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A STUDY ON ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN B2C MARKETING WITH SPECIAL

REFERENCE TO ONLINE SHOPPING

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 21 JOURNAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF MUMBAI, ISSN: 0972-0766, Vol. XCVI, No.23, 2023

A STUDY ON ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN B2C MARKETING WITH SPECIAL

REFERENCE TO ONLINE SHOPPING

Dr.S.Vani, Assistant Professor of Commerce, Voorhees College, Vellore.

ABSTRACT
This study investigates the influence of social media in B2C marketing, with a particular emphasis on its impact
on online shopping. The study investigates the various social media platforms and their distinct marketing
capabilities, as well as how businesses use them to communicate with customers. In the context of social
media marketing, it also looks into customer behaviour and attitudes towards online shopping. Additionally,
the study examines the effectiveness of social media marketing strategies such as influencer marketing, user-
generated content, and targeted advertising in promoting online sales. The study offers analysis and advice
for companies looking to use social media for B2C marketing and boost online sales. It does this through a
survey and interviews with customers and marketing experts. The study’s overall findings demonstrate the
rising significance of social media in business-to-consumer (B2C) advertising and the need for companies to
embrace cutting-edge strategies if they want to stay competitive in the world of technology. 110 respondents
participated through a Google Form. The analysis was done using the SPSS package, and finally, the study
was concluded with suggestions.
Keywords: Online shopping, B2C Marketing, and social media

INTRODUCTION
One of the most noticeable changes to the Internet over the past several years has been the emergence of
the social media phenomenon. Tens of millions of people utilise the communities created around Facebook,
MySpace, Reunion, and other well-known and lesser-known competitors like Orkut, hi5, Bebo, or IRC Gallery
every day. YouTube provides a platform for almost anybody to broadcast their humorous films or critical
viewpoints on social issues. Traditional encyclopaedias are all but obsolete thanks to Wikipedia. In addition,
social networking apps like Twitter and Jaiku that are accessible anywhere and are mobile location-aware are
becoming more and more popular and integrated into daily life. This kind of phenomenon, of course, piques
the curiosity of both academics and entrepreneurs who want to know what is coming and how they could
prepare.
One of the key objectives is to engage with audiences to increase awareness of the business or organisation,
with the primary goal of creating a two-way communication system where the audience and clients may
speak. (For instance, customers may provide feedback on the products the firm sells.) However, because social
media allows users to communicate with one another in a peer-to-peer environment, some control has shifted
from the organisation to the user because these communications may be open and honest—or at least they can
be in certain cases.
Social media marketing is the discipline of utilising websites and social media platforms to sell a product
or service and cultivate connections with potential customers. Because more people are using social media
sites, there has been an increase in social media marketing. But these numbers are not exponential. As of
2018, Facebook has 2.2 billion dollars members, Instagram had an estimated 800 million users, and Twitter
had a staggering 330 million active users. Then, Twitter had 206 million users and Facebook had 2.89 billion
members in 2021. One research evaluated the roles that social media plays in influencing people’s online
shopping choices and claimed that culture has a significant impact on how individuals utilise social media for
making purchases online. The study demonstrates that collective cultures like China, Singapore, and Mexico
are more conducive to the success of social media campaigns.
 22 JOURNAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF MUMBAI, ISSN: 0972-0766, Vol. XCVI, No.23, 2023

Additionally, in nations like Australia, Canada, and Argentina, brand messaging emphasising self-
expression should be utilised on social media more, whereas in nations like Germany, Belgium, and Japan,
group orientation and anonymity should be employed more. To draw in the most clients, one must act locally.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Lago (2020) looked into the factors that affected College of Business Administration students’ perceptions
of social media marketing as consumers and what areas needed to be improved to prevent inducing the
respondents’ dishonest consumer purchasing behaviors.
Pratyusha Anil Awati’s (2020) research seeks to experimentally investigate how social media effects
consumer decision-making for sophisticated transactions, which are expensive and unusual, have significant
brand variances, high levels of customer interaction, and risk. Despite the fact that ongoing technology
developments point to e-commerce eventually taking over marketing, a survey of the literature finds that there
haven’t been many research in this field. Having a mean agreement rating of 11.33%, agrees.
Syaifullah A. and C.R. Honantha examine the impact of social network marketing on customer
involvement, attitudes toward it, and consumer buy intentions in their 2020 study. This study’s research design
was quantitative and causal. The sampling process used non-probability and intentional sampling strategies.
A scale for measuring the impact of Facebook’s social media features was developed by Mohammad
Furqan Khan and Anisa Jan (2019). This study covers a gap left by the previous study, which focused just
on Instagram and only assessed six of its features. Instead, it provides a comprehensive scale to evaluate
each of the seven social media functionalities. The impact of these seven competencies on various aspects of
consumer-based brand equity, purchase intentions, and brand experience can be studied using this scale.
Consumer participation serves as a mediating factor in the study by Areeba Toor and colleagues (2017),
which examines customer purchase intention in connection to the impact of social network marketing. The
information for this study’s analysis came from 300 active users of social network marketing websites in
Pakistan. Using structural equation modelling, the developed model was put to the test. The results show a
strong correlation between social network marketing and client purchase intent.
Denni Ali (2017) Examining how social media elements like entertainment, utility, formativeness, and
annoyance impact consumers’ perceptions of a brand is the aim of this study. The second part of this study
looks at how this mindset affects consumer brand loyalty, brand awareness, and purchase intent. The data used
in this study were sourced from a big Australian governmental organization.
Rajeswari and Vidhya (2015), examined the customer perception towards online shopping. A study
adopted descriptive research design with sample size of 200 from Vellore and Chennai customers. Majority
of respondents reveals that reason to do online shopping is to saves time. There is no significance difference
among educational level of respondents and opinions towards online shopping of Chennai customers whereas
opposite results reveal among Vellore customers. The study suggested apt promotional strategy has to provided
so that it replaces the mind of the customers from traditional offline store to online shopping.
In this study, Chieh-Min Chou (2014) employed a customer-centric relationship approach to investigate
the link between social media characteristics and brand equity. A professional marketing community in Taiwan
provided 177 observations for the hypothesis test. The study’s conclusions indicate that a higher social media
knowledge-sharing mechanism and platform quality significantly improve relationships with clients inside
communities on the internet.
Sinan Aral et al. (2013) claim that social media has a significant impact on how individuals communicate,
collaborate, consume, and produce. They are among the most ground-breaking effects of information
technology on commerce, both inside and outside corporate walls. The goal of this special issue was to inspire
further investigation into the connection between social media and organisational transformation.
 23 JOURNAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF MUMBAI, ISSN: 0972-0766, Vol. XCVI, No.23, 2023

Glynn Mangold and David J. Faulds (2009) claim that the emergence of Internet-based social media has
made it possible for one person to interact with hundreds or even thousands of other individuals discussing
products and the companies that offer them. As a result, consumer-to-consumer contacts have greatly boosted
their market impact. According to this article, social media is a hybrid component of the marketing mix since
it enables businesses to engage with their customers in a traditional way while also enabling consumers to
converse with one another in an unconventional way.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

As a crucial enabling technology, semantic web technologies are progressively taking over. When necessary,
mobile online access is the norm. Users have greater choice over how information about their preferences
and conduct is used when using portable profiles, which are often used. The platforms’ analytical capability is
increased via data mining. Users have concerns about and a need for privacy and visibility controls in online
and virtual environments. Additionally, businesses will use communities more. Communities should be used
as review and feedback platforms, but in R&D, trust-based networks are becoming more and more prevalent.
A vital knowledge and skill pool for businesses will be formed by communities. Communities also provide
businesses with a forum for communication with clients and a means of fostering such connections. Sensor
technology and multimodal data are employed in these displays. Data mining will be used extensively in the
analysis of communities, user networks, and community contents. Users place a premium on information’s
contextualization and localisation.

OBJECTIVES
●● To study the demographic variables of the respondents.
●● To assess the motivational variables affects the online shopping through social media.
●● To identify the level of recommendation made by the respondents.

HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY

Ho: There is no significance difference among the occupational level of respondents and motivational variables
affects the online shopping through social media.

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

The primary goal of the study is to determine how social media and internet buying are related. The researcher
discovers the relevance of a planned process that results in the finalised accurate finding. The study location,
data collection methods, and sample design are all part of the research project’s plan. the many data analysis
methods employed to finish the study that will be beneficial to current and future research.
Research design
The descriptive analysis method is applied in this investigation. The study is divided into two phases: a pilot
study that is preliminary and an in-depth inquiry. The major data collection instrument utilised to get the
information was a composed effectively questionnaire.
Study area
The researcher selected WhatsApp group as the study area.
Questionnaire design
The design of questionnaire has two parts to ascertain the role of social media in B2c Marketing with
special reference to online shopping. (Refer Questionnaire Appendix)
The part I consists of demographic profile of the respondents such as age, Gender, level of education,
Occupation, Monthly family income etc., this part contains 9 items.
 24 JOURNAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF MUMBAI, ISSN: 0972-0766, Vol. XCVI, No.23, 2023

The part II contains motivational variable affect the online shopping through social media. This part
consists 6 statements, word of mouth referral behaviour variable consists of 2 statements and finally purchase
intention variables consist of 7 statements.

SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION

The findings of the present study were compiled using data from both primary and secondary sources. The
original data were collected from the general public using a Google Form. The secondary data sources used
by the researcher included books, magazines, and papers on pertinent subjects that were printed in journals,
referred articles, seminars, a college library, and other places.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
The respondents’ data were gathered for the current study using practical sampling approaches. The researcher
gathered samples from WhatsApp users. 150 questionnaires were given out. Out of 150 surveys, 110 were
completed, and 40 were not.

TOOLS USED FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

With the aid of Excel and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 22), the acquired data have
been examined. Percentage analysis and One-way Anova are two statistical techniques used in this study to
analyse the data.

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OPTIONS FREQUENCY (N = 110) PERCENT (%)

Age group 20-25 47 43

26-30 30 27
31-35 25 23
36-40 5 5

Above 40 3 2
Gender Male 64 58

Female 46 42

Status of employment Yes 80 73

No 30 27

Educational qualification No formal Education 20 18

HSC 20 18

UG 30 27

PG 25 23
Technical course (ITI/ 15 14
Diploma)
 25 JOURNAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF MUMBAI, ISSN: 0972-0766, Vol. XCVI, No.23, 2023

Occupation Student 25 23

Private employee 53 48

Public employee 10 9

Business 6 5

Others 16 15

Monthly family income Below 25,000 50 45

(in Rs.)
25,001-50,000 23 21

50,001-1,00,000 25 23

1, 00,001 – 2, 00,000 9 8

Above 2, 00,000 3 3
Awareness of social Yes 110 100
media
No 0 0

Usage of the platform YouTube 32 29

Instagram 42 38

Whatsapp 31 28

Twitter 5 5

1 Hour 42 38
Time spending (Per
2-3 Hours 35 32
day) in the social media
platform 4-5 Hours 15 14

5-6 Hours 10 9
Above 5 Hours 8 7
The above table shows that as high as 43% of the respondents were 20-25 where as 27% of the respondents
were at the age of 26-30.it is clear that out of 110 Respondents 58% of them are Male and 42% of the
respondents are Female. 73% of the respondents are employed and 27% of the Respondents are unemployed.
The education qualification of respondents as high as 27% of the respondents were educated up to Under
Graduated level, 23% of the respondents were Educated up to Post Graduates, and table shows that as high as
48% of the respondents were private employee, 23% of the respondents were student, 9% of the respondents
were public employee, 5% of the respondents were business people and balance 15% respondents were having
other type of occupation. 45% of the respondents are earning below 25000, 21% of the employees earning
above 25,001-50,000, 23% of the respondents are earning between 50,001-1,00,000, 8% of the respondents
are earning above 1, 00,001 – 2, 00,000 and only 3% of the respondents are earning Above 2, 00,000, and all
of the respondents are aware of the social media, majority of the respondents 38% are using the Instagram,
29% of the respondents are using youtube, 28% of the respondents are regularly using whatapp and only few
are (5%) using twitter, majority of the respondents 38% are spending their time in the social media platform
nearly one hour. 32% are spending 2-3 Hours, 14% are spending 4-5 Hours and 7% of the respondents are
spending above 5 hours in the social media.
 26 JOURNAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF MUMBAI, ISSN: 0972-0766, Vol. XCVI, No.23, 2023

RESPONDENTS OCCUPATION AND ONLINE SHOPPING

Null Hypothesis H0:
H0: There is no significance difference among the occupational level of respondents and motivational variables
affects the online shopping through social media.
OCCUPATION MOTIVATIONAL VARIABLES F Value P Value

Advertisement & Social media & Com- Seeking per- Brand

Brand munication mission Reference
through so-
cial media
STUDENTS 3.63 3.71 4.11 3.85 2.503 0.033
(0.85) (0.30) (1.13) (0.587)

PRIVATE EMPLOY- 3.28 3.58 4.50 3.29 0.767 0.035

EE (0.81) (0.46) (1.18) (0.43)

PUBLIC EMPLOYEE 3.45 3.73 4.17 3.46 4.468 0.006

(0.20) (0.59) (1.03) (0.92)

BUSINESS 3.53 3.85 4.47 3.99 3.156 0.022

(0.64) (0.81) (1.23) (0.83)
OTHERS 3.63 3.95 4.27 3.96 3.276 0.012
(0.84) (0.91) (1.43) (0.73)

Note: Values within brackets refers SD. Without brackets shows mean.
P value is statistically significant at the 5% level. Therefore, at a 5% level of significance, the null hypothesis is
disproved. Therefore, the alternative hypothesis is accepted, and it can be concluded that there is a significance
difference among occupational level of respondents and the motivating factors for online purchasing.

FINDINGS
●● Majority of the respondents are between the age group of 20-25. Out of 110 respondents 43% of them
are 20-25 Years.
●● Majority of the respondents are Male.
●● 73% of the respondents are employed.
●● Most of the respondents are Under graduate.
●● Majority of respondents are working in private sector.
●● Majority of the respondents Earn Monthly Income below 25,000.
●● All of the respondents are aware about social media marketing.
●● 38% of the respondents have Experience in Instagram platform.
●● 38% of the respondents Agree that they are spending nearly one hour daily in the social media.
●● There is a significance difference among occupational level of respondents and the motivating factors
for online purchasing.

SUGGESTIONS
Using social media for B2C marketing has a variety of advantages. Using social media to connect with potential
clients is, first and foremost, a financially wise move. In contrast to conventional advertising strategies,
social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter provide a broad reach without being prohibitively
 27 JOURNAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF MUMBAI, ISSN: 0972-0766, Vol. XCVI, No.23, 2023

expensive. Social media also enables companies to tailor their advertisements to particular demographics,
ensuring that their message is heard by the proper audience. Social media marketing offers businesses the
opportunity to interact with their consumers, which is one of its most important benefits. Platforms for social
media interaction give companies a means to engage with clients personally and forge deeper bonds. Since
customers who are engaged with a brand are more likely to identify with it and use it again in the future, brand
loyalty may rise as a result. The platform should offer security and high product quality to online buyers, and
it was advised to customers to become social media informed.
Businesses need to grasp the distinctive aspects of each platform in order to maximise B2C marketing in
social media online purchasing. A great venue for spreading brand awareness and developing a community
around a business is Facebook, for instance. While Twitter is perfect for disseminating news and updates,
Instagram excels at aesthetically exhibiting items. Businesses may maximise their impact and more successfully
reach their target audience by adjusting their marketing strategies to each platform’s advantages.
Businesses may utilise influencers to promote their products on social media in addition to social media
advertising. People who have a big social media following and the ability to influence the purchasing decisions
of their followers are known as influencers. Collaboration with influencers may help businesses reach their
audience and bring in new customers. Businesses must also make sure that their social media presence is
tailored to the needs of online shoppers. This entails building a user-friendly, mobile-friendly website that is
simple to browse. Businesses should also make it simple for clients to order goods straight from social media
websites like Facebook and Instagram.

CONCLUSION
This study came to the conclusion that different concepts had been gathered and elaborated through a review
of the literature, different study findings had been discussed and drawn conclusions under various headings of
social media online purchasing, literature review, and they had clearly defined the research gap and the profile
of the theoretical framework which is very interesting and closely related to this study. We might thus draw
the conclusion that social media has the capacity to upset established practises. Customers, businesses, and
organisations that quickly embrace new technologies. Looking at changes in society and social engagement,
businesses, and the local environment, there port displays the most significant advancements. These findings
provide a fantastic beginning point for customers-specific strategy work to investigate and identify potential
future paths and opportunities in the social media space. A unique aspect of social media that is crucial is the
role of communities. Social media now plays a bigger part in business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing than it
did in the past. Social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn have revolutionised how
businesses engage with their clients and market their goods and services.
Through focused marketing initiatives, social media offers businesses a special chance to engage with
customers, develop brand recognition, and boost sales. Social media has become a crucial aspect of our lives
in the current digital era. It has completely changed how we connect, communicate, and even shop. Due to
the rising popularity of online shopping, it is not surprising that companies are using social media to connect
with their clients. B2C marketing in social media online shopping refers to the use of social media platforms
to advertise goods and services to specific customers. In conclusion, there are several advantages to buying
online, including ease, simple returns and refunds, access to a large variety of items at reduced rates, and
time savings. Online shopping, which offers a practical, dependable, and effective method of purchasing, is
growing in popularity and has already incorporated into our everyday life.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

●● The SOCIAL MEDIA sector is quite big. Only responders from the WhatsApp group have participated
in the study. If the sample size and research area are altered, the findings of this study may vary.
●● Another limitation of this study is that it attempts to analyses only the whatsapp contacts, but does not
make a study for other respondents.
 28 JOURNAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF MUMBAI, ISSN: 0972-0766, Vol. XCVI, No.23, 2023

SCOPE OF FUTURE STUDY

The study has been conducted only in the WhatsApp group respondents. The result of this study is likely to
change if the sample size and study area are different. In further the study can made through twitter, Instagram
and other type of social media plat form, The sample size was very less (110), because the time is a very
limited factor. But in future if the researcher can increase the sample size and do the study. Because social
media user population is very high.

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