Channel of social media in Bangladesh

Abstract
Social media has taken a staggering role in the business economic growth in Bangladesh.
This also turned into a major marketing and strategic decision-making tool for online
enterprises. The rapid growth of the Internet has facilitated the expansion of Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) which has contributed to increasing social media
users. To investigate the reasons behind social media marketing growth, a survey was
conducted on 1,060 respondents including different professionals. The research reveals that
social media has fueled the recent growth of online businesses in Bangladesh. In this study,
97.26 per cent of respondents think that social media has a significant impact on business
growth in Bangladesh. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Social Blogs are the
leading sources to find any information. As a result, all industry has found more flow of
clients than before. Thus, authorities, social media agencies, advertising firms, and social
media enterprises can use social media as a competitive weapon to promote products,
explore the best prices and improve facilities to expand the industry.

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 Chapter-1
1.1 Introduction

DEFINITION
According to Palfrey (2010), the internet consists of four phases. The first phase of the
internet is the period of the ‘open internet’; this phase was the internet’s initial formation
through about the year 2000. This term was intended to convey predictive, descriptive and
normative meanings. The second phase is the ‘access denied’ period, the phase of
development of the internet from 2000 until 2005. At this phase activities and expressions
on the internet needed to be blocked or managed in various ways. The third phase is the
‘access controlled’ phase which lasts from 2005 to about 2010, at this phase they have
emphasised regulatory approaches that function not only like filters or blocks but also as
variable controls. And the last phase is the phase in which we are now; it is called the
‘access contested’ phase, the period of social media. According to Skeels and Grudin
(2009), social interaction is not a really new thing; it was present in early terminal-based
computers via a computer network communication (Usenet) and other early pieces of
internet software. The modern era of social networking and the first experiments in internet
marketing began to appear as internet performance rose. From 1995 to 1997, ICQ, AOL,
Six Degrees and Classmates appeared. Over the following years, many newer sites with a
social networking component have prospered, but the dominance of older sites suggests
that timing was very important. From 2002–2004 Cyworld, Friendster, Plaxo,
Reunion.com, Hi5, LinkedIn, MySpace, Orkut, Facebook, and Live Spaces evolved.
According to Skeels and Grudin (2009), MySpace, Facebook, Classmates, LinkedIn, and
Reunion.com are the most active US sites. And other sites are more recognised in other
countries like Friendster in Asia, Hi5 in Spanish-speaking countries, Orkut in Brazil and
India, QQ in China and Cyworld in Korea. According to Shin (2011, p.11), Facebook is the
largest social networking site in the world and recently even beat out Google in becoming
the most trafficked site on the internet [Hitwise and other sources, cited from Shin (2011)].
As stated in Social Bakers (2012a), Facebook is at 700 million users now and should be
able to hit 1 billion users between June–July 2012. According to Social Bakers (2012b),
42.16% of the FYROM population are using Facebook; this means 873,580 people of
FYROM have personal accounts on Facebook. During the internet's existence
communication forms are changed between organisations, individuals and almost all of
society, as a result, the internet has become a more Social media channels 299 interactive
platform. People no more connect to the internet just to find the information they want, but
they also interact and contribute with their ideas. These platforms where people share

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information, ideas, photos, videos and other content are called social media (Drury, 2008).
The past decade has witnessed the development of complex, multifarious, and intensified
interactions between firms and their customers through social media usage. On the one
hand, firms are taking advantage of social media platforms to expand geographic reach to
buyers (Gao et al. 2018), bolster brand evaluations (Naylor et al. 2012), and build closer
connections with customers (Rapp et al. 2013). On the other hand, customers are
increasingly empowered by social media and taking control of the marketing
communication process, and they are becoming creators, collaborators, and commentators
of messages (Hamilton et al. 2016). As the role of social media has gradually evolved from
a single channel tool to that of a marketing intelligence source (in which firms can observe,
analyze, and predict customer behaviours), it has become increasingly imperative for
marketers to strategically use and leverage social media to achieve competitive advantage
and superior performance (Lamberton and Stephen 2016). Despite widespread
understanding among channels of the need to engage customers on social media platforms,
relatively few firms have properly strategized their social media appearance and
involvement (Choi and Thoeni 2016; Griffiths and Mclean 2015). Rather, for most
companies, the ongoing challenge is not to initiate social media campaigns, but to combine
social media with their marketing channels to engage customers in order to build valuable
and long-term relationships with them (Lamberton and Stephen 2016; Schultz and Peltier
2013). However, despite the vast opportunities, social media offer to companies, there is no
clear definition or comprehensive framework to guide the integration of social media with
marketing strategies, to gain a rigorous understanding of the nature and role of social media
channels (SMMSs) (Effing and Spil 2016).

1.2 Review of Literature

There is a significant research gap in determining the impact of social media channels on
the growth of every sector in Bangladesh. Some research depicts the problems and
prospects of social media channels in Bangladesh. Other focuses on the impact and
significance of social media marketing in the economy of Bangladesh. However, realizing
the importance of all sectors, the government has reformed the national economic policy.
The objectives of this policy are to increase employment, ensure economic development,
and maintain environmental purity and sustainability (Siraj et al., 2009) . The major objective of
the national economic policy is to develop the channels through the conservation of natural
resources, promote the well-being of the society, increase participation, preserve cultural

3
values, and share benefits with the local communities. The government of Bangladesh has
enacted an Act named to rescue all channels (Kabir et al., 2012).
Bangladeshi people attract fewer international channels and small revenue from
social media channels (Pennington and Thomsen, 2010). Social media is one of the
profitable sectors for Bangladesh (Elena et al., 2012). The social media channels industry in
Bangladesh is facing many constraints (Arif; Islam; & Islam, 2011).
Blanke and Chiesa(2006) mentioned that over the past several decades, social media
has become a key sector in the world economy. Yilmez (2008) said that social media is one
of the largest and fastest growing sectors of the global economy. It consists of many small
and medium-sized enterprises even the massive business companies that operate in a very
competitive and rapidly changing business environment.
Sahin&Sengun (2015) focus on the importance of social media in online marketing.
He mentioned that social media try has started to use as a new marketing approach in the
growing internet technologies. His study reveals that social media influences the tourism
sector in both positive and negative ways. Travel decisions of the young generation are
highly affected by the comments and personal experiences of other users on social media.
Masud (2015) revealed that Bangladesh has a positive trend in online business arrivals and
foreign earnings. This trend can be increased to a higher level if online businesses
undertake appropriate promotion measures by increasing the allocation for this purpose.
The country also needs to employ creative people for this purpose, and the quality of the
promotional materials also needs to be developed.
Redwan (2014) in his study highlighted the importance of the online business industry
in Bangladesh along with its benefits for socio-economic development. The contributions
of the social media industry are multifaceted, such as GDP contribution, employment
generation, foreign currency earnings, infrastructure development, investment
opportunities, poverty alleviation, government earnings, and cultural development.
Ferdoush and Faisal (2014) have shown social media channels' significance from
many angles like economic, social, cultural, and political. The contribution of social media
to GDP is less than one per cent. If it could be brought to five per cent then it would
generate half a million direct and indirect employment, which would move the economic
index in the upper direction in all areas. Ali (2010) reported that by improving the
effectiveness and efficiency of services of the online sector, providing better facilities,
following cost-cutting techniques, and developing 469 infrastructural and technology, both
local and foreign people can be encouraged to buy more for many different causes.
Parveen (2013) investigated the current growth and development of the social media
industry and examines some limitations and challenges of the industry. She suggested some
policy measures to resolve its existing barriers as claimed by the respondents. Sandip
(2014) mentioned that the development of the service industry would accelerate economic

4
growth. The study proposed some strategies in light of vision 2021 to achieve sustainable
economic growth.
Ali and Mohsin (2008) examined various aspects of online marketing strategies. They
suggested that the government should be acted as an important ingredient in the economic
development of the country for which synergy may be applied between the online
marketing plan and its implementation process. Integrated marketing communications
channels should be used to develop the online sector of the country.
Rahman (2016) mentioned that it is necessary for online companies to cope-up with
technology-based customers. Social branding strategy is becoming popular in the
hospitality and social media industry. Social branding increases the opportunities for the
industry to connect with its customers and employees in a quick and efficient way. Musa
(2013) defined social media marketing as an integrated effort to satisfy people by ensuring
the best possible services available for them. Sultana (2016) mentioned that social media
marketing is a tool to transform potential buyers into actual buyers. It is the safest way to
generate demand and expand online businesses.
HospitalityNet (2015) mentioned that social media has made a huge impact on the
tourist industry. Travellers use social media to find relevant travel information, make
informed decisions about their trip and share their experiences about places, hotels,
restaurants and transport. TripAdvisor, a popular site for visitors, has had a wide-reaching
effect on the tourism industry. It has 50 million visitors per month who are actively seeking
travel information and getting advice from this trusted source. With more than 200 million
reviews and opinions posted on TripAdvisor to date, and more than 800 million active users
on Facebook posting updates and sharing images, social media is dominating the industry.
Carnoy (2017) mentioned that social media has fundamentally changed the way that
many companies communicate with and market to their target demographics. For the
tourism and hospitality industry, the rise of the Internet and the increasing popularity of
social media have altered marketing strategies. In this article, Pixlee has discussed 5 ways
by which social media has transformed tourism marketing: social media has transformed
travel research, increased social sharing, enhanced customer service, attracted travel
agencies, and changed loyalty programs.

1.3 Objectives of the Study:

1. to find out the impact of social media channels in Bangladesh

2. to find out the social media channel's impact on the national economic system.

3. to find out what is the future of social media channels in Bangladesh.

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4. to find out how to make social media reliable for all people of Bangladesh.

5. to find out how to make it change Bangladeshi people's life.

1.4 Limitations
1. The financial data required for the study has been obtained from the secondary data or
source only viz. Profit and Loss Account and Balance sheet.

2. This study is Limited to available accounts and the books of accounts which were
produced on demand

3. Ratios are markets out on the basis of money volume only. They are not of the real value

4. This study is limited to a ratio analysis of five years

5. The limitations of ratio analysis and Break Even Analysis are also applicable to this
study.

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 Chapter-2

2.1 About the study

The term social media refers to a computer-based technology that facilitates the sharing of
ideas, thoughts, and information through virtual networks and communities. Social media is
internet-based and gives users quick electronic communication of content, such as personal
information, documents, videos, and photos. Users engage with social media via a
computer, tablet, or smartphone via web-based software or applications. While social media
is ubiquitous in America and Europe, Asian countries like Indonesia lead the list of social
media usage.1 More than 4.5 billion people use social media, as of October 2021.
There are more than 3.8 billion social media users around the world. Social media is an
ever-changing and ever-evolving field, with new apps such as TikTok and Clubhouse
coming out seemingly every year, joining the ranks of established social networks like
Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. By 2023, the number of social media users in
the United States is forecast to increase to approximately 257 million.3
According to the Pew Research Center, social media users tend to be younger. Nearly 90%
of people between the ages of 18 and 29 used at least one form of social media. Further,
these users tend to be better educated and relatively wealthy, earning over $75,000 per year.
While social media has its positive side, many point to the platform and call out negative
features, likening its overuse to an addiction. Some contest it contributes to inattentiveness,
stress, and jealousy. The National Center for Biotechnology Information links heavy social
media use to depression. Social media may also be a conduit for misleading information
and falsehoods.
The 2016 American presidential election has well-documented accounts of the impact of
the ability to spread false information through the platform.10 Such a phenomenon
leverages the power of social media, allowing anyone to reach an audience of millions with
content that lacks oversight or fact-checking.
Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world, with a clear advantage over
other social media, though it has similar audiences to others like Twitter and Instagram.
The figures for the most popular social media websites as of January 2021 are as follows:
1. Facebook (2.74 billion users)
2. YouTube (2.29 billion users)
3. WhatsApp (2 billion users)

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 4. Facebook Messenger (1.3 billion users)
5. Instagram (1.22 billion users)
6. WeChat (1.21 billion users)
7. TikTok (689 million users)
8. QQ (617 million users)
9. Douyin (600 million users)
10.Sino Weibo (511 million users)

2.2 Scope of the studyy

The scope of social media in Bangladesh is immense and increasing rapidly. It is the 10th
biggest economy and also has the 8th largest population in the world. A survey in 2019,
which includes the top businesses admitted that 15-20% of their marketing budget is
allocated for social media advertising. From that, it is understood the importance of social
media in brand advertising. There will not be any person who doesn’t know what social
media is. Isn’t it? But many individuals may not know how it is an important digital

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marketing and how social media marketing can enhance career growth. Based on the
Statista analysis it is been found that the number of users of the social network in
Bangladesh will be 58.27 million. It is a drastic rise from approximately 48 million users in
2016.

Bangladesh is encountering development in the number of mobile users; regardless it

contains just 16 per cent of the nation’s aggregate populace with access to the web. In
addition, it is assessed that Bangladesh's web clients will end up noticeably the world’s
biggest web base. As purchasers turn out to be more connected with the things around
them, from shopping to news and interaction, buyers are changing quickly and are now
being presented with data immediately.
To take action accordingly with the new type of ‘digital’ buyers, even brands have
customized their marketing, promotion, collaboration and engagement methodologies to
address the issues, needs, and desires of their clients.
According to a survey by Ambassador, a famous SaaS referral marketing platform, 71% of
those who have had a better social media experience with a brand will definitely refer it to
others. This means that Social media is inevitable today and the brand which is not active
on social media doesn’t exist for their consumers.
To be simple, social media marketing is the process of attaining attention or traffic through
social media sites. Basically, marketing is based on customer usage regardless of the era.
This means when we look back to history when there was radio was the medium,
advertising, and marketing through radio were quite popular.Later, when Television came
into place, companies started with TV ads. TV advertising has been a boom even today
also.
Now with the internet era of new marketing called internet marketing or digital marketing,
every company is trying to reach a good online presence and digital marketing gives a wide
range of scope to social media marketing as we are in the era of many social networking
sites which has millions of members across the globe. Social media marketing in India has
a fantabulous future. That’s for sure.
So before comprehending the scope of social media in Bangladesh in the future, we must
know the advantages and how can be used as a means of communication until we get a new
marketing method. Global connectivity is at its peak nowadays. Before a decade or two,
there were very few social networking sites available.The biggest advantage of social
networking sites is that they allow for interacting with people through videos, pictures, and
texts with just a click on computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc.

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2.3 Conceptual Framework

2.3 Conceptual Framework

Social media is defined as “the ability to access, analyze, and produce information,” the
fundamental objective of which is “critical autonomy in relation to all media” (Aufderheide, 1993:
1). In this definition, media literacy comprises the competencies necessary to become informed
consumers of the social media. To date, this remains a leading definition of social media, and the
competencies of analysis and production have been adopted in media channels and education
programs for a wide range of social issues (Jeong et al., 2012). Scholars have expanded on this
conception of social media. Potter (2019) has viewed that social media encompasses not only skills
but also knowledge structures and personal locus. In this perspective, skills, the tools with which to
make sense of media messages, include induction, deduction, synthesis, and abstracting, in addition
to analysis and evaluation. Knowledge structures refer to the sets of organized information within
individuals that provide a context they can use to interpret media messages. To develop and use
these skills and knowledge structures, individuals must have a personal locus, which is goals and
drives. Stronger personal loci lead to more effortful processes of information seeking and
processing (Potter, 2019). The channels of media interpretation model (Austin and Johnson, 1997)
describes the components and processes with which users may analyze and evaluate media
messages.

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It predicts that decisions to adopt a media-portrayed behaviour (e.g. drinking, smoking) are based
on logic and affect. In logical comparison, users evaluate whether media messages are a
representation of reality. Ineffective evaluation, users assess whether they like the messages. Based
on these two-pronged analyses, users consider the outcomes of adopting a behaviour, which then
leads to decisions. Countering and addressing these variables is the task of social media education
in Bangladesh. Efforts to respond to changes in social media landscapes have focused on the skills
of production, which scholars have reconceptualized to participation, reflection, action, and
presuming. Jenkins (2009) stressed fostering a participatory culture in digital media, asserting that
providing youth with social skills and cultural competencies is instrumental to full participation in
digital culture. Hobbs (2010) proposed the addition of reflection and action to the core
competencies of digital and media literacy to empower and support lifelong learning among users.
Similarly, other scholars viewed “presuming,” the ability to participate in the media environment
and to create and distribute media messages, as pivotal to new media channels (Lin et al., 2013).
Advancing this line of ideas, Mihailidis (2018) proffered a conceptualization of civic media
literacy, central to which is a concern for the common good. Moving beyond digital media, scholars
have recently begun to offer ways of conceptualizing social media literacy. The social media
literacy model (SMILE; Schreurs and Vandenbosch, 2021) is comprised of the two interfacing
domains of development and empowerment. According to SMILE, the development of social media
literacy is influenced by family, peers, and educators. Connecting the domains of development and
empowerment is social media literacy, which consists of cognitive and affective processing
abilities. In the domain of empowerment, social media literacy moderates the effects of social media
usage on well-being (Schreurs and Vandenbosch, 2021).

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 Chapter-3

3.1 Research design

The research design is intended to provide an appropriate framework for a study. A very
significant decision in the research design process is the choice to be made regarding the
research approach since it determines how relevant information for a study will be
obtained; however, the research design process involves many interrelated decisions.
This study employed a mixed type of methods. The first part of the study consisted of a
series of well-structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with key
stakeholders (government bodies, ministries, and industries) in participating organizations.
The other design used is an interview on social media to know how they feel about the
safety and health of their workplace, and field observation at the selected industrial sites
was undertaken.
Hence, this study employs a descriptive research design to agree on the effects of
occupational safety and health management system on people's health, safety, and property
damage for selected social media channels. Saunders et al. and Miller say that descriptive
research portrays an accurate profile of persons, events, or situations. This design offers to
the researchers a profile of described relevant aspects of the phenomena of interest from an
individual, organizational, and industry-oriented perspective. Therefore, this research
design enabled the researchers to gather data from a wide range of respondents on the
impact of safety and health on social media sites in Bangladesh. And this helped in
analyzing the response obtained on how it affects social media workplace safety and health.
The research's overall design and flow process are depicted.

3.2 Source of data

Only secondary data has been used in the project study. The researcher himself is an
external one and doing the study as a part of the curriculum has had to depend mainly upon
secondary data for the different aspects.

Hence the data required for the study were collected mostly from the annual report manuals
and accounts of some food corn Products, and various magazines and journals.

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3.3 Theoretical framework and Empirical framework

As the Internet continues its inexorable march toward ubiquity, many are wondering what
consequences for our society’s well-being lie in its path. The question is becoming more
important as online social networking and “social sharing” behaviours increase and as
“always on” Internet use becomes more personal, being accessed as much or more on
mobile devices than it is on the PC (Meeker 2010). In late 2010, it was widely reported that
visits to Facebook now
account for 25 per cent of page views and ten per cent of all Internet visits in Bangladesh
(Dougherty 2010), with Facebook surpassing Google in the share of visits (Dougherty
2010). Internet users in Bangladesh now spend more than one-quarter of their online time
on social media applications like blogs and social networking sites (Nielsen Blog 2010).

Google’s CEO recently announced that thirty-five hours of video are uploaded to YouTube
every minute (Schmidt 2010), more than double the amount just two years ago in
Bangladesh. New social search applications like Quora, which facilitates answers to
questions from one’s online friends in real-time, suggest that social media are likely to
change the dynamics of organic search. Zynga, the social gaming company known for
games like Mafia Wars and FarmVille, has more than 320 million users with 3 million
concurrent users during peak periods (Chiang 2010)activities.

Social networking continues to evolve with “personal networks” like Path, Gravity, Aro
and GroupMe, distributed social browsing applications like Meebo and social sharing
organized around photos with applications like Instagram, Picplz, Twitpic and Dailybooth.
As social media applications continue to proliferate and the dynamics of online social
interaction continue to evolve, communication researchers are seeking to develop a deeper
understanding of how and why people use social media so that theoretically consistent
models linking user motivations, social media goals, and perceptions of well-being can be
constructed (Hoffman 2012). The need for such models is increasingly acute as user
participation in new forms of social media introduces a potential for both positive and
negative outcomes on well-being. Social media allow people to connect – and re-connect –
sometimes over large distances, offer opportunities for self-expression that may not always
be possible offline, provide opportunities for learning and information sharing that are
unprecedented, and support users’ needs to control their online experiences. Zing’s Frontier
revile game has hosted 650,000 same-sex marriages in
the six months since the game went live (Chiang 2010), possibly more than have occurred
in the real world.

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 On the other hand, location-based check-in services, for example, provide opportunities to
intrude on users’ privacy and safety. In early 2010, the website pleaserobme.com attracted
considerable media attention by showcasing check-in updates from foursquare users who
had indicated they were currently at a location other than their home, with the implication
that their home was currently unprotected and represented an attractive burglary target
(Siegler
2010). Despite some negative concerns, people are primarily attracted to social media for
the broad range of goals that can be adopted. Hoffman and Novak (2011) argue that the
fundamental interactivity of social media allows for four higher-order goals: connect,
create, consume and control. Thus, social media enable and facilitate interactions that
connect people. These social media conversations occur through the web- or mobile-based
applications that people use to create (i.e. post, upload, blog) and consume (i.e. read, watch,
listen to) content. Finally, social media applications give individuals a greater ability to
manage their reputations and control the applications (e.g. page layout, tagging, rating) and
online “settings” such as profile and privacy options.

These “4Cs” capabilities of social media undoubtedly explain in part why so many people
spend so much of their time using social media and why social media are so popular. Not
surprisingly, this popularity has stimulated a surge of research in recent years examining
social
media usage. Research has identified literally hundreds of motivations underlying why
people use social media in a wide variety of contexts including blogs, Twitter, virtual
worlds, YouTube and many others (Novak 2008). There has also been a great deal of
descriptive research examining different social media behaviours. Yet despite the plethora
of research on social media usage, there is little unifying theory to guide analysis. This
paper represents the first step on this path toward the development of a unifying theory.

We examine two research questions in two large-scale studies and then use the results of
these studies to formulate a testable theoretical framework for evaluating social media goal
pursuit. Our first research question examines social media goal pursuit in the context of the
core social motive of the need to relate (Fiske 2004), the additional fundamental needs for
autonomy and competence (Deci and Ryan

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985), individuals’ orientation toward intrinsic and external locus of causality (Deci and
Ryan 2000) and two aspects of self-esteem in the context of social identity (Luhtanen and
Crocker 1992). Our second research question evaluates the relationship between social
media goals and perceptions of well-being (Diener, et.al 1985; Diener, et.al.2009). The 4Cs
of connecting, creating, consuming and controlling social media experiences (Hoffman and
Novak 2011) serve as our initial conceptual framework for evaluating how user motivations
may differentially drive social media goal pursuit and how those goals and several
measures of subjective well-being are associated.
The paper is organized as follows. First, we briefly summarize related work and then
present our motivational framework and key research questions. In the third and fourth
sections, we present the results from two large-scale studies. In section five, we draw on
these results to develop a theoretical framework that can support future inquiry.

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 Chapter-4

4.1 Work of analysis

To arrive at research findings and the conclusion of the present study, ratio analysis,
comparative balance sheet analysis and Trend analysis have been used.

Tools Used for Analysis of Data

The following analytical tools are used;

• Ratio Analysis

• Trend Analysis

4.2 Ratio analysis

The turnover ratios or activity ratios indicate the efficiency with which the capital channel
is rotated in the business. The overall profitability of the business depends on two factors:
(i) the rate of return of the principal channel; and (ii) the turnover, i.e., the speed at which
the capital channel in the business rotate

4.3 Trend Analysis:

The ‘trend’ signifies a tendency and as such the review and appraisal of tendency in
accounting variables are nothing but the trend analysis. Trend analysis is carried out by
calculating the trend ratio. Trend analysis is significant for forecasting and budgeting.
Trend analysis discloses the change in financial and operating data between specific periods

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4.4 Profitability Ratios:
The purpose of the study and analysis of profitability ratios is to help assess the adequacy
of profits earned by the media and also to discover whether profitability is increasing or
declining. The profitability of the firm is the net result of a large number of policies and
decisions. The profitability ratios show the combined effects of liquidity, asset management
and debt management on operating results. Profitability ratios are measured.

4.5 Data analysis and findings

The study includes questions to investigate what induces people to use. Research reveals
that the travel decision of people is influenced by the comments and reviews of friends,
family, relatives, and colleagues on social media. Social media is one of the leading sources
to find required travel information about destinations, accommodations, restaurants, and
transportation. The inspiration for travelling arises from the experience shared by people on
social media. People easily find information about tourist attractions, hotels, transport and
artefacts on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Instagram which can
assist them to select a destination before making their travel plan.
. Many tourists find their favourite destination and travel information from different social
media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Private Blogs.
Facebook and Instagram are leading to make travel International Journal of Economics,
Commerce and Management, United Kingdom Licensed under Creative Common Page 473
decision. Social media is now a competitive marketing weapon and strategic decision-
making tool for many business firms. Here, survey questions are analyzed to depict the
significance of social media on tourism industry development in Bangladesh. 1.

The Preference for Traveling among People: In response to a question about whether they
like travelling and where they travel, 97.45% of respondents mentioned that they like
travelling and 96.98% of respondents said that they travel outside Dhaka City. 2. The
Frequency of Travel: How often do the respondents travel, 20.47%, 44.34% and 27.74% of
respondents mentioned that they travel once a month, once in six months, and once a year
respectively. 7.45% of respondents said they travel each week. Thus, almost 28% of
respondents travel either weekly or monthly. 3. Number of Trips in a Year: In response to
the approximate number of trips in a year, 56.98% of respondents mentioned that the
number of trips in each year is 5 or fewer. However, 28.68%, 10% and 2.17% of
respondents mentioned that each year the number of trips around 5-10, 10-15, and 15-20
times respectively. 2.17% of respondents mentioned that this number is more than 20 times
in a year. Research shows that around 43% of respondents travel at least five times a year.

17
4. Duration of Each Trip: The most likely duration of the trip is 2-5 days and 5-10 days,
said to 62.92% and 23.58% of respondents respectively. 10.85% of respondents said that
they travel only for a day while 2.64% of respondents said their travel duration is more than
10 days. 5. Traveling Partner: Respondents were asked with whom they travel most,
majority (45.47%) of respondents mentioned that they travel with their friends followed by
36.60% travel with family. 8.96% of respondents said that they travel with
colleagues/classmates on office/university tours while 4.53% of respondents travel with
relatives. Only 4.43% of respondents said that they like to travel alone. 6.

Preferred Transport for Traveling: What kind of transport did they use for travel, in
response to this question, 59.43% of respondents said that they travel by Bus. 23.40% of
respondents mentioned they travel by Train. 9.53%, 5.09% and 2.55% of respondents
mentioned that they travel by Car, Airplane and Boat/Ship respectively. Research reveals
that buses and Trains are two major types of transport for 83.83% of travelers. 7. Amount
of Money Spend on Each Trip: In response to a question about how much money they spent
on each trip, 51.17% of respondents mentioned that they spend less than TK. 5,000 on each
trip. However, a significant number of respondents said that they spend TK. 5,000-15,000.
Moreover, 7.26% and 1.32% of respondents mentioned that they spend TK.15,000-25,000
and more than TK.25,000 respectively on each trip. 8. The Most Preferred Sites to Visit:
Most (64.91%) of the respondents like natural places to visit and followed by Historical
places mentioned by 21.70% of respondents. 8.21% of respondents like Archeological and
5.19% of respondents like Artificial/Man-made places to visit. The following chart
represents the percentage distribution of respondents with regard to their preference of sites
to visit:

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 Chapter-5

5.1 RECOMMENDATIONS
This research reveals that social media is a competitive marketing weapon and a strategic
decision-making tool for many online enterprises. The strategic importance of social media
is not only from a marketing perspective but also from the connectivity among businessmen
to get access to business information. The following recommendation can be drawn from
the study: Developing ICT industry: Online business is highly dependent on information
and communication technology. People need information about products before they select
their preferred kinds of stuff. If the ICT industry develop, it facilitates social media
exploration. Thus, social media encourage people to share their product's pictures, reviews
and comments on social media that attract other buyers to buy the product. Improving
Supporting Industry: To improve the online industry government should improve other
industries related to online business.

Another plus point might be that Research reveals that transportation, safety at the
location, hotel and resort facilities, and restaurant and dining systems are the major concern
among tourists. These sectors need to be improved to attract national and international
tourists. Use of Social Media as a Marketing Tool: Businesses involved in the tourism
industry should focus on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube,
LinkedIn and other search engines to promote tourist attractions, discover new sites, and
provide travel information Money Transport Hotel Weather Condition Stress Security
Others Major Barriers in Traveling to potential tourists. People use social media platforms
to search for travel destinations, and share pictures, comments, reviews, and experiences on
social media that allow tourism enterprises to take necessary initiatives to improve their
services. Discover and Improve the Potential Tourist Spots: Bangladesh is full of natural
beauty and there are lots of archaeological and historical sites that can attract many national
and international tourists. Government and private tourism business enterprises should
focus on developing new tourist spots and improving existing sites to attract more
travellers.

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5.2 CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the use of social media has increased significantly over the last two decades.
The development of the ICT industry has contributed to the growth of social media. Now,
all industries are using social media as a competitive marketing weapon. Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn are the leading social media where users find travel
information. People like to share their travel experience on social media which induce other
people to travel. Thus, firms engaged in the digital marketing industry can focus on social
media to attract more clients. Government can use social media to collect information about
anonymous clients and improve the industry for future competitiveness. Bangladesh has the
potential to become one of the destination countries for many national and international
business in South Asia if the government take appropriate initiatives to improve this
industry. As a result, the contribution of the digital marketing industry will increase
significantly to the economy of Bangladesh.

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