2.

3 Adaptability Rate of Facebook Marketing by FMCG Sector of Ireland

Usage of social media by Irish businesses has massively gone high from the year 2016, outstripping

the average of European Union as 67% of enterprises of Ireland have embraced Facebook along

with other social networking sites (O'Brien, 2016). Over a third of Irish enterprises have invested

for advertising online in the recent phase, particularly to identify the needs of the new market.

Facebook marketing has mostly been preferable by the Irish firms due to the presence of broader

landscape in terms of connecting with the customers. As implicated by Slattery (2020), advertising

investment in Ireland on Facebook has increased by 7% due to the growth of video advertising on

this platform.

As per the views of Theodoridis and Gkikas (2019), the rate is expected to reach a margin of 17%

by the end of 2020. Dominance of online marketing in Ireland on a gradual prospect has been

significant towards securing advertising revenue of 425 million Euros in the year 2019. The FMCG

sector of Ireland is one the cusp of modification with the incremented penetration of microphones

conglomerated with data democratisation (Dave, 2016). Subsequently comprehensive toolkit of

Facebook is chosen by the modern brands related to FMCG in order to drive the business prospect.

Much to the relevance of the above-mentioned fact, Dave (2016), reflected the transformation of

marketing dynamics of the FMCG sector through the advent of social media. Corporate overlords

have acknowledged the advantages of Facebook marketing within their arsenal of collective

marketing strategies. Exponential growth in the market volume coupled with ease of access has

prompted Irish FMCG firms to shift into the prospect of Facebook marketing (Dave, 2016; Tapp,

2003).

Facebook marketing has gradually evolved in Irish market due to the rise of Facebook users by

months which reflected the margin of 3.3 million as per the statistics till June 2020 (Johnson, 2020).

One of the significant reasons for preference to Facebook medium by the FMCG brands in terms of

marketing the products is based on connecting with a large number of customers.

 Figure 2: Numerals of Facebook Users of Ireland on a Monthly Note

(Source: Johnson, 2020)

Contrarily, generation of over three quarters of revenue by Facebook through medium and small

sized advertisers has been adversely impacted by the boycott raised against this platform by the

household brands of Ireland (The Irish Times, 2020). Based on this situation, approximately 41% of

marketers have been apprehensive to continue advertisement on Facebook due to the presence of

divisive content (The Irish Times, 2020). In retrospective to this fact, applicability of statement

premised by Xie and Lee (2015), on the basis of strategic allocation of the dollars of advertisement

to the online social channels in terms featuring a mixture of owned and earned social media, could

be observed. Therefore the prospect of Facebook marketing in the FMCG sector of Ireland is

inclined to a topsy-turvy situation despite the glimpse of substantial ascend. For instance, Facebook

Ireland has been pragmatic to earn revenue of 25.5 billion Euros mostly from the field of business

advertisements (Paul, 2020; Opresnik, 2018). Consequently, direct contribution to the economy of

Ireland has been 961 million Euros; nevertheless the adaptability of this tool by the Irish FMCG

unit has been unrushed.

Weinbren (2020), has provided a glimpse on other instances of Facebook marketing in Ireland
relative to the pandemic of COVID 19, which compelled the FMCG brands of Ireland to evolve in

its marketing strategies. On the flip side, Morris (2009) stated that the wake of lockdown has also

pushed the consumers of FMCG brand to shift to Facebook and other digital sites in terms of

making suitable buying decisions in relevance to the retention of convenience. Thus, the inference

on the stability of Facebook marketing of Irish FMCG brands could be drawn from the above

details.

2.4 Impact of Facebook Marketing on FMCG Sector

As opined by Klassen et al. (2018), popular brands all over the world have been successful in

accomplishing higher levels of user engagement through deploying tailoring content on social

media sites. The FMCG sector, specifically the food industry, has been prolific in terms of

incorporating marketing innovations through social media platforms. As avowed by Harris et al.

(2020) attitudes and intentions of the consumers are influenced by a large prospect through the

exposure of advertisements of FMCG brands on social networking sites.

Figure 3: Social Media Network Use - Republic of Ireland 2019

(Source: McGarrity, 2019 after Mintel, 2019)

Dedicated online platforms like Facebook to cater towards free-self-expression which resulted into

the concept of high-level influential marketing. Products of FMCG sectors are rapidly changing in

terms of the preferences of different households and avoidance of the situation of brand rejections,
companies have been into a continuous endeavour to develop significant bonds with the customers,

thereby adherence to Facebook marketing is rapidly noticeable (Haikel-Elsabeh et al., 2018). In

association with the overview of Potdar et al. (2018), companies are enabled in terms of

understanding the type of customers through the interaction of the Facebook pages therefore entails

timely actions are undertaken to retain the positive perceptions of the customers. Subsequently best

engagement with the customers acts as the pathway for the enhancement of brand loyalty and brand

recognition. For instance Nestle owned Nescafe, a renowned FMCG brand is strengthening its ties

with Facebook (Fornell and Larcker (1981). Trouble encountered by Facebook has not deterred the

Nestle in terms of making investment on this platform. As described by Faull (2016), Facebook

enabled the above-mentioned FMCG brand to ascertain the access of three million people to its

advertising content and near about 20% users either commented or liked it. Confidence of the

advertiser is mainly in terms of promoting the brand on social media platforms as it entails the

aspect of continuous improvisation. Facebook is pouring all its facilities and resources in regards to

furnishing this site for countless people all over the world. Affirmed by Rekha, Mishra and Chauhan

(2017), adaptability of Facebook as an advertising platform has made it crucial for the companies to

establish an immersing advertising experience for the customers in order to generate higher

revenues. FMCG sector is no exception and could be implicated by the ad recall and brand

awareness value of “Super Savings pack” of Nestle. Ad recall and brand awareness score of the

afore-stated component has elevated by a margin of 26-point and 13-point respectively, thereby the

popularity of Facebook marketing in FMCG could be assumed (Florès, 2014).

Besides Liczmańska-Kopcewicz, Mizera and Pypłacz (2019), stated that attention towards

sustainable form of advertisement has been integrated into a varied range of requirements for the

companies in ascertaining growth for long-term future. It is referred to as an attempt made by the

FMCG companies to fundamentally correlate divergent aspirations and requirements. Facebook in

this context serves as the balancing tool for these companies in terms of anticipating the pathway of

reaching out to the future needs or trends. On the contrary Ananda, Hernández-García and Lamberti
(2016), reflected that components related value added propositions are the main agenda behind

social media marketing. Main strategy behind the reliance on Facebook marketing is to establish

direct “direct to customer strategy”, to interact with target customers through the inclusion of cost

effective strategies. As per details surfaced by Khusainova (2020), expenditure on digital marketing

has increased by 42% in the last two years and “direct to customer strategy” has constantly evolved

through the arrival of the recent pandemic of COVID 19. Needless to say, frequency, speed of

communication and reach on Facebook offers an idealised advantage for the drivers of FMCG

marketing. Hence as signified by Fink et al. (2020), social media provisions a myriad of

possibilities for the development of marketing strategies which is moderated by the differentiation

of the brands.

2.5 Distinguished Strategies of Facebook Marketing Utilised by the Businesses

Activities related to social media marketing are inclined to the endeavour of enhancing the prospect

of brand loyalty, brand awareness and brand recognition. Content based marketing with graphical

representation is one of the most popular approaches in orientation to the aspect of Facebook

marketing. As proposed by Bi̇ lgi̇ n (2018), reflection of the brand in relation to its commitment level

on the services and goods are introduced through the framework of Facebook advertisement. Impact

of social on the behaviour of the consumers is inclusive of a wide spectrum of actions ranging from

sharing of ideas, informing and attitudes to garner understanding and awareness and visualisation of

post buying behaviour without purchase. Interest and engagement in the brands through Facebook is

also established by insisting customers on their purchases by a single click. In this particular sense,

Bi̇ lgi̇ n (2018), emphasised that social networking is pushing boundaries of space and time in the

communication of businesses. Hughes, Swaminathan and Brooks (2019), focused on the sponsored

post of Facebook marketing which is effective in the increment of trial and raising awareness based

on the advertising content. Nearabout 75% of advertisers are utilising influencers to disperse word

of mouth regarding their brands and products on social media. Diversely, Hughes, Swaminathan and

Brooks (2019), presented, for an influencer related to Facebook, the mean engagement rate per for
each post is 37% which is higher than the margin of Twitter. Evidently engagement related to

Facebook platform is dependent on hedonic valuation of the posts and trial versus awareness

campaign.

Figure 4: Use of Facebook by Demographic: Republic of Ireland, 2019

(Source: McGarrity, after Mintel, 2019)

Determination of the accurate and applicable time-frame towards posting an advertisement related

to a product also caters towards an underlying strategy of Facebook marketing. Accordingly in the

changed scenario of this form of marketing strategy, opportunities for corrections and

experimentations are surfaced for the businesses however are abound to certain challenges. As per

the statement of Kaul et al. (2015), the radical growth and development related to social media

usage caters a decisive influence on the business ambience both at micro and macro levels therefore

joining and collaborating with the customers has become imperative in today’s world.

Therefore with the advent of free-flowing communication, risk of business reputation is increased

manifold which demands continuous change and modification of promotional strategy in

association with Facebook platform. Moreover continuous scheduling of status updates is relatable

to theup gradation of Facebook advertisement programs which is massively incorporated by various

renowned brands. Depiction in coherence to Facebook marketing strategy, by Kaul et al. (2015), is

linked towards a value driven response system of marketing which would satisfy the requirements

of the customers. Representation of social media advertisement has surfaced on a differentiated

level by Loh et al. (2018), highlighting the possibility of multilevel interventions through the

presence of high reach and relatively minimum cost. Consumers are more open to Facebook

compared to other social networking sites in terms of receiving updates regarding a particular

service through the published texts and feedback, which effectively provided a visionary of another

strategy that is recognised by the businesses.

As affirmed by Chang et al. (2019) social media is ubiquitously used mainly by young adults and

Facebook serves as the common platform which allows organisations and brands to create profiles

to increase their reach. Feeds of social media could include both advertisements and posts from the

brands. Enormous trustworthiness in word of mouth promotion has increased the popularity of

social media marketing, precisely Facebook advertising. In accordance with the survey report based

on “Global trust in advertising and brand messages”, 92% of survey respondents have clarified

the fact that they mostly trust the recommendations of word of mouth in comparison to other forms

of marketing (Klassen et al., 2018). ‘Real life social media post’ establishes an explanatory model

for the enhancement of brand awareness. As implied by Klassen et al. (2018), content of social

media is required to be tailored in terms of suiting the target audience as well as the channel being

utilised and the desired involvement. Thus programmability of Facebook continuously changes on

the level of its interfaces, platform architectures, and governance frameworks in terms of

responding to a wide scale environment. According to Babin, Darden and Griffin (1994)

infrastructural growth and platform improvement are the two on-going processes relative to the

interplay of Facebook marketing. Complementary aspects of the endeavour utilised in this platform

in terms of marketing is related to the strategy of balancing the adaptability and expansion in
accordance with the changing user requirements and other dynamics. Ultimately the emphasis of

Helmond, Nieborg and van der Vlist (2019), is guarded by the present dominant position of

Facebook revealing the prospect of incremental evolution more than revolution. For instance,

partnering programs of Facebook provides a guideline for the marketers in terms of furnishing the

concept of innovative marketing.

2.6 Implications of Social Media Marketing on Brand Awareness and Vice-Versa

Social media marketing efforts have been reported frequently to have a positive impact on the two

aspects of brand equity and customer behaviour but have not been adequately studied. As per the

studies of Godey et al. (2016), the impact of social media marketing efforts by luxury brands such

as Dior, Gucci, Burberry, Hermès and Louis Vuitton to improve their respective brand awareness

amongst customers was observed to be significantly positive. Further, Godey et al. (2016) inferred

that to incur a positive brand equity impact in terms of brand image and brand awareness by social

media marketing the four factors of word of mouth, customisation, entertainment, trendiness and

interactions are pivotal. Social media marketing has direct influence on the customer perceptions on

brand preference, customer loyalty and price premium (Godey et al., 2016).

The utilisation of social media marketing for the creation of brand awareness is a bidirectional

implicative process and the shifting of a brand to social media marketing from conventional forms

of marketing has implications on both the social media platform and the organisational operations.

Alves, Fernandes and Raposo (2016) have stated that a user (individual or organisation) needs to

pay attention to the implementation, installation, optimization and result measurement in addition to

the basic use of social media. The impact of social media marketing on brand awareness was

contradicted by the study of Zhu and Chen (2015) which stated that as per the Gallup survey the

high financially invested advertisements had no influence on the target audience. The reason for this

void in influence was the absence of congruence and alignment with the customer needs of the

target audience. The absence of these two critical factors lead to high economic loss of the

companies such as the U.S. based companies which made an investment of $5.1 billion on social
media marketing.

The overall implication of social media marketing on brand awareness was reported to be an area of

inadequately researched field as per the study of Jayasuriya and Azam (2017). Although the degree

of trust of companies and organisations of every type is increasing, the actual implication (positive

or negative) cannot be drawn from the existing literature (Jayasuriya and Azam, 2017). However,

the factors that influence brand awareness as per the literature review of the study by Jayasuriya and

Azam (2017) was in alignment with Godey et al. (2016).

2.7 Impact of Facebook Marketing for Increasing Brand Awareness in FMCG sector

Facebook is one of the world’s most popular social media platforms and subsequently the most

preferred platforms for social media marketing by top brands and even small companies.

Triantafillidou and Siomkos (2018) in their study have identified two factors of brand engagement

for any Facebook marketed brand or product which are contributing and consuming. ‘Consuming’ is

a passive factor which is influenced positively by theflow of information and negatively impacted

by the feature of escapism (Triantafillidou and Siomkos, 2018; Appel et al., 2019). Further, the

study states that the active factor of ‘contributing’ is positively influenced by the sub-factors like

entertainment, socialising and also communitas and flow.

In a study by PletikosaCvijikj and Michahelles (2013), it has been inferred that various influencing

factors of a Facebook post which are mostly posting day and time, content type and media type

have significant and differential impacts on the credibility and effectiveness of Facebook marketing

advertisements. It was also inferred that social media marketing that is witnessing the paradigm

shift of marketing by the various business sectors is resulting in the development of a successful

social media approach though the trial-and-error process (Beig and Khan, 2018). In this context,

Ramsaran-Fowdar (2013) has stated that the value addition or increase in credibility of a brand in

terms of brand awareness by the utilisation of the Facebook marketing is a research field with

inadequate literature to speak in either favour or against the implications of the platform.

In a study evaluating the aspect of division and categorisation of Facebook marketing

advertisements, Cvijikj and Michahelles (2011) has opined that this is the first step towards

effective Facebook marketing. Based on the evaluating criteria of category of product or company,

shared sentiments of the domain and the topics, the key thematic concepts of sales, branding and

product are the most definitive ones. Additionally, the factors of recommendations and request are

the two least discussed areas for marketing (Cvijikj and Michahelles, 2011).