A SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT

ON

Analysing the effectiveness of social media

marketing in small and medium enterprises

SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD OF

DEGREE OF MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 2015-17

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF:

MR. SUNIL KUMAR YADAV
Assistant Professor, RDIAS

SUBMITTED BY:
RIDAYH RAMOLA
Enrollment No.: 07180303915
Batch Year: 2015-17

RUKMINI DEVI INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES

Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi
2A & 2B, Madhuban Chowk, Outer Ring Road, Phase-1, Delhi-110085
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Student Declaration...........I

Certificate from Company...II

Certificate from Guide.........................III

Acknowledgement............................................................................................................IV

Executive Summary.....V

List of tables.VI

List of figures.......................VII

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 About the Industry.1-13

1.2 About the Company13-14

CHAPTER 2
 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Literature Review15-24

2.2 About the topic16-24

CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Purpose of the Study25

3.2 Research Objective of the study.....25

3.3 Research Methodology of the study25-29

CHAPTER 4
ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

4.1 Analysis & Interpretation 29-48

CHAPTER 5
FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS

5.1 Findings ..49-50

5.2 Suggestions......51-52

CHAPTER 6
 CONCLUSION

6.1 Conclusion 53

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography.........54-55

ANNEXURE 1.....56-60

ANNEXURE 2...61

STUDENTs DECLARATION
This to certify that I have completed the project titled Analysing the effectiveness of
social media marketing in small and medium enterprises under the guidance of MR.
SUNIL KUMAR YADAV in the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of
the degree of Master in Business Administration from Rukmini Devi Institute of
Advanced Studies, New Delhi. This is an original work and I have not submitted it
earlier elsewhere.

Name: RIDAYH RAMOLA

Enrollment No. 0710803039

COMPANY CERTIFICATE
 CERTIFICATE (From the Guide)

This is to certify that the summer training project titled ANALYSING THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN SMALL AND MEDIUM
ENTERPRISES is an academic work done by RIDAYH RAMOLA submitted in the
partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of Masters in Business
Administration from Rukmini Devi Institute of Advanced Studies, New Delhi under
my guidance and direction. To the best of my knowledge and belief the data and
information presented by him in the project has not been submitted earlier elsewhere.

MR. SUNIL KUMAR YADAV

Assistant Professor, RDIAS
RDIAS

III
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I offer my sincere thanks and humble regards to Rukmini Devi Institute Of Advanced
Studies, GGSIP University, New Delhi for imparting me valuable professional training in
MBA.

I pay my gratitude and sincere regards to MR.SUNIL KUMAR YADAV, my project

Guide for giving me the cream of his knowledge. I am thankful to him as he has been a
constant source of advice, motivation and inspiration. I am also thankful to him for giving
his suggestions and encouragement throughout the project work.

I take the opportunity to express my gratitude and thanks to our computer Lab staff
and library staff for providing me opportunity to utilize their resources for the
completion of the project.

I am also thankful to my family and friends for constantly motivating me to complete the
project and providing me an environment which enhanced my knowledge

IV
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The organizational study was conducted at MITARTH INDIA LIMITED.

The purpose to study this project is to understand the consumer behaviour of a consumer for
purchasing a water tank and analyse the factors which influence purchase decision of a
consumer and also to observe the decision making process.

In order to complete the purpose of the study, survey plan was conducted with the help of a
questionnaire. As it is impractical to study the whole population, sample of 90 respondents
were considered. The study is based on primary data. The Exploratory Research Design and
convenience sampling has been used in this study.

From this study, the findings were: TV commercial is the best way for advertisement, Price is
not only the factor which influence purchase decision of a consumer, Warranty is the major
thing which people like about the promotion, ISI mark plays an important role, in order to
make healthy relationships value added services, post purchase services, good working
conditions are necessary.

From the findings it is concluded that : Promotion is a form of corporate communication that
uses various methods to reach a targeted audience with a certain message in order to achieve
specific organisational objectives, TV advertisement is the main source of advertisement
activity, apart from promotional activities, company should learn the consumer behaviour of a
customer, what all are the factors which influence customer to buy a particular product,
consumers have neutral response towards price and they prefer technology and quality of the
water tank. Consumers also prefer quality, technology, features of a product. In order to make
the company success Post-purchase services also play an important role in decision making
of the consumer.

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LIST OF TABLES:

S.No. Table No. Particulars Page

No.

1 Table 4.01 Table showing Age of the company 29

2 Table 4.02 Table showing Age of managing Director 30

3 Table 4.03 Table showing Gender 31

4 Table 4.04 Table showing Occupation 32

5 Table 4.05 Table showing Type of Organization 33

6 Table 4.06 Table showing Do u take advertisement as promotional 34

tool
7 Table 4.07 Table showing Means of promotion 35

8 Table 4.08 Table showing Speacia Marketing Team 36

9 Table 4.09 Table showing How long Using Social Media 37

10 Table 4.10 Table showing Having a Website 38

11 Table 4.11 Table showing having Facebook Page 39

12 Table 4.12 Table showing who handles facebook page 40

13 Table 4.13 Table showing awareness of social media marketing 41

14 Table 4.14 Table showing reasons for joining social media platform 42

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15 Table 4.15 Table showing presence in social sites 43

16 Table 4.16 Table showing advertisement on social media 44

17 Table 4.17 Table showing comparison between online and offline 45

method
18 Table 4.18 Table showing comparison of social media with others 46

19 Table 4.19 Table showing no of recommendations 47

VI

LIST OF FIGURES

11
SERIAL FIGURE PARTICULARS PAGE
NO NO. NO.

12
1 4.0.1 Figure showing age of the company 29
2 4.0.2 Figure showing age of managing director 30
3 4.0.3 Figure showing Gender. 31
4 4.0.4 Figure showing occupation. 32
5 4.0.5 Figure showing Type of organization 33
6 4.0.6 Figure showing advertising as promotional 34
tool
7 4.0.7 Figure showing means of promotion 35
8 4.0.8 Figure showing do you have special 36
marketing team
9 4.0.9 Figure showing for how long is your 37
company using social media.

10 4.10 Figure showing do u have a website 38

11 4.11 Figure showing do you have a facebook 39

page .
12 4.12 Figure showing who handles your website 40
and facebook page
13 4.13 Figure showing awareness for social media 41
marketing.

14 4.14 Figure showing reason for joining social 42

media platform
15 4.15 Figure showing selection of social sites for 43
personal profile.

16 How do u feel about advertisement

4.16 through social media 44

17 45
4.17 Comparison between online and offline
shopping methods

18 4.18 Comparison of social media advertising 46

with others

19 4.19 Recommend social media marketing to 47

other organization

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VII

1.1.1 About Social Media Marketing

14
 Before explaining this firstly we must be aware of what comes in Mar

MARKETING

TRADITION
DIGITAL
AL

Broadcast Direct Social

Print Media Email Websites
Media Media Media

Social Media Marketing is Marketing or Promotion of Goods and Services which can be
through Social Networking Sites Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest etc.

This comes in Digital Marketing which is much more effective than Traditional Marketing.
One of the main purposes in employing Social Media in marketing is as a communications
tool that makes the companies accessible to those interested in their product and makes them
visible to those who have no knowledge of their products. These companies use social media
to create buzz, learn from and target customers. It's the only form of marketing that can finger
consumers at each and every stage of the consumer decision journey. Marketing through
social media has other benefits as well.

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Social media marketing:

Social media marketing programs usually center on efforts to create content that attracts
attention and encourages readers to share it with their social networks. A corporate 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. Hence, this form of
marketing is driven by word-of-mouth, meaning it results in earned media rather than paid
media.

Social media has become a platform that is easily accessible to anyone with internet access.
Increased communication for organizations fosters brand awareness and often, improved
customer service. Additionally, social media serves as a relatively inexpensive platform for
organizations to implement marketing campaigns.

Social media marketing tools:

Besides research tools, various companies provide specialized platforms and tools for social
media marketing:

Social media measurement

Social network aggregation
Social bookmarking
Social analytics
Automation
Social media
Blog marketing
Validation

Different Methods of Social Media Marketing

Social network marketing is popularly called as Internet marketing. Today you can find many
ways for internet marketing. Many people who enter this online marketing are less worried
because of its guaranteed success. If you see in Internet totally all types of products has been
marketed online without much effort. Internet attracts many business people to promote their
business online. Social network marketing is grown to such a height that today many people
can't earn without it.

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Some of the most recognized network marketing tools are Face book, My Space and
LinkedIn. Twitter became regular place for people who have newly entered the field of social
network marketing.

1. Blogging: When you start Blogging or posting your data about any product, you can see
less response from clients. Later it will become big business via blog. Websites and blogs are
most powerful tools for social network marketing when matched with other networking tools.
Blog is an amazing tool which provides many other facilities in addition to just marketing
your business. It also helps you to communicate with other clients in case if you have any
problems.

2. Personal website or blog: It is important to have private website if you are a freelancer.
Your website will help your clients to know about you and it will make them clear that you
are a serious freelance marketer and help to make huge revenue via online marketing.

3. Article selling: It is also best and cheap internet marketing method. It is a mode of
advertising our trade just by writing articles and attracting endless number of users across
world. We usually sell our articles to different article database websites and article
directories. Today it provided free business to many advertisers and publishers and they are
really benefited through their articles.

4. Email sending: Electronic mail sending is the best way to marketing. Collect list of email
addresses through portfolio websites and email about your business to all internet users. Your
Email should be attractive in such a way that your recipient will be impressed to get back to
you.

5. Use social networking websites: Social networking websites like Twitter, face book can
be used to promote your sales. These provide best platform for all who are thinking of online
marketing.

6. Video promotion: Use several video distribution websites for your marketing. These
websites uploads your service to the whole world. All that you need to do is film a video
about marketing and send it to video uploading sites like You Tube. It seems it is the easiest
way of marketing than any other modes since many people will be interested in view videos
rather than word form of advertisement.

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7. Press Release or media release: It attracts several public clients and increases relationship
among them.

8. Search Engine Optimization: It improves the traffic to your website by providing quality
web content. It uses RSS feeds and many SEO techniques.

Social networking websites and blogs:

Social networking websites allow individuals to interact with one another and build
relationships. When products or companies join those sites, people can interact with the
product or company. That interaction feels personal to users because of their previous
experiences with social networking site interaction

Social networking sites and blogs allow individual followers to retweet or repost
comments made by the product being promoted. By repeating the message, all of the users
connections are able to see the message, therefore reaching more people. Social networking
sites act as word of mouth. Because the information about the product is being put out there
and is getting repeated, more traffic is brought to the product/company.

Through social networking sites, products/companies can have conversations and interactions
with individual followers. This personal interaction can instill a feeling of loyalty into
followers and potential customers. Also, by choosing whom to follow on these sites, products
can reach a very narrow target audience.

Engagement

In the context of the social web, engagement means that customers and stakeholders are
participants rather than viewers. Social media in business allows anyone and everyone to
express and share an opinion or idea somewhere along the businesss path to market. Each
participating customer becomes part of the marketing department, as other customers read
their comments or reviews. The engagement process is then fundamental to successful social
media marketing.

Example-

2008 Presidential Election

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The 2008 presidential campaign had a huge presence on social networking sites. Barack
Obama, a Democratic candidate for US President, used Twitter and Facebook to differentiate
his campaign. His social networking site profile pages were constantly being updated and
interacting with followers.

Kony 2012

A short film released on March 5, 2012, by humanitarian group Invisible Children, Inc. This
29 minute video aimed at making Joseph Kony, an International Criminal Court fugitive,
famous worldwide in order to have support for his arrest by December 2012; the time when
the campaign ends. The video went viral within the first six days after its launch, reaching
100 million views on both YouTube and Vimeo.

Implications on traditional advertising:

Minimizing use

Traditional advertising techniques include print and television advertising. The Internet had
already overtaken television as the largest advertising market. Websites often include banner
or pop-up ads. Social networking sites dont always have ads. In exchange, products have
entire pages and are able to interact with users. Television commercials often end with a
spokesperson asking viewers to check out the product website for more information. Print ads
are also starting to include barcodes on them. These barcodes can be scanned by cell phones
and computers, sending viewers to the product website. Advertising is beginning to move
viewers from the traditional outlets to the electronic ones.

Leaks

Internet and social networking leaks are one of the issues facing traditional advertising. Video
and print ads are often leaked to the world via the Internet earlier than they are scheduled to
premiere. Social networking sites allow those leaks to go viral, and be seen by many users
more quickly. Time difference is also a problem facing traditional advertisers. When social
events occur and are broadcast on television, there is often a time delay between airings on
the east coast and west coast of the United States. Social networking sites have become a hub

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of comment and interaction concerning the event. This allows individuals watching the event
on the west coast (time-delayed) to know the outcome before it airs.

Social media marketing mishaps

Social media marketing provides organizations with a way to connect with their customers.
However, organizations must protect their information as well as closely watch comments
and concerns on the social media they use. A flash poll done on 1225 IT executives from 33
countries revealed that social media mishaps caused organizations a combined $4.3 million in
damages in 2010.The top three social media incidents an organization faced during the
previous year included employees sharing too much information in public forums, loss or
exposure of confidential information, and increased exposure to litigation

An example of a social media mishap includes designer Kenneth Cole's Twitter mishap in
2011. When Kenneth Cole tweeted, "Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard
our new spring collection is now available online at [Kenneth Cole's website]".This reference
to the 2011 Egyptian Revolution drew objection from the public.

General Social Networking Statistics:

62% of adults worldwide now use social media

Social networking is most popular online activity, with 22% of time online spent on
channels like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest
65% of the worlds top companies have an active Twitter profile
90% of marketers use social media channels for business, with 93% of these rating
social tools as important
43% of marketers have noticed an improvement in sales due to social campaigns
72% of marketers who have worked in social media for three or more years said that
they saw a boost in turnover due to social channels (the longer youre working in it the
better you get)
91% of experienced social marketers see improved website traffic due to social media
campaigns and 79% are generating more quality leads.
The average time spent by marketers on social media is 1-5hrs per week for those just
getting started and 6+ hours per week for those with 3+ years of experience
The most popular social networking tool for marketing is Facebook being used by
92%, followed by Twitter (84%), LinkedIn (71%) and blogs (68%)
LinkedIn is 4X better for B2B lead generation than Facebook and Twitter
Only 10% of marketers are actively monitoring social media ROI

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 Only 22% of businesses have a dedicated social media manager
23% of Fortune 500 companies have a public-facing corporate blog
58% of Fortune 500 companies have an active corporate Facebook account, 62% have
an active corporate Twitter account
47% of customers are somewhat likely to purchase from a brand that they follow or
like

Indian Market:

Indias Internet economy is expected to reach Rs. 10.8 trillion by 2016, as the
countrys growth rate in this segment is far ahead of many of the developing nations,
reported by BCG.
According to BCG, the India Internet economy contributed to 3.2 trillion rupees to the
overall economy in 2010, 4.1% of the countrys GDP, & could triple in 4 years time.
More than 39 million Internet users who form 86% of the total Internet audience,
visited social networking sites in July 2011.
The total Indian social networking audience grew 43 percent in the past year, more
than tripling the rate of growth of the total Internet audience in India.
India now ranks as the seventh largest market worldwide for social networking India
is adding Internet users at the rate of almost 5-7 million a month, and at the current
pace it will surpass the US, which has about 245 million users, in less than two years.
Active user base per month in India is close to 30 Million marks which is still a pretty
large market but not as big as portrayed by some consultants.
India has close to 10 million online shoppers and is growing at an estimated 30%.
India e-tailing market in 2011 was about $600 Mn and expected to touch $9 Bn by
2016 and $70 Bn by 2020 esti the country the third-largest Internet market in the
world after China and the United States.
There are more Internet users in towns with a population of less than 5 lakh than in
the top eight metros put together.
About 2 billion people worldwide access the Internet and 25% of them are from
China. India contributes about 6% to the world's Net population and the US 12.5%.
The survey found that more than 75% of Internet usage is among school- and college-
going students and those who have recently graduated.
Mumbai has the highest number of Internet users (6.2 million) followed by
Delhi/NCR (5 million), Kolkata (2.4 million) and Chennai (2.2 million).
The percentage of companies using social media in top 5 markets is:
China: 82%
USA: 71%
India: 70%

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 Brazil: 68%
Canada: 51%

E-Marketer estimates advertisers will spend $3.63 billion in the US and over $4 billion
more in the rest of the world on social networking sites this year. And thats just paid ad
spending. When the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) surveyed US marketers
this year, 90% said they were using social networks for their effortsabout even with last
year, at 89%. While this percentage has risen dramatically since 2007, when just 20% of
marketers used social media, growth has plateauedand shifted to other new digital
media platforms instead.

1.1.2 Importance of Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing has become an essential part of online marketing strategy among
small businesses because of its cost-effectiveness, ability to reach targeted audiences quickly
and generate more leads/sales. Let's discuss these things in detail.

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. According to Forbes, 94% of corporate are using social
media and 85% said that it has given their business more exposure.

Branding can be done effectively on social media

Social media marketing is the best tool for small businesses for branding. According
to Social media today, 83% of customers prefer to connect to the brand on Facebook
and 53% on Twitter. A study by Nielsen also reported that 46% of online users count
on social media while making purchase decision and 50% of shoppers made
purchases based on the recommendations on social media websites.

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 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 e
Marketer 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. According to Social media today, 53% of marketers
are using social media as a two-way conversation and engagement tool.

Social media marketing can generate more leads/sales

Social media marketing plays an important role in generating leads and thus
increasing sales to the businesses. A survey by Social media today revealed that 71%
of social media users are more likely to purchase products from brands that they are
connected on social media websites. A study by Hub Spot revealed that social media
produces almost double the marketing leads than any other marketing method and
lead-to-close rate is 100% higher on social media.

1.1.3 Advantages of Social Media Marketing

1. Increased Business Exposure

Facebook and Twitter alone reportedly serve 1.5 billion users globally. Social media allows
your business to extend well beyond the immediate geographic area. With social media you
can cross country, state, and even national lines. Social media is therefore a very convenient
and also cost-efficient way for augmenting brand visibility which is great news for global
manufacturers. Social media allows any business the benefit of increased exposure. Whether
a global, national or local business.

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2. Insight about Your Customers

This is one of the biggest advantages of using social media. Social media provides limitless
opportunities for you to interact with current and potential customers. You have the ability to
engage customers in real-time conversations about your mission, products, events, and
services. And since most social media users are there to, you guessed it, socialize, they are
more than willing to talk to you. Heres a quick experiment you can try that will really open
your eyes. Go to Facebook and use Graph Search to search for: Favorite interests of people
who like Youre Page Name. Youll find a treasure trove of information about your
community!

3. Reduced Marketing Expenses

One of the greatest things about participating in social media is that your budget and results
are not linear. For example, if you spend $1 on targeted Facebook ads, you could generate 1
result, but if you spend $2 on targeted Facebook ads, you could generate 3 results. Thats
because of earned media (which is a whole other topic). Overall, social media is an extremely
cost-efficient marketing choice when compared with other budget-draining advertising
techniques. And as youre starting to learn, provides many more opportunities to grow your
business than just through marketing.

4. Lead generation

When thinking about using the internet for lead generation, you probably think of it like this:
I add my inventory to my website, and I also add my inventory to boats for sale site. Then, I
wait for leads to come in. Well, you know you can take a proactive approach to lead
generation with social media, right The targeting Facebook, Twitter and even LinkedIns paid
advertising platforms provides to reach buyers is incredible. You can search out and find
people who bought boats from your competition using a combination of Facebooks Graph
Search and targeted paid Facebook ads.

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5. Extremely Targeted

Traditional marketing strategies are usually very general. They work on the assumption that if
you cast a big enough net, you will land at least a few fish. While there is some logic to this,
it is also not very cost effective. You end up spending lots of money on broad, sweeping
advertising campaigns that only manage to reach a handful of your targeted audience. One of
the great things about social media is that you are able to focus the bulk of your efforts on
those who actually have an interest in your company. This means you can gain more
customers per marketing dollar. Are you starting to see a theme with using social media for
business Its extremely cost-effective and targeted.

6. Competitive Advantage

Everything that happens on social media platforms happens in real time. That means social
media participation gives businesses the opportunity to engage in advertising that is timely
and relevant which gives you a distinct competitive edge. And since everything is also
happening in a public forum, you can monitor exactly what your competitors are doing. You
can also see exactly whats working for your competitors (and whats not). If youre smart
enough, youll pay close attention and jump in to grab new business when the timings right.
But be careful, this means your competitors can also monitor you so make sure you keep
your proprietary secrets off of social media.

7. Analytics and Reporting

Google Analytics Engaged! (Our own social media dashboard) and other programs can help
you monitor your social media activities and assess whether or not they are having a positive
effect on website traffic, lead generation and product purchases. That way you can eliminate
unproductive activities and emphasize those that seem to have a positive effect. With social
media, everything is tractable. When your marketing budget is being spent on more
traditional strategies (like print or billboards) you really have no idea what thats doing for
your business. But with social media, you know what every penny has been able to generate.

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8. Strengthen Customer Loyalty

Social media can help you put a personal face on your business. Instead of just a company
name, customers see you as a real person who listens to their concerns and delivers helpful
feedback. This is where the quality of your social media posts really matters. For example, if
you only post about your newest inventory or latest sales event, customers are going to feel
like they are being force fed your company advertising. If, however, you post interesting
information or insight into your industry, customers will feel like you respect them and will
be more likely to remain loyal to your company.

9. Rise in Search Engine Rankings

And of course, theres the all-important search engine optimization (SEO). If your company
has active social media accounts on multiple platforms, it can improve your rankings on
search engines which will boost your visibility and potentially increase your profits. This is
especially true with blogging, as companies that blog get 55% more web traffic and 70%
more leads than those that dont and thats a huge benefit! Then theres search engine
benefit that Google+ provides, instantly indexed posts.

10. Increased Website Traffic

All of these factors combined customer loyalty, lead generation, exposure, etc. will
greatly increase the number of potential and current customers viewing your website (and Im
sure more website traffic, more leads and more sales are something you want, right?). If you
have excellent website design thats mobile optimized and content to compliment your social
media engagement, youll be more likely to make generate leads that your sales team can turn
into sales.

1.1.4 Disadvantages of Social Media Marketing

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1. Bad Branding

The wrong online brand strategy can doom a company, and put you at a huge viral social
disadvantage. Just ask Sony. Sony has a great platform in the PS3 but they chose to neglect
the value of effective social media and as a result the sales of the Microsoft Xbox have soared
while Sonys always remain number two.

2. Commitment

If your company decided to start a blog, twitter feed, or Facebook page, then designate
someone to maintain it. There is nothing worse than going to visit a corporate blog in
September and the last post was in June. It tells potential customers that if you are too busy
to maintain your blog then you are probably too busy to provide them with customer support.
They will shop elsewhere. If as a company you cant commit at least 6-8 hrs a week on
Social Media then dont bother with it. Social Media is a living breathing beast. If you feed
the beast then the beast works for you, but you need to feed it often.

3. Time

I mentioned before that getting involved with Social Media is very time consuming. As a
company you will need to designate an individual to constantly feed your pages and profile
with relevant content. This individual also has to monitor comments and respond to
questions. For small companies this can be a serious problem as they need all hands on deck
to keep the company afloat. The commitment of time is why many small companies choose
not to engage in social media to boost their marketing efforts. They realize their limitations
and simply do without. This is where an outside consultant becomes invaluable.

4. The risk of negative comments

Any time a company opens itself up to open criticism there is the possibility of negative
comments about a product or service. Consumers want customer service. They want to know
that the company that they bought the product from is fixing any issues quickly and listening
to them. Wal-Mart used this strategy to help create the employee share program where every
employee of a store gets a split of the store they work at profits once per year to reward their
employees for their hard work. Wal-Mart used their corporate blog comments to develop this
program and increase productivity.

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1.2COMPANY PROFILE:

Rocklime was founded in 2010 by a team of experts having successful track records in
domains such as high-performance computing, enterprise e-learning, and training. Since its
inception they are engaged in providing infrastructure solutions for training, organizing
training and human resource development by updating the Knowledge and Skills of human
race at all levels thereby encouraging them to be more productive for achieving higher goals.

Adding another jewel in the crown they recently started with interactive digital media
solutions. Their core competency includes IT, Learning and Social and Interactive Digital
solutions that are focused on meeting the needs of enterprises as well as of individuals at all
levels.
A dream to change the way people see the digital world, A dream to change the way brands
showcase themselves, A dream to revolutionize the way IT & Humans interact. They all come
together and getting real with the new leaps of Rocklime, they call themselves innovators.
Their Enterprise Learning provides technology and administrative support services that
simplify the complex administration of your companies learning solution. The learning
experts at Rocklime ensure your training solution is smoothly implemented and operated.
Their clients count on our training services specifically in the areas of technology and custom
content to optimize their learning systems and to improve time to performance for their
employees, customers, and partners.

Social media marketing is basically defined as the process of gaining attention from internet
users by way of social media sites. It is a term that is often used to describe different activities
that take place in social sites.

For example, in Face book, users are allowed to participate in activities such as sharing
photographs, and applying in social functions. Twitter, on the other hand, allows its users to
share updates. Social media sites contribute towards building connections that will ultimately
support search engine optimization efforts. Airlines form some of the subjects that people
enjoy communicating about in social media sites. When customers of airlines get good
services from particular airlines, they are likely to mention it to others in their chosen social
media forums. Conversely, they will also grumble about airlines that offer slovenly service.
Almost all industries in the 21st century, including the airline industry, regularly use social
media sites to communicate with customers and also for advertising purposes. This is because

28
the social media sites facilitate for interactive communications. Different varieties of social
media functions that are used in such interactions between airlines and their customers
include social networks, online wikis, blogs, internet forums, micro-blogging, and social
bookmarking.

2.1 Literature Review:

J Suresh Reddy26 has published article in Indian Journal of Marketing. Title of article
is Impact of E-commerce on marketing.

Marketing is one of the business function most dramatically affected by emerging

information technologies. Internet is providing companies new channels of communication
and interaction. It can create closer yet more cost effective relationships with customers in
sales, marketing and customer support. Companies can use web to provide ongoing
information, service and support. It also creates positive interaction with customers that can
serve as the foundation for long term relationships and encourage repeat purchases.

Neelika Arora32 has published research article entitled Trends in Online Advertising
in advertising Express, Dec2004.
The global online advertising revenues are expected to touch US $10bn by 2006. In India, the
revenues at present are estimated to be Rs. 80 cr. and are expected to increase six times more
within the next five years.
In India, Internet as a medium is accepted by a wider industrial segment that includes
automobiles, telecom, education, banking, insurance, credit cards, FMCG (Fast Moving

29
Consumer Goods), apparel/clothing, durables, media, business services and tourism. Out of
these , it is estimated that the banking, FMCG and insurance sectors together account for 45%
of the total advertising spend. In comparison to this, automotive, travel and retail spend 37%
of the total advertising revenue and financial service companies spend 12% only. Some of the
top spenders in India are automobiles, followed by brands like Pepsodent, Kelloggs, Cadbury,
HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd.) loans and Sunsilk. In addition to
these the early adopters in the field of finance and IT are also increasing their spending.
Globally, the trend is that almost 60% of the revenue goes to five firms- Goggle, Yahoo,
Microsoft, AOL(America Online Launchers), and Overture. Approximately, 90% of the
Goggle revenues come from advertising. In India, portals like indiatimes.com,
exchange4media.com, rediffmail.com, agencyfaqs.com etc are attracting major online
spender.
This article explains demographic profile of Indian users. It also gives the comparison
between global trend and Indian trend, which is useful for my research work.

Sumanjeet37 has published article on On Line Banner Advertising- in Indian Journal

of Marketing.
Online banner advertising has great potential as an advertising medium. It is easy to create,
place and use. It offers companies targeting well educated, innovative, affluent males/females
or students with great potential for success as their segments are highly represented.

Nicholas Ind , Maria Chiara Riondino36 have originally published their article inthe
Journal of Brand Management in September 2001. The title of this article is Branding
on the Web: A real Revolution?
In this paper difference in corporate attitudes to the Web are discussed and conclusions as to
the way in which branding practice and theory are affected by the new technology are drawn.
This article explains the Web is both a distribution and a communications channel that
facilitates interaction community building, openness and comparability.

Jaffrey Graham45 has published his article entitled Web advertisings future >>> e
Marketing strategy
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter published an equity research report analyzing the Internet
marketing and advertising industry. The report studies research from dozens of companies
and calculates the cost and effectiveness of advertising across various media. Branding on the

30
Internet works. For existing brands, the Internet is more effective in driving recall than
television, magazines, and newspapers and at least as good in generating product interest.

2.2 ABOUT THE TOPIC:

2.2.1 Social Media marketing:

According to Garders survey (2013), the top priority in digital marketing investment will be
to improve commerce experiences through social marketing, content creation and
management and mobile marketing. Key findings also revealed that a companies marketing
success relies mostly on their website, social marketing, and digital advertising, which are all
parts of digital marketing. In addition, savings made by using digital marketing can be
reinvested elsewhere. Normally, companies spend 10 percent of their revenue on marketing
and 2.4 percent on digital marketing, which will increase to 9 percent in the future.

Content Market:

Brogan(2008) and Ferguson (2009) urge content marketing is not any other thing, but that is
a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract,
acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience -with the objective of
driving profitable customer action. Going by that idea Pulizzi defines (2008) content
marketing as the art of understanding exactly what your customers need to know, and
delivering it to them in a relevant and compelling way to grow your business.

Content marketing is creating rich contents targeting potential audience and sharing via
content marketing platforms to inform, educate them without selling. Thus, content marketing
is expanding by answering customary issues with the right kind of content in front of the right
kind of audience.

Content marketing communication strategies

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Pulizzi (2008) highlights a good content marketing strategy is ways in which to understand
problems and concerns of customers and offering best solutions and to transferring trusted
knowledge.

Marketing communication strategies are very important nowadays than before. An optimized
informative content can connect with customers and enabling them to interact with.
Therefore, effective and efficient content marketing strategies will influence customers
positive interaction with a product and service even it will increase investment of returns.

Scott (2009) states the reasons for brand promoters preferring online web for marketing is
that the tools, techniques and content are constantly evolving. The buyers reward creativity
by responding to the online efforts like:

If you are open to trying out new things, you can be first in your industry to use something
new to communicate to your buyers.

Marketing in some social networking websites are still the most popular in their niche. Shih
(2009) says that there are hundreds of millions of active users across sites like Face book,
Hi5, Orkut and MySpace. 2.6 billion min are spent on Face book each day. These websites
are enabling brands to engage the right people in the right conversation at right time.
Marketing the brands through social media is becoming precise, personal, interesting,
interactive and social.

Weber (2009) says promoting a community is just like as promoting a new brand product or
service to the consumers. Social media is used to communicate people in the promotional
aspect and inclined to involve the people. Traditional advertising and direct marketing in
social media is to send people to the digital community to be informed, entertained and heard.
Users find appealing, a value high enough to encourage them to participate.

Borges (2009) finds that today's buyers want to be engaged differently than in years past and
many traditional marketing tactics simply do not work anymore. Social media marketing is a
revolutionary way to build solid relationships with buyers. Low cost, brand building, staffing
advantages, loyalty and level playing field are key benefits of social networking sites as a
successful marketing media.

Zarrella (2010) says the roots of online social networking can be traced to the 1980s bulletin
board systems (BBS). These systems allowed the users to create personal profiles, helps to

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share information by sending private messages, public messages and post events at low speed
connectivity. After emanation of social networking technology in the internet world, it grew
higher and popular among the internet user.

Lacy and Hernandez (2009) says Twitter gives the ability to share nearly 140- characters
thoughts in a split second, where user can easily share links to press releases and stories about
their business, service or product. Making tweets interesting and diverse, there is a more
possibility of increasing the followers, by consider with news sharing and stories about the
industry that they serve.

The rules of marketing had to change and the web has proved a catalyst in bringing the
changes forward and amplifying their scale. The sudden emergence of the Web 2.0 marketing
techniques demand additional approaches, while most marketers are still wrestling with the
first generation, savvy brands are exploring the landscape that social media and social
networks create for marketers. These techniques are allowing much deeper drivers in social
change to be unleashed, with a profound impact on planning customer connections. The new
generation of relationship marketing responds to the additional challenges of digital media
literacy and in the right hands can trigger a rebuild of the entire marketing mix through
different strategies. Relationship marketing for the Face book generation demands both
thinking and acting differently (Chaffey 2003).

Stroud (2007) says that the ability of social networking sites to generate these huge volumes
of web traffic is proof of their huge popularity. Google, Yahoo and News International have
bought themselves a presence in the social networking arena. The detailed rationale for these
acquisitions differs but all have a common theme of wanting access to the enormous
audiences.

Ricadela (2007) says, Coca-Cola has been running promotions on MySpace for the past two
years for brands including Cherry Coke and Fanta and has promoted Diet Coke and other
drinks on Google's YouTube.

Smith (2010) says that Face book is becoming one of the great internet communications of
people time now days. Whereas many companies have tried to emulate Face books success
or challenge it in one geography or another, Face book has proven that the core asset on
which all of its services are built - the social graph - is much more defensible and powerful
than many others once anticipated.

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Visitors to social networking sites are significantly more likely than average to visit leisure-
oriented retail site categories, such as music, jewelry/luxury goods/ accessories, consumer
electronics and apparel. Heavy social networking visitors are defined as the top 20% of
visitors based on time spent on social networking sites. People typically enjoy sharing their
experiences with these products, whether it is to talk about their new iPhone or the pair of
designer jeans they just bought. Social networking sites offer the venue for those
conversations to occur. Social media advertising is ideal for promoting brand recognition,
although click-through rates are not so strong. Still, there is no doubt that advertising via
social media sites is an effective way to increase your overall revenue stream (Brinlee, 2007).

To consider social media as a marketing tool a retailer must understand every aspect of it.

Social media cannot be understood without first defining Web 2.0: a term that
describes a new way in which end users use the World Wide Web, a place where
content is continuously altered by all operators in a sharing and collaborative way
(Kaplan and Haenlein 2010). It is much more to do with what people are doing with
the technology than the technology itself, for rather than merely retrieving
information, users are now creating and consuming it, and hence adding value to the
websites that permit them to do so (Campbell et al. 2011, 87). Web 2.0 has evolved
from simple information retrieval to interactivity, interoperability, and collaboration
(Campbell et al. 2011).

Kaplan and Haenlein (2010, 61) define social media as a group of Internet based
applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,
and allow the creation and exchange of user generated content. Sinclaire and Vogus
(2011, 294) cite OReillys (2005) definition: social media is a broad term that
describes software tools that create user generated content that can be shared.
However, there are some basic features necessary for a website to meet the
requirements as a social network website: the site must contain user profiles, content,
a method that permits users to connect with each other and post comments on each
others pages, and join virtual groups based on common interests such as fashion or
politics. (Gross & Acquisti, 2005; Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2007; Lenhart &
Madden, 2007; Winder, 2007; Boyd & Ellison, 2007 as cited in Cox 2010).

The Innovation Adoption Process (IAP) is another instrument that provides

information on a consumers acceptance of new technology. The IAP is the

34
 progression through which an individual goes through the innovation-decision process
(Rogers as cited in Mady 2011). Five steps make up the process: knowledge of the
innovation, forming an attitude toward the innovation, deciding to adopt or reject the
innovation, implementation of the innovation, and confirmation of the decision (Mady
2011). Knowledge of IAP can help marketers obtain a social media marketing
campaign that is fulfilling.

A main topic being studied involving social media as a marketing tool is Virtual
Brand Communities (VBC). VBC can be described as aggregations of consumers
that occur on the internet because of their interest in some brand or product (Muniz
and OGuinn as cited in Georgi and Mink 2012, 3). Specifically, a brand community
is a group of people who share the same interest in a particular brand or product
(Casal, Favin and Guinalu 2008). Overall, VBCs are the site[s] of complex
brand meaning creation and consumption efforts (Muiz and Jensen Schau, 2007).
Casal, Favin and Guinalu (2008) found when a member is trusting of the VBC that
they are part of, it increases their amount of participation, and consumers who have a
positive participation experience are more loyal to the brand. Trust is a central aspect
to guarantee the VBCs survival. Cha (2009) concludes that security is a major factor
affecting a consumers opinions toward social networking sites and can ultimately
impact trust. Since VBCs depend on individual users participation, both group unity
and awareness can strengthen users satisfaction with a VBC (Casal, Favin and
Guinalu 2008). The study done by Casal, Favin and Guinalu (2008) demonstrates
the powerful sway VBC and an online interaction between consumers can have on
their buying behavior.

Pookulangara and Koesler (2011) used the Technology Acceptance Model3 (TAM3)
to look at the impact of culture on social media. TAM3 highlights the role and
procedures connected to perceived usefulness and perceived ease of technology.
TAM3 suggests that the factors that determine perceived usefulness will not influence
perceived ease of use and the factors that influence perceived ease of use will not
influence perceived usefulness (Pookulangara and Koesler 2011). The researchers
used TAM3 to find out if an individuals cultural background affects perceived ease
and perceived usefulness in order to discern users behavioural intention towards
social media. More specifically, the researchers used TAM3 to determine if an
individuals cultural background influences how they will interpret a message, event,

35
 or idea presented to them through a social networking site. This was done through a
conceptual framework in which the researchers created a research model using TAM3.

Cox (2010) also investigated the correlation between age and attitude and found that
social network user attitude toward online advertising formats (i.e. blogs, video, and
brand channel or page) differed to some extent across age groups. She explains that
users who fall in the 18-28 age brackets had strong positive attitudes towards blogs,
video, and brand channel ad formats. This was because users found these ad formats
to be eye catching, informative, and amusing. The 35-54 age groups preferred ad
formats on video and brand channels because they found them to be more eye
catching, informative, and had better placement within the online page layout.
Overall, online advertising formats with positive attributes are welcomed by users;
however, ads that are intrusive or interfere with online social networking activities,
such as pop up, expandable, or floating formatted ads were disliked by network users
(Cox 2010).

According to Chi (2011) users perceive advertising differently depending on the

social network, which suggests user motivations for online social networking may
play a vital role in defining consumers responses to social media marketing. As
mentioned previously in the explanation of Pookulangara and Koeslers (2011) study,
the technology acceptance model (TAM) was also used by Harris and Dennis (2011).
Harris and Dennis (2011), however, used TAM as a loose framework that combined
trust and the factors associated with TAM (i.e. perceived enjoyment, ease of use, and
usefulness). The TAM determined that consumers, specifically students, hold a
hierarchy of trust when using social media such as Facebook. Students trust real
friends, then Facebook friends, followed by expert blogs and independent review sites
and lastly celebrities and e-retailer sites (Harris and Dennis 2011).

Di Pietro and Pantano (2012) conducted further research using the TAM to discern
that enjoyment is the major factor that influences consumers to use social networks as
a platform for assisting in their buying decisions. They found that the fun provided by
Facebook, as well as the opportunity it provides users to ask for suggestions in an
easy and entertaining way, motivates individuals to pay more attention to the products
promoted on Facebook. Facebook promotes a consumer to consumer approach,
exploited by consumers to share experiences and create a common knowledge on
products and services; on the other, it provides managers a direct channel for

36
 communicating with clients through a business to consumer approach ( Di Pietro and
Pantano 2012, 20). Retailers can improve their Facebook page appeal by adding
games, contests, and interactive applications, which can attract more users (Di Pietro
and Pantano 2012).

While social media provides never ending avenues for communicating, it is the
individuals who serve as the influencers not the technology (Gonzalez 2010, 23).
User generated content produces social currency for marketers because it helps define
a brand. User generated content describes the sum of all ways in which people make
use of social media, usually applied to describe the various forms of media content
that are publicly available and created by end users (Kaplan and Haenlein 2010, 61).
Therefore, social currency is when individuals share a brand or information about a
brand (Zinnbauer and Honer 2011). Social currency greatly affects brand
performance and is a concept that can be linked to Bourdieus (1977) and Colemans
(1988) idea of social capital. Social capital is shaped on a personal level and occurs
in the relationships among individuals (Zinnbauer and Honer 2011).

Since social media sites can be exploited for the information it provides on consumer
behavior with regards to their purchasing intentions, research further suggests that
businesses should incorporate social networking sites into their business model or
promotional mix. A business model is a system of codependent structures, activities,
and processes that serve as a firms organizing logic and create value for customers,
itself, and its partners (Sorescu et al. 2011). Mangold and Faulds (2009) recommend
that social media should be regarded as an integral part of an organizations integrated
marketing strategy and should not be taken lightly. As Curran et al. (2011) points out,
almost 1 in every 13 person in the world is an active Facebook user, which points to
the potential of finding a ready market for any product or service.

Social networking sites are being utilized to enhance a companys brand appeal and
increase their target market because new technologies allow for more personal,
targeted communications, as well as increased consumer participation in the creation
of marketing and brand related information (Cappo 2033; Jaffe 2005 as cited in
Muiz and Jensen Schau 2007, 35). Mangold and Faulds (2009) stress that traditional
communication examples, which relied on the classic promotional mix to create
integrated marketing communications, must give way to a new paradigm that includes

37
 all forms of social media as potential tools in designing and implementing integrated
marketing communication strategies. Retailers are paying attention when it comes to
social media because it provides a key component that businesses have struggled to
collect for years: feedback (Gonzalez 2010). Feedback from consumers has always
been important when it comes to product, brand, and business model development.
Since, most studies have examined social media marketing in terms of suggesting
how to incorporate it within a business plan, and how to gauge consumers responses,
it is important that further research address which strategies work. Although some
studies have started to touch upon influences and factors that affect consumers
responses, previous research does not clearly state if social media marketing is
valuable to retailers in terms of return on investment.

Moreover, research based on a small retailers perspective is limited. How have

smaller firms utilized social media within their business model? How successful has
social media been with increasing their customer base, brand awareness, and sales? It
has become clear that when marketers from large corporations present a new product
or brand, they consider both traditional and nontraditional media in which to place
advertising in order to make sure they reach their target market (Cheong and Morrison
2008). Small retailers also need to start utilizing non traditional methods of marketing
in creative and engaging ways to make certain that they attract a larger number of
consumers. Sorescu et al. (2011, 11) states another way in which retailers can engage
customers is by selling not just products, but an entire experience that while
centered on the products, adds an entirely new exciting layer to the retail setting.
Additional research is warranted regarding which social media marketing tactics are
effective for small retailers. Further studies could look into both the positive and
negative long term effects of social media marketing on a small firm. Small retailers
have a smaller budget and tighter constraints yet provide more personal retailing,
therefore a study examining how these

38
3.1 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

1. This Study will help us to understand the consumers perception towards Social
Media Marketing.
2. This study will help the company to understand, how social media marketing is
effective in small and medium enterprise, .
The deeper the company understands the consumers needs and perception, greater the
expected contribution margin. Hence the study is very important

3.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

A. To study the perception of potential customers for Social Media Marketing.
B. To analyze the Social Media Marketing activities for Rocklime Company.
C. To gather the opinion of various potential customers for Social Media Marketing.
D. To study whether people are aware of Social Media Marketing, Existence or its Relevance
in todays marketing

3.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

PERIOD OF STUDY:
Period of study 6 weeks (4th June 18th July)
Literature Review Studies:

39
 Studies of many author has been taken from year 2002 to 2013

3.3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

Empirical research: This is very impressive observational type of research, where one
observes or test on real-life data or analysis the pattern of some specific events in order to
identify the nature or the class of trend that specific phenomenon maintains. Based on the test
result, researchers try to draw lines in order to predict the result of that type of incidents with
certain level of confidence. In this research empirical method is used because it gives an
understanding and we can respond more appropriately to the dynamics of situation and this
research is based on experimentation of observation (evidence).

So it is the best method to conduct this research.

3.3.2 DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES

The data collection technique used in the project is a Questionnaire which was filled by the
customers.
Questionnaire
1. Forms filled telephonically.
2. Questionnaires should be designed to be as a simple and clear as possible, with
targeted sections and questions to maximize return rates
3. Questionnaires, can contain either structured questions with blanks to be filled in,
multiple choice questions.
4. In general, writing should be reduced to a minimum (e.g. tick boxes, multiple
choices), preferably being limited to numerals.
Telephonic interview
Telephonic interview was conducted in order to get to know the consumers perception to
make some betterments in the services.

3.3.3 SAMPLE DESIGN

POPULATION
A population is a set of similar items or events which is of interest for some question or
experiment
A population of 85 competent people from was surveyed as a part of this study.

40
In this study I have used the set of competent people for Rocklime as asked them the question
framed in the questionnaire.

SAMPLE SIZE

Data collection mode is personal visit and filling up of the questionnaire

SAMPLE UNIVERSE Competent people

SAMPLING TECHNIQE CONVENIENCE SAMPLING ,

RANDOM SAMPLING

SAMPLE SIZE 85

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT A STRUCTURED FORMAT

QUESTIONNAIRE

SAMPLING METHOD:
1. Convenience sampling: A convenience sample is made up of people who are easy to
reach.
2. Random sampling: random selection is done to inquire about a product

METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

The project report is primarily based on primary data but both primary and secondary data
collection techniques have been used in order to complete the project report.

INSTRUMENT FOR DATA COLLECTION

A structured non-disguised questionnaire based on Likert scale has been prepared to get the
relevant information from the respondents. The researcher has been used questionnaire with
the support & cooperation of the selected respondents, who are by both the customers of SBI
Life Insurance and non-customers.

41
DRAFTING A QUESTIONNAIRE
As the questionnaire is self-administrated one, the survey is kept simple and user friendly.
Words Used in questionnaire are readily understandable to all respondent. Also technical
jargons are avoided to ensure that there is no confusion for respondents.

In addition to that, analysts of social and economic change consider secondary data essential,
since it is impossible to conduct a new survey that can adequately capture past change and/or
development

The following are the main steps in the drafting of questionnaire.

1. Decision Regarding Questions

To frame questionnaire or schedule, we have at first to decide regarding various questions to

be incorporated. This decision of the selection of questions depends upon the purpose of
enquiry. In this regard, precaution should be adopted to avoid irrelevant or unnecessary
questions.

2. Types of Questions

Next step of drafting the questionnaire or schedule is to decide about the way in which
questions have to be asked? Questions can be asked in a number of ways like.

A Likert scale is a psychometric scale commonly involved in research that employs

questionnaires. It is the most widely used approach to scaling responses in survey research,
such that the term is often used interchangeably with rating scale, or more accurately
the Likert-type scale, even though the two are not synonymous. The scale is named after its
inventor, psychologist Rensis Likert. Likert distinguished between a scale proper, which
emerges from collective responses to a set of items (usually eight or more), and the format in
which responses are scored along a range. Technically speaking, a Likert scale refers only to
the former.

3. Decision Regarding Question Wording:

Another step to draft questionnaire or schedule is to decide about the wording of different
questions. Questions used in questionnaire or schedule should be worded in such a manner

42
that they must be easily understood by the respondents. Terms should be clearly defined in
the questions.

4. Decision Regarding Order of Questions:

The last but not least it relates to the decision regarding the place of different questions in the
sequence. Questions should be adjusted in such a manner that there are no sudden jumps. One
question should lead to and flow into another.

3.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

1. People were hesitant to communicate.

2. Time was limited
3. People were least aware of promoting through Social Media Marketing.
4. Difficult to tackle to rude people.

Accuracy: It is difficult to know if all the respondents gave accurate information,

some respondents tend to give misleading information.

43
 Demographics: Age of the company

Table No.4.0.1

Age Group Frequency

0-5 15
5-10 45
10-15 15
15-20 10

(0-5) (5-10) (10-15) (15-20)

12% 18%
18%

53%

Chart 4.01 - Demographics: Age of the company

INTERPRETATION:

organization from various industry are surveyed considering its age i.e. the time from their
establishment basically termed as the age of the company and as per the research it showed that
the company which was established 5-10 years back believes maximum i.e. (52.94%) whereas
the company which has started initially and the companies which are there for years still
believes on other modes of marketing

Demographics: Age of managing director

44
 Table No.4.02

Age Group Frequency

20-30 15
30-40 45
40-50 25

20-30 30-40 40-50

18%
29%

53%

Chart 4.02 - Demographics: Age of managing director

INTERPRETATION:

People from a variety age were considered as respondents but as per the research it showed that
the rapidness of social media marketing is much laid in the hands of the people in the age group
of 30-40 (52.94%) with the more senior marketers in the age group of 40-50 following suit.
(29.41%)

45
 Demographics: Gender

Table No.4.03

Gender Frequency
Male 61
Female 24

Male Female

28%

72%

Chart 4.03 - Demographics: Gender

INTERPRETATION:

As per the research, it was found that the industry of marketing through social media is still
majorly influenced and run by males with 71.76% of our respondents being males, and the rest
being females (28.24%)

46
 Demographic: Occupation
Table No. 4.04

Occupation Frequency
Owner 23
Manager 20
Marketing/SMM Manager 42

Owner Manager
Marketing/ SMM Manager

27%

49%

24%

Chart 4.04 - Demographic: Occupation

INTERPRETATION:

While doing research it was found that most of our respondents being Social Media Marketing
Managers themselves (49.41%) and then the owners did the marketing themselves (27.06%)

47
Ques1. What type of industry your organizations operate in?

Table No.4.05
Primary 40
Secondary 45

47%
53%
Primary
Secondary

Chart 4.05 Type of organization

INTERPRETATION:

While doing research it was found that most of our respondents belong to service sector
(52.94%) and then then it is followed by Secondary sector (29.41%)

48
Ques2. Do you take advertisement as a promotional tool?

Table No. 4.06

Yes 60
No 25

No; 29%

Yes; 71%

Chart 4.06 Do you take advertisement as promotional tool

INTERPRETATION:

When asked about taking advertisement as a promotional tool the respondent were found to
have a one sided opinion with the majority of 71% saying yes that they take it as a promotional
tool where as 29% going against the opinion.

49
Ques3. What are your Means of Promotion?

Table No.4.07

Print Media 10
Social Media 30
Both 20

Print Media; 17%

Both; 33%

Social Media; 50%

Chart 4.07 Means of Promotion

INTERPRETATION:

When asked about the means of promotion, 47.06% of the respondents said to have only the
social media platform for promotion with the combination of social media and print media
being followed next with 29.41% respondents. The losing spot of print media was evident with
only 23.53% people promoting through it specifically

50
Ques4. Do you have a social media marketing team?

Table No. 4.08

Yes 15
No 70

18%

yes

82% no

Chart 4.08 Do you have social media marketing team?

INTERPRETATION:

During the survey it was realized that the company having a special marketing team in small
and medium enterprise is very low (18%) whereas (82%) of the companies does not have a
social media marketing team.

51
Ques5. From how long is your company on social media?
Table No. 4.09

0-3 50
3-6 20
6-9 3
9-12 7
12 and above 5

8% 6%
4% (0-3)
(3-6)
24% 59%
(6-9)
(9-12)
(12 & above)

Chart 4.09 from how long is your company using social media

INTERPRETATION:

At the time of survey it was by the managing directors of various companies that from how
long is their company active on social media as in the number of years and it was calculated
that most of the companies are a fresher to the world of social media marketing as the stat was
(58.82%) for 0-3 months.

Ques6. Do you have a website?

52
 Table No. 4.10

Yes 79
No 6

Yes No

7%

93%

Chart 4.10 Having A Website

INTERPRETATION:

When asked about their presence on the internet through a website, an overwhelmingly positive
response was expected and received with 92.94% respondents having a website.

Ques7. Do you have a Facebook Page?

53
 Table No.4.11

Yes 78
No 7

Yes No

8%

92%

Chart 4.11 Having A Facebook Page

INTERPRETATION:

Although majority of the respondents said to be having accompany website a slightly lesser
percentage of respondents agreed to be having a presence on Facebook with 91.76% responses.

Ques8. Who handles the Facebook Page and the Website for your company?

Table No. 4.12

54
 Company 30
Self 45
Outsource 10

Sales

Outsource; 12%
Self; 53%
Company; 35%

Chart 4.12 Facebook Page and Website Handling

INTERPRETATION:

With the presence on both the mediums defined, when asked about the administration of them,
the respondents divided fairly equally amongst 48.24% handling these platforms themselves
and 43.53% outsourcing the services to professional social media companies like Rocklime.

55
Ques9. Are you aware of Social Media Marketing?

Table no. 4.13

Yes 69
No 16

Yes No

19%

81%

Chart 4.13 Awareness for Social Media Marketing

INTERPRETATION:
When asked about the awareness of social media marketing, more than expected share of
respondents (81.18%) were found to be aware of it with only 18.82% respondents not properly
aware of the medium.

56
Ques10. What motivates you the most to be on a social media platform?

Table No. 4.14

Brand Awareness 1
Gives boost in selling the services 17
Suits according to the working of 29
organization
Helps In Generating new clients 20

Good and effective source for Advertisement 14

Others 4

1%
5%
16% 20%

24%
34%

Chart 4.14 Reasons For Joining social media platform

INTERPRETATION:

As per the research, the motivation for joining a social media platform which was most
common with the respondents was found to be Suits according to the working of organization
(34.12%), with a fairly equal division amongst the people giving boost in selling new services
(20%) and the ones generating new clients (23.53%), with the rest brand awareness and other
reasons following with 1.18% and 4.71% respectively.

57
Ques11. Please select all social media networks for which you have created a personal
profile.
Table No. 4.15

Facebook 68
Twitter 35
LinkedIn 12
YouTube 15
Google+ 54
Pinterest 33
Tumblr 11
Foursquare 4

Graph 4.15 Selection Of Social Sites For Personal Profile

4.71%
12.94%
38.82%
63.53%
17.65%
14.12%
41.18%
80.00%

0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00%

INTERPRETATION:
When asked about their presence on various social sites, Facebook and Google Plus were found
to be competitively ahead of all other platforms with 80% respondents present on Facebook and
a relatively less chunk of respondents (63.53%) on Google+. Twitter and Pinetrest follow with
41.18% and 38.82% respondents present there respectively. The rest fall under the less than
20% category.

Ques12. How do you feel about the advertising on the social networks?

Table No. 4.16

58
 Very Annoying 3
Somewhat Annoying 8
Indifferent 19
Somewhat Useful 30
Very Useful 25

Very Annoying Somewhat Annoying Indifferent

Somewhat Useful Very Useful

4% 9%
29%
22%

35%

Chart 4.16 Feelings Regarding Advertising on Social Sites

INTERPRETATION:
When asked about their thoughts about social media marketing, most of the respondents
(35.29%) were slightly in favor of it with them considering it somewhat useful, whereas almost
equal number (29.41%) of respondents found it to be very useful and 22.35% respondents
feeling indifferent towards it and eventually some respondents (3.53%) even considered it very
annoying.

Ques13.Do you think that it is convenient to purchase online based on social media
advertising rather than the conventional shopping method?

59
 Table No. 4.17

Yes 29
No 43
Maybe 13

Yes No Maybe

15%
34%

51%

Chart 4.17 Comparison between Online and Offline Shopping methods

INTERPRETATION:
As per the research, it was found that still a majority of the respondents (50.59%) still find store
based shopping as more convenient with only 34.12% respondents considering the online
shopping on the basis on social media marketing to be convenient and 15.29% respondents
unbiased between both the options.

60
Ques14. In comparison to offline advertisement, social media advertising is?

Table No. 4.18

Much Less Effective 2

Less Effective 7
As effective 22
More Effective 26
Much more effective 28

Chart Title
Much Less Effective Less Effective
As effective More Effective
Much more effective

2%
33% 8%
31% 26%

Chart 4.18 Comparison of Social Media Advertising with Others

INTERPRETATION:
Coming to the comparison of the social and digital marketing it was found that maximum number of
people (32.94%) found it to be much more effective than digital marketing, there were some (25.88%)
respondents who saw both the platforms having equal might. There were around 11% respondents
who didnt find social media marketing to be better than digital marketing.

Ques15. Would you recommend using social media to another organization, as a tool for
marketing a product/service?

61
 Table No.4.19

Yes 71
No 14

Sales

16%
Yes
No

84%

Chart 4.19- - Recommend social media marketing to other organization

INTERPRETATION:

After completing the survey a question has been put up to the respondents that whether they would
recommend other organization for social media marketing as a tool for marketing of product and
service and the respondents replied positively with (83.52%) saying yes whereas (16.47%) denied and
still focuses on other modes of marketing rather than social media marketing.

62
Ques16. Please write a few words on the benefits of social media compared to other
mediums?

63
5.1 FINDINGS

After conducting, analyzing and interpreting the study, the major findings
are enumerated below:

1. Despite Print Media being the oldest form of marketing, social media over
the time has outshined and overtaken print media as the core medium of
marketing.

2. Majority of the respondents agreed to have online presence, i.e. having a

website and a Facebook page.

3. Although people were aware of Facebook profiles, some of them had to be

told the difference between a profile and a page, showing that marketers
still lack the knowledge of the minute details of the social media platform.

4. Most of the marketers admitted to have been handling the companies social
media themselves where as an equally good proportion of marketers agreed
to have gone for paid services through outsourcing.

5. A fairly good number of marketers were aware of Social Media Marketing

and about the marketing done though the platform of social networks.

6. Majority of the respondents said to have joined Facebook pages and groups
for liking their favorite product, and other than that the rest follow pages
and groups for their interesting context and to win prizes.

7. Facebook was found to be the powerhouse amongst all the other social
media networks, with a staggering 80% people present on it, with Google+
being the only one coming near it.

8. Majorly marketers found social media advertising as useful, and something

which will add up to the extension of marketing in the future.

9. Marketers between the age group of 30-40 were much more aware of the
various techniques and their application on social networks.

10. Social Media is considered as the more convenient option for

64
 Transactions as compared to the conventional method.

11. The marketers of companies that fall under the Secondary Industry were
more active about social media marketing as compared to the ones from
Primary Industry.

12. When compared to online advertisement, many marketers said that social
media marketing is much more effective that online advertisements.

13. Although sending and receiving of information is equally valued by most

marketers, but sending/sharing information was a tad bit more prominent
amongst the respondents.

14. Most of the marketers rated their technical teams as mediocre, with some
even rating their technical teams as poor.

15. Most marketers intend to spend somewhere around 5,000-10,000 for social
media marketing which shows the cost effectiveness of social media
platform as compared to print or electronic media.

16. Majority of the marketers think that their company does require social
media presence.

17. Although marketers have invested intensely in social media marketing, the
returns have not been fairly positive, with many marketers suffering with
low to no leads generated from it.

18. Poor visibility of adverts and back links troubles still continue to haunt the
marketers during their process of social media marketing.

19. Features restriction to premium users, a common problem with online

marketing, still persists and continues to perish the efforts of marketers.

20. Most marketers feel that social media marketing is major time saver, with
its wide reach and instant availability it is very time efficient.

5.2 SUGGESTIONS

According to me as I observed and spoke to marketers, I think that Social

Media Marketing still has that novelty factor to it in India Markets and

65
 marketers are exploiting it properly. Though, some areas where I found that
there is need of some additions, which are:

1. Marketers are still apprehensive towards exploring the video marketing

territory, which is in result, leading to them having limited options.

2. Companies should try to outsource professional services more from

companies like Rocklime, instead of handling the marketing themselves,
they have professionals who are well versed and specialised in the tools to
do so.

3. There may not an exact best time to post, but data analytics firm Google
Analytics found the optimum times to post on various platforms as
follows: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. IST for Google +, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. for Twitter, 1
p.m. to 4 p.m. for Facebook, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. for Tumblr, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
for Instagram, and 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. for Pinterest.

4. Since email can be a major asset in a marketing campaign, try to gain more
email subscribers. A sign-up form on website or on Facebook through one
of many apps, offer incentives for customers to join an email subscription
list or run a contest.

5. Each platform should be tested to see how your audience responds. Ive
found that women tend to be on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook, and
men turn to Twitter and Google+ more.

6. A pay-per-click strategy should be implemented to get immediate results.

Google Ad words should be used to advertise near specific searches of

7. Marketers should collaborate with non-competitive businesses in Social

Medias to increase their network coverage. Use growth hack - cross
promotion service.

8. Marketers should capitalise on topic specific interest to trump the

demographics as per the service they are offering.

9. Marketers should develop a continuous communications strategy that will

help to engage the audience through the many channels available.

66
6.1 CONCLUSION:

Nowadays social media is a platform which has spread its wings to multiple dimensions
where it has substantially brought in efficiency to improve the marketing process.

Social media marketing programs usually center on efforts to create content that attracts
attention and encourages readers to share it with their social networks. A corporate
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. Hence,
this form of marketing is driven by word-of-mouth, meaning it results in earned media
rather than paid media.

Social media has become a platform that is easily accessible to anyone with internet
access. Increased communication for organizations fosters brand awareness and often,
improved customer service. Additionally, social media serves as a relatively
inexpensive platform for organizations to implement marketing campaigns.

67
Companies like ROCKLIME have helped develop and evolve the social media platform
by developing dedicated tools for this, and they cater the platform to that extent that it
can be a potential medium of relatively easy and monetarily relaxed marketing for
small and medium enterprises.

Shama Kabani (2012), The Zen Of Social Media Marketing

Marc Ostrofsky (2013), Word of Mouse
Ayaz Nanji (2014), Social Benchmarks by Industry
Andrew Cravenho (2013), How to build an Influencing marketing strategy
Borges B (2009). Marketing 2.0. Wheat mark, pp. 45-63.
Brinlee D (2007). Does Internet Advertising Work?
http://www.askdeb.com/internet/advertising
Chaffey D (2003). Internet Marketing, Strategy, Implementation and Practise. 2nd
edition, Pearson Education Limited, pp. 115-186.
Donath J, Boyd D (2004). Public displays of connection. BT Technol. J., pp. 71-82
Eric E (2008). 2008 Growth Puts Face book In Better Position to Make Money.
http://venturebeat.com/2008/12/18/2008-growth-puts-facebook-in-better-position-to-
make-money.
Lacy K, Hernandez M (2009). Twitter Marketing for Dummies. pp. 14-20
Nicole K (2007). Building a Brand through Social Networks, http:/ /mashable.com/
2007/05/ 08/ brand-social-networks/
Ricadela A (2007). Fogeys Flock to Facebook, Business Week.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2007/ tc2007085_051788.htm
Scott DM (2009). The New Rules of Marketing and PR. John Wiley & Sons Inc., pp.
135-150

68
 Shih C (2009). The Facebook Era. Tapping online social networks to build better
products, reach new audiences and selling more stuff. Prentice Hall Publication, pp.
85-128
Stroud D. (2007). Opinion piece: Falling in Love 2.0: Relationship marketing for the
Face book generation. Social networking: An age-
neutral commodity Social networking becomes a mature web application, pp. 105-
165.
Thompson SH (2002). Attitudes toward online shopping and the internet. National
university of Singapore, 21(4).
Weber L (2009). Marketing to the Social Web. Second Edition. John Wiley and Sons,
pp. 58-97.

Internet Sites
1. http://www.marketingprofs.com/marketing/library/articles/100/s
ocial-media

2. http://www.forbes.com/sites/sage/2014/03/31/three-easy-tips-for-
effective-social-media-marketing/

3. http://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-social-media-
marketing

4. www.rocklime.com

5. www.scribd.com

69
 Social Media Marketing (ROCKLIME) Annexure I

Dear Sir,
I am doing my summer training at ROCKLIME a unit of S.P Syndicate as a part of my
MBA course. Under this, I have been given Analysing the effectiveness of social
media marketing in small and medium enterprises as my project topic. Therefore, I am
doing the survey on it. You are requested to kindly fill this questionnaire so that it can
help me in completing my project. This information would be kept confidential.

Demographics
Age of the company:
0-5
5-10
10-15
15-20
Above 20

Age of Managing Director of the company

25-30
30-35
35-40
Above40

Gender:

70
 Male
Female

Occupation: _________________________

Questions
1. What type of industry your organization operate in?
a) Primary Industry
b) Secondary Industry

2. Do you take advertisement as a promotional tool ?

a) Yes
b) No

3. What are your Means of Promotion?

a) Print Media
b) Social Media
c) Both

4. Do you have a Special Marketing Team?

a) Yes
b) No

3. For how long is your company on social media ?

a) 0-3 months
b) 3-6 months
c) 6-9 months
d) 9-12 months
e) 12 months & above

71
5. Do you have a website?
a) Yes
b) No

6. Do you have a Facebook Page?

a) Yes
b) No

7. Who handles Facebook Page and Website for your company?

a) Company
b) Own

8. Are you aware of Social Media Marketing?

a) Yes
b) No

9. What motivates you the most to be on a Social Media Platform?

a) Brand Awareness
b) Gives boost in selling the services
c) Suits according to the working of organization
d) Helps In Generating new clients
f) Good and effective source for Advertisement
g) Others please specify_______________________________________

10. Please select all social media networks for which you have created a personal
profile.
a) Facebook
b) Twitter
c) LinkedIn

72
d) Flickr
e) Google+
f) Foursquare
g) Other____________________________________________________

11. How do you feel about the advertising on the social networks?
a) Very annoying
b) Somewhat annoying
c) Indifferent
d) Somewhat useful
e) Very useful

12. Do you think that it is convenient to purchase online based on social media
advertising rather than the conventional shopping method?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Maybe

14. In comparison to other online advertisement, social media advertising is:

a) Much less effective
b) Less effective
c) As effective
d) More effective
e) Much more effective

15. Would you recommend using social media to another organisation, as a tool for
marketing a product/service?
a) Yes
b) No

73
16. Please write a few words on the benefits of social media compared to other
mediums?

74