1

CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Background of the Study

Social media has become a platform that is easily accessible to anyone with

internet access. It is growing at an explosive rate with millions of people all over the

world. Social Media, today, is among the ‘best opportunities available’ to a brand for

connecting with prospective consumers. Social media is the medium to socialize. It has a

strong impact on the purchasing process of a consumer.

A study conducted by Manashi Medhi defines social media as a medium of

promotion contributes, through its immediacy, to a healthy and direct relation between

brands and their public in an online environment. In addition, internet attracts many

business people to promote their business online because social media provides a speedy

exposure about the business, but even more significant than the exposure it provides an

opportunity to the organization and enables to grow the relationships with that target

audience.1

A study of Mangold and Faulds published in year 2013 entitled Social Media: A

New Marketing Strategy states that social media encompasses a wide range of online

interaction, word of mouth forums including blogs, company sponsored discussion

1
C.f., Manashi Medhi, “A Study on the Effectiveness of Social Media as a Marketing Tool,”
https://www.academia.edu/33733182/A_Study_on_the_Effectiveness_of_Social_Media_as_a_Marketing_
Tool_Introduction_to_Social_Media?
fbclid=IwAR2rk0IJL_D4dFoU630T_rfDxnQrd3hNJAG_i3gq_XHp6x3DuWSTmPLEo2Q (accessed on
December 31, 2019)

FACTORS AFFECTING FEMALE SELLERS IN UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA AS

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boards and chat rooms, consumer to consumer emails, consumer product or service

ratings’ websites, internet discussion boards, moblogs (sites containing digital audio,

image, movies or photographs) and social networking websites to name a few. 2

Social media marketing has the power of gaining website attention through social

media sites. Social media has become really important in today s marketing mix in

general and in promoting the new product and existing on in particular. It can increase

product & brand awareness by increasing the online presence of products and brand.

Increase links to the websites of the brand through communication, recommendations,

and other postings on social networking sites often contain web links

Social media advertising focus on social networking services that utilizes social

networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter as a marketing tool. The goal is to

produce content that users will share with their social network to help a company increase

brand exposure and broaden customer reach. It is the easiest and fastest way to promote

your business across the world.3

Social media is originally made for interacting among people but as it grew,

businesses gaining interest to use it to spread and advertise their products and services.

The fact of using this platform of conversation and sharing information it can be used to

2
C.f., Iaeme Publication, “Social Media: A New Marketing Strategy,”
https://www.academia.edu/19907894/SOCIAL_MEDIA_A_NEW_MARKETING_STRATEGY (accessed
December 31, 2019)
3
C.f., Reddy, P., Kumar, K., “A Study On Effectiveness Of Social Media Advertising In India,”
https://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?
ID=24508708611307601909409409106906910311304303905500005906409601500006702203102911806
41020490960371170241131171251160960060040000570810300300360831080010260830140170870170
07075110007023102085106091077125031123104111072084081028006015028026076009014009020&E
XT=pdf (accessed December 31, 2019)

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market brands through the use of Facebook, Google, Twitter, Linkedln. However it give

positive impact to the businesses, it still has study which need to scrutinize before

choosing online marketing.4

In the last few years, Social Media has grown from being a mere digital channel

for socializing with other media, into one of the most powerful digital marketing tools for

brands and businesses. So, Digital Marketing Philippines attempts to provide you with

this definitive guide that will highlight the Pros and Cons of Social Media Marketing, so

you can make intelligent decisions that will be instrumental in setting the fate of your

overall digital marketing efforts.5

An efficient way of conducting business involves reducing costs and increasing

income. Social media offers such an avenue as advertising is done at a very low price as

only an internet connection, an electronic device, and electricity are required. Unlike

other forms of advertising where one needs to make extra costs to have their

advertisement aired on TV or radio program, everything on social media is free. 6

With the correct audience, social media save a company the highly invested in

marketing budgets that require inputs for promotions and salaries for agents among many

other expensive expenses. For a business, for example, a Facebook page, a Twitter handle

or Telegram channel is sufficient to make advertisements without going to the field to

4
C.f., businessblogshub.com, “Advantage and disadvantage of social media as market place,”
http://www.google.com/amp/s/businessblogshub.com/2018/06/top-5-addvantage-and-disadvantage-of-
social-media=marketing/amp/ (accessed December 25, 2019) Henceforth cited as ADSMMP
5
C.f., Jomer Gregorio, “The Pros and Cons of Social Media Marketing for Business Platform :
Online,” https://digitalmarketingphilippines.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-social-media-marketing-for-
business/ (accessed January 01,2019)
6
C.f., Caroline Mutuku, “Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Social Networks in Business,”
https://m.grin.com (accessed December 28, 2019)

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meet the potential market. The emergence of phones with high power cameras, on the

other hand, has made it possible to take pictures, which can be easily uploaded just by a

click (Lawrence 2012). With such technology in place, one no longer needs to have an

expensive budget for marketing but rather only resilience in getting online followers,

which will in turn translate, to high returns with low marketing expenditures.7

The researchers chose this topic8 because social media is now on its high peak of

trend in today’s generation worldwide and here in the Philippines. Also, the growing

industry of online businesses is also a motivation for the researchers of what they want to

expose and answer in this study9.

In addition, the researchers would like to know the factors and determine the

greatest factor affecting female sellers in recognizing and utilizing social media as a

marketplace. And what other concerns they consider in entering social media as a new

marketplace.

Keeping up with the e-commerce revolution. Philippines has one of the largest

numbers of internet users in Southeast Asia.10

Kumar and Singh (2013) makes the case that how social media as a marketing

communication tool helps in building brand equity and customer relationship. In their

study, they have examined the strategy entitled Live the Moment and is used in social
7
Ibid.
8
The topic that the researchers chose is Social Media as a new Marketplace.
9
The researchers want to answer their research questions stated in the Statement of the Problem.
10
C.f., INQUIRER.net BrandRoom, “Growing your business through an e-commerce strategy on
Facebook,” https://business.inquirer.net/270739/growing-your-business-through-an-e-commerce-strategy-
on-facebook/amp (accessed December 23, 2019)

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media campaign by Maruti Suzuki for its Ritz car for creating awareness and preference

for its car. They found that using social media strategy used became a most successful

campaign by the company and was capable of building a strong brand and strengthen its

customer relationship through social media network.11

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the factors affecting female sellers in utilizing social

media as a marketplace. Furthermore, the study sought the following questions:

1. What is the greatest factor that female sellers consider in utilizing social

media as a marketplace?

2. What influences female sellers in utilizing social media as a platform for

selling?

3. How effective is social media as a new discovered marketplace?

4. What are the implications of the study?

Significance of the Study

This study aims to come up with a credible and accurate conclusion for the benefit

of the community. The beneficiaries of this research study would be:

To the Customers, this study will serve as a portal for awareness in relation to

operational concerns that may also affect their online transactional experience.

11
C.f., Dr. A. Kumudha. Thilaga. S., “A Literature Review on the Impact of Social Media and its
Role in Marketing,”
https://www.academia.edu/25101597/A_Literature_Review_On_The_Impact_Of_Social_Media_And_Its_
Role_In_Marketing (accessed December 27, 2019) Henceforth cited as LRISMRM

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To the Female Sellers, they will be more aware of the things that usually happen

in the online business industry. From the marketing strategies to the risks and tendencies

that social media may offer in terms of being a marketplace opportunity for them. Also,

they will be more aware of how they can improve customer’s life time value relationships

and in order to attain success in two-way business transactions online.

To the Aspiring Entrepreneurs, they will have an inkling on what kind of

business distribution process is more patronized and beneficial to customers. Also, this

research study will somehow expose some pros and cons of both buying process making

potential entrepreneurs think ahead for solutions to fix these current problems.

To the Researchers, this study will help the researchers to widen their knowledge

about the factors affecting female sellers in utilizing social media as a marketplace. This

study is beneficial to the researchers for it contains critical data analysis through a

statistical treatment basis that can lead them to accurate information and learnings for

their future studies

To the Future Researchers, the proposed study may benefit and help the future

researchers for this study contains facts and accurate data from reliable references that

they may use as a guide for the next research studies related to the study.

Assumptions of the Study

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 Easy accessibility is the greatest factor affecting female sellers in utilizing social

media as a new marketplace.

 Social Media is an effective marketplace for female sellers.

Scope and Delimitation

The primary focus of this study is to determine and describe the top common

factors affecting the female sellers in utilizing social media as a marketplace. The study

also focuses to identify what is the greatest factor to consider social media as an effective

marketplace.

Nonetheless, the study aims to touch the top social media sites that are still

existing in the world of internet. There are a total of 76 barangays in the City of Tarlac,

This research study tries to cover the whole city though clusters only to organize the data

gathering process and has not significant factor nor serving as variable in our study. The

researchers created 5 clusters wherein every cluster have a mother barangay as a marking

place. The clusters are:

 Cluster 1 – Tibag

 Cluster 2 – San Miguel

 Cluster 3 – Maliwalo

 Cluster 4 – San Vicente

 Cluster 5 – Aguso

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This respondents that will be participating to this study are only limited to the

female sellers of Tarlac City who are engaged nor once engaged in online selling through

social media. This study will have the fifty (50) female sellers who use social media as

their selling platform in selling their goods and services to determine the deeper concept

and actual experience of social media business industry of today’s times.12

The researchers will use purposive sampling method. There will be 10

respondents each cluster. In totality, there will be 50 respondents in this research study,

which should be female sellers of Tarlac City. Data are to be collected through a critically

structured questionnaires given directly to the respondents and should be followed by a

short interview.

Definition of Terms

In this part of the study, the researchers will define some of the terminologies for

the benefit of the readers for better understanding to the context of the study.

Bogus Buyers. These are those who don’t pay for their winning bids or reserved

items over the internet. 13

Budget. It is an estimate of income and expenditure for a set period of time.14

Consumers. These are people or organizations that purchase products or services.

The term also refers to hiring goods and services. They are humans or other economic
12
The 50 female sellers will serve as their respondents that will partly contribute to their study.
13
Ibid
14
Retrieved from https://www.bing.com/search?
q=what+is+budget&form=EDGTCT&qs=PF&cvid=b78e4700ba7046b28dc8e076dfa62c33&refig=045f3a1
d84494ba0ba7fd2baeb39ee7b&cc=US&setlang=en-US&plvar=0 (accessed on January 02, 2019)

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entities that use a good or service. Furthermore, they do not sell on that item that they

bought.15

Digital Channel. It is a communications path that handles only digital signals. All

voice and video signals have to be converted from analog to digital in order to be carried

over a digital channel.16

E-commerce. It also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce, refers

to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and the transfer of

money and data to execute these transactions. Ecommerce is often used to refer to the

sale of physical products online, but it can also describe any kind of commercial

transaction that is facilitated through the internet.17

Effectiveness. It refers to state or condition of adequate to accomplish a purpose,

producing the intended or expected result.18

Marketing expenditure. It is simply a payment made for a marketing-related

investment or expense. Market research, product development, promotions, sales and

service are all areas in which companies make marketing investments. Companies often

allocate certain amounts toward marketing expenditures through a set budget amount.19
15
Retrieved from https://marketbusinessnews.com/financial-glossary/consumers-definition-
meaning/amp/?fbclid=IwAR1RIHft6or-WslQ6qT2PGDshT19tEVF-
hdSzbhHJye00OF2cxCD8oTsIYU (accessed on January 02, 2019)
16
Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/digital-channel?
fbclid=IwAR3tYLA0rMo3DzI4cxf2YcT31PNBjy3NAmzat9Ptlv783rpNcR905qPkfy8 (accessed on
January 02, 2019)
17
Retrieved from https://www.shopify.com/encyclopedia/what-is-ecommerce?
fbclid=IwAR2gRlaslskKew2Y_eG9md422fQF5fVRlQqlzp100lBcGWILXEPblSAjigE (accessed on
January 02, 2019)
18
Ibid
19
Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/marketing-expenditure-61198.html?
fbclid=IwAR1RIHft6or-WslQ6qT2PGDshT19tEVF-hdSzbhHJye00OF2cxCD8oTsIYU (accessed on

FACTORS AFFECTING FEMALE SELLERS IN UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA AS

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Marketplace. It refers to the activity of buying and selling products. 20

Moblog. It is the act of posting a blog post through a mobile device, usually a

cellphone. It can be created from pure text, images, videos, audio or a combination of

such data. This term is also known as mobile blogging, but moblog is a shortened form.21

Netizens. A user of internet, often one who is actively engaged in uncensored

online discussions of political and social issues.22

Return. It also known as a financial return, in its simplest terms, is the money

made or lost on an investment over some period of time.23

Chapter 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the review of related literature and related studies in both

foreign and local areas that serves as a source of information and guide for reliability of

this study.

January 02, 2019)

20
Ibid
21
Retrieved from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/2959/moblog (accessed on January 02,
2019)
22
Ibid
23
Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/return.asp (accessed on January 02, 2019)

FACTORS AFFECTING FEMALE SELLERS IN UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA AS

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Related Literature

A. Local

Social Media Marketing for business has distinctive pros and cons. One of the

pros that Social Media Marketing have is being good at customer service. Many

customers spend time on social media channels and if they have something to say to a

brand or a company, they would go through their social media page and they would voice

out their praises, suggestions and complaints through these channels, providing you with

a highly interactive and very personal means of providing good customer services by

listening and responding to what they have to say.

Moreover, Social Media Marketing caters to a big audience. One of the main

advantages SMM has over traditional media marketing is that traditional marketing only

caters to a fixed audience (eg. regular magazine readers; TV viewers) while SMM has the

potential of reaching out to a very big audience that is totally unlimited in scope and

reach – from around the globe. This big audience is the main reason why 92% of digital

marketers highlighted generating more exposure for their brands or business with their

use of SMM.

One of the main advantages of SMM over traditional media advertising and other

digital marketing channels is the considerably lower cost that makes it very appealing for

businesses. The most popular social media networks are practically free to join and all

tools for interacting with other people are all available for free. Social Media Marketing

is low cost.

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Since social media is a powerful branch of the advancement of technology, Social

Media Marketing is said to be a fast channel for business. If you have something to

promote or have some news or fresh information that you would like to share or inform to

your target markets, you can rely on Social Media Marketing for fast action and fast

results. You can even synchronize your website with your social network channels, so

automatic or fresh updates are immediately disseminated once you have something new

available.24

On the other side, there are also disadvantages in Social Media Marketing. One of

these is being time consuming in waiting for audience’ respond. Industry reports say that

up to 64% of digital marketers spend at least 6 hours on Social Media Marketing. A good

37% on the other hand spends more than 11 hours on SMM. This is relatively time

consuming for many business owners who want to get results from their SMM efforts.

Social Media Marketing could also generate negative users. One of the problem

with Social Media is that it attracts all sorts of people, even the negative and malicious

ones. These negative elements include spammers, scammers, trolls and all other sorts of

malicious individuals all out to do harm to your online reputation. These includes

negative comments which, while most are truly valid feedbacks, some are just intended to

spread negativities against your brand.

In addition, Social Media Marketing makes you lose control. What you publish

online, especially through social media channels, can really go viral and spread like
24
C.f., Jomer Gregorio, “The Pros and Cons of Social Media Marketing for Business Platform :
Online,” https://digitalmarketingphilippines.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-social-media-marketing-for-
business/ (accessed January 01,2019)

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wildfire in the online sphere. This can prove beneficial for you if it generates positive

results. On the other hand, you really have no control over what you publish online and

everything is available for anyone – including negative and malicious elements online.

They can use your materials to criticize you or spread erroneous information that will

damage your online reputation.25

According to a 2019 report by Hootsuite and We Are Social, Facebook is ranked

as the most popular social media site in the Philippine. That's why other local companies

or businesses also turn to use Facebook as a marketing tool to sell their product.26

Facebook has helped many Filipino entrepreneurs to thrive and expand their

businesses and to not overcome these hurdles. A survey on SMEs conduct by Morning

Consult on Facebook intelligence yield the following figure: In the Asia-Pacific region,

74% of SMEs say they have increased their sales because of Facebook, 78% believe the

platform allowed them to sell their products or services in other cities, states or countries

and 85% say Facebook helps them attract new customers.27

B. Foreign

According to Etsy, 26% of sellers on the site had no paid employment before starting

their stores and 38% were homemakers. About a third of American mothers do not work

outside the home. This number has been increasing steadily for the past fifteen years, a

25
Ibid
26
C.f., INQUIRER.net BrandRoom, “Growing your business through an e-commerce strategy on
Facebook,” https://business.inquirer.net/270739/growing-your-business-through-an-e-commerce-strategy-
on-facebook/amp (accessed January 01, 2019)
27
Ibid.

FACTORS AFFECTING FEMALE SELLERS IN UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA AS

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trend that’s attributed to a range of factors, including high unemployment rates and

increasingly unaffordable childcare. 28

According to the company’s second annual seller report, 86% of Etsy sellers are

female. As stated from a report from the Institute of Women’s Policy Research, only

about a third of U.S. small businesses are women-owned.

Based in rural Maine report, it says that it makes $40,000 to $45,000 per year on

Etsy. And while the female sellers works full-time hours, they are still able to stay home

with her kids. Women are still mainly the ones who stay home. Having an online store is

a way to do that, while still pursuing other passions and supporting families. 29

In one article of Bajpai in year 2012, it examines how viral marketing as a

concept strategies and its impact highlights on the various social media marketing

strategies for small business that can take this viral marketing form beyond the present

social media to build the community powerful enough to make an initiative buying and

marketing effective. They also compare it with the implications of traditional means of

marketing.30

Facebook has grown rapidly over the past 10 years, and it remains the dominant

social networking platform (Duggan & Smith, 2013). In span of years, Facebook became

one of the most popular, most used social media site of the netizens. Because of this,

28
C.f., Zarya, Valentina, “Meet the 86%: This is why most Etsy sellers are women,”
https://fortune.com/2015/08/02/etsy-sellers-women-2/ (accessed on December 26, 2019)
29
Ibid.
30
C.f., Dr. A. Kumudha. Thilaga. S., “A Literature Review on the Impact of Social Media and its
Role in Marketing,”
https://www.academia.edu/25101597/A_Literature_Review_On_The_Impact_Of_Social_Media_And_Its_
Role_In_Marketing (accessed on December 21, 2019)

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entrepreneurs are little by little entering social media as an effective new-discovered

marketplace. 31

In April of 2012, Facebook announced the acquisition of another social media

platform Instagram. As Maeve Duggan and Aaron Smith said in Social Media Update

2013, Facebook and Instagram show extraordinarily high levels of user engagement since

a large proportion of users on these sites check them on a daily basis. The news was just

announced in February 2014 that Facebook had agreed to buy the leading instant

messaging platform WhatsApp. 32

Facebook is getting huge – more than we could have imagined. And can now be

used as a portal for online business industry. Just like the CEO Mark Zuckerberg of

Facebook stated that Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to

accomplish a social mission — to make the world more open and connected. Facebook

plays an important role in the social media world and it has penetrated into every aspect

of our life. The figure below shows the number of monthly users on Facebook

worldwide.33

One of advantages of utilizing social media as a platform for selling is it increases

brand awareness. Nowadays, every person own a smartphone, desktop or a laptop, and

they spent their time in using social media sites, and lately they use social media as a
31
C.f., Di Yang, “Facebook as an Effective Social Media Platform to sell Products,”
https://www.google.com/url?
sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/79115/Di_Yang.pdf
%3Fsequence%3D1%26isAllowed
%3Dy&ved=2ahUKEwial7O83dTmAhVKUd4KHcejCEAQFjAAegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw0GjtqyxzdIk
gw2Z8vTcfK5 (accessed on December 20, 2019)
32
Ibid.
33
Ibid.

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marketing strategy greatly improves product recognition since social media have a broad

audience. To get know your product you had to start invite your friends and followers to

like and share your post or page.

Social Media as marketplace provides better customer satisfaction. It is the human

nature to attract attention. Establishing social media marketing allows one specific

customer to response at the time. Customers really appreciate when they know that they

are being personalized. It shows that you are concerned and caring to them. This puts an

advantage since more customers are attractive.

Furthermore, it is cost effective. Social media marketing is possibly the most cost-

effective mode of advertising any product. Making a new profile and signing in is free in

every social media. Saving advertisement expense ensure greater returns of investment.

Also, it increase inbound traffic, introducing social media marketing platform increase

inbound traffic, that people are able to find your product with effortless. Without social

media marketing, people will go searching your product using the name or website

address. This is very limited to the person who have yet to discover your brand.

Social Media as a selling platform could gain market insight for any business to

succeed specially those starting their business you must know the customers need opinion

and interest. There no better method to collect data from social media platforms. Gaining

this information gives you opportunity to improve your product and get ahead from you

competitors.34
34
C.f., businessblogshub.com, “Advantage and disadvantage of social media as market place,”
http://www.google.com/amp/s/businessblogshub.com/2018/06/top-5-addvantage-and-disadvantage-of-
social-media=marketing/amp/ (accessed December 25, 2019)

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However, there are also disadvantages in utilizing Social Media as a selling

platform. One of the disadvantages is exposure to competitors. Social media platform

may let you to study the competitor’s strategy and they can still study your business

method through your social media platform. This may put your business into risk.

It needs qualified personnel in order to focus in core business issues, you have to

employ a qualified personnel to manage and control the traffic. This include you to invest

both equipment and salary for better outcome.

Also, Social Media selling has a potential to have a slow returns on investment-

social media is a long term investment and cannot expect return in overnight. For those

who wants a quick return, implementing traditional method of promoting like using word

of mouth.

Social Media selling could tarnish brand name - in the event you find a wrong

information the public will have chance to express their dissatisfaction. This will ruin

your product name and it can turn off your potential customers make any business to your

product. It is also time consuming - people may ignore your page because they are

interested to other sites. To get them appreciate and share your post it will takes time to

know and get in fame your page35.

One article of Arthur (2019), when trying to promote a product or service,

businesses have many options on using Facebook as a platform when advertising or

Internet advertising. One of the differences between actual marketing and Internet

35
Ibid.

FACTORS AFFECTING FEMALE SELLERS IN UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA AS

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marketing is the level of specificity that advertisers are able to achieve. With actual

marketing, advertisers typically send out a message to a large audience all at once. There

is some people who are not interested in it. With online Facebook platform, it is possible

to 60% in on a specific audience. Another difference between online advertising and

actual marketing is the budget required to accomplish both. With Facebook platform as a

business, you only need a Wi-Fi to easily connect to customers and just simply advertise

your product by posting it on Facebook. When other apps you use, it can be difficult to

measure the return on investment. With Facebook platform, it is simple to endorse your

product because 98% people are using Facebook apps and even a child knows how to use

Facebook. Facebook platform does have some specific advantages over traditional

marketing; many businesses still rely on traditional marketing to get the job done. 36

Related Studies

A. Local

An efficient way of conducting business involves reducing costs and increasing

income. Social media offers such an avenue as advertising is done at a very low price as

only an internet connection, an electronic device, and electricity are required. Unlike

other forms of advertising where one needs to make extra costs to have their

advertisement aired on TV or radio program, everything on social media is free. With the

correct audience, social media save a company the highly invested in marketing budgets
36
C.f., Arthur, C (2019). “The Differences Between Social Media, Tv, Radio Advertising,”
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/main-differences-between-social-media-tv-radio-advertising. (accessed
December 22, 2019)

FACTORS AFFECTING FEMALE SELLERS IN UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA AS

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that require inputs for promotions and salaries for agents among many other expensive

expenses. 37

For a business, for example, a Facebook page, a Twitter handle or Telegram

channel is sufficient to make advertisements without going to the field to meet the

potential market. The emergence of phones with high power cameras, on the other hand,

has made it possible to take pictures, which can be easily uploaded just by a click. With

such technology in place, one no longer needs to have an expensive budget for marketing

but rather only resilience in getting online followers, which will in turn translate, to high

returns with low marketing expenditures.

Increased audience in business set up translates to increased sales. Any post made

on Facebook has a potential of reaching up to 4.1 billion users, while twitter, Instagram

and Pinterest present audiences up to 313 million, 500 million and 110 million

respectively. With social media, one can attract a huge lot of followers both at the local

and international market. Unlike the media houses which are limited in the scope of

airing advertisements due to boundary and connectivity issues, social media offers no

such boundaries.

By simply creating an online page, one can reach people from multiple countries,

which give an advantage to advertising one's brand across different boundaries. Also

using multi-channel advertising, one can air the same advertisement across different

channels attracting more clients to like a particular product. By posting relevant and

37
C.f., Caroline Mutuku, “Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Social Networks in Business,”
https://m.grin.com (accessed on December 24, 2019)

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compelling content, one can grab the attention of potential customers hence increasing

brand visibility. Continued brand exposure then attracts more clients and raises their

interest in the product, and the overall effect is increased sales as everyone wishes to have

a taste of what is trending online. Although one doesn't need to necessarily utilize every

social network platform, creating accounts in one or selected few social media tools

exposes one to millions of people around the world. Such links also increase brand

visibility as searches made by customers direct them to company websites that offer

easier alternatives for sales and deliveries.

Social media platforms offer an excellent avenue for continuous brand

improvement. Facebook and twitter handle, for example, are social media channels that

allow continuous feedback from customers. Such feedback is a very crucial source of

data as a careful analysis can be used to come up with emerging trends on the brand

product and possible deviations from the expected quality. With such information, a

company can then optimize the said product to meet the customers’ expectations which

will, in turn, attract more customers to purchase the product.

The social media channels also allow easy communication with customers hence

making it easy to respond to complains that may arise in the course of service delivery.

Also with a feedback system, a company can realize the different aspects of the

competitive market in which they operate. Customers’ comments also enable one to

understand how different competitors are doing which in turn offers an opportunity for

improvement in a bid to meet the customers’ demands 38

38
C.f., Prashant Raman, “Factors Influencing Women Consumers' Buying Behavior Towards
Online Shopping,” https://scholar.google.com/scholar?

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Social media platforms offer improved networking opportunities where people

can connect with companies and other people serving in the same business. These

networks offer ideal platforms for exchange of ideas which are crucial for the

development of a particular business. Interaction with fellow businessmen also offers an

opportunity for learning. In the manufacturing industry, for example, one can easily learn

good manufacturing practices by easily going through a post by another company meant

to reach the target audience.

In addition to this, use of social media in business provides an opportunity to have

one`s voice count in the large market they operate in. With a sufficient number of

followers, all posts made to a social media channel offer a starting point for an online

conversation. Such conversations then translate into trends that can then influence other

people’s opinion about particular aspects of the said industry

Customer engagement has never been easy as with the convenience offered by social

media. In addition to increased exposure of a brand, social media has also proven to be a

very significant tool in increasing customer brand loyalty. In a research conducted on

social habits, it was proven that about 53% of Americans who follow/like brands in social

platforms remain loyal to the particular brands. Unlike the public advertising strategy

where the customer and potential clients are always on the receiving and listening ends,

social media offers a two –way communication channel that allows the seller to build

useful relations with current and potential customers. Such relations build trust and

hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&q=behaviors+of+female+online+sellers#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3DerD88ayOjsYJ
(accessed on December 24, 2019)

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confidence with the clients which in turn encourages them to choose your brand in their

future purchases. 39

B. Foreign

Social network marketing has gained tremendously in popularity. There are

increasing numbers of web-based companies that focus their marketing strategies on

social network platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. Even if social network

marketing is perceived as a huge success, little or nothing is known about how well such

social network-based marketing campaigns perform. To contribute to this field of

research, we present in this paper the results of an ad-driven social network-based

marketing campaign centered on the social network Facebook. 40

In particular these findings, we present an analysis of a number of simple real-

time measures to detect the most valuable users on Facebook. To the best of our

knowledge, this is the first work that provides such detailed results of a social stream

marketing campaign using Facebook. 41

The introduction of personal computers, the Internet, and e-commerce have had a

tremendous impact on how businesses operate and market. The introduction of social
39
C.f., Robert M. Peterson, “Social Media's Influence on Business-to-Business Sales
Performance,” https://scholar.google.com/scholar?
hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&q=influence+of+social+media/Technology+to+business+industry+foreign+studies#d=
gs_qabs&u=%23p%3DJwZMdWK9EdIJ (accessed on December 25, 2019)
40
C.f., Christoph Trattner, “Social Stream Marketing On Facebook: A Case Study,”
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?
start=10&q=facebook+as+an+effective+social+media+platform+to+sell+products+foreign+studies&hl=en
&as_sdt=0,5#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3D7Ad_lt8hK6MJ (accessed on December 26, 2019)
41
Ibid.

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media technology is accelerating and we can expect it to have a similar impact on

businesses now and into the future. As new technologies became available, businesses

that learn to use new technologies gain great benefits. Some of the best-known examples

include technology-driven companies such as Microsoft, eBay, Amazon and Google.42

In a short span of time, social media has become one of the most loved mediums

for the Indian youths today. Social Media Marketing is the hottest new marketing concept

and every business owner wants to know how social media can generate value for their

business. Social Media Marketing is about understanding how technology is making it

easier for people to connect socially with their social networks and how your business

can profit from that understanding.43

Conceptual Framework

The researchers gathered all the profile information of the 50 respondents, who

are the female sellers in the City of Tarlac. The researchers will be using a multiple

choice and a scale questions type of questionnaire, which is composed of 15 items. The

results and findings acquired from the test will be used to answer the problems stated in

the Statement of the Problem.

42
C.f., International Journal Of Marketing , Financial Services And Management Research,
“Effectiveness Of Social Media As Marketing Tool: An Empirical Study,”
https://www.academia.edu/2948659/EFFECTIVENESS_OF_SOCIAL_MEDIA_AS_A_MARKETING_T
OOL_AN_EMPIRICAL_STUDY (accessed on December 28, 2019)

43
Ibid.

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This framework below shows the flow of the research study.

What is the
greatest factor that How do female sellers
female sellers consider in recognize social media as a
utilizing social media as platform for selling?
a marketplace?

How effective is social

What are the implications media as a new discovered
of the study? marketplace?

Paradigm of the Study

Figure 2.1

The paradigm illustrated a sequential research process of the study designed by

the researchers. And the researcher’s aim to answer the research questions namely; (1)

What is the greatest factor that female sellers consider in utilizing social media as a

marketplace? (2) How do female sellers recognize social media as a platform for selling?

(3) How effective is social media as a new discovered marketplace? (4) What are the

implications of the study?

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As part of this study, the critically structured questionnaire that is provided by the

researchers will help this study to gather data that will help the researchers to end up with

an accurate and reliable conclusion providing well-supported results.

Chapter 3
METHODS OF THE STUDY AND SOURCES OF DATA

This chapter shows the different methods and procedures used in the study.

Specifically, it discusses the method of research, subjects of the study, description of the

research instrument, data gathering procedure and the statistical treatment of the data to

be utilized for the succeeding methods.

Research Design

In order to find out the factors affecting female sellers in utilizing social media as

a marketplace in Tarlac City, a quantitative-descriptive design was used in this study.

A quantitative-descriptive design is a type of research that basically describes a

certain subject being studied and aims to establish associations between variables. Since

this is a quantitative design, it deals with numbers, logic and an objective stance. It

focuses on numeric and unchanging data and detailed reasoning.

This involves collection of quantitative information that can be tabulated along a

continuum in numerical form. In this study, the researchers used statistical representation

to clearly present the results of the study. It aims to figure out the greatest factors

affecting female sellers in utilizing social media as a marketplace in Tarlac City.

Furthermore, it aims to answer all the research questions provided by the researchers.

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Subjects of the Study

The respondents of this study are female sellers who are using social media as a

selling platform to sell their products. There will be a total of 50 participants in total, 10

participants in each clusters sorted by the researchers of this study.

Sampling Technique

The researchers will use a type of Non-Probability Sampling which is the

Purposive Sampling Technique wherein the researcher will use their best judgment to

select a sample that would be the most useful upon the purposes of the study – female

sellers utilizing social media sites as a marketplace, and are residents of Tarlac City.

Data Gathering Instrument

Questionnaires and respondents’ participation is very vital in conducting a

research study. Without it, the study will not be as complete as it should be. To get the

views and perceptions of the respondents towards the topic of the study – a print media

survey form should be utilized and properly organized upon the thesis advisor’s approval.

The researchers used print media survey questionnaires to gather data from the

respondents. The questionnaire is critically constructed by the researchers of this study

with the guidance of their thesis adviser. The researchers wrote a disclaimer for their

respondents in terms of the confidentiality of their information. The instrument is

authorized to obtain valid responses from the participants in this study.

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Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers will ask for permission to the respondents before conducting the

survey; also, providing a signed letter by the school authorities as a legal proof to bring

during the survey process that testify that there is an actual study being conducted by the

students.

Upon approval, the researchers will start to distribute the print media

questionnaires to the selected respondents who were picked using the purposive sampling

method. The respondents will be given ample time to analyze, understand and answer the

questionnaires accordingly.

After the survey walk and data gathering process, they will start to manually tally

the answers of their respondents. After the systematic organization of data, the

researchers will then undergo the data analysis and interpretation.

Statistical Treatment

To interpret and come up with a reasonable result, the researchers used statistical

treatment to evaluate the gathered data. Since the objective of this research study is to

determine the factors affecting female sellers in utilizing social media as a marketplace, a

descriptive statistics will be used to summarize, interpret and clearly expose the analysis

of the gathered data. The researchers will use the Measures of Frequency type of

Descriptive Statistics.

Chapter 4

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PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

The answers and result of the questionnaires affect the conclusion of the research

study. In relation to the Statement of the Problem that are stated in the first chapter of the

study, the answers in the survey form contributes to answer the stated proble ms.

0
Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4 Cluster 5

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Figure 1. How long have you been selling through Social Media?
Most of the respondents of the study are already 5 to 8 months since they first

started to sell online through social media sites female sellers. 42% of the respondents

said that they are currently spending 5 to 8 months already in selling since they started

using social media as a marketplace. The respondents are in the boundaries of new

discovery and usage of social media sites as a marketplace.

FACTORS AFFECTING FEMALE SELLERS IN UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA AS

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0
Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4 Cluster 5

Student Unemployed Employed

Figure 2. What is your Living Status?

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Most of the respondents of the study are students. 44% of the respondents are

students. Social media is then a helping tool for the students who are so much dedicated

with the idea of self-support. While 40% are unemployed or not working female sellers

which stands with the fact that online selling is also an example of livelihood to earn

money and support living.

10

0
Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4 Cluster 5

Yes No

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Figure 3. Do you have any other Business or Source of Income than Selling Online?

According to the tally, 70% of the respondents said that they don’t have any other

businesses than selling online. That the only source of income they have is selling

products online. While the 30% other answered YES. Stated below is the follow up

question that supports the 30%.

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4.5

3.5

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4 Cluster 5

Corporate Business Home-based

Franchising Physical Store Column1

Figure 3A. Supporting Question to “Yes”

Out of 15 who answered YES, 7 answered that they have Home-based Business

other than online selling through social media sites. According to these respondents,

selling online through social media could be accomplished while getting the other work

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done – that makes Social Media Selling a positive point for them; offers the idea of multi-

tasking.

10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4 Cluster 5

Merchandise Manufactured Second Hand

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Figure 4. What items do you sell?

According to the data being gathered, 78% answered that they sell Merchandise

or best known as Buy and Sell businesses. The 16% answered that they sell manufactured

products or self-made products online. And the last 6% answered that they sell second

hand items.

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0
Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4 Cluster

100 to 500 600 to 1000 1000 to 3000

4000 to 5000 6000 to 10000 10000 and above

Figure 5. How much do you earn in selling products?

According to the data gathered, 56% stated that they earn 600 to 1000 weekly.

30% said that they are earning 1000 to 3000 a week depending on the transaction. It can

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sustain living and could be enough as source of income (also, depending on the size of

the population that will benefit to the salary.

Items
1
10 Shoes, Bags, Apparel
Cosmetics and Fragrances
3
28 Food and Beverages
5 Jewelries and Accessosries
Mobiles and Accessosries
1 Digital Goods and Vouchers
Gadgets and Computers
8 Home Appliances
Cars and Vehicles
Beauty Pills, Supplements
Others
10

20
7

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Figure 6. What do you sell online?

According to the gathered data, 56% of the respondents are selling Shoes, Bags

and Apparel and are the most offered product by female sellers in Social Media. Next in

line are the Jewelries and Second Hand Cars/Vehicles.

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1
5
12

18

17

Co-Sellers Recommendations Self Discovery

Blogs and Articles Reference Groups Others

Figure 7. What influences you to consider Social Media to be your marketplace

As shown in the graph above in Figure 8, Self-Discovery (36%) said that they just

discovered the availability of Social Media to be utilized in selling goods and services.

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Next in line is Blogs and Articles posted online (34%).These products are easy to sell and

offer in public,

33
49

38

Facebook Messenger Instagram Twitter Youtube Pinterest Others

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Figure 8. What Social Media Sites do you used in selling your products?

Top Result
60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Facebook Messenger Instagram Twitter

1 2 3

According to the data, Facebook (98%) is the most used platform/site

being used by the female sellers and is easy to access plus a massive audience. Next is

Messenger and Instagram. Pictures are important role in exposing your product so that

these platforms were the most used.

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Figure 8A. Platform Ranking (based on Respondents’ Data)

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49

Yes No

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Figure 9. Do you consider factors before you enter Social Media to sell your
products?

According to the graph shown above, 98 percent of the respondents answered

YES 44 that they consider factors before entering Social Media as a marketplace in selling

their goods, products and services.

In the next parts of this study, stated are the top common factors affecting female

sellers in utilizing Social Media as a marketplace.

44
Capital letters is used only for a purpose of emphasize.

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Positive Factors

3 6 4

6
40

14

34

43

A B C D E F G H

Figure 10. Positive Common Factors being considered by Female Sellers in utilizing
Social Media as Marketplace.

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As shown in the graph, (B) Lost Cost (86%), (A) Easy Accessibility (80%) and

(C) Massive Audience that may view your posted products (68%) are the top three

greatest factors that female sellers consider in utilizing Social Media as a marketplace.

Negative Factors

15 21

23

10
50

18
10

A B C D E F G

Figure 11. Negative Common Factors being considered by Female Sellers in utilizing
Social Media as Marketplace.

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As shown in the graph, (B) SCAM Transactions (100%), (F) Lack of Personal

Connection to Buyers (46%) and (A) Time consuming while waiting for message of

interest (42%) are the top three negative factors that female sellers consider in utilizing

Social Media as a marketplace.

41

Yes No

Figure 12. Do you feel safe using Social Media in selling your products?

According to the graph (based from the gathered data,) 82% of the respondents

answered that they feel safe using Social Media in selling their products. When being

asked (through a short follow up interview after the survey) of how they feel safe and

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 48

comfortable using Social Media as their market, most of them answered that selling

through these platforms is a risk but should be more mindful and careful of every

situation to avoid SCAM Transactions and such events. And when asked those who

answered they don’t feel safe, the respondents said that there are many bogus buyers that

may encounter in the internet.

15

35

Yes No

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Figure 13. Do you think you could sell more in Social Media than having Physical
Stores?
According to the graph (based from the gathered data,) 70% of the respondents

stated that for them, they could sell more in Social Media than having Physical Stores.

When being asked (through a short follow up interview after the survey) of why they

think that it is preferably to sell online than Physical Stores, most of them answered that

selling through Social Media platforms requires lower cost than physical stores so that

the profit is directly gained. Moreover, through the internet, it caters big audience that

may discover or share interest to the product being posted by the seller. And when asked

those who answered they don’t feel safe, the respondents said that personal encounter to

the buyers are more important to them that they could showcase their actual product and

has stable location of business – even if it requires another cost fall.

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43

Yes No

Figure 14. Do you think it is recommended to sell online through Social Media?

According to the graph (based from the gathered data,) 86% of the respondents

stated that they recommend using Social Media platforms as your market, targeting

internet users to purchase your products. When being asked (through a short follow up

interview after the survey) of why they think that it is recommended to sell online

through Social Media, most of the respondents said that they are able to sell their

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products in desired prices they set, desired time they target and able to promote their

products conveniently for the benefit of next set of products to be offered. And when

asked the 14% who answered they don’t recommend it to female sellers, the respondents

said that they have been encountered bogus buyers and they still prefer selling in a

physical stores for more genuine and safe personal connection to the buyers.

47

Yes No

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Figure 15. Do you think Social Media is a helpful platform for you as a female
seller?
According to the graph (based from the gathered data,) 94% of the

respondents stated that they think Social Media is a helpful platform for female sellers.

When being asked (through a short follow up interview after the survey) of why they

think that Social Media is a helpful platform for female sellers, they said that for a

beginner in the Business Industry especially those that are Product Selling category,

Social Media is a great instrument for them to showcase their product to the public at a

lower cost of selling expenses required. And when asked the 6% who answered they

don’t think Social Media is a helpful platform for female sellers, they said that Social

Media is very prone to transactions that are SCAMS-involved. And also, upon personal

ecperience of having a hard time to sell their products through this platform.

Chapter 5
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the summary, conclusion and recommendation that the

researchers critically structured to provide answers from the questions provided in the

Statement of the Problem. And to prove the stand and foundation of the assumptions of

the study.

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Summary

Social Media has become a huge part of today’s generation and also have already

penetrated the field of business and operational transactions. Through the advancement of

technology, markets are now already available in virtual state – the electronic market

wherein sellers and buyers are now completing their transactions through an electronic

channel of communication.

In the field of business, what lies in between the sellers and buyers is

communication. Since social media is now a huge platform of communication, it is now

serving as discovered marketplace for the sellers to introduce, promote and sell their

products to the public.

In this research study, the researchers aimed to determine and describe the factors

affecting female sellers in utilizing Social Media as their marketplace. And to answer the

research questions provided by researchers in the first part of the study; (1) What is the

greatest factor that female sellers consider in utilizing social media as a marketplace? (2)

How do female sellers recognize social media as a platform for selling? (3) How effective

is social media as a new discovered marketplace? (4) What are the implications of the

study?

Through the help of gathered data from the review of related literature and studies

from both foreign and local areas up to the actual data gathering process from the

respondents, critical analysis and interpretation were done to end up into a conclusion and

pieces of recommendation.

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Conclusions

After doing all the process from the previous chapters of the study, the researchers

therefore conclude that there are existing factors being considered by the subject of the

study – female sellers, in utilizing Social Media as a marketplace. This study determine

the top common factors affecting female sellers’ view in utilizing Social Media as a

marketplace. And the top three are; Lost Cost (No rental fees for Physical Stores), Easy

Accessibility, and Massive Audience that may view the posted product. Among these

cited factor, the data analysis represented through a graph showed that Low Cost is the

greatest factor that affects the female sellers in utilizing Social Media as a marketplace.

On the other side, the researchers also determine the negative factors that female

sellers also consider in recognizing Social Media as a marketplace. Among the negative

factors being mentioned in the study, there are top three common factors that the

respondents answered to be the top negative factors they consider, these are: Scam

Transactions/Bogus buyers Encounters, Lack of Personal Connection, and Time

Consuming while waiting for message of interest. Among these three, Scam Transactions

got the spot of being the most considered negative factor that a female seller may

consider in recognizing Social Media as a marketplace.

From the data analysis and interpretation, most of the respondents answered that

they recognize Social Media as a selling platform through self-discovery,

recommendations from relatives and friends and from other existing co-sellers using

social media as their marketplace. To analyze, recommendation through personal

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experiences pushes individuals to try out something for the purpose of beneficial actions.

Through the trend and interest of having the thought of placing one’s self in a particular

situation helps to recognize and consider decisions.

Upon following the research process and considering the problems stated in the

study, the researchers therefore conclude that Social Media is an effective platform to be

utilized in showcasing products and provide operational business transactions. Effective

in a means of Safety and Security Responsibility that the sellers are considering – that

Social Media is said to be a safe platform upon the consideration and dependence of

social and self-responsibility. Moreover, in the means of convenience and practicality.

The world of today’s generation is the time where money circulates but not for equal

division due to unequal efforts of cash inflow to the living of each and every individual.

Since social media selling provides the female sellers convenience and practical

decisions, it results to positive and practical end points – to earn and involve themselves

to social realization of business industry.

In addition, the researchers therefore conclude that utilization of Social Media as

a marketplace is recommended for both existing sellers and new to the field of business.

It is said to be helpful to the female sellers in exposing their products to the public, sell

and earn their desired profit in a lower selling expense requirement.

This study showed data to support that Facebook is the most popular and most

used platform as a selling platform for it is accessible to the Filipinos and massive

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audience is considered. Facebook is now proven to be good not only in communication

purposes but also a channel to operational transactions.

This study also described Social Media as a selling platform to be a box of total

variation. In terms of physical stores, products fit its store depending on a product

category where it seems to be combined. For example, the total variation of apparel and

food industry is most likely could be seen in different stores to where it fits with other

variation. In social media, since it is accessible and could provide you different pages and

sites to post your products per item category, it will cause you a lesser cost requirement

or might as well no cost at all.

The researchers therefore conclude that Social Media selling sees no living status

in life. Be it a student or a working individual could utilized and manage a business in

social media that offers low cost and easy accessibility. To help sellers in earning money

to support financial stability for daily needs and other living responsibility such as

education and family needs.

Recommendations

As part of the main objective of the research. Systematic research studies like this

aims to end up into recommendations that will be beneficial to particular individuals that

it may concern.

Listed down below are the recommendations from the researchers of this study.

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To the Customers, the researchers recommend to have be mindful of reservations

to avoid being stuck in a situation of a bogus operation. Sellers that you are encountering

are also humans as you who work to gain. Be responsible of reservations considering the

possible incoming circumstances.

To the Female Sellers, the researchers recommend to be responsible of the

transactions and be sensitive enough to determine genuine from bogus buyers to avoid

return loss. Also, the researchers recommend to be careful of the post content to avoid

post contents that may destroy the image or reputation of your business and as a seller.

Everything you post is everything the virtual internet world could see. It may cause you

two things, help you or harm you. Be mindful of the risk. Moreover, be smart enough to

protect your business from potential competitors because Social Media is an open and

transparent platform that could be penetrated by other people easily. Guard your business.

To the Aspiring Entrepreneurs, the researchers recommend to be well informed

and knowledgable before entering Social Media as market. Also, plan before the market

penetration is done. Consider SWOT analysis and certain circumstances that you as an

aspiring entrepreneur might encounter. Observe sense of responsibility and discipline.

To the Future Researchers, the researchers recommend to have more

respondents to more accuracy of the results. Also to hit details and deeper background

understanding about the subject and area of the study. This research may be used as a

reference for it contains legitimate information and critical interpretation of data gathered

through the process.

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FACTORS AFFECTING FEMALE SELLERS IN UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA AS

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