartphones is a major reason why Facebook's user base keeps expanding.
91% respondent are aware about the Facebook Advertisement. Majority of respondent encountered Facebook advertisement at least once. Only 9% claim they have not encountered such advertisement. 85% of respondent agreed that they encountered product advertisement, telecommunication, music concert, real state, fashion accessories, auto mobiles, commercials among others. 94% were agreed on usefulness of Facebook advertisement to them. Facebook advertisements are liked by them. Only 6% ignore the advertisement on their login.
Majority of them enjoy Facebook advertisement. 74% respondent were found Facebook advertisement eye catching to them. Many respondents admit that Facebook advertisement can be recall easily. 94% respondents agree that the positioning of Facebook advertisement is proper and noticeable.

CONCLUSION

The study founds that social media marketing specially Facebook are taking over traditional method among the youth of Indore city. Facebook is not new among the youth. Growth of smart phone and acceptance by the youth for their study purposes, youth of Indore city is forced to accept Facebook available in their smart phone. Facebook strategies generate content that is relevant, eye-catching and will appear interesting to the users.
Youth of Indore is well aware about the advertisement on Facebook. However it is interesting that majority of them still say that they always look out for advertisements on Facebook because of one striking utility, they call them what’s new and popular.

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