CHAPTER 1

The Problem and Review of Related Literature

Introduction

For the past few years, the power of internet paved the way for faster communication and
efficient modes of communication. Its development had created a lot of platforms where people's
lives had become more convenient. These platforms, such as Yahoo, Google, Amazon, Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, and others, made people's lives better.

Social media as defined by its interactivity, connectedness, and user-generated content

became a trend in selling goods, products and services. It is a new phenomenon that has changed
how the business environment operates and helps businesses gain access to resources that were
otherwise not available to them (Jagongo, A. et. al, 2013). Not only is social media impactful to
generate awareness and sales in businesses, but it’s also one of the most cost-effective and simple
marketing strategies available (Winmark, 2019).

Social media has evolved from a platform for virtual community to a vital business tool. It
is now a lot easier for business owners to bring their products and services more accessible to the
public. It is also an excellent opportunity for businesses despite of some marketing risk that may
arise.

Along with this, thrift selling and thrift sellers became everywhere online. Thrift sellers
started to create websites or social media pages to promote their products and skyrocket their
businesses. Moreover, it serves as a way of effective communication with their customers online.

The COVID-19 pandemic augmented these activities in the country as wary consumers are
staying home to avoid exposing themselves to disease vectors. People nowadays patronize
shopping through social media because of its time-saving nature, rather than spending hours
browsing through multiple shops, you can buy products in a couple of clicks online.

In today's competitive market, it is by social media that business owners like thrift sellers
can generate value for their products or services. According to Mohsin (2022), 73% of social media
marketers believe social media is one of the effective ways for businesses. For the researchers,
these data are significant because a large number has proven to use social media as a marketing
tool or platform and has stated that it is beneficial. Hence, it fortifies the goal of the research and
makes it more feasible.

Many studies have been tackling the influence of social media in marketing. However,

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these available studies are conducted in different countries. With this in mind, the results may vary
due to specific locations, different perspectives, and unique variables. Thus, the researchers would
like to know the effectiveness of social media as a marketing platform based on its advantages and
disadvantages, specifically, on the thrift sellers within the Municipality of Iguig.

Related Literature

a. Foreign Literature

Social Media

Social media has exploded as a category of online discussion where people create content,
share it, bookmark it and network at vast rate. All types of social media provide an opportunity to
present oneself and one's products to dynamic communities and individuals that may be interested
(Roberts & Kraynak, 2008). Social media includes a variety of applications that, using technical
terms, allow consumers to ―and etc. This content created by social media is a type of newly
generated resource for online information that is created, spread, and used by consumers desiring
to educate each other about products, brands, services, and problems (Xiang & Gretzel, 2010).
Examples include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn. Due to its ease way of use, speed and
reach, social media became the trendsetter in topics that range from environment, politics, and
technology to entertainment industry. Social media are essentially self-promoting in that users
spread. The viral quality of social media makes it an appealing tool for businesses to market
products and services (Xiang & Gretzel, 2010).

Social Media Marketing

Social media is evolving phenomenon in marketing. Marketers are beginning to aware the
use of social media as a component in their marketing strategies and campaigns to reach out to
customers. Promotions, marketing intelligence, sentiment research, public relations, marketing
communications, and product and customer management are subdisciplines of marketing that may
use social media (Tanuri, 2010). Each social media platform (such as blogs, online discussion
forums, and online communities) has an effect on marketing performance (e.g., sales), so it is vital
to understand their relative importance and their interrelatedness (Stephen & Galak, 2009).

Social media marketing (SMM) is a form of internet marketing that utilizes social
networking websites as a marketing tool. Social media marketing is one of the most important
types of online marketing where businesses are marketing their products/services and brands on
social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+, etc.

The goal of SMM is to produce content that users will share with their social network to

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help a company increase brand exposure and broaden customer reach. SMM helps a company get
direct feedback from customers (and potential customers) while making the company seem more
personable. The interactive parts of social media give customers the opportunity to ask questions
or voice complaints and feel they are being heard.

Social media marketing is a recent phenomenon that began with social media dominating
online communication. Social media marketing is a form of internet marketing that implements
various social media networks in order to achieve marketing communication and branding goals.
Social media marketing primarily covers activities involving social sharing of content, videos, and
images for marketing purposes. Social media marketing programs usually center on efforts to
create content that attracts attention and encourages readers to share it with their social networks,
resulting electronic word of mouth. When the underlying message spreads from user to user and
presumably resonates because it appears to come from a trusted, third-party source, as opposed to
the brand or company itself, this form (Icha O, Agwu E, 2015).

Social Media Marketing and Its features

Social media marketing is a new trend and rapidly growing way in which businesses are
reaching out to targeted customers easily. Social media marketing can be simply defined as the use
of social media channels to promote a company and its products. This kind of marketing can be
thought of as a subset of online marketing activities that complete traditional Web-based
promotion strategies, such as e-mail newsletters and online advertising campaigns. By encouraging
users to spread messages to personal contacts, social media marketing has injected a new term of
exponential dissemination and trust to mass communication and mass marketing. By this new
approach of outreach and marketing, new tools are being developed and increased in turn for
businesses. Social media marketers are now going better and more effective insight through the
introduction of analytic applications by official social network site plat forms. There are numerous
different social media sites, and they take many different forms and contain different features.
Undoubtedly, the most common social networking site that first comes to our mind is Face book.
Face book was first launched in February 2004, owned and operated by Face book, Inc. As of May
2012; Face book has over 900 million active users. Users must register before using the site; they
may create a personal profile, add other users as friends, and exchange messages, including
automatic notifications when they update their profile. Also, users may join common-interest user
groups; categorize their friends into lists such as “People From Work” or “Close Friends.”
Facebook’s main mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and
connected. Other social network sites such as Twitter, Google Plus, and LinkedIn may differ in
some ways, but essentially they work using the same principles.

Changes in Businesses

Edelman (2010) in a study for Harvard Business Review, discusses how the internet and

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social marketing has changed not only the way businesses operate but also how consumers choose
their products. It takes the reader through the funnel metaphor that was previously being used by
marketers to understand how consumers select their products and how this has moved to a more
open-ended approach whereby consumers no longer follow a methodical approach of selecting
products. It stresses how important it is for brands to connect with consumers and it also studied
the consumers' decisions across five different industries, namely automobile, skincare, insurance,
mobile telecommunications and electronics, across three different continents. Based on the results
of the study, it proposed a four-stage model that focuses on today's consumers using social media
for advocating products and also purchasing based on the reviews and backing received. The
research takes the reader through the entire customer journey and informs businesses what they
should not focus energy and resources on. Providing statistical information about various surveys
enables organizations to identify the key areas they should concentrate on in order to build a solid
brand image online.

b. Local Literature

The Power of Social Media Marketing

In a recent study conducted by Effective Measure, a research supplier for web audience
measurement, 83% of Filipino respondents say that engaging in the Facebook corporate page
influenced them to buy from those business while 72% claimed they are urged to buy upon seeing
Facebook ads.

Indeed, Filipinos are proving that they are one of the social media savviest countries in the
world. They are also found to spend 41.5 percent of their computer time in social media versus
19.5 on news websites and 17.3 percent on service websites.

In a separate report from Social Media Today, Filipino internet users spend an average of
four hours a day in social media, 97 percent of them on Facebook.

Facebook knew this that’s why its new algorithm that was started in 2013 has limited the
organic reach of Facebook business pages to 6 percent. What does this mean? If a Facebook
business page with 1,000 fans posts a status update, roughly 60 people will get to see it on their
news feed.

Social networks are vital medium for consumers. More brands are using social media and
sponsored ads will help them connect with their target client base. True enough, Facebook delivers
the goods. When it introduced Custom Audiences last year, it allows advertisers to tap into
Facebook users who previously used their website or mobile apps.

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Related Studies

Importance of Social Media in Marketing

According to www.oasis500.com, the importance of social media in marketing are as

follows:

•Social media is effective and inexpensive

Social media marketing is very important for small businesses because of its
inexpensiveness and ability to reach large number of targeted audiences within less time and very
little efforts.

Branding can be done effectively on social media

Social media marketing is the best tool for small businesses for branding. According to
Social mediatoday, 83% of customers prefer to connect to the brand on Facebook and 53% on
Twitter.

Customer acquisition is easy on social media

With more than half of the world's population registered with different social media
platforms, the chances of acquiring customers are fairly high on social media websites. There are
approximately 1.74 billion social media users according to eMarketer and social media websites
play a crucial role in acquiring customers to the businesses. In 2013, 36% of marketers acquired
customers via Twitter, 52% via Facebook and 43% via LinkedIn.

Social media enables direct customer interaction

Through social media, businesses can interact with customers directly. Small businesses
can attract customers by engaging them with some interactive methods like Question and Answers,
Polls, etc.

Social Media Marketing in a Small Business

According to Cox, Sarah (2012), it was essential that small businesses understand today’s
social media driven environment. They should also know the strategies behind using social media
such as Facebook and Twitter for growing their business and to stay competitive and reach their
target markets. However, many small businesses did not have a strategy when they began using
social media. The research was conducted to acquire an initial understanding on how small
businesses were recognized for using social media to grow their business, and increased their
customers. The respondent of this study was Bandee, an Internet-based accessory retailer and
wholesaler established in 2009. The results showed that with the help of social media, Bandee
doubled the number of their clientele who were aware about their products and services. With that,
they also considered social media important for communicating with their customers and creating

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relationships. It also enabled Bandee to develop many relationships with other businesses and
clients that would not have normally developed. The study also concluded that social media
marketing increases brand exposure, sales and business profit.

Importance of Social Media Networks in Marketing Products and Services

A new scientific study confirmed the importance of social media networks in marketing
products and services of the small companies; it stated that 46% of today's internet users depend
on social networks to take their purchasing decisions. A new released study by (Yes to Digital)
site specialized in the digital content, emphasized that 71% of social media network users around
the world buy products they detected through these platforms that attracted hundreds of millions
of internet users around the world.

Social Media and the Impact on Marketing Communication

Social media became a communication tool that helped many companies find new
possibilities to promote their products and services for the past few years. The purpose of the
research was to study how social media influence the marketing communication of companies
(Frey B. and Rudloff S., 2010). Two manufacturing companies, one social network platform and
one marketing agency were interviewed for the completion of the research. Data collection was
also conducted and a qualitative research approach was used combining different case studies in
the research strategy. The overall result showed that the communication via social media was still
in the early stages of its development by that time though companies agreed that social media was
an effective tool to exceed and support marketing communication. Other 10 findings showed that
social media still had huge growth potentials regarding the differentiation and specification of
different platforms, because not all of them were suitable for every company.

Challenges with Social Media Marketing

According to a global survey stated in an article by Bennett in 2014 which was conducted
in October 2014 by Hootsuite and Harris Poll which included professional marketers, the major
challenges of social media marketing involved; Assessing the effectiveness of social media
activities received 67%, designing an overall social media strategy 62%, taking data gathered from
social media and turning it into something actionable 61%, educating staff on how to use social
media 59%, making sense of all the data gathered via social media 56%, aligning social media
strategies throughout different departments within the company 55%, creating ‘buy in’ among
executives at the company about the importance of social media 44%, knowing when to take action
about data obtained through social media 42%, keeping social media accounts safe from security
breaches 27%, difficulty controlling brand 23%, other 1%, none of the above 5%.

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Study of the Effectiveness of Online Marketing on Integrated Marketing Communication

According to Pawar, AV. (2014), Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is a

marketing concept that ensures all forms of communication and messages are carefully linked
together, integrating all the promotional tools, so that they work together in harmony. It is also a
concept that makes all the marketing tools work together as a unified force rather than work in
isolation. It makes the use of entire marketing efforts in the form of advertising, public relation,
personal selling, sales promotion, internet marketing , direct marketing in order to generate
maximum impact on the target audience at the minimum cost. The study was conducted to
understand the importance of Integrated Marketing Communication., online advertising in
changing market scenario and understand the reasons for growing popularity of online marketing.
It also focused on analyzing the effectiveness of online marketing as compared to traditional
marketing tools and identify the limitations of online marketing as IMC tool. To attain the
objectives of the study, the researcher used a descriptive research design where data was collected
from secondary as well as primary sources. Data collected was then analyzed with the help of
statistical software SPSS 17.0 and Ms-Excel Add-In Data Analysis. Statistical tools used for the
analysis were Mean, Median & mode, Standard deviation, Skewness & Kurtosis. The study
showed that respondents relied upon more than one medium in order to enhance their brand related
knowledge. They used the combination of various sources for making final purchase decision and
heavily rely on modern marketing tool i.e. online advertising. It was also revealed that the main
reason for the growth of online marketing was the increasing literacy of people about internet.
Internet was identified as truly advantageous and can serve various purposes mainly for social
networking, online shopping & media sharing (photo, music, and video).

Conceptual Framework

Generally social media marketing starts with the use of social media platforms such as
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, blog sites and other websites. The number of employed users and
number of hours spent on social media to promote the sellers products and services affect the
sellers marketing strategy, profit and sales, as well as return of their investments and increase of
the number customers patronizing their products and services. Overall, social media marketing is
a way of business owners to engage with consumers in their efforts to further expand their business
and connect with existing and potential customers. Thus, one important aspect is consumer
engagement. Assuming that other things are constant during the performance of the study, it will
be possible to relate these variables and confirm that indeed, independent variables (social media
platforms) can affect the dependent variable (social media marketing).

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Research Paradigm

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

1. Profile of the Respondents: Assessment of the profile Determine the perception of
1.1 Sex of the respondents. thrift sellers towards the
1.2 Age effectiveness of social media
1.3 Civil Status as a marketing platform
1.4 Social Media Accounts
1.5 Amount of Capital
1.6 Monthly Income

2. Respondents perception Ascertain the perception

towards: of the respondents.
2.1 Advantages of using
social media as a marketing
platform
2.2 Disadvantages of using
social media as a marketing
platform

FEEDBACK

This figure shows the input of the study and the process that was used to evaluate the
respondents’ perception towards effectiveness of social media as a marketing platform.

Statement of the Problem

The study aims to determine the effectiveness of social media as a marketing platform
among thrift sellers within the Municipality of Iguig.

Specifically it sought to answer the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 Sex
1.2 Age
1.3 Civil Status
1.4 Social Media Accounts
1.5 Amount of Capital
1.6 Monthly Income

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2. What are the advantages of using social media as a marketing platform?

3. What are the disadvantages of using social media as a marketing platform?

4. Is there a significant difference on the advantages of using social media as a marketing

platform when group into profile variable?

5. Is there a significant difference on the disadvantages of using social media as a marketing

platform when group into profile variable?

Significance of the Study

This proposed study would be beneficial for the following:

First, to the business owners. They will be able to get information and strategies as well
as their businesses innovate. It will equip them with knowledge on how social media can be an
effective for their businesses.

Second, to the consumers. It can help them find out the advantages and disadvantages of
using social media when buying products. Also, on how reliable the social media in purchasing
their desired products.

Also, to the other online users. They may be given a hint on how their time in using
social media be productive. They might be encouraged to try a business through the social
media's help.

Finally, to the future researchers, this study will guide them in conducting their respective
studies and will provide them information needed in conducting the same study.

Scope and Limitation

The study is confined to the thrift sellers within the Municipality of Iguig. It is only
focused on discovering the effectiveness of social media as a marketing platform among those
small business owners.

Definition of Terms

The terms used in the study are defined to enable the researchers to understand its

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contents better and clearer.

 Business – also known as an enterprise, company or a firm is an organizational entity

involved in the provision of goods and services to consumers

 Effectiveness - the degree to which something is successful in producing a desired result

 Internet – a worldwide system of computer networks

 Market - an area where a product or service can be bought and sold

 Marketing - the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or

service

 Online - done over the internet

 Products – an article or substance that is manufactured or refined for sale

 Profit – a financial gain, especially the difference between the amount earned and the
amount spent in buying, operating, or producing something.

 Sale – a transaction between two parties where the buyer receives goods, (tangible or
intangible) services and/or assets in exchange for money.

 Social Media– are computer-mediated technologies that allow individuals, companies,

NGOs, governments, and other organizations to view, create and share information,
ideas, career interests, and other forms of expression via virtual communities and
networks.

 Social Media Marketing - the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a
product or service.

 Thrift Sellers - someone who sells gently used clothes and other household items at a
discounted price

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 CHAPTER 2

Research Methods and Procedures

This chapter presents the research methods and procedures in the study.

Research Design

This study will utilize quantitative research design, specifically it will use the descriptive-
survey method.

Respondents of the Study

The respondents of the stud were thrift sellers from the Municipality of Iguig. Randomized
sampling procedure was utilized to determine the participants.

Instrumentation

The researchers used a questionnaire as the sole instrument in gathering the data for the
study. The questions were rated as follows:

1- Strongly Disagree
2- Disagree
3- Agree
4- Strongly Agree

Data Gathering Procedure

After the questionnaire had been finalized, the researchers identified the respondents. The
questionnaires were sent to the respondents online.

The questionnaire was used as the primary material in gathering data needed in the study.
The questionnaires were successfully answered and after gathering the needed data, the researchers
tabulated and interpreted them

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Data Analysis

The data gathered from the respondents were analyzed through the following statistical
treatment:

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EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA AS A MARKETING PLATFORM

by:

ROSEMEL P. MALLILLIN
MICHAELLA JOY C. BOSI
REINMAR V. EBOJO
JERICO A. CENTISTA