A Report on

Marketing Activities through Social Media

Submitted By:
Md.Shahin
Roll: 38(B)
21st batch
Department of Marketing
University of Dhaka

Submitted To:
Dr. Razia Begu
Professor
Department of marketing
University of Dhaka

Date of Submission
30.3.2019

INTRODUCTION
Business in current day and age is dominated by customers and their demands. People prefer
to see referrals, reviews over Google search results and facebook pages and groups, or a
website before purchasing a product. To have been updated, we need to learn what people
say about us. we need to actively participate in relevant communities to interact and influence
masses. we need to engage with social media to manage our online reputation. Social media
marketing is a must to target a wider customer base and expand our business.
Social Media Marketing is the activity of driving website traffic through social media sites.
There are always a wide range of opinions about social media and how useful (or harmful) it
can be. As a marketer, I can say for certain that — used in the right way — it can be a very
powerful communication tool and an unsurpassed platform for engagement. There’s a lot to
learn about social media, and a huge variety of social media that we could employ, but this
article will give you a strong start on knowing what’s out there and how it is used as media of
advertisement

What is Social Media?

 Wake up in the morning and squint at the tiny blue screen in the hands of a sleepy young
adult.  Scrolling through the variety of posts, tweets, pictures, and videos to see what is
going on in the lives of those they know. “Oh, sweet!  My post is at 75 likes!”  “What? How
can he get over 100 favorites for posting about his dinner?!”  “My sister is killing it for her
job!” after pressing ‘like’ for the picture that shows she got employee of the month.  Social
media has become a way to connect with people we know and share our opinions on news
and events occurring around the world.  With the extension of picture and video media,
social media is a great way of passing time similar to watching TV.  Some of the most popular
social media sites include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Tinder, YouTube, Snapchat, the
list goes on! 

 Social Media is a platform that lets us participate in social networking.

The variety of platforms allows for a wide range of uses and attracts users in a variety of ways.
Facebook is popular because users can friend and follow others they know or like and keep up
with the events going on in their lives.  Twitter is the home of the #hashtag and a great place to
follow people and read about

Source:tutorialspoint
 Figure: mostly used social media

events in a short and sweet way since tweets are limited to 140 characters. Instagram is a
platform where all posts include a picture or video followed by a caption.  Snapchat allows
users to communicate with each other through pictures and videos that are seen once or twice
and then go away forever.  Each platform has its own unique interface, but they are all similar
in being a public online space for users to connect and stay in touch. 

  Social media began through a variety of online platforms for users to share their interests and
connect with others who shared similar interests.  Then, it evolved into an online public space
to connect and network with people.  According to Boyd (2014), “social media refers to the
sites and services that emerged during the early 2000s, including social networking sites, video
sharing sites, blogging and microblogging platforms, and related tools that allow participants to
create and share their own content” (p. 6).  Additionally, social media enables people to
interact in online communities (Boyd, 2014).  It bridges the gap between not being able to
physically be around people and wanting to connect with them.  

Rationale of the study

In simplistic terms social media marketing is basically the catch-all term that covers all
types of marketing done through the use of the online platforms including social media.
social media marketing contrasts with traditional marketing in that it contains the use of
channels and methods that allow an organization to explore marketing campaigns and
appreciate what is working and what isn’t – usually in real time. For instance, Facebook is
a complete social networking site that allows for sharing photos, updates, joining events
and a variety of other activities. These days, all digital media must be extended to social
media marketing sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
As a BBA program student with major in Marketing I chose social media marketing as my
research topic and I hope that this study experience will point out how social media are
used as medium of promotion and will support me to spread over the theoretical
knowledge in the practical life. I hope I will be able to know how the famous brand robi is
using the social network sites for marketing and what are their strategies.

Social media marketing usually focuses on to create content that attracts attention and
inspires readers to share it across their social networks. It has promptly integrated itself
into our daily lives and it’s perhaps had no better influence than on the world of
marketing, with consumers and brands seeing massive benefits and variations. Social
media differentiate from traditional media in several aspects such as superiority, reach,
immediacy, frequency, usability and stability. Social media states as the meaning of
communications among people in which they create, share, and exchange information and
ideas in community. To promote your business or products or services ‘Social Media
Marketing’ method is the smartest way in this age of technology. All giant companies are
building their social media marketing strategy and they are getting a good result. In
Bangladesh, The total number of Internet Subscribers has reached 92.061 Million at the
end of February, 2019.according to BTRC(Internet Subscribers in Bangladesh February,
2019). The total number of Mobile Phone subscribers has reached 158.438 Million at the
end of February, 2019.

Robi Axiata Limited (Robi) 47.025[m]

Figure:Robi internet subscriber

The Bangladesh capital has 23 million active Facebook users, which is 1.1 percent of the
total monthly active users of the social networking site across the globe.

Source:( 15 Apr 2017  bdnews24.com)

*Internet Subscriber means subscribers/subscriptions who have accessed the internet at least once in the preceding 90 days.*
It clearly showed the large amount of internet users is active on social media and its
increasing rapidly. With the help of technology, everything turns out to be easier and the
lightening day is here when consumers are literally choosing social media marketing more
than brand websites or stores. That is the reason behind this study sensing the urgency of
social media marketing.

Objective of the study:

Broad Objective:
The objective will be to identify some precise points of Robi Axiata Limited (Robi)s brand
coverage through social media marketing and brand communication of global and local
companies in Dhaka.

Specific Objectives:
The key point of the study is going to cover:
 To know social media in Dhaka and its impact on marketing and brand
communication Of Robi Axiata Limited (Robi) .

 To know about how robi’s marketing are operating in order to reach the
consumers

Research methodology
This is an exploratory type of research. The study aims to get a deeper understanding of both
problems and prospects in the use of social media for brand communication in Bangladesh
specifically in Dhaka. Therefore, the data collected for the study are primarily based on
secondary sources. Since social media is an emerging technology in Bangladesh, content
analysis, desk research, and reliance for information were based on books, articles,newspapers,
and fb page. In addition, web-based information were thoroughly extracted and analyzed for
statistical representation. Furthermore, the collected data and information were critically
analyzed and interpreted by the researchers in order to make the study more informative,
exploratory, and useful to the readers. The findings of the study may be useful to the
prospective researchers desiring to make further study on this important issue, in one hand,
and to the marketers, on the other, for attaining the insights of brand communication power of
social media in the context of Bangladesh

Company profile

Robi Axiata Limited (Robi) is a subsidiary company of the Asian telecom giant, Axiata Group
Berhad, based in Malaysia. Other shareholders in the entity are Bharti Airtel International
(Singapore) Pte Ltd and NTT DOCOMO Inc.

Robi is the second largest mobile network operator in Bangladesh with 46.88Mn subscribers as
of end of December 2018. The company commenced operation in 1997 as Telekom Malaysia
International (Bangladesh) with the brand name ‘Aktel’. In 2010, it was rebranded as ‘Robi’ and
the company changed its name to Robi Axiata Limited.

Following the merger with Airtel Bangladesh, the merged company, Robi Axiata Limited (Robi)
started its commercial operation on 16 November 2016. As of now, this is the biggest ever
merger of the country and first ever merger in the mobile telecom sector of Bangladesh.

Robi was the first operator to introduce GPRS and 3.5G services in the country. It is the first
company to launch 4.5G service in all the 64 districts of the country. In fact, this landmark
milestone was achieved on the first day of the commercial launch of the service by Robi on 20
February 2018. By the end of 2018, Robi created the largest 4.5G network of the country with
nearly 7,400 sites covering 99 per cent of the thanas of the country.

Robi also proudly claims to have the widest international roaming coverage with 398 operators
across 182 countries with widest 4G roaming footprint in 29 countries with 40 operators.

The company has introduced many first of its kind digital services in the country and has been
the pioneer for paving the way in taking mobile financial services to the underserved
communities in the rural and semi-urban areas. It is the only mobile operator to have
successfully conducted the trial run of 5G and Voice over LTE technology on its 4.5G network. 

Being deeply involved in the socio-economic development, Robi has created the largest online
school, Robi-10 Minute School, set up internet corners in seven divisional public libraries, set up
safe drinking water facilities in 10 major railway stations and partnered with Access to
Information (a2i) for setting up the contact centre, 333, offering information on availing
government services.

Robi has clearly pioneered in the domain of mEducation with the creation of the largest online
school of the country, Robi-10 Minute School, which is providing quality educational content to
millions of students across the country for free of cost. Among many awards it has won
nationally and internationally, the prestigious GSMA Glomo award for the Best Mobile
Innovation for Education and Learning in the “Connected Life Awards” category at the Mobile
World Congress (MWC) 2017, is highly noteworthy.

Robi has also been the trail-blazer in the industry in unveiling unique digital solutions. The
country’s first comprehensive Islamic lifestyle app, Noor, sports entertainment app, My Sports,
mobile-based health insurance digital service, My Health, customers’ digital self-service
window, My Robi app, entertainment content platform, Robi Screen, comprehensive audio-
visual digital music platform, Splash, are a few of the examples.

Robi leads in the new frontier of Digital Services. It has created the premiere ecommerce
platform for all digital gadgets, robishop.com.bd, provides the complete range of digital
advertising solution through adreach, facilitates convenient payment gateway for purchasing
digital content through direct operators’ billing for the customers under MIFE, provides IoT-
based vehicle tracking solution, Robi Tracker, facilitating easy access to digital gadgets in
remote parts of the country through the assisted ecommerce brand, DigiRed, creating
opportunities for entrepreneurship by creating the largest appstore of the country,
bdapps.com, etc.

These tremendous developments were a major draw for the customers as they joined the
network in droves as soon as the Mobile Number Portability facility was introduced in October
2018.

Creating the largest human flag, Robi has proved that it moves to the tune of the rich culture
and heritage of Bangladesh. Having the #1 network of friends, Airtel, as its independent brand
only widens the company’s appeal. As the appeal gets entrenched in the society, Robi feels
confident that it will be able to deliver on the promise of enabling digital life for a better future
for all.
Marketing activities through facebook
Robi And Facebook Launches Free Internet In Bangladesh
The dream is real: free Internet has come to Bangladesh! Internet.org, Mark Zuckerberg’s
project to connect people to the Internet in developing nations, has launched in Bangladesh,
courtesy of Robi Axiata Limited, one of the largest mobile operators in Bangladesh

If you have a Robi connection, just go to the Play store and download the Internet.org app.

The list of websites/apps which are available for free by Internet.org are given below:
Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Bikroy.com, AccuWeather, Bdjobs, Bing, Crticalink, DAI,
ask.com, Wattpad, Wikipedia, MAMA, Maya.com.bd, Amardesh E-Shop, ESPN Cricinfo,
Sondhan, Prime Minister’s Office Website, Cabinet Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of
Primary and Mass education, Shikkhok, bdnews24.com, Prothom Alo, Social Blood,
HealthPrior21.com.
Advertising:
Flat rate campaign follows advertising because of few advantages those are given below:

 Robi controls the massage which is “AJ KAR MUKHE HASI FOTABEN?”
 It’s a cost effective way to communicate with the mass people For example, TV ads,
paper & magazine ads, billboard and so on. These media cover whole customer of this
campaign.
 Though it’s a very short term campaign but because of advertising on the mass media,
carries a brand Image very effectively.

Classification of Flat Rate Advertising:

Robi does basically 3 ads on this campaign. One is twin another is mother’s day and the other is
on two lovers.

Consumer ads: Robi ads are made for consumers. The other offer is for consumer not for
retailers.

National Ads: This ad telecast all over the country and also billboard, newspaper and magazines
are national.

Print Advertising: Though Robi use billboards, newspaper and magazine as their media for
advertising, they fundamentally pursue the print media.

Broadcast advertising: Along with the print advertising, Robi telecasts these ads on TV, Radio,
and Internet.

Non- Product advertising: it is not product based campaign, it’s a service based one

Commercial Advertising:

Action advertising: Robi is giving the positive vive of action that make someone happy today. So
it’s an action based advertising too.
 Robi Facebook statistics 

 Number of Fans:11 355 803
 Detail on Facebook Robi

Marketing activities through google

My Robi App
This app is completely focused on the customer’s extended need and challenges to manage
their Robi accounts products and services with more ease and features.

Robi and youtube

10 Minute School এর শিক্ষাকার্যক্রমকে আরো একধাপ এগিয়ে নিতেই যাত্রা শুরু হয়েছিলো ফেসবুকে লাইভ
ক্লাস নেয়ার। ফেসবুকে নেয়া সবগুলো লাইভ ক্লাস যেন সহজেই খুঁজে পাওয়া যায় তা-ই এই চ্যানেলটির উদ্দ্যেশ্য।

এছাড়াও আমাদের ওয়েবসাইটেও থাকছে লাইভ ক্লাসগুলো ক্লাস শেষে পরবর্তীতে দেখতে পাওয়ার সুযোগ। Live
Section: http://10minuteschool.com/admissions/live/ ভিডিও কন্টেন্ট ছাড়াও আমরা তৈরী করি ব্লগ,
ইন্টার‍্যাকটিভ ভিডিও, স্মার্ট বুক, কু ইজসহ আরো অনেক কিছু।

Blog: http://10minuteschool.com/blog/

SmartBook: http://10minuteschool.com/hsc/smart-book/

Interactive Video: http://10minuteschool.com/videos/subject/interactive/ এছাড়াও জেএসসি,

এসএসসি, এইচএসসি এর প্রস্তুতি যেন সহজ হয়ে উঠে তাই আমাদের ওয়েবসাইটে রয়েছে প্রতিটির জন্য আলাদা
সেকশন-

JSC: http://10minuteschool.com/jsc/

SSC: http://10minuteschool.com/ssc/
HSC: http://10minuteschool.com/hsc/ Skill Development: http://10minuteschool.com/skill-
development/

Professional Course: http://10minuteschool.com/professional/

Analysis and Findings

Although internet penetration rate in Bangladesh is marked very low, a big online community is
gradually developing. According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission
(BTRC), The total number of Internet Subscribers has reached 92.061 Million at the end of
February, 2019.according to BTRC(Internet Subscribers in Bangladesh February, 2019). About
86.268million of them use the Internet through mobile phones, while the rest (5.792million)
use broadband Internet. A major portion of this internet community is using social media
regularly. However, the most visited web sites in Bangladesh (in accordance with their rank) are
shown in the table below:

YouTub Google LinkedI

Date Facebook e Twitter Pinterest Instagram + reddit Tumblr n

2018-10 86.84 9.13 1.46 1.47 0.19 0.19 0.3 0.23 0.08
2018-11 92.55 4.69 1.07 0.93 0.35 0.11 0.13 0.06 0.04
2018-12 89.62 4.8 2.35 2.04 0.31 0.29 0.27 0.11 0.07
2019-01 93.34 2.17 2.07 1.68 0.18 0.09 0.27 0.05 0.07
2019-02 95.13 1.9 1.35 1.24 0.09 0.06 0.11 0.06 0.04

[Source:statecounter 2019]

From the table 1, it is observed that facebook.com, a social media site, holds the number one
position in Bangladesh on the basis of the numbers of visitors. The social media sites (other
than facebook) which hold their position among top ten overall websites in Bangladesh are
youtube.com, Instagram, and LinkedIn. However, the other popular social media sites in
Bangladesh are wikipedia.org, wordpress.com, reddit.com, twitter.com, somewhereinblog.net,
plus.google.com, etc. Facebook allows more than 1 billion active users to connect and interact
with each other. Facebook has also the opportunity for companies to create their official page
and to engage customer talking about their brands. Today’s customers would like to connect
and interact with the businesses whose services they want. As the traditional media can’t do so,
companies are now diligently establishing facebook pages to interact with consumers to expand
product and brand recognition, drive sales and profitability,
and engender loyalty. The following table shows the most popular official fan pages of different
brands in Bangladesh on facebook:

Total Fans

1
15 415 521
GRAMEENPHONE BANGLADESH

2 14 177 740

PROTHOM ALO BANGLADESH

3 12 532 096
BBC NEWS বাংলা BANGLADESH

4 BANGLALINK DIGITAL BANGLADESH 12 066 119

 5

BANGLADESH CRICKET : THE TIGERS BANGLADESH

5 11 922 774

6 11 533 302
RTV । আরটিভি BANGLADESH

7 ROBI BANGLADESH 11 354 585

SHAKIB AL HASAN  BANGLADESH

8 10 708 530
 9 10 612 204

NTV BANGLADESH

10 10 574 251
সময়ের কণ্ঠস্বর BANGLADESH

Source: Socialbakers (2017)

At present, there are 260 million active users on Twitter worldwide. And those users post an
average of 700 million Tweets every day (Twitter, 2017). Among the top most visited sites in
Bangladesh, Twitter is holding the twenty-fifth position (Alexa, 2017). Companies can use
Twitter to connect directly with people (customers) who are interested in their brand,
participate in real-time events and conversations, enhance the online brand personality and
thus delight the customers. The table 3 shows the most popular official Twitter accounts of
different brands in Bangladesh.
 Source: Socialbakers (2017)

Founded in February 2005, YouTube allows billions of people to discover, watch, and share
originally-created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire
others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and

advertisers (YouTube, 2014). Over 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on
YouTube, that’s almost an hour for every person on Earth (YouTube, 2014). Among the top
most visited sites in Bangladesh, YouTube is holding the 4th position (Alexa, 2014). The
following table shows the most popular YouTube channels of different brands in Bangladesh
(according to the total number of views of the videos):

Source: Socialbakers (2017)

Conclusion
If a company would like to have successful online presence today, social media marketing is
crucial. It is one of the most popular, powerful, and promising means of brand communication,
which every company in Bangladesh must embrace. In this study an attempt was undertaken to
depict both the problems and prospects of using social media in brand communication. With
the uptrend in both number and engagement of users, social media is going to be a big online
community in Bangladesh. Companies doing business in Bangladesh can grab the tempting
economic benefits of social media identified throughout the study. This study also depicts that
social media is not totally a risk-free platform. Random dabbling with social media contents
would not ensure the target benefits for the companies. Since fans, followers, and subscribers
are free to post their comments on these platforms, businesses are also susceptible to the
possibility of negative publicity. Companies need to be consistent and active with their social
participation to minimize the risks associated with any adverse publicity. To do so, companies
are suggested to appoint executives who will be responsible for developing and maintaining
contents in social media. Businesses should also align other resources with their social media
marketing strategies so that they can ensure the attention and frequent communication
needed to embrace social media effectively.

Recommendations
• Robi will have to reduction of Internet Bandwidth Price, so that internet can be available for
all sorts of people.

• High speed internet will be encouraging to uplift the number of online community.

• Internet-enabled handheld devices will be available at competitive price in Bangladeshi

markets, so that community from anywhere and anytime they want.

• Providing high capacity fiber optic submarine cable bandwidth, the people of Bangladesh will
be connected to the “Information Super Highway”.

• Infrastructural opportunities will be increasing, so that many people can join to promote
brand communication.

• Increase the sufficient knowledge and education of the people to understand the promotion
of brand communication in Bangladesh.

• Government intervention has to improve to promote brands in our country.

References

1. Sala uddin ,sabbir and mamun (2017) Problems and Prospects of Brand Communication through
Social Media: Evidence in Bangladesh.Global Journals Inc. (USA)

2.Robi website

3.Robi facebook page

4. Robi print media promotional activities

5.BTRC