A study of the impact of social media in growing customers awareness and preference for Biti's hunter products

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<b>A STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN GROWING CUSTOMERS AWARENESS AND PREFERENCE FOR BITI’S </b>

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<b>ABSTRACT </b>

Purpose - The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of social media in increasing customer awareness and preference for Biti‘s Hunter, an outstanding product line of Biti‘s Footwear. This research helps Biti‘s gain insights into how to better engage with customers and stay competitive by leveraging social media's impact.

Methodology - The study applied a quantitative research approach and gathered data from 200 customers through a structured questionnaire to assess their awareness and preferences for Biti's Hunter products. The collected data were then analyzed using the statistical software SPSS to determine the effectiveness of social media and other relevant indicators.

Findings - The study's findings indicated that Biti's Hunter use of social media to promote its products and engage with customers positively correlated with customer awareness and preference. These findings provide actionable insights into customer engagement and preferences and may inform future marketing strategies for Biti's Footwear.

Contribution - Using this study, Biti's Hunter can evaluate its social media activities and gain insights into leveraging social media to improve marketing strategies, increase its customer base, and ultimately grow its business. Furthermore, the research helps Biti's to enhance customer awareness and preferences.

Keywords: Social Media; Customer Awareness; Customer Preference; Biti‘s; Biti‘s

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<b>ACKNOWLEDGEMENT </b>

First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. David Ratcliffe, Dr. Anupam Mazumdar, and Ms. Pham Thi Tuyet Trinh, who generously provided knowledge and expertise, as well as invaluable patience and feedback to help me complete this dissertation.

I am also grateful to the University of Bolton and the University of Banking for providing a professional and motivating environment to help me complete this dissertation.

Thanks should also go to the respondents who took the time to answer my research survey. I am truly grateful for your participation and assistance in helping me gain more data and insights.

Lastly, I should mention my family for their constant source of encouragement. Their support and cherishing have kept my spirits and motivation high during this process.

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2.1.1. THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN MODERN MARKETING ... 9

2.1.2. SOCIAL MEDIA IN VIETNAM ... 11

2.2. CUSTOMER AWARENESS ... 13

2.2.1. CUSTOMER AWARENESS CONCEPT ... 13

2.2.2. THE ROLE OF CUSTOMER AWARENESS IN MARKETING ... 14

2.3. CUSTOMER PREFERENCE ... 16

2.3.1. CUSTOMER PREFERENCE CONCEPT ... 16

2.3.2. THE ROLE OF CUSTOMER PREFERENCE IN MARKETING ... 18

3.6. DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUE ... 33

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS ... 37

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ... 46

5.1. INTRODUCTION ... 46

5.2. RECOMMENDATION ... 46

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5.3. LIMITATIONS ... 53

<b>APPENDIX ... 55 BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 84 </b>

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<b>LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS </b>

SPSS : Statistical Product and Service Solutions FAQ : Frequently Asked Questions

KOLs : Key Opinion leaders

CRM : Customer Relationship Management

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<b>LIST OF FIGURES </b>

Figure 1: The Zones of Social Media………. 7 Figure 2: Conceptual model………. 19 Figure 3: The Research Onion……… 25

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<b>CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION</b>

1.1. RESEARCH BACKGROUND

In today's globalized world, changes in the external environment have prompted marketers to adopt social media as a new and effective communication tool (Toros and Kalpaklioglu, 2011). The phrase ―social media‖ refers to new types of media that allow for interaction. The way people interact has entirely changed; it has become simpler for customers to share their opinions about goods, services, and businesses online (Gashi and Ahmeti, 2021). In reality, during the past few decades, the growth of mobile technologies has driven the use of social media. In January 2023, there were 5.16 billion internet users worldwide, of which 4.76 billion were active on social media (We Are Social and Melwater, 2023). Today, Facebook and Instagram are the two most famous social media platforms for marketing products, maintaining customers relationship, informing news and expanding audiences.

Vietnam has also witnessed a significant development of social media, with diverse businesses embracing this trend. Social media have become a huge opportunity for companies being closer to their customers to serve them more efficiently(Fischer et al., 2010). In Vietnam, Biti's, a pioneer brand in the footwear industry, has positioned itself as a top player by updating its designs to keep up with global fashion trends in sport's shoes. Along with that, Biti's marketing strategies focus on social media, one of the most effective marketing tools nowadays.

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In this study, the role of social media as a new trend in marketing will be explored more deeply to raise customer awareness and preference in a company‘s brand. Therefore, the topic ―A STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN GROWING CUSTOMERS AWARENESS AND PREFERENCE FOR BITI‘S HUNTER PRODUCTS‖ has been selected.

<b>1.2. ABOUT BITI’S </b>

Binh Tien Consumer Goods Manufacturing Limited Company is known by the abbreviation Biti's. Biti's is a Vietnam-based company that produces shoes and sandals. Biti's began as a modest production plant in 1982 and has expanded with the nation to become a trusted and well-known brand among consumers. Biti's is regarded as the national pride of Vietnam and is known as a "National Brand" for quality and prestigious footwear. The business was a pioneer in exporting to international markets. Biti's has marked its trademark in 40 countries worldwide, such as Japan, Russia, Italy, France, Mexico, the UK, the USA, and South America….In addition, Biti's is also trusted by international customers with famous brands such as Clarks, Decathlon, Speedo, Skechers, and Lotto to become a processing partner with many large value orders (Biti‘s, 2022). Since 2017, Biti's has established itself as a prominent national brand in the minds of consumers. Over the years, the company has earned the recognition for its excellence in media and advertising. The brand achieved over 20 awards throughout the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, such as Google and MMA (Biti‘s, 2022).

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1.3. ABOUT BITI‘S HUNTER

With their traditional shoes and sandal versions, Biti's dominated the domestic market in the 1980s. However, Biti's faced the risk of losing market share as the Vietnamese economy gradually became more open to the entry of foreign companies. Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2012) has now turned to favor sneakers from international brands. Today's shoes facilitate mobility and represent youth culture's sense of style and ego. If it keeps concentrating on traditional shoes and sandals, Biti's will eventually lose its connection to them and the following generations. In addition, customers in this segment also do not want to use counterfeit goods, but at the same time are not willing to spend a large investment on footwear.

Drawing from the above factors, Biti‘s realizes that the Vietnamese market is still scarce for locally produced sneakers with reasonable prices, high quality, and trendy designs. That's why Biti's Hunter was born with a message Products for brave ―hunters‖ who constantly go to experience and expand the world. The Biti's Hunter sneaker line launched in the second half of 2016. In 2017, Biti‘s Hunter had been on the market for about nine months, but the level of consumer awareness was really low. Thanks to an innovative promotional campaign featuring KOLs, and influencers, for example, Son Tung MTP music video ―Lac Troi,‖ and Soobin Hoang Son and Tien Cookie for their ―Di De Tro Ve‖ music video, Biti‘s Hunter hit the target customers and the message spread. These campaigns have created a great craze in the youth community and continuously sold out as soon as it is on the market.

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In short, by introducing new product lines like the Hunter and launching innovative marketing campaigns featuring popular celebrities such as Son Tung MTP and Soobin Hoang Son, Biti's has established itself as a source of pride among Vietnamese

footwear brands. For Biti's to continuously make breakthroughs in the footwear industry both domestically and internationally, it is crucial for the company to have a superior marketing strategy that effectively targets social media users, especially young people, starting with building awareness of its products to impact customer preferences.

1.4. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

To conduct a critical literature review of Social Media.

To determine the current level of customer awareness of Biti‘s Hunter products.

To investigate the influence of social media on customers‘ awareness of Biti‘s Hunter products.

To assess the impact of social media on customers‘ preference towards Biti‘s Hunter products.

To measure the effectiveness of social media platforms in promoting Biti‘s Hunter products.

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To recommend marketing strategy directions and best practices that can be used to increase customers' awareness and preference for Biti‘s Hunter products.

1.5. RESEARCH METHOD

The research method employed in this study involved quantitative data collection. An online questionnaire survey was sent to a randomly selected sample of 200 individuals who may or may not be familiar with Biti's Hunter brands and its social media activities. The use of randomization in selecting the sample helps to ensure that the results are representative of the broader population of interest.

1.6. THESIS STRUCTURE

There are five chapters: - Chapter 1: Introduction - Chapter 2: Literature review - Chapter 3: Methodology

- Chapter 4: Findings and Analysis

- Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendation

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<b>CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW </b>

2.1. SOCIAL MEDIA

Communication between organizations, communities, and individuals has undeniably undergone significant and pervasive alterations due to social media (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). Because it allows businesses and customers to interact in ways that traditional media cannot. Social media has become an integral aspect of daily life. Interaction via different platforms, such as social networking sites (e.g., Facebook), microblogging sites (e.g., Twitter), and content communities (e.g., YouTube), enable such connection by allowing social networks to be built around common interests and beliefs (Larimo and Leonidou, 2021). However, social media is not only a fun way to communicate but also a vital aspect of corporate marketing tactics (Rugova and Prenaj, 2016). Social media is a tool used by large and small organizations and commercial and non-profit organizations to generate awareness about goods and services (Umair

Manzoor et al., 2020).

Social media consists of two terms: social and media. According to Kietzmann et al. (2011), social refers to friendly companionship or relationship also define media as a communication forum, which includes newspapers, television, magazines, and so forth, which aims to reach a wider audience. Therefore, the communication channel can be a social instrument for improving communication (Correa et al., 2010). Furthermore, it can be a forum for distributing and discussing information among people (Kaplan and

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information sources that consumers have developed, formulated, and used to educate one another about goods, services, brands, and issues (Blackshaw and Nazzaro, 2004).

Figure 1. The Zones of Social Media

Source: Tuten and Solomon, 2021

According to Tuten and Solomon (2021), social media bridges the gap between mass and personal media, enabling individuals to communicate with an endless number of people at any time. Their research shows similar channels are categorized into four within a narrow area due to the rise of various social channels and vehicles. Figure 1 indicates four social media zones: social community, social publishing, social

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<b>Zone 1: Social communities refer to social media platforms striving to improve </b>

relationships and interaction between people with common interests or backgrounds. Users of the internet primarily engage in conversing, sharing, and socializing. Some of the most well-known social networks include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and

Linkedin. (Tuten and Solomon, 2021).

<b>Zone 2: Social publishing is the production and dissemination of material on social </b>

media platforms such as blogs (Tumblr, Blogger), media-sharing platforms (Instagram, Flickr), music and audio-sharing platforms (Soundcloud), and presentation platforms (SlideShare, Scribd). Commercial and editorial content creation are the main activities and user-generated.

<b>Zone 3: Social entertainment encompasses channels and vehicles that offer </b>

customers the opportunities to play and entertain themselves. Social media platforms like Spotify and Tiktok, as well as multi-zone online networks like Instagram and YouTube, are integrated to support this zone (Tuten and Solomon, 2021).

<b>Zone 4: Social commerce </b>allows the adoption of social media to assist customers‘ online activities of shopping, selling, and buying products and services. (Tuten & Solomon, 2021). Marketing activities of this zone include CRM/service, retailing/sales, and human resources. The primary vehicles include Facebook, LivingSocial, Groupon,

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and TripAdvisor. As a result, businesses might make use of social shopping, which has a direct impact on a customer‘s decision-making process (Tuten and Solomon, 2021).

2.1.1. THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN MODERN MARKETING

Within the recent 20 years, social networks are the services mainly used on the Internet. The advantages of social media include enabling connections with people from different cultures, obtaining the latest updates on trending topics, communicating your creativity, and interacting with the community with similar interests, allowing the presence of everyone, regardless of age, income, language, geographical position, access terminal, and operating system.

Social media has been applied across various social, commercial, business, educational, and political sectors. Numerous global enterprises have successfully harnessed the power of social media. For example, Coca-Cola is one of the most recognizable brands worldwide, translating to almost 107 million Facebook followers in 2020. Similarly, Red Bull dominates the same segment but on Youtube and Instagram. Another example is the MAC cosmetics brand, which has reached customers on multi-social networks, like Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.

From a business perspective, social media is the most appropriate medium for gathering customer knowledge, building, sustaining successful relationships, and responding to service failures as it becomes more prevalent in consumers' information searches and buying decisions (Subriadi & Baturohmah 2022). Also, according to

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Herlina, et al., 2022, there are several advantages to employing social media marketing. A company will cross demographic borders to promote items widely, digital marketing will enable low-cost communication methods, and product brand awareness will be immediately recognized.

With the rise of the 4th Industrial Revolution, governments and businesses have accelerated the digital transformation process, leading to the growing popularity of digital marketing (Godey et al., 2016). This shift has dramatically changed the role of traditional marketing, forcing businesses to think outside the box as they manage brand reputation, brand management, and consumer decision-making. According to McCarthy (1975), marketing involves achieving organizational goals by anticipating customer needs and directing the flow of goods and services from producers to customers. Social media plays a significant role in marketing due to its accessibility and functionality (Tuten, 2021), with diverse and constantly updated concepts. Social media marketing uses social network platforms to promote a product or service (Barefoot & Szabo, 2010) and adopt various technologies, methods, and software to provide value and benefits to stakeholders (Tuten & Solomon, 2018). In the digital age, social media marketing is a prevalent technique for companies to connect with their customers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2018). This approach highlights the value of utilizing social media platforms to

accomplish company goals such as boosting customer purchase intention,

engagement, and loyalty. By sharing videos, images, and content through networks like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, social media marketing makes it easier for consumers to access information about a company's products (Syaifullah et al., 2021).

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2.1.2. SOCIAL MEDIA IN VIETNAM

According to statistics, in 1917, the number of Internet users in Vietnam was just over 200,000. By 2002, the number of Internet users in Vietnam had increased to 3 million, accounting for about 4% of the country's population. In 2007, the number had risen to 20 million, accounting for 24% of the country's population.

Statistics from the Ministry of Information and Communications show that as of September 2022, the number of Internet users in Vietnam is about 70 million,

accounting for about 70% of the country's population. With this number, Vietnam has the 12th highest number of Internet users worldwide and 6th out of 35 countries and territories in Asia.

Vietnamese users spend an average of 7 hours daily participating in Internet-related activities. The percentage of daily Internet users in Vietnam is up to 94%.

Although starting to connect to the Internet slower than the rest of the world, after 25 years, Vietnam has risen, caught up, and went with other countries in the region, becoming a strong country in telecommunications and the Internet. The Internet has become one of the essential factors in people's lives, the infrastructure of the economy, and an important factor in promoting industrialization and modernization of the country.

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According to Broadcasting Board of Governors (2013) research, young and educated people prefer blogs and other online information sources over traditional media like TV or newspapers. Most Vietnamese (58.2%) find personal blogs more credible than official news. This is mainly because news from online sources is more rapid, detailed, and diverse than news from newspapers, TV, or radio. People can catch up on what is happening by visiting websites rather than waiting for a newspaper or television summary. Furthermore, social media is built on individuals engaging with others, whereas the government primarily controls traditional media and is more politically related.

In 2005, Yahoo! 360 was established, and Vietnam was one of the countries with the most significant users. It was a social networking and personal communication portal operated by Yahoo!, which enabled users to create personal websites, share photos, maintain blogs, and create and share a public profile. In 2009, this service stopped working, but in Vietnam, Yahoo! decided to deliver a similar platform called Yahoo! 360 Plus Vietnam. After three years, the site was officially shut down since everybody had changed to using Facebook. Most Vietnamese use Facebook to connect with friends and visit Facebook pages run by brands and shops. Compared to the amount

Vietnamese spend to watch TV, they spend twice times more on Facebook. The report also showed that people are likely to visit the pages of fashion and beauty, dining, and travel promotion categories the most (Tuoi Tre News, 2015).

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Businesses are jumping into using social media, considered one of the most powerful digital marketing tools for brands, to complete their marketing strategies. Social media brings incomparable opportunities for companies to reach the awareness of their brand to customers. Using most the social media platforms isn't easy and probably has a various set of risks.

2.2. CUSTOMER AWARENESS

2.2.1. CUSTOMER AWARENESS CONCEPT

Customer awareness refers to how conscious customers are of their needs or wants concerning the company‘s offerings. This term also refers to consumers‘ knowledge about a brand, service, or product. The concept of ―customer awareness‖ is easily confused with the phrase ―brand awareness.‖ The definition of brand awareness is limited to the customer‘s ability to remember the brand (Aaker, 1991). Meanwhile, customer awareness is a broader concept than that. Once customers have experienced the service of the business, they no longer stop remembering the brand but also

commenting and evaluate the products the company provides. Customers‘ psychology gradually formed certain perceptions about the brand and services at that time. By improving brand awareness, businesses easily maintain relationships with old customers and attract more potential users. In addition, tracking customer feedback also helps companies to detect service gaps and fix them to provide a better customer experience.

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Furthermore, awareness plays a significant role as a vital aspect of consumer

purchasing intention. Davis et al. found customers‘ awareness will influence purchasing decisions through brand connection. When services possess a sympathetic reflection, this will support marketing behavior (Keller, 1993). Consumer impressions of the brand can be positive or negative. But the important thing that leaders need to understand is this: Consumer perception will be extremely detailed and diverse. Therefore, the more clearly and thoroughly the understanding of customer awareness, the easier it is for businesses to improve services and communication to develop better businesses.

2.2.2. THE ROLE OF CUSTOMER AWARENESS IN MARKETING

Customer awareness is part of a company‘s marketing and communications plan. It is a process that helps an entrepreneur educate customers about their company, its

performance, and the products or services their company delivers. A well-designed awareness program ensures better customer engagement and protects consumer welfare. Marketers need to understand the customer journey to create targeted

marketing materials that address their specific stage questions. The customer journey typically has four stages: awareness, consideration, decision, and loyalty. Each stage has its own set of challenges and opportunities for marketers.

The first stage in the buyer‘s journey is awareness, making a potential customer aware of the business, brand, and product or service. If customers are unaware that these products exist, they cannot buy services or products from your company. In this

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situation, it is pretty helpful to grasp the components of the buyer‘s journey. So this study will discuss the awareness stage, strategies, and content types.

Customers' levels of awareness are typically ranked from the least aware to the most aware by sales and marketing professionals. The most frequent kind of consumer firms deal with is an unaware consumer. Customers who aren't conscious of their needs don't know they have them and aren't aware of how your company's goods can meet those demands. In this stage of awareness, it is common knowledge that a customer's need could be an issue that has to be solved or a motivating factor for them to improve a certain element of their lives. By eradicating the insect from a customer's building, a pest control business, for instance, can primarily assist a customer with an existing ant, cockroach, or rat problem. However, an interior design business can focus on appealing to customers who enjoy home décor when selling their products. In short, this is where business comes in to save their customers time by informing potential customers about the brand and the products and services offered during this awareness stage.

Companies might allocate most of their marketing budgets toward unaware customers to help raise their awareness of both the consumer‘s needs and the company itself.

In contrast, most aware customers know their needs and have decided that the

company can provide the best solution or improvement to that need. Consumers in the most aware stage typically want further details on pricing levels, product editions, or service bundles before purchasing. Most aware consumers generally are the easiest

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and least expensive group to market or sell to, as they need minimal persuasion to convert to customers and make a purchase.

According to Osman and Subhani (2010), a competitive advantage for a brand is maintaining a top position in the market through continuous advertisements and promotions to create customer awareness about the brand. Moreover, awareness can bring fast communication and consumer engagement (Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011). There are many ways to help build your customer awareness. Still, according to Aaker (1991), an essential factor in achieving better customer awareness is having different and unique slogans representing the brand and its image to the customers (Till et al., 2011). According to Aaker, customers in the solutions or problem stage often receive marketing campaigns from multiple companies. It is vital to highlight the unique aspects of product and service differentiation from the brand class as there can be the risk of similarity in communication and product features. In addition, the most convenient and effective way of enhancing and creating better customer awareness in marketing is through promotions and social media (Jalleh et al., 2002). Promotional tools that organizations use to spread awareness about their brand can gain better publicity among consumers because advertising can influence brand equity value in a positive way (Osman and Subhani, 2010).

2.3. CUSTOMER PREFERENCE

2.3.1. CUSTOMER PREFERENCE CONCEPT

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In today‘s rapidly changing market, customer preferences often influence demand for a product that determines an enterprise strategy. Manufacturers must utilize customer preferences to continually innovate products instead of pure price competition (Zhou et al., 2015). With the development of social media, online reviews provide many customer sentiments toward product features.

Customer preferences refer to expectations, motivations, and inclinations that drive a customer to purchase specific products. This is a handy tool for measuring the

satisfaction levels of consumers for products available in the market, and the success of a product also depends on meeting customer preferences. Customer preferences

always have interested researchers aiming to support business managers‘ strategic planning and decision-making. Customers often present preferences relative to the same product, such as function, shape, color, and cost. Understanding customer preferences is very important whether a company sells a product or offers a service. This is because it helps guarantee customer satisfaction, and the best possible customer experience guarantees you more repeat customers. In addition,

understanding customer expectations provides helpful information for crafting and executing effective marketing strategies to attract more consumers by modifying your brand‘s look and operation to match the desires of your customers ( Decker and Trusov, 2010). Customer preferences also indicate the importance of product features to

customer satisfaction, which is critical to the market success of product design and development (Xiao et al., 2016). The value of the items consumers buy can be compared by measuring the utility of the items.

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2.3.2. THE ROLE OF CUSTOMER PREFERENCE IN MARKETING

Customer preferences are an important topic in marketing. This is a tool that allows businesses to research customer needs. For example, marketing departments keep an eye on consumer preference to check which product has higher demand in the market. They can also use it to check the trends in the markets and design a product according to consumer preferences in the market. This allows economists to have ideas to predict the conditions of the economy. Understanding the needs of potential customers is the key to getting a guaranteed profit.

Today, consumer tastes and preferences are increasingly fragmented and very distinct. This difference comes from the cultural life of each country. It is the result of the

historical development of each nation, the expression of nationalism, patriotism, and the economic prosperity economy of each country or to put it simply, every consumer

prefers products that respond well and fit their lifestyle. To meet this demand,

international businesses must change the design and manufacture of products to suit consumers' tastes, such as producing large-sized cars in Australia and small-sized cars in Europe. In addition, in the digital age, the focus of marketing has been moved from the company to the customer (Singh et al., 2008). Customers nowadays represent a proactive audience, they are more in control of their exposition to marketing efforts (Singh et al., 2008). Therefore, marketers must study the preferences of target customers. Such research will provide suggestions for developing new products,

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product features, pricing, channels, informational content, and marketing strategies to determine whether customers get the message (Safitri et al., 2017).

2.4. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Figure 2: Conceptual model

The five hypotheses of the proposed model

<b>H1. Customer experience: Customer awareness and preferences have a positive relationship with customer experience </b>

<b>Customer awareness and </b>

<b>preferences </b>

<b>Customer experience</b>

<b>Social media influencers</b>

<b>Format of content</b>

<b>Content pillars</b>

<b>Social media platforms</b>

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Social media has developed into a vital part of peoples' lives in the present. Businesses spend more money enhancing the online consumer experience due to its major impact on retail. The ability to convert website visitors into customers is the core idea here. Some design elements contribute to this process, like visual stimuli (Bleier et al., 2018).

According to Watkinson (2013), customer experience is the qualitative aspect of an individual‘s interaction with a business, its products or services at any time. Companies that successfully integrate social media and customer experience can deliver

awareness and motivating preferences for their customers that outperform their competitors (Nagy and Hajdu, 2021).

<b>H2. Social media influencers: Customer awareness and preferences have a positive relationship with social media influencers </b>

A social media influencer is a regular Internet user with a sizable number of followers on social media (De Veirman et al., 2017), whose opinions, knowledge, and reputation are respected by their audiences and who has the ability, above the average individuals, to inform, entertain and, influence attitudes and behaviors (Maden, 2018). Influencers post content on social media sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram in a particular area, such as food, travel, fitness, or fashion.

Social media influencers have drawn a lot of interest from academics and business professionals because of their potential as an instrument to impact customer

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awareness. Social media influencers have significantly changed the face of social media marketing (Cheung et al., 2022). Brands are increasingly working with social media influencers as they become aware of this new chance to connect and increase preferences with their target audiences (Qalati et al., 2021). Due to how social media influencers connect and communicate with their audience, frequently sharing personal information and having reciprocal interactions, Djafarova and Rushworth discovered that these individuals might do better in endorsement than traditional celebrities. Furthermore, social media influencers regularly mix sponsored posts into their daily stories, producing content clients enjoy.

<b>H3: Format of content: Customer awareness and preferences have a positive relationship with the format of content </b>

The ultimate goal of the awareness stage is to develop content that attracts leads and encourages these leads to become loyal customers. Content creation is intended to expose a business and its products or services to people who want or need what the company offers but don‘t yet know about it.

Many marketing and sales teams offer personalized content based on customer perception. Customizing customer messages based on their awareness can help increase engagement with your advertising campaigns and customer preference for products/services. Some of the most typical forms of content that can be used to

increase awareness and customer preferences include images, videos, or infographics.

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<b>H4: Content pillars: Customer awareness and preferences have a positive relationship with content pillars </b>

Themes or subjects a brand might use to make posts are known as content pillars in social media marketing. The brand-specific themes, also known as "buckets," should mirror the most well-liked material among online audiences. Your brand's mission, values, tone of voice, positioning, and overall aesthetic look and feel on social media should all be included in and consistent with the brand's content pillars. Different types of content pillars will work for some brands and won‘t work for others. The followers will quickly learn what to expect from browsing the brand‘s themed, serialized content.

Content pillars also help bring a sense of organization to the brand‘s social media content approach. In addition, content pillars can help brands achieve that all-important tone of consistency on different social media platforms. This helps to give the brand a strong identity on social media and impacts customer awareness and preferences.

<b>H5: Social media platforms: Customer awareness and preferences have a positive relationship with social media platforms </b>

Palmer and Lewis (2009) contended that there is a conspicuous link between using social media platforms and forming customer awareness and preferences. Hensel and Deis (2010) asserted that different social media platforms had been invented through

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investigation, and they consider the diverse areas of simplifying business operations. To begin with, businesses benefit from social media platforms since the cost impacts are complimentary. The economic setbacks linked with the online promotion are lower than other marketing forms. Accessing most social media platforms is free; therefore,

businesses can post relevant information to their clients and proliferate traffic for their businesses (Erstad, 2018). This is done through various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The interaction between brands and customers on social media plays a crucial role in shaping the awareness and preferences of the customer of the brand. Therefore, marketers always pay close attention to how their message is designed and would come across to an online audience as well as how it is most likely going to be interpreted because it can turn out to be a ―massive success‖ or a ―total disaster‖ (Erstad, 2018).

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<b>CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY </b>

3.1. RESEARCH ETHICS

Ethics are a personal code of conduct based on respect for oneself, others, and surroundings (Stallworth, 2004). It is governed by the principles or assumptions underpinning how individuals or organizations conduct themselves. Research ethics involves the application of fundamental ethical principles to research activities, including the design and implementation of research. It is essential to adhere to ethical principles to protect research participants' dignity, rights, and welfare (Ferreira and van

Antwerpen, 2012). As such, all research involving humans is reviewed by a research ethics committee/Institutional Review Board to determine whether the research is ethical enough. There are several reasons why it is essential to adhere to ethical norms in research, such as norms that promote study aims, such as knowledge, truth, and error avoidance. In addition, since research often involves a great deal of cooperation and coordination among different people in different disciplines and institutions, ethical standards promote the values essential to collaborative work, such as trust,

accountability, mutual respect, and fairness. People are more likely to fund a research project if they can trust the quality and integrity of the research.

3.2. RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY

Research philosophy is a person‘s research style of looking at a problem and conducting information about the problem, formed from the core interests of the

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researcher (Bajpai, 2011). The overarching term calls it ―a framework of knowledge creation beliefs and assumptions‖ (Saunders and al, 2015, p.124). The assumption is perceived as a preliminary statement of reasoning but is based on the philosophizing person‘s knowledge and insights born as a product of intellectual activity. Hitchcock and Hughes also claim that research stems from assumptions. Researchers‘ beliefs and hypotheses directly influence the methodological choice, research strategy, data

collection techniques, and analysis procedures. A well-thought-out and consistent set of assumptions will constitute a credible research philosophy and a coherent research project in which all elements of research fit together. Saunders and his team stated five common philosophies that are distinguished and discussed in the works by many authors: Positivism, Critical Realism, Interpretivism, Postmodernism, and Pragmatism (Saunders et al., 2016)

Figure 3: The Research Onion

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Source: Sauders et al., 2016

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phenomena, and only phenomena that you can observe and measure would produce credible and meaningful data (Crotty, 1998).

Positivism, however, has constantly been challenged, particularly in sociology and anthropology; consequently, it has been subject to intense epistemological debate. The debate was, for much of the first half of the twentieth century, framed by the Vienna Circle, a group of intellectuals in Vienna who debated the nature of thought and logic on the one side and their relations to empirical data on the other (Gill and Johnson, 2010). This debate continues in many guises at the beginning of the twenty-first century. While we shall not elaborate on this debate further, it is germane to our study.

<b>Interpretivism </b>

Interpretivism emerged in early- and mid-twentieth-century Europe in the work of German, French, and occasionally English thinkers and is formed of several strands, most notably hermeneutics, phenomenology, and symbolic interactionism (Crotty 1998). Interpretivism research aims to create new, richer understandings and interpretations of social worlds and contexts. Interpretivism points to explaining the differences between human interactions from many social realities, such as situations, cultural backgrounds, timing, and interpretations, to establish the universal applicability of rules using

qualitative research (Saunders et al., 2015). The interpretive perspective is highly appropriate in the case of business and management research. Not only are business situations complex, but they are also often unique, at least in terms of context. They

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reflect a particular set of circumstances and interactions involving individuals coming together at a specific time.

Contrary to positivism, the interpretive researcher highlights subjectivity in conclusions, therefore, offers no claims for generalization (Malhorta, 2003). Conversely, the

interpretive researcher quests for thick descriptions during the research process, attempting to establish a state of representation in the sense of faithful instead of general (Ron, 2004). Crucial to the interpretivism philosophy is that the researcher has to adopt an empathetic stance. The challenge for interpretivism is to enter the social world of the research participants and understand that world from their point of view (Goldkuh, 2012).

In this study, positivism was applied.

3.3. RESEARCH APPROACH

A research approach is a procedure a researcher selects to collect, analyze, and interpret data. Based on the methods of data collection and data analysis, research approach methods are of three types: quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. However, considering the general plan and procedure for conducting a study, the research approach is divided into two main categories often used in the study: deductive approach and inductive approach.

<b>Deductive Approach </b>

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The deductive approach always starts with a theory, such as one or more general statements or premises, and reaches a logical conclusion. The conclusion is proper when all the premises are true (Ketokivi and Mantere, 2010). Scientists use this type of reasoning approach to proving their research hypothesis.

<b>Inductive Approach </b>

In the inductive approach, the researcher collects data relevant to the research study. Post-data collection, the researcher will analyze this data broadly, looking for patterns to develop a theory that could explain the patterns. There is a gap in the logical argument between the conclusion and the premises observed, the conclusion being ‗judged‘ to be supported by the observations made (Ketokivi and Mantere 2010). Therefore, an

inductive approach starts with a set of observations and then moves toward developing a theory.

The author decided to use the deductive method to build a theory and accredit it according to the study goals.

3.4. RESEARCH STRATEGY

Research strategy sets the general direction of research. It describes the

methodological link between theory and data collection options and analyzes methods to address research questions. The proper research strategy must be selected based

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on research objectives and questions, the number of resources are available and time, the philosophical foundations of the researcher, and the scope of existing knowledge about the studied area (Wedawatta, 2011). Part of the research strategies used in management and business are: Qualitative and quantitative research strategies are two different approaches to conducting research (Wedawatta, 2011). Both qualitative and quantitative research strategies have their advantages and disadvantages. In some cases, a mixed method approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, is applied to complement each other.

<b>Qualitative research </b>

Qualitative research collects information and data in the non-numerical form to get detailed information about the research object (Blackstone, 2012). The study aims to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that influence it. The information is usually collected through interviews, direct observations, or focus group discussions using open-ended questions. The researcher and their views can be known to the research participants in qualitative research. At the same time, the

researcher can understand the participants' characteristics.

<b>Quantitative research </b>

The quantitative method is collecting and analyzing information based on the data collected from the market (Hoy, 2015). Quantitative research is often associated with

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testing theories based on deductive methods. In other words, the purpose of study in this way is to quantify, measure, reflect, and interpret the relationships between factors (variables) with each other through conventional statistical methods, simulation, or running data processing software (Allen et al., 2008). Surveys, experiments, and observational studies are examples of quantitative research methods (Wedawatta, 2011). In quantitative research, the researcher and their views are unknown to the study participants. Participant characteristics were intentionally hidden from the researcher.

Quantitative research is often considered more objective and reliable than qualitative research because it relies on numerical data and statistical analysis (Allen et al., 2008). However, quantitative research can be limited by the specific research question and the methods used, and the results may not fully capture the complexity of social

phenomena (Creswell, 2012). On the other hand, qualitative research can provide rich, in-depth data that can give a detailed understanding of a particular phenomenon. However, qualitative research can be more subjective and may be influenced by the researcher's own biases. A mixed-methods approach can overcome some of the limitations of both qualitative and quantitative research by combining the strengths of both methods (Creswell, 2012). However, it also requires more resources and can be more complex.

This research will use the quantitative method to evaluate the effectiveness of building customer awareness and preference for Biti's Hunter products through social media. Firstly, Biti's Hunter has been active on two of the most popular platforms, Facebook

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and Instagram, for many years. This is an advantage to investigating its social media with a broad potential audience reach. y, compared with qualitative data, reporting quantitative research using fixed structures and evaluation standards ensures an objective and unbiased approach. These are the two critical reasons for the method's selection. Due to time, expense, and significant limitations, this study's qualitative methodology is not used.

3.5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES

The primary data source is the original and has not undergone any processing. This is a source of data collected directly from a consumer or client for a specific research project or purpose (Igwenagu, 2016). Therefore, its reliability is very high and suitable for

marketers and market researchers in solving particular problems and adapting to their research objectives. Market researchers can customize the questions and methods of data collection to ensure that the primary data collected is appropriate for their research purposes.

Primary data can be collected from various sources such as surveys, interviews, observations, and experiments. With primary data, we can gather detailed information about real-world objects, events, and processes, such as customer characteristics, consumption markets, consumption trends, and other information related to the real world, regarding products and services. This is an essential and necessary source of information to conduct marketing research and analysis, thereby making the right strategy. However, primary data collection can be very time-consuming and costly to

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perform. In addition, primary data may not be representative of the entire population or market studied (Goddard and Melville, 2007). Therefore, research results may not be accurate or applicable to the whole population or market.

Secondary data is aggregated from different data sources, usually data collections or online sources such as books, newspapers, e-journals, and general websites. Thus, it allows researchers to gather information about many aspects of markets and customers (Igwenagu, 2016). There are two common types of secondary data: Internal data and External data. Internal data is the information stored or organized by the organization itself. External data is the data organized or collected by someone else. Some

secondary data sources are updated regularly, allowing researchers to track and

analyze market and customer trends. Secondary data can save research time and costs compared to collecting new data. Secondary data is often used to analyze and make business decisions and formulate marketing and advertising strategies. The

disadvantage of secondary data is that it is not flexible and cannot be tailored to meet specific research needs. Without enough information, decisions based on this data can be influenced and inaccurate (Goddard and Melville, 2007). Therefore, researchers can draw erroneous conclusions and make incorrect decisions if secondary data is not used carefully.

3.6. DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUE

One of the main stages in a research study is data collection which enables the researcher to find answers to research questions (Prabnat and Meenu, 2015). Data

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