Social Media Poa
Social Media Poa
Social Media Poa
businesses operating in different sectors to select the social media platform as an appropriate
medium for marketing their campaigns to a wide range of consumers. The growth of the
social media platform has become an important communication channel between businesses
and their targeted customers. It has also led to the creation and emergence of virtual
communities that may have never met in the real world due to various factors such as their
respective geographical locations, and social classes. Social media platforms such as
Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, Twitter, and Linked-In are affecting consumer behavior
especially in terms of their purchasing decisions. Some of its available features such as easy
access have enabled a majority of consumers to connect with others to share information,
thoughts, and feedbacks in the relation of the different products that they use.
Chu and Kim (2011) provide the argument that social media platforms present an ideal
platform for the modern day consumer to provide information and exchange opinions about a
certain product or service. Mangold and Faulds ( 2009) also argue that the social media
platform offers a great influence on every stage of the consumer decision-making process, a
feature that was not available, or had little effect on consumers when the traditional media
platforms were being used. It has been established that today, a majority of consumers rely
more on user reviews, and customer feedbacks than the description of the product, or
Social media is becoming an important tool for consumers who are seeking to obtain new
product information, and also has created a platform for them to share their information
through reviews and feedbacks on different products and brands. This ( providing feedback
and reviews) in the past was not easily accessible to consumers when businesses were using
the traditional form of media for their marketing campaigns. A majority of the most
sustainability they are beginning to integrate the social media systems, and adapting social
Faulds (2009) states that the new business dynamics have forced companies to adapt to new
marketing campaigns that will help them reach more customers and also provide them with a
competitive edge over their rival businesses. Social media plays an effective role in terms of
customers dissemination of information. Although the social media platform has been seen to
be advantageous in terms of helping businesses reach their targeted customers and therefore
achieve some if not all of their marketing objectives, its influence on the consumer behaviors
impacting their purchasing decisions and consumption habits are considered to have a
Bernoff (2008) states that teenagers and young adults today consist or represent the first
generation that was born during the internet boom, and grew up or are growing up as the
social media platforms are increasingly becoming popular. This means that they frequently
use the internet and social media to stay connected with their friends, manage their
relationships with family and friends, and also seek new information on different issues that
Heinonen (2011) states that a majority of teenagers are after the following three motives
when they are accessing the internet, and social media platforms seeking information,
entertainment, and social aspects. Heinonen (2011) further adds that the relationship between
the social media and consumer decision indicates that the social media affects the consumers’
attitudes, purchasing intentions of the consumers, and also brand attitudes. Hawkins and
Motherbauugh (2010) note that one of the main reasons that have led the digital, or social
media to become more popular than the traditional media is its ease of flow of
contributions and feedback from different people. It allows both professional and
unprofessional opinions, positive and negative feedback, and other forms of contribution.
Social media affects the way the youth behave in relation to the different stages during their
Researchers such as Vollmer and Precourt (2008) state that one of the major reasons that
teenagers today are more influenced by the social or digital media platform that is the case
with traditional media is due to the fact that these websites have created an easily accessible
venue that promotes consumer conversation in relation to products and different brands. It
( social media platforms) is considered to be an ideal tool for the electronic word-of-mouth
because consumers are able to freely provide their information on a certain product on the
social media platform. In general the social media platform affects the following stages of
product, formation of habits, their engagement with different brands and also firms, brand
loyalty, purchase behavior, lifetime value of a brand, and the way they value a firm in the
long-term.
Maschio (2016) states that most teenagers and people who frequently use the social media in
one way or another are trying to achieve a certain individual uniqueness. This is displayed by
the status update they share on Facebook, Instagram pictures they will post and share, and
even tweets. In addition to that, it is demonstrated by the popular personalities they follow,
and what they like in the different existing social media platforms. Such information is
crucial for a marketing department of a company that wants to target these consumers. For
instance, for a company such as Coca-Cola or Pepsi in order to promote their drink to
basketball enthusiasts, they are likely to use basketball personalities such as Lebron James, or
Stephen Curry to act as its brand ambassador. The reason for this is that the basketball
enthusiasts want to emulate what Lebron James or Stephen Curry does, and this might mean
consuming the Coca-Cola beverage. In most cases, these enthusiasts will not be influenced by
scientific studies that may have shown that Coca-Cola is not a healthy drink. For them,
Maschio (2013) is of the opinion that these new marketing developments have also had an
impact on the commercial brands. Most of the successful brands in the different range of
categories are coming up with new strategies that will help them acquire creative digital
communities that enhance the way people contribute knowledge, expertise, and also advice
on the different online forums. These platforms such as Facebook pages and online
discussions about different brands in various sectors influence young people to be able to
recognize the existing new needs on social media. This will be achieved through surfing on
different social media networks such as Facebook whereby they will be able to see what their
friends are displaying on their timeline in terms of the products that they are using, or
interested in through the ‘like’ button which provides them with notifications, or also what
they share.
Heinonen ( 2011) holds an interesting perspective on the impact of the social media on the
buying behavior of the teenagers. It has affected the buying behavior process theory in a
manner that most of the young people today are buying attitudes are not entirely impacted by
the traditional media or communication channels. The online platform is influencing the
customers’ purchasing decisions. This is the primary reason as to why businesses are
implementing the social media platform as their primary marketing medium. The purchasing
decision process normally includes things such as problem recognition, information search,
searching for alternative products, making the decision to purchase a product, and also
Different studies ( National Cancer Institute, 2008; Angus & Hastings, 2009) that the
traditional media has been used to market unhealthy food products to adolescents and young
adults. This marketing strategy has for years influenced their purchasing behavior towards
these products. The internet not only provides such marketers with new channels to reach and
influence teenagers and young adults, but it is not controlled and can have disastrous effects
on this group of people. It is also creating a platform that transforms the young targeted
audiences from being passive recipients of advertising to become active participants who are
able to provide their opinions, create and share marketing messages for different brands. The
social media platforms allow companies to ‘befriend’ their customers creating an appealing
approach that ensures the young customers not only purchase these products but associate
Although there is readily available research on the influence and impact of traditional media
on the teenagers in terms of their purchasing behavior, it will be interesting to determine the
impact of social media on the teenagers. In this paper, it outlines how teenagers who
regularly access and interact with the messages from different companies that sell unhealthy
food, and beverage products, alcohol, and tobacco can influence their purchasing behavior.
General Objective
The general objective is the impact of social media on the purchasing intention and
Specific Objectives
To assess how the social media influences the pre-purchase stage of a buyer’s decision
process
To establish how the social media influences the purchase stage during the buyer’s
decision process
To assess the impact of social media on the post-purchase behavior in the buyer’s
decision process.
The study will be of significance to various stakeholders. It will impact the following:
Researchers will use this study to further their own research especially on the issues
pertaining the social media and its influence on the purchasing behavior of teenagers on
different products. The baseline data that will assist future researchers to determine their
The online platform is still largely unregulated, and some businesses may not know that some
of their practices although in line with the marketing laws, they still have a moral obligation
to ensure that they do not promote unhealthy products to teenagers. This is either through
direct and indirect means. The study aims at illustrating how various marketing campaigns
influence consumers to make the wrong or negative purchasing decisions that will have
short-term and long-term impacts on their lives, especially in relation to their health.
Teenagers
The study will illustrate how the youth interact with the social media platform, and how it
influences their purchase decisions of different products. It will show them how they may end
Social Media: It is a group of application that provides a platform for the creation, and
exchange of the users generated content. The popular social media platforms are Facebook,
Consumer decision process: These are the stages that a customer will pass through before
determining whether or not to make a purchase. They include the identity of their needs, the
collection of relevant information, assessing the different options, and then making the
purchase decision in relation to the psychological and economic factors (Khatib, 2016).
Pre-purchase Stage: It is the point whereby the client identifies a certain need and makes the
decision to search for product information, in order to determine the right decision about the
Purchase Stage: This is the next stage of the pre-purchase stage. At this point, the customer
has already identified the need, assessed the different existing options, and selected a specific
not he or she was satisfied with the product, and if he will in future identify with that product
or brand.
CHAPTER 2
Introduction
In this chapter, it focuses on the literature review based on the research objectives that were
formulated in chapter one. It is divided into four parts: the theoretical framework, how social
media influences the pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase behavior in terms of a buyers
Teenagers today are being raised in an era of smartphones, available, and accessible internet
services, and they cannot remember a time when there were no social media. According to
Tulgan (2013), they are referred to as Generation Z, and they are defined by their birth years,
which range from the late 1990s to 2010s. It has been determined that a majority of the
millennials are watching digital content instead of the traditional television shows. It is
therefore highly likely that a majority of teenagers are highly likely to identify with social
most teenagers find it easy to relate to the social media influencers in comparison to the
Social media influencers are more likely similar in terms of appeal, admiration, and
popularity as the traditional media celebrities. What makes them become more popular, and
admirable to the youth than the traditional media celebrities is attainability and relatability. A
majority of the teenagers feel that they can relate to these influencers because they naturally
perceive them as equals. In most cases, they are just average teenagers as them who are able
to create unique content and distribute it via the internet. These teenagers may even know
them from living in the same neighborhoods or attending the same schools. The only reason
why they receive such attention is that they have unique talents, personalities, or creativity
levels that the other teenagers aspire to have. Therefore, their difference or uniqueness makes
In addition, their journey to popularity is attainable in terms of they started with 0 followers,
and as they added more content in the social media platforms, their popularity increased.
Variety (2014) stated that a majority of the teenagers cannot relate to the lifestyles of
Holywood celebrities, and therefore they have little influence on their purchasing decisions.
Bentley et al. (2011) also state that in most cases people tend to copy the behavior of the
people that they like, or feel that they share a similar behavioral style. Researchers from
Stony Brook University (2015) found out that behaviors and beliefs tend to be more
A majority of the teenagers, therefore, feel that social media influencers are authentic when
they are conducting a review of a certain product, or brand (Influencer Marketing, 2012).
Most of their followers believe that their reviews and recommendations are honest based on
their personal use of the products. They also find it to be more authentic than is the case of
information reviews that have originated from a certain company or brand because they
assume that a social media influencer has no ulterior motive. They feel that they are after
more likes, or to increase their followers by sharing information. In addition to that, in order
to be regarded as honest, and authentic whenever they are sharing a message that they were
paid for by a certain company they normally label it using a hashtag, or any other method that
the teenagers will know that this information is influenced by another company.
Sehdev (2014) states that social media influencers increase their popularity by staying active
and interacting with their followers. Marrs (2015) provides an example of one of the most
famous social media influencer PewDiePie. He interacts with his followers on a personal
level to the point that he refers to them as ‘bros.’ The personal interaction that he accords to
his followers, and ensuring that he does not provide them with general responses makes him
more lovable. They feel that he does not assume them, and takes their comments and
they emphasized that a majority of people learn from their experiences of the social
environment. The theory postulates that for most people learning occurs through observing
this aspect of social learning. The Bobo doll experiment demonstrated when and why
children normally show aggressive behavior, and therefore the importance of practising novel
behaviors in front of young people. The social cognitive theory has been applied in different
sectors such as mass media, and marketing. For instance, in marketing, the use of celebrities,
and social media influencers to endorse a certain product or brand to a certain demographic is
something that is commonly practised by a majority of the organizations, especially the most
Bandura (1986) states that one of the most effective learning methods is through observing
other people (models). There are different types of models that influence the behavior,
inclusive of the purchasing behavior of the teenagers. A majority of the teenagers have the
opportunity to learn their purchasing behavior from their parents and older siblings (live
models). They may observe how they compare different products, and the influence that leads
them to make the purchasing decision through the stages of buying a product. For instance,
teenagers who regularly accompany their parents to shopping will model their window
There are also symbolic models, and these are real or fictional characters from movies, music,
sports, and even more recently from the social media. A majority of the teenagers will model
their behaviors from the influential personalities that they follow. McLeod (2016) feels that a
majority of the teenagers today model their behavior from the social media influencers
because they perceive themselves to be similar to them. It is important to point out that, most
of the teenagers will only imitate their behaviors from influential figures of the same sex.
Also, the reward and punishment system from the environment determines if they will
continue ascribing to these behaviors. For instance, if a teenager becomes more popular by
emulating a certain influential figure then the practice will continue. However, if he or she is
reproached, or ridiculed, then he or she will highly likely desist from such practices.
When people identify with models, they will adopt their values, beliefs, behaviors, and also
attitudes. It is important to point out that identification should not be confused with imitation.
The reason for this is that imitation is considered to be copying a single behavior, while in the
and incorporating them to be their own. McLeod (2016) further notes that if a social media
influencer has specific qualities that a teenager loves, then it is highly likely that the teenager
Ormrod (2006) believes that the teenagers who adopt this behavior (from social media
influencers) are the ones who are considered to have good self-efficacy. This is the high
belief in their ability to be able to complete tasks and reach certain goals. For people who are
considered to have a high sense of self-efficacy, they believe that they can be able to solve
problems, while for those who are considered to have low self efficacy they are less confident,
and they believe that they cannot be able to complete any challenging tasks.
Social Media Influence on the Pre-Purchase Stage in the Buyer’s Decision Making Process
Blythe (2008) states consumer behavior studies have shifted from the reasons as to why
people make purchases to the consumption behavior of customers. The most important aspect
of study in relation to consumer behavior is market segmentation. The reason for this is that
consumers who are classified to be in the same market segment are more likely to have
similar needs, and purchase intentions. They are also highly likely to be grouped in the same
physical and social environments, and these factors have a huge influence on their purchasing
decision, and are impactful in terms of their desires, and motives of making product
purchases. Schiffman and Kanuk (2005) state that a buyer’s intentions are normally
influenced by a variety of stimuli in the market such as marketing activities of the firms that
are trying to convince them to make purchases. In a bid to convince their customers to
purchase their products companies will use a variety of brand objects such as their prices,
quality of their products, service, distinctiveness, and also availability to promote their
products. In addition to that they may also use the media or salesman as a marketing strategy
to reach a large target market. Consumers are also influenced by their social environment in
Heinonen (2011) states that one of the reasons why social media is becoming the most
influential marketing tool is because it has a social interactive tool that consumers can use to
inquire information about products such as their prices, and quality of brands before making a
purchasing decision. A majority of the consumers today feel that the social media platforms
are more trustworthy in terms of collecting information than company websites. In addition to
that because they have interactive tools, consumers can effectively use them to pass and share
Customer Needs
Kardes et al. (2011) state that before a customer can make a pre-purchase decision, he or she
has to develop a need or recognize that he or she has a problem that needs to be solved. The
potential customer will then begin searching for information on the best product that he or
she can use in order to solve the need, or problem that has arisen. The decisions that a
consumer can make are divided into two: the ones that are easily recognized, defined, and
also solved. However, there are unexpected problems that can be difficult to solve. Solving
an identified need is not as easy as has been projected in this paragraph. Hawkins et al. (2010)
state that there are different factors that normally affect problem recognition such as: social,
and cultural factors, environmental factors, and reference and recommendation groups.
Rasool (2015) states that needs can be triggered by internal and external stimuli. The social
media can trigger a consumer’s needs through the advertisements that are placed on its social
media pages such as Facebook. For instance, the Facebook ‘Like’ button is considered to be a
powerful tool in terms of trigerring a new need for the customers. The reason for this is that
when an individual likes a certain brand page, or even a product, all his, or her Facebook
contacts will see that he or she has liked that product. This may influence his or her friends to
also become interested in that product, search for more information, which can lead to them
making the pre-purchase decision. Also, the ‘follow’ button on Twitter, and tagging option
Kardes, Cronley and Cline (2011) state that social media sites are considered to trigger the
external stimuli of the consumers, and that this marketing strategy has a considerable impact
on teenagers. Khatib ( 2016) states that the social media platform normally triggers needs to
the teenagers through the advertisments that are displayed on platforms such as Facebook, or
‘chats’ with friends on the social media sites, which will make a consumer realize that he or
she has an unfulfilled need. As has been noted before, traditional media is not the only source
of information for the consumers. The development of the digital media means that
consumers are exposed to a vast amount of information. Therefore, in order for a company or
a business to elicit a considerable amount of interest from its targeted customers, which will
increase their need for that product, they have to identify a claim in terms of the services that
they are offering, which is unique and interesting from the consumers perspective.
Information Search
The next step after the identification of a problem is that the consumers will begin seeking
information using both the internal and external information search. The internal search of
information will involve a consumer’s memory about various products. This means that the
consumer has had an experience with these products and services, and therefore is in a
position to evaluate the experience that he or she had. On the other hand, an external search
includes a variety of methods such as actual visits to the store to assess the product,
communication using the word of mouth from family and friends, and the social media.
Broilo et al. (2016) feels that decision making in this case will be difficult because the
consultation methods that he or she will use. This may complicate his, or her pre-purchase
decision because of the different opinions that he or she has of different products and
services.
Kosavinta et al. (2017) states that social media therefore becomes a valid option for the
They can only rely on the information from their friends, and through the pages that they will
‘Like’ on Facebook, or ‘Follow’ on Twitter. The researchers are of the opinion that the social
media platforms today are effectively involved in the purchase decision process, and that the
internet has become a valuable tool that can be used for information search.
Kotler and Keller (2009) state that a potential buyer will enter into an active information
search by seeking information from his or her friends or through the social media platform.
They further state that even though the consumer may receive most of the information about
a product on the official website of a brand, the most effective, and believable information
will be the one from personal, and even public sources, which are considered to be
independent authorities. In addition to that, the online platform presents the consumers with
information on the products that are trending, which influences their pre-purchase decisions.
McCormick and Livett (2012) state that the social media platform becomes more influential
to consumers when they are either purchasing a product for the first time, or in situations
whereby the product is expensive. These two factors will normally lead to a consumer to
conduct more research, and even seek information from friends, family members, and even
social media influencers. It is an actual demonstration on how the social media plays an
influential role in influencing consumers during their information search stage as a majority
of the consumers especially the teenagers will use this social media platform to get
information about the different products and services. The advantage that the social media
platform has on the traditional media is that it offers instant information to the youth through
different sources such as their friends, but also from the social media platforms. Online
the consumer, which is instant allowing the customer to make his or her pre-purchase
Blythe (2008) states that this is the last step in the pre-purchase decision stage. The
consumers at this step after searching and getting relevant information about a certain product
or services will start to look at alternative options. This is in order to ensure that he or she
will make the right decision during the purchase period. In most cases, consumers will make
the purchasing decision based on a factor such as price, they will go for the cheapest products.
However, there are situations whereby the price of a product is not an important factor. In
these cases, the consumers will be looking for the alternative which will be the best option in
terms of fulfilling their needs. Broilo et al. (2016) states that in such cases most of the
potential consumers will rely on the information from their friends, or peers. They will then
make a decision based on the different alternatives that they are offered, and the one that best
product consumers will be involved in obtaining and storing knowledge in relation to the
different brands potentials, and then rank them in accordance to how they feel they will
satisfy their needs. The ranking will be determined by the beliefs and attitudes that a person
holds of the potential of the different brands. Ho (2014) states that the beliefs and attitudes of
different products will be determined in most cases by the family and friends of the potential
consumer. Erasmus et al. (2011) states that social media has increased the ability of
individuals to be able to access any content that they feel they need. The social media users
will seek the information from the social media to rank the different products that they have
learned about, or interacted with before making the decision to purchase. This will be through
the consumer reviews, or ratings from reputable sites on the different available products for
instance Wikis and content communities. In addition to that videos from You Tube can also
Influence of the Social Media on the Purchase Decision in the Buyer’s Decision Making
Process
Relevant information is important for a consumer as it makes hims or her evaluate the
different alternatives that he or she has before making a choice on the product to purchase.
Most consumers will select certain products because they find them to be appealing to them.
However, the choice can also be influenced by the information that a consumer has gathered
from different social media sources. This therefore illustrates the importance of the social
media as a marketing tool towards their targeted customers. There are five factors in relation
to reading information from the social media markets that makes them influence the
purchasing decision of their consumers. These are: it helps them to obtain the buying-related
information, it allows for social orientation through the information that the consumer
collects, allows community membership, renumeration, and the consumer will learn about
new products.
Purchase intentions normally lead to purchase decisions. However, there are occasions when
there are certain existing factors that may lead to a consumer not to make a purchase. These
factors include: cash flow problems, and the product being out of stock. This may lead them
Also, a consumer may fail to make a purchase decision due to the perceived risks that he or
she may associate with a product. There are different perceived risks such as: functional risk-
where the product will not perform according to the expectations of the consumer; physical
risk- the consumer may feel that the product based on its design or its constituents poses a
risk to their health, or physical well-being; financial risk- in this case, the consumer may feel
that the product is not worth its price due to quality issues, or the need that it is satisfying,
and psychological risk- the consumer may feel that the product does not conform with the
Consumer Attitude
As has been stated before, during the evaluation process, a consumer will form a preference
in terms of the existing alternatives. However, before making a choice on the actual product,
there are factors that will influence his or her decision- attitude of other people towards the
product, and also unanticipated situational factors. The extent of an individual’s attitude
towards a consumer’s preference will influence his or her purchase decision, especially if the
consumer finds the individual to have a positive influence in his or her life. For instance, if a
teenager follows a certain social influencer, and this person endorses a brand or product, then
the teenager ( who is a potential consumer) will most likely purchase this product. However,
if he provides a negative critic of the product then it will reduce the chances of the consumer
Yogesh and Yesha (2014) state that consumer attitude is an important element in relation to
the consumer behavior, and it is defined as a set of beliefs, experience, and feelings, which
form a predisposition for an individual to act in either of the existing two directions-
favorable or unfavorable. They felt that it is important in terms of making the decision
towards a certain product or service. Also, they made the claim that during the purchase
decision stage, social media will influence the attitude of an individual consumer, and this
towards a product.
Thu Ha (2014) states that attitude towards a product will be expressed through the evaluation
of a product, or brand either in a favorable or unfavorable manner. He adds that in most cases,
a consumer will develop a positive attitude towards a product if it is cheaper than the existing
alternatives. Rant (2014) observed that an individual’s attitude affects the way he or she feels
about certain products and services. He adds that there are many factors such as social,
product, or service. Marketers can be able to influence some of the mentioned factors,
Consumer Motivation
According to Duffett (2017) choices are normally made in order to accomplish specific goals.
People make choices on a regular basis, and therefore, motivation will not only impact the
direction of the choice ( favorable or unfavorable) but also the intensity of the behavior. Rant
(2014) states that the level of motivation will influence the buying behavior of the customers.
The reason for this is that different customers have specific needs such as biological, social,
and also psychological needs. There are needs that require immediate attention because they
are more pressing than others. This means that a need will become a motivation or an
influencer as the consumer will look for ways to satisfy the need.
This motivation is directly related to a need. In order to increase sales, and also encourage the
consumers to purchase a product, brands should try to create, or make a need to become
pressing from the consumer’s perspective. This will increase the purchase motivation in order
to ensure that the customer becomes more interested in purchasing the product. They must
also develop ways of identifying a need, and therefore coming up with the solution that the
Duffett (2017) defines purchase goal as a planned behavior of a consumer who is prepared to
purchase a certain product. It is important to note that there is a direct relationship between
the purchase intention and also brand image. Marketers have realized that the social media is
an important tool in terms of increasing or improving the brand image for the targeted
consumers. This has led to companies adapting to the use of social media stimuli in order to
positively impact the purchase intentions of the consumers. Social media also allows
message as was the case in the traditional media marketing tools. This information will also
be provided at a faster rate, which leads to a consumer making his or her buying decision
Consumer Perceptions
Rant (2014) defines consumer perception as the process uses during the selection,
towards the product. Gro (2012) feels that although the price of a product can influence a
consumer to purchase a product, in most cases low prices are associated with low quality.
Duffett ( 2017) holds the opinion that the perception of quality is subjective in relation to a
consumer’s evaluation of the product and the judgment he or she makes based on the
different attributes of the product. Ioanas and Stoica (2014) provide the argument that there is
a relationship between the perceived value, price quality and risk. There through the
price-quality relationship a consumer may use price as a definitive indicator of the quality of
a certain product. Also, there is normally a positive relation between the perceived value of a
product, and purchase intention. The differences in price of the alternative products normally
creates the perception of value. Therefore, if the price of a product increases within a certain
price range that was set by the consumer, his or her perception of value will increase. Howver,
perception of value will decrease if the price of the product reaches levels that are beyond the
After the consumption of a product, a consumer will assess his or her satisfaction, or
dissatisfaction level in relation to the need that led to the purchase, and the consumer’s
overall experience. There are two potential outcomes that are determined from the experience:
relation to the purchase made, then the choice will normally be de-valued. This will lead the
consumer to begin the process of searching, obtaining information, and seeking alternatives
for future purchase decisions, and these processes will lead to the triggering of a new
behavior.
The post-purchase phase determines whether the consumer will fully adapt to the use of the
product and make repeat purchases, or whether he or she will seek alternatives. Repeat
purchases will be inspired by the comfort level that the consumer felt when using a product,
and that it satisfied a certain need. They will also recommend the product to their family and
friends.
Chen (2014) states that in the post-purchase stage, consumers will normally evaluate their
outcome in relation to their purchase decision, and this will influence their future purchases.
The social media becomes an ideal avenue to talk about the experiences that a consumer had
with a product. They will provide their own feedback and also seek opinion from their peers.
As was noted before, the social media has made it easier for consumers to spread information
about a product quicker, and to more people than is the case with the traditional media. It also
influences the purchase decision-making process of the consumers since they are able to
Feedback Loop
The social media allows consumers to generate and obtain data from different people who
have had experience with a certain product. The conversations between the different users are
dynamic since it allows a two-way communication. It also allows for the accessibility and
also transparency of experiential data, which is generated from current customers, and can be
used for review purposes by future customers. The reason for this is that after the
consumption process, the consumers will provide their different experiences in terms of their
need by the product. The customers can also rate the quality of the decision that they made in
Maschio (2016) notes that if the performance is below his or her expectations, then it is
highly likely that the customer will be dissatisfied. On the other hand, if the product meets his
or her expectations then the customer will be satisfied with the product. Alternatively, there
are situations whereby the product exceeds the expectations of the customers, and he or she
will be delighted, or ecstatic about the product. It is important to point out that a majority of
the consumers today rely on the online opinions in order to make their purchase decision.
Approximately 50 percent of the teenagers share and inform their online friends about the
products that they like on their social media pages. Social media is able to influence a
consumer’s decision based on its interconnected elements such as: communication media,
social interaction, and the contents that they share. Therefore, after a purchase and use of a
product most of the consumers will share their experience with the product, and their friends
can easily access this information from their friends via the social media sites. Through the
feedback loop, consumers can be able to share their own recommendations in relation to the
product as well as their personal opinions. It also presents them with an opportunity to
compare their experiences with their friends, and also other consumers. Through the use of
this feedback they may influence the purchasing decision of a potential buyer of a certain
product.
Foods
Anderson et al. (2009) conducted a study and found out that there was overwhelmning
evidence that adolescents and young adults were regularly exposed to and influenced by the
marketing of unhealthy products using the traditional media. The internet today provides a
majority of the marketers with new marketing tools that they can use to disseminate or
communicate their messages to their potential customers. The increased popularity of the
social media has revolutionized the marketing landscape. Today, a majority of the young
targeted audiences have been transformed from the passive receipients of advertisements to
active participants who are involved in both the co-creation and dissemination of these
marketing messages. The social media sites allow businesses to be-friend their customers,
and also use an appealing approach so that the customers can have a personal attachment with
their brands. In the following sub-sections it will highlight how teenagers are exposed to, and
regularly interact with messages from a variety of companies that sell unhealthy food and
beverages, alcohol and tobacco using the social media. This then influences the purchasing
The adolescence stage is a period whereby people learn the behaviors that ‘will most likely
stick with them’ for a long time. Therefore, it is the best time to teach them healthy behaviors
such as eating well, staying active, and loving themselves. These are fundamental in terms of
increasing their quality of life, and improving their physical function. However, in a majority
of the developed countries globally are facing adolescent obesity as part of its public health
are considered to be overweight or obese. These teenagers are at a higher risk than
adolescents who are not overweight or obese to develop chronic health conditions in their
Shively (2014) states that most of the companies that deal with ‘Junk Food’ are promoting
their products using the social media platforms. Companies such as Burger King chicken
sandwiches, and Coke are using the social media sites to promote their campaigns especially
to the youth. For instance, in 2014, Coca-Cola started using the ‘Share A Coke’ campaign.
The objectives of this campaign was to increase its sales, and also engage with customers
through talking to them. Coca-Cola had decided to take this direction because for the past ten
years prior to 2014, they had been recording decreasing sales as most of their previous
The strategy that the company undertook was to engage its customers through personalization.
Customers were encouraged to propose names that will be labeled on Coke bottles. People
proposed names such as ‘Family, Mama, Papa, and even personal names such as Julie, and
Peter.’ In order to create a ‘buzz’ the company encouraged its customers and potential
customers to actively participate in the social media. The following results were obtained
from this campaign. The ratio of young to adult consumers of Coca-Cola increased by seven
percent. The company’s Facebook page experienced an increase of 39% of fans. In Australia
alone, a country of 23 million people in 2014, in that year alone it sold more than 250 million
The social media sites are becoming ideal platforms for food and beverage companies to
engage teenagers, and influence their purchasing decision. For instance, a recent US market
survey showed that 63% of teenagers and young adults have posted a photo of themselves on
their social media sites of the food or drinks that they were consuming. According to DMR
(2015), in a study that they conducted in 2015, they found out that 40% of its users aged
between 16-24 have shared a photo of what they were consuming. It further noted that at that
time there were over 71 million posts that contained the tag #foodporn. A majority of the
Techniques that are Used By Food and Beverage Marketers on the Social Media
Boelsen-Robinson et al. (2015) conducted a study to investigate how the top three food and
beverage brands in Australia were promoting their products using the social media sites. The
researchers found out that out of the 21 digital promotional strategies that were being used by
these brands, seven were in Facebook. The target audience of these strategies were
adolescents (13-17 years). The common techniques that were used to engage this group with
their unhealthy food and beverage products were flash animation, music and games. In
addition to that, the study also established that these companies also used competitions as
their ideal marketing strategies based on the user-generated content in order to increase
These researchers noted that there was increased interaction between these brand owners and
Facebook users. Page administrators of these brands responded directly to the user posts.
They also liked, and replied to the comments that were made by users. In addition to that,
they shared some of these posts. Freeman et al. (2014) stated that the adolescent Facebook
users were highly receptive with being engaged using such methods. They responded by
sharing and spreading these marketing messages on behalf of the food and beverage
Harris et al. (2013) conducted a study to measure the teenager’s total exposure to the food
and beverage marketing on the social media sites. This was in order to determine how the
exposure has affected their dietary choices. The researchers also noted that that over the years
there has been an increase in terms of social media sites usage, and also spending on social
media advertising. The study consisted of 18 of the US most popular fast-food chain
restaurants. Harris et al. (2013) found that the amount of money that these restaurants used on
Facebook alone totalled approximately $6 billion. They also noted that a majority of these
fast-food outlets in this study had 1 million or more Facebook likes ( this is in comparison to
only 10 that had reached the 1 million mark in 2010). Additionally six of these outlets had
Montgomery et al. (2012) noted that in light of the increased social media use by the
unhealthy food and beverage brands in order to influence the dietary decisions of teenagers
public health professionals such as the Obesity Policy Coalition called for interventions and
also policies that are meant to target this vulnerable group ( teenagers). The reason for this is
that these companies are violating the voluntary nature of the advertising codes that are meant
to limit the adolescents exposure to unhealthy food and beverage products. The reason for
this is that most of these voluntary codes are not applicable for the social media sites.
Therefore, these companies are taking advantage of these loopholes to target this group and
influence their purchase decision, and choice of food and beverages that they take on a
Alcohol
Different studies have indicated that young adults ( 18-24 years) in various parts of the world
have the most problematic levels of alcohol consumption. According to a study that was
conducted by SAMHSA (2013) over 13 million of the young adults drank five or more
standard drinks in a single sitting at-least on a monthly basis in 2013. The Australian Institute
of Health and Welfare (2014) showed that 46% of the young adults drank six or more
standard drinks in a single sitting. The study also reported that 18% of the group drank 11 or
Alcohol initiation during adolescence has been linked to problematic drinking in later stages
of life. Alcohol advertising is regarded as one of the most influential methods of initiating an
adolescent to drinking alcohol. This is the main reasons why there are regulatory restrictions
exposure to various messages and appeals that may influence them into making the decision
to purchase these products. However, according to Cukier and Jernigan (2014) even though
these restrictions are in place in the traditional media sites, they have proved to be ineffective.
The social media sites presents these companies with new opportunities to avoid the barriers
that are placed by these restrictions and also increased engagement with the adolescents.
Hebden et al. (2015) notes that Facebook has been the most researched social media site in
terms of the alcohol content posted by the alcohol brands that use this platform for
advertising. The researchers noted that there was increasing evidence of the relationship
between the user-generated alcohol-related posts on the young people’s Facebook profiles
and drinking problems among the adolescents. Ramezani et al. (2014) also pointed out that
alcohol is a common topic among the young adults in the different social media sites such as
Facebook and Twitter. The researchers pointed out that there was an increase in social media
marketing traffic during the weekend nights, public holidays, and special events such as
Beese (2015) states that in the US, industry-specific codes are used to govern alcohol
marketing on the social media sites. For instance, alcohol companies are restricted to only
share, or advertise their brands where are least 71.6% of the audience is of the legal purchase
age of alcohol. They also need to conduct age affirmation before engaging in direct
interaction with a user. In addition to that, they are expected to offer instructions to ensure
that their messages are not forwarded to individuals who are below the legal drinking and
purchase age.
Caswell (2012) notes that one of the reasons why it has proven difficult to govern the alcohol
messages that are posted by different brands in the social media is because different countries
offer varying degrees of regulations in terms of how such content can be shared. This has led
alcohol marketing. For instance, in Australia the ABAC Scheme (2014) is an industrial code
that covers digital communication inclusive of the mobile, social media and user generated
content. The existing problem with this code is that it only governs content, and not where it
is actually placed meaning that adolescents are still exposed to alcohol advertising. In
addition to that, ABAC provides the marketers with practice guidelines such as age
verification. However, the document emphasizes that the advice is non-binding, and it is only
meant for guidance purposes of how alcohol brands should market their brands in the social
media.
Facebook has also taken the initiative of trying to reduce young people from being exposed to
content that may negatively affect their behaviors. For instance, one of the requirements by
Facebook has been to provide a data of birth, which is used to establish an individual’s
profile. This will automatically restrict an individual from assessing certain pages that contain
an age limit due to the messages and content that they are sharing. Although it is a great
initiative, Facebook does not have a process that it can use to accurately verify the
information that is provided by a user. It assumes that the user will provide genuine
information. Although Twitter does not require an individual’s age information in order to
establish one’s profile, it has an age screening tool that can be used by alcohol marketers,
which requires the date of birth before an individual can access certain content. In this case,
the follow request will be declined if the date that an individual has entered indicates that
they are under the legal drinking age in a specific country of residence. In addition to that,
You Tube does not have automatic features to control or regulate access to inappropriate
messages or content. Instead, it has a facility that normally enables brands to ask for date
births of its users, and limits access to specific channels to its registered users who have not
Barry et al. (2015) conducted a study to determine the age restriction features that have been
placed on different social media sites. They created fictitious profiles of users aged 14, 17,
and 19 and used them to access You Tube channels of 16 selected alcohol brands. The
researchers found out that all the created profiles were able to access two-thirds of the alcohol
brand channels, and watch their videos. They also created fictitious profiles of 13, 15, 17, 19
and 21 Instagram user profiles. They ten conducted a study for one month where they
followed the official Instagram pages of 22 alcohol brands. The researchers found out that not
only did all the fictitious profiles manage to follow the alcohol brands during the duration of
the study, but they were also able to receive messages directly on their smart phones, during
the month of the study, comment on the posts, and also the requests that were posted by the
Winpenny et al. (2014) conducted a similar study in the UK. They created fictitious profiles
for a 14-year old and a 24-year old user on Facebook, Twitter, and also You Tube. The
researchers determined that only the 24-year old was able to access the facebook pages of
five selected alcohol brands. However, they were able to access all the You Tube channels
that they investigated and three of the five selected Twitter accounts for alcohol brands.
Hoffman et al. (2014) conducted a survey of the US college students who had a mean age of
21 years and their use of social media. The researchers found out that social media interaction
( liking, posting, and commenting) was positively correlated with increased alcohol
consumption. Jones et al. (2015) conducted a similar study of Australian Facebook users aged
16-24 years. The researchers were able to establish that there was an association between
active social media interaction and alcohol consumption and problematic drinking. Alhabash
et al. (2015) found out that there was a positive correlation in terms of alcohol-marketing
status updates and an individual’s drinking intentions. The researchers were able to find out
that the study participants who reported stronger behavioral intentions such as liking, sharing
and commenting to alcohol-related posts, also indicated higher intentions towards alcohol
consumption. This correlation was also higher if a study participant stated that he or she had
Tobacco
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015) although there has been
a decline in terms of smoking among the young adults in developed countries, the proportion
of the teenagers who are still smoking is still high (16.7%) in the US. The Australian Institute
of Health and Welfare (2014) notes that smoking initiation mainly occurs in adolescence or
young adulthood stages of life. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (2015)
has pointed out that there is need to introduce stringent restriction measures to reduce the
increased marketing of tobacco on social media sites such as Facebook. The reason for this is
that social media offers a unique opportunity for tobacco companies to advertise their
products in a more influential manner than is the case in the traditional media.
A majority of the existing social media sites have policies in place that restrict the direct
advertising of tobacco products. For instance, Facebook advertising policies restrict that
advertisements should not be used to promote , or even facilitate in the sale or consumption
of the tobacco products (Facebook, 2015). In addition to that, according to Google (2015)
You Tube also does not allow tobacco products to be advertised on its site. However, it is
important to point out that the aspect of advertising in this case means paid forms of
promotions such as the advertisements that are embedded in videos or advertisements that
Cranwell et al. (2015) in their study found out that the most researched social media site in
relation to tobacco content is You Tube. The study conducted an analysis of the themes and
also content of the most viewed videos in relation to the five leading cigarette brands. The
study conducted an analysis of 163 videos in which 71% of the videos were considered to
contain pro-tobacco content, or promoted a certain tobacco brand, versus only 3% of videos
that were considered to be educating people against the use of tobacco. Cranwell et al. (2015)
also conducted an analysis of the top 40 UK music videos in 2015, and found out that tobacco
content was showcased in 22% of the music videos. Liang et al. (2015) noted that in that year
alone there was a release of over 120,000 pro-tobacco videos on You Tube.
Richardson and Vallone (2014) have noted that there are more vidoes that show other tobacco
related products such as hookah, cigars, and smokeless tobacco that are gaining more
tobacco-related products by teenagers in the 13-17 year age group. Freeman and Chapman
(2010) found out that British American Tobacco (BAT) employees were promoting the BAT
brands by joining Facebook pages as fans and posting photos of BAT events, products, and
also promotional items. The authors noted that this was a ploy against the restrictive policies
because these employees will claim that they are not the ones who created these pages, and as
fans are free to post these events, or promotions. In addition to that, they may even claim that
it is the responsibility of the page administrators to control the content that is viewed by the
different members of that page. However, moral authority dictates that they should be aware
of the effect of their promotional activities on the teenagers that may have access to these
pages.
Cavazos-Rehg et al. (2014) in their research found out that approximately 50% of US middle
school and high school students reported receiving tobacco ads or promotions via different
social media sites such as Facebook. Cranwell et al. (2015) in their study also found out that
of the 32 popular YouTube music videos that either promoted alcohol or tobacco messages,
81 percent of the British adolescents had seen at least one. The average number of the
identified videos that had been watched by the teenagers in the UK was 7.1.
The National Cancer Institute (2008) found out that there was a strong evidence between
adolescent exposure to tobacco imagery, and increase in tobacco use. These researchers
found out that the smoking depictions in the mass media influenced and shaped the behavior
of teenagers through smoking. This was by changing their social norms and depicting
smoking of tobacco as being normal and cool. The impact of promoting tobacco on social
media has not been well investigated to see its actual effects in terms of changing social
norms and attitudes towards smoking developed by the teenagers. Depue et al. (2015)
conducted a study to assess the role of social media in increasing tobacco smoking behavior
among the teenagers. The results of the study indicated that the social media depictions of
tobacco were more influential than the exposure to the TV and movie depictions of smoking
in terms of predicting short and long term smoking behavior among the teenagers. However,
this study failed to determine the exposure differences i.e. peer or brand-generated in
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
unhealthy food and beverage products among the teenagers, this study identified the
population and also sampling design in order to come up with an appropriate representative
sample. In this chapter it elaborates on the sampling techniques that were used, sample size,
research procedures, data collection methods, and data analysis methods that were used in
this study.
Research Design
Cooper and Schindler ( 2014) have defined research design as the blue print of a research
process. It illustrates how the study was conducted using the appropriate technical terms, how
the researcher conducted his or her sample selection, the data collection instruments that were
used in the research, and also the research procedures. Cox and Hassard ( 2010) define the
research design as defined structures in which the research structure is implemented. In this
study, it used a descriptive research design which involves direct exploration, analysis and
design is used to document a study phenomenon in its real situation with no interference from
the researcher. It helps the researcher to be in a position whereby he or she can identify and
Population
Coopler and Schindler (2014) define population as a group that constitutes the total collection
of all the elements that a researcher will like to study. The focus of this study was teenagers
( people who are in the age group of 13-18 years). They also were required to be frequent
social media users. The reason for this is in order to assess whether social media has affected
their dietary choices, especially making them select unhealthy food and beverage products.
According to the US Census Bureau estimates of 2015 there were 41, 731,233 youth between
the ages of 10-19 in the United States. Therefore, the total study population is 41, 731,233.
Sampling Design
A sampling design is an important component in a research as it acts as the framework guide
that will determine how study samples will be selected from the study population. Saunders
et al. (2009) defines sampling design as the technique that is used by a researcher to select a
sub-group from a population that will involved in a research study. The sub-group is
normally carefully selected in order to act as a representative of the whole population, and it
will consist of all the characteristics that will be required or needed to fulfill the research
Sampling Frame
The sampling frame consisted of youth between the ages of 13-19 years old. It was also
essential for these teenagers to be users of the social media sites in order to determine its
overall impact on their decision processes when it comes to unhealthy food and beverage
products.
Sampling Technique
The study used a random sampling technique to sample teenagers from New York City ( total
teen population of 8,550, 405) to be an ideal target population. Random sampling technique
this magnitude based on the total population that qualify to participate in this research. It
provides each element within the study population with an equal opportunity to be selected or
sampled.
Sample Size
Cooper and Schindler (2014) define a sample size as a group of respondents that consists of
part of the overall target population that has carefully been selected to represent the
population. The sample size helps the researcher to be able to draw a valid conclusion in
relation to the whole study population. The researchers should draw a sample in such a
manner that it will be representative of the study population. In this research study, the
sample size was determined using the Yamane (1967) formula. The formula is used in a study
because it factors in acceptable sampling error, and ensures that the researcher will be able to
n= N/ (1+N (e) 2)
n= Sample size
N= Total Population
In order to calculate the sample size using this formula, it uses a confidence level of 95%, and
It is important to point out that e= 0.05 is considered to be the desired level of precision is
normally selected due to the population of study being too large. A small sample size is
convenient for the researcher in terms of the overall research costs, and time taken to
The primary method that was used to collect data from the research participants was through
the specific objectives of this research. For easy analysis, the questions included close-ended
questions in the form of a 5-point Likert Scale (agree, strongly agree, neutral, disagree, or
strongly disagree), and there were also open-ended questions. The questionnaire was divided
into four sections. Part A of the questionnaire was aimed at capturing the general information
of the respondents such as their gender, age, and how often they use the social media. Part B,
C, D focused more on the impact and influence of social media on the research participants’
purchase decisions, and also their choices of unhealthy food and beverage products.
The survey period that the researcher determined would be enough for collecting and
analyzing data was two months. The survey period will comprise the following activities:
distribution of the questionnaires to the research participants, collection, and analysis of the
data collected in these questionnaires. It will be important for the researcher to be able to
assess the data collecting instrument that he selected for this research in order to assess its
validity and reliability. The validity of a research can be defined as the ability f the
instrument to measure effectively what it was designed to measure. The questionnaire was
assessed by the researcher through the conduction of a pilot-test study. The researcher used
the feedback that had been provided by the researcher to improve the questionnaire.
It was also important to measure the validity of the research instrument that he
collected for this study. The researcher, in this case, used the factor analysis test to measure
the validity of the instrument. Fujun et al. (2007) state that there are three types of validity:
construct, content, and predictive validity. The researcher decided to measure or assess the
construct validity only because it assesses whether there is a close fit in relation to the
construct of the instrument in relation to what it is supposed to measure and the actual
observations that were determined by the researcher, while he was using the instrument. The
result from the exploratory factor analysis test for the questionnaire was 0.927, which is an
indicator that the instrument that the researcher is using for this study is valid.
During the pilot test study, the researcher ‘recruited’ his classmates and course mates
to participate in this study. The participants in this pilot test answered the questions that were
provided in the questionnaire, which the researcher analyzed. The total number of
participants that were selected for this study was 32. As it was a pilot test, the researcher was
provided with feedback from the participants in relation to the relevance and complexity of
the questions that were used. The researcher modified and improved the questions that were
included in the questionnaire in relation to the feedback that had been provided in the pilot
study.
As was also stated before, the researcher was also supposed to assess the reliability of
the instrument that he was going to use in the research. If an instrument is determined to be
highly reliable, it means that the instrument can be used effectively in the subsequent studies,
and provide similar results. The reliability test that was used is the test-re-test strategy. As
was the case in the pilot study, 32 participants were selected for this study, and a Pearson
Correlation test was used in order to assess the reliability of the data collection instruments.
The result achieved was 0.967. A Cronbach internal consistency scoring was used in order to
determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire, and the result, in this case, was
α >0.868. It was an indicator that the questionnaire had a consistent internal scale.
Data analysis is the process that a researcher uses to bring order, structure, and also meaning
to the information that he or she has collected in the research. Another definition of data
analysis is the processing of collecting, recording and transforming data with the aim of
retrieving useful information, suggesting conclusions, which will assist in the decision
making of solving a problem. After data has been collected by the researcher, before it can be
analyzed, it first needs to be organized. In this study both the descriptive and also
inferential statistics methods were used. The descriptive statistics was implemented in the use
of frequencies, mean and standard deviation. On the other hand, inferential statistics was used
in correlation and multiple regression in order to show the relationship between operational
and technological challenges of performance. The researcher also used tables and figures in
understanding of what was being studied. In addition to that, figures were also used in order
to indicate the number of occurrence of the responses to the particular questions in a more
graphical manner.
Chapter Summary
As it was determined before, the research used a random sampling technique in order to
ensure that the population sampled in a random manner. The researcher used questionnaires
as the primary data collection method, and they were distributed to teenagers in the New
York area who used social media in order to make purchasing decisions. The researcher
wanted to determined how the social media negatively impacts the choice of teenagers
leading them to purchase food and beverage products that are considered to be unhealthy.
The data collected was analyzed using the SPSS software and the results and findings are
CHAPTER FOUR
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter the researcher will present the results and findings of the study that was
collected from the respondents. In the first section, it will consist of the reliability analysis,
whereby the researcher will analyze the general information in terms of the demographics
with respect to the respondents. The second section will contain the descriptive analysis of
the social media influences in relation to the pre-purchase stage. The third section will cover
the social media influences on the purchase stage, and the fourth section will analyze the
social media influences on the post-purchase stage. There will also be a correlation analysis
Response Rate
As was pointed out in chapter three all the respondents of the study were drawn from New
York City. This led to a total of 400 questionnaires to be administered to the teenagers in the
region. Out of the 400 research participants, 389 respondents completed and returned the
questionnaires. This demonstrated a 97.25% response rate. The researcher credited the high
response rate from the research participants to the data collection methods that were used,
and the way the data collection tools were administered. The researcher selected a number of
schools and solicited the help of the teachers in those schools to distribute the questionnaires
to their students. The teachers were also responsible for collecting data, and handing them
back to the researcher for analysis purposes. The reason why the researcher decided to seek
the help of the teachers is that it would be easier for them to conduct a follow-up on the
respondents in order to encourage them to complete and return the questionnaires. Also, the
respondents were informed that they were taking part in an important research.
Responded 389 97
Not Responded 11 3
Cooper and Schindler (2014) define reliability as the overall consistency of a measure. The
cronbach’s alpha is used to measure consistency. It was established for every objective in
order to determine if in each objective, it will produce consistent results for the researcher.
Table 4.2 illustrates the reliability analysis that was done in this study. In the pre-purchase
stage, it scored 0.729, the purchase stage was 0.667, and post-purchase stage was 0.580.
It was important for the researcher to determine the gender of the respondents in order to
assess the impact or influence of social media on teenagers of different gender. It was
determined that 60% of the respondents were female, while 40% were male in the sample
male female
It was also important to establish the age distribution of the respondents in this study in
relation to social media use and how it affects them. A majority of the respondents- 62%
were in age bracket of 13-15 years, 27% in the 16-17 years, and 11% in 18-24 years. The
18-24 years was factored in due to the consumption of alcohol and tobacco, also they are
young adults and behave in a similar manner as the teenagers. The results are illustrated in
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
13-15 16-17 18-24
Previous research has demonstrated that the preference to different social media tools has an
impact on the consumer decision making process. In this study it focused on determining the
preferred social media tools. Based on the data analysis, it stated that 89% of the respondents
preferred to use WhatsApp as their favorite online site. 63% of the respondents stated that
they preferred to use Facebook, 45% Instagram, 42% You Tube, 38% Twitter, and only 23%
Chart Title
The researcher also felt that it was important to determine the frequency of using social
media of the users. It demonstrated that 29% of the researchers spend 4-6 hours on the social
media sites, 26% 7-9 hours, and 15% more than 10 hours on social media sites. These results
Chart Title
It was essential for the researcher to determine the effect of social media in terms of acting as
a trigger to the teenagers and influencing them to purchase unhealthy products or beverages
and therefore validating the purpose and findings of this study. The researcher through the
questionnaire asked the respondents to indicate the influence of social media sites on their
purchases of unhealthy food and beverages. The results of the study indicated that 35.3% of
them responded Yes, 10.5% stated No, and 25.3% were not sure if social media influenced
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Yes No Not Sure
In the following sections, the researcher assesses the influence of social media on the three
Pre-Purchase Stage
Problem Recognition
The first area of study by the researcher was problem recognition during the pre-purchase
stage. Most of the respondents stated that the social media stimulates them to the point that
they are able to recognize a need for something before they purchase it. They stated that the
advertisements on these sites in most cases leads them to purchase a product. Table 4.3 below
Frequency Mean
it
to purchase unhealthy
advertisements
products
The researcher felt that it was necessary to determine how the process of information search
during the pre-purchase stage influences the customers decision who are using the social
media sites. A majority of the respondents felt that information search of a product is easier
when using social media sites as compared to the traditional media. The researcher was also
able to establish that the respondents relied on product information from the social media
sites to influence their decision before a purchase. Table 4.4 below illustrates the findings:
Table 4.4 Results of the Information Search on Social Media Sites Influence on Purchasing
Decision
Frequency Mean
product
be a trustworthy source of
The respondents of this study indicated that the social media is a credible source of
information when the consumers are uncertain about a product, or its available alternatives.
They felt that they could trust the information that they found in different sites such as
Facebook, Twitter and You Tube. The results of the assessment of alternative products is
Table 4.5: Assessment of Product Alternatives by the Consumer using Social Media Sites
Frequency Mean
considered to be highly
used before
media sites
In this section, the researcher’s intention was to determine the influence of social media on
the purchase stage of the research respondents. The questions that were used in this section
had a likert scale 1-5 ( 1-strongly disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-Uncertain, 4-Agree, and 5-Strongly
Agree).
Impact of Social Media Sites on the Consumer Attitude During the Purchase Stage
Consumer attitude influences the choice of products that a consumer will purchase, and 90%
of the respondents agreed with this statement based on their response to the questions. Table
4.6 illustrates the results on how attitude influences the choice of products that teenagers
consume.
Table 4.6 Impact of Social Media on Consumer Attitude during the Purchase Stage
Frequency Mean
the product
The researcher felt that it was important to determine the consumers perception of products
based on the information that they derived from the social media sites. The results of this
question was that 56% of the respondents strongly agreed with the statement that the
information that they got from the social media sites acted as a determinant to their
purchasing decision. 23% agreed with the statement, 18% were uncertain, 15% disagreed
with the statement while only 8% strongly disagreed with the statement. The results of the
Figure 4.6 Social media Site Influence on the Consumer Perception of a Product
Chart Title
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Strongly Agree Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly
Disagree
In this section it assesses how the social media sites influence the feedback of a consumer,
Feedback
The researcher also sought to determine how feedbacks via the social media sites influenced
the consumer behavior. Using questions that had likert scales, a majority of the respondents
stated that they always made comments (3.96) about their experience with a product and ‘tag’
their family and friends. They also stated that they read the comments that they are ‘tagged’
by their family and friends and this has an impact on their future purchase decision (3.82)
depending on whether it is a positive or negative one. They also stated that through the social
media sites, consumers are able to communicate with the different companies that they
purchase their products directly (3.72), and provide them with a feedback about their
Chart Title
4
3.95
3.9
3.85
3.8
3.75
3.7
3.65
3.6
Share experience Read comments of friends Directly communicates with
co
Consumers experience with a product can be determined through their satisfaction and
dissatisfaction projections. These tendencies affect the future purchasing behavior of the
customers. In this study, it was demonstrated that 75% of the consumers were influenced by
the rate of satisfaction or dissatisfaction that was shared by their family and friends. The
Figure 4.8: Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Rate of the Consumers Influenced by Social
Media Sites
Chart Title
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
In addition to that, the researcher investigated on the possibility of re-purchase based on the
satisfaction and dissatisfaction report from the different social media sites. Figure 4.9
Figure 4.9: Re-Purchase Based on the Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Report on the Different
Chart Title
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
Chapter Summary
In this chapter, it contained a detailed explanation of the results and findings of the study that
was gathered by the researcher in order to fulfill the aims of the study. The demographic
information that was analyzed by the researcher were: age, gender, and the frequency of
using social media. In addition to that, the researcher determined the most preferred social
media tool for the respondents. The findings of this study prove that different factors such as
perception, feedback loop, satisfaction and dissatifaction positively influence the purchasing
the next chapter, it provides a detailed summary of the findings, conclusion, and
CHAPTER FIVE
Introduction
In this chapter, it will provide a description of the summary of the study, conclusion, and
recommendations in relation to the implications of this study findings. The summary of the
study will assess whether this research was in line with the problem statement, and objectives
of the study. It will then determine the findings, and their implications in line with the
objectives deduced in this study. The second section will be the conclusion, and the third part
Summary
The general objective of this study was to establish the influence of social media marketing
on the purchasing intention of teenagers towards unhealthy products. The specific objectives
were to determine the influence of social media in the pre-purchase stage during the buyer’s
decision process. The researcher also wanted to assess how the social media influences the
purchase decision in relation to the buyer’s decision process, and also its impact, or influence
The total population study for this research was 8,550,405, which the researcher adopted as
the sampling frame in order to identify the teenagers who are influenced by the different
social media marketing strategies that have been employed by different brands in order to
purchase unhealthy products. It is also important to point out that in this study, it used a
random sampling method, and adopted the Yamane sampling formula to determine the ideal
The results of this study established that a majority of the respondents (89%) of the
respondents preferred to use Whatsapp, and 63% preferred using Facebook. The least popular
social media sites were Twitter (38%), and Google + (23%). The research findings indicated
that social media marketing has had a considerable impact on the purchasing intentions of
teenagers towards unhealthy products. In relation to the influence of social media on the
pre-purchase stage, a majority of the respondents felt that social media influenced their need
to purchase unhealthy products. The reason for this is that it created a new need, or desire that
previously did not exist, and since it was triggered by a consumer watching a certain video, or
imagery of a brand, he or she feels that this product will be ideal in relation to fulfilling the
new, or identified need. The advertisements provide the teenagers with adequate information
in terms of what they need to buy, where they can make the purchase ( online, or a
brick-and-mortar shop), and why they are purchasing that product. Social media is also an
ideal area where these consumers can get information of new, and also existing products
Social media also influenced the purchasing stage of the respondents. A majority of them
stated that one of the reasons that they had purchased unhealthy food products was because of
the comments, ‘tagging’ or ‘likes’ that a certain brand, or commodity received from their
friends or relatives. It was as if they were endorsing the product. It increased the reputation of
the brand, and also a positive perception from the consumer’s perspective.
The post-purchase stage determined whether the respondents would be repeat customers of a
certain product. It also influenced new customers who had not yet experienced the product to
have what they considered a honest opinion of the product, and this also determined whether
or not they were going to purchase a product. Most of the consumers stated that when they
were dealing with a new product, they sourced information from the comments that have
previously been made by their friends and relatives. In addition they were also able to provide
their experience of the products stating whether they were satisfied with the products or not.
Discussion
A buyer’s decision is normally affected by various stimuli in his or her environment. Social
pointed out before, a majority of the teenagers spend most of their time in the social media
developing and maintaining social connections with their friends, for entertainment purposes,
and also to look for information. Marketing departments of different brands have realized that
teenagers spend most of their time on different social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, and You Tube. Therefore, they have developed content in order to create
A majority of these unhealthy products such as soft drinks, and fast foods have been critiqued
as being contributors to different health conditions especially in the later years of life.
Therefore, the marketers make them trendy and appealing to the targeted consumers ( in this
case the teenagers) in order to make them choose these over the healthy products.