Social media: a blessing or a curse? Voice of owners in the beauty and wellness industry

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kulvinder Kaur ◽  
Pawan Kumar

PurposeThe rise in the use of Internet technologies and social media has shifted the marketing practices from offline to online. This study aims to determine the pros and cons of social media marketing in the beauty and wellness industry.Design/methodology/approachIn-depth interviews were conducted with the owners and marketing executives of beauty and wellness centers to understand the use of popular social media platforms in this industry and their pros and cons.FindingsThe researchers identified eight merits and seven demerits of social media in the beauty and wellness industry. Every respondent is happy and satisfied with social media use, particularly Instagram and Facebook. Irrespective of the demerits, they have shown the intention to increase its usage in the future. The merits override demerits; thus, social media is a blessing for this industry from the owners' perspective.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is exploratory and is confined to just one industry. Research implication is that the visual nature of social media makes it a powerful tool for the promotion of the beauty and wellness industry.Practical implicationsThe study's findings will be beneficial for small-scale businesses as it will push them to take advantage of this low-cost marketing tool.Social implicationsSocial media marketing is helpful for communication and marketing purposes for society.Originality/valueThe beauty and wellness industry remained unfocused by researchers because it is highly unorganized, fragmented and not regulated, yet has huge growth potential. This research will provide a closer look at this industry as well as social media marketing.

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kulvinder Kaur ◽  
Pawan Kumar

PurposeAdvancement in technology has increased the use of social media among Internet users. People are on social media all day and brands cannot miss this opportunity to turn these users into potential customers. The purpose of this research paper is to identify the prominent social media platforms in Indian beauty and wellness industry and to establish dimensions of social media activities.Design/methodology/approachThis is a qualitative study in which in-depth interviews were conducted with owners and managers of beauty and wellness centres, who use social media for promotion of their business.FindingsThis study establishes 5M's of social media activities (Motives, Media, Management, Merits and Metrics) that play a major role in social media promotion. It also identifies that Facebook and Instagram are prominent social media platforms for this industry, followed by Snapchat, YouTube and LinkedIn.Research limitations/implicationsBeing a qualitative study, it is exploratory in nature and confined to beauty and wellness centres only, thus, findings cannot be generalised. Research implication is that social media still preserves its popularity over traditional media for marketing purposes.Practical implicationsThe results of the study are useful for business owners, promoters and marketers, who are struggling to effectively use this low-cost marketing tool.Social implicationsThe result of the study are useful in providing awareness and the importance of social media in promoting benefits to the society.Originality/valueSocial media is extensively used for promotion of beauty services but there are very few theoretical studies on the same. This paper provides rich understanding about how to use social media effectively using 5M's.


Social media platforms have become a powerful marketing tool for brands in order to reach new audiences and engage with them. Creative content is a vital part of social media marketing strategies, as innovative content can attract more users and improve brand health. In this chapter, the channels and creative strategies that are being utilized by marketers in social media are explored, and brand health, which is how the brand is evaluated by consumers, is examined. Brand health is an indicator for brand equity in the long run, and as such, the impact of social media marketing on it should be considered by managers.


Author(s):  
Sonal Trivedi ◽  
Reena Malik

Businesses are growing rapidly. They are using different strategies to connect customers. In this process, marketing is the most important thing. Most people use social media, and it has become one of the best platforms for marketing products. On social media, people can share their views and opinions and also get knowledge about the product and its updates. One of the fundamental reasons for utilizing social media in marketing is as a specialized apparatus that makes the organizations open to those interested in their products and makes them visible to the individuals who have no information of their products. These companies utilize social media to make a buzz and learn from and target customers. Therefore, companies need to look at various social media platforms where their customers exist. In this chapter, the concept of social media marketing is discussed with some practical examples of companies applying social media marketing tools.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Man Lai Cheung ◽  
Guilherme D. Pires ◽  
Philip J. Rosenberger ◽  
Mauro Jose De Oliveira

PurposeThis paper investigates the impact of brand interactivity within social media on consumer–brand engagement and its related outcomes, including consumers' intention of co-creating brand value and future repurchase of the same brand.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical framework is tested for a durable technology product, a smartphone. Data was collected in Brazil from 408 users utilizing a self-administered online survey. Data analysis uses partial least squares–structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).FindingsEntertainment interactivity, cognitive information-transfer interaction and cognitive up-to-date information interactivity are the key elements directly influencing consumer–brand engagement, enhancing consumers' intention to co-create brand value and to repurchase the brand. Importantly, the impact of interactivity ease of use and customization interactivity on consumer–brand engagement and its related outcomes is non-significant. This is inconsistent with previous studies on consumer–brand engagement.Research limitations/implicationsThe research contributes to the literature by providing an understanding of how to use brand interactivity elements on social-media platforms to strengthen consumer–brand engagement for durable technology products, such as smartphones in Brazil. However, this study is cross-sectional in nature and focus is solely on smartphones in Brazil. Future research might consider a longitudinal design and include comparisons between countries with diverse cultures as well as other industries and product types to enhance the generalizability of the findings.Practical implicationsMarketers may heighten consumer–brand engagement by using content that is entertaining, current and trendy. Incorporating positive referrals on social-media platforms encourages consumers to co-create brand value and to repurchase the same brand in the future.Originality/valueExamination of the role of social-media marketing in the marketing literature largely overlooks the impact of elements of brand interactivity within social media on consumer–brand engagement. This article contributes to social-media marketing and consumer–brand engagement research by empirically testing a theoretical model, confirming that specific elements of brand interactivity within social media – including entertainment interactivity, cognitive information-transfer interaction and cognitive up-to-date information interactivity – are critical drivers in the process of strengthening consumer–brand engagement in Brazil.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-224
Author(s):  
Nengieh Lizzie Wantchami ◽  
Kingsley Lyonga Ngange ◽  
Babatunde Daphne-Carol Efosi

This study examines the connection between social media marketing and small scale businesses’ performance in Buea, Cameroon, by assessing the use of social media for brand and product awareness, sales as well as relationship building. 15 small scale business owners were interviewed through semi structured interview. The results identify a common increase in customers due to social media marketing. They equally reveal that, social media marketing has served as a tool in building brand awareness, customer relationships and reinforcing sales. Findings further indicate that for Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) operators who engage in social media marketing, the benefits far outweigh the cost as they have incorporated promotional strategies and even taken supplies to customers’ door steps. In order to facilitate delivery to customers’ door steps, this study recommends that government should facilitate the creation of a house numbering system to ease door to door supplies of goods purchased online. This study provides some indications for using social media platforms as an ideal method of marketing.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 1135-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sony Kusumasondjaja

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of brand communication activities on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram among major Indonesian brands by assessing the message appeals, orientation, and consumer responses.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis of 10,752 social media posts was conducted from the official Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts of 43 leading brands in Indonesia during a six-month period between July and December 2016. The data collected from each individual social media post generated by those brands were coded and analysed in terms of their message appeal, orientation, and responses.FindingsInteractive brand posts were responded more frequently than informative message content. Twitter was more effective for informative appeal, Facebook worked better for interactive entertainment posts, and Instagram was more suitable for interactive content combining informative–entertainment appeals. Interactive brand post with mixed appeals received the most responses in Facebook and Instagram, while self-oriented message with informative appeal obtained the least.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings expand the marketing literature about new media for marketing communication and suggest marketing practitioners the importance of different creative brand communication strategies to enhance social media marketing effectiveness when using multiple platforms.Originality/valueThis is among the first studies to compare the effectiveness of creative message strategy on multiple social media platforms as well as to present insightful findings on social media marketing practices in Indonesia.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sriparna Guha ◽  
Anirban Mandal ◽  
Fedric Kujur

Purpose First, this study aims to focus on the promotional part of the Indian handicraft products through various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Second, the study measures the effectiveness of social media marketing activities (SMMA) relating to handicraft products on brand awareness, brand image and brand equity. Third, this study also measures the impact of brand awareness and brand image on brand equity and consumers’ purchase intention and further brand equity on consumers’ purchase intention of handicraft products. Design/methodology/approach This study used an offline questionnaire to conduct empirical research and collected and analyzed data of 609 samples by using the structural equation modeling approach. Findings The findings of this study showed that SMMA relating to handicraft products had a very strong impact on creating both brand awareness and brand image in the social media environment. Additionally, this study also exhibited a positive and significant impact of brand awareness and brand image on brand equity and consumers’ purchase intention and further brand equity on consumers’ purchase intention of handicraft products in the social media environment. Practical implications The outcome of this research will definitely motivate the handicraft industry to have a strong social media presence on various platforms for promoting their products across India and outside. Further, the promotional activities in various social media platforms will help in creating awareness about the handicraft products and give brand recognition among other industrial competitive brands which will consequently lead to an increase in the demand for these products. Originality/value The novelty of this study is that it has made an initial attempt to study the marketability of handicraft products using various social media platforms and also has measured the probable impact of SMMA relating to handicraft products on brand awareness and brand image and their impact on brand equity and purchase intention.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chetna Kudeshia ◽  
Arun Mittal

Subject area Marketing. Study level/applicability Undergraduate and postgraduate management students. Case overview Small scale business in India employ almost 30 million people contributing 50 per cent to industrial and 45 per cent to the total exports of the country. The rapid growth of internet has made it possible for the small scale start ups to reach its existing and potential customers without investing much. The case highlights this fact describing the journey of “Chumbak” a small scale business from an unknown brand to the foremost favourable funky product of India. Through this case the authors have tried to relinquish a synoptic view of how Chumbak has used varied social media platforms, to engage and connect with its customers. A survey of 147 customers of Chumbak customers shows that engagement through Facebook fan page of Chumbak positively impacts its purchase intention, brand image and leads to positive word of mouth. Expected learning outcomes The case highlights numerous dynamics of social media marketing and shows the recent social media promoting methods being used by the little scale businesses to ascertain on-going dialogues with their customers. The Case would facilitate the scholars in learning how these platforms may be used alone as a promotional tool not solely to reach the purchasers but additionally to type a higher complete awareness of the products with reference to Chumbak. The case explains that communication happening at varied social media platforms got to be tailored considering the sort of users. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-213
Author(s):  
Fatima Abdulaziz Al-Emadi ◽  
Imene Ben Yahia

Purpose The study aims to explore why consumers engage with ordinary celebrities on social media by identifying the influential characteristics that have engaged followers and have led to opinion leadership on visual platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative data were collected from 32 social media users following at least one ordinary celebrity on Instagram and Facebook in Qatar and Tunisia. Findings The findings of this study highlight five main characteristics that lead to fame and opinion leadership on social media visual platforms: credibility, storytelling and content quality, fit with the platform, Actual and aspired image homophily and consistency. Research limitations/implications This research is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, one of the first studies that highlight the features determining opinion leadership on visual platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. Second, the results of the study highlight some features that distinguish ordinary celebrities from traditional established celebrities. Practical implications The findings of this research represent a guideline for effective influential marketing development. Based on the results, recommendations are provided for companies, influencers and social media users who aspire to become influencers. Originality/value This research, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, is among the first to shed light on opinion leadership through ordinary celebrities on visual social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, and thus, adds new insights to the area of social media marketing.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 841-861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tria Yulia Rahmawati ◽  
Miranti Kartika Dewi ◽  
Ilham Reza Ferdian

Purpose This study aims to explore Instagram’s role in management practices of Islamic banks, particularly in Indonesia. The facts that presently Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms globally and Indonesia has the fourth highest number of Instagram users make this study increasingly relevant to observe how Instagram assists businesses in training trust by engaging users through visual content. Design/methodology/approach A comparison and an analysis of nine Indonesian Islamic banks’ use of Instagram was conducted, considering whether Instagram can potentially serve as a low-cost channel to promote the products and services of Islamic banks to a broader audience, including strategies that work/do not work well to be applied in managing the banks’ Instagram accounts. This aim also aligns with Islamic banks’ desire to boost market share, particularly in Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population globally. Findings In the course of qualitative research, this study finds that the nine Islamic banks use Instagram for marketing and promotional activities, which boosts engagement with current and potential customers, provides better information access and promotes the banks’ brand identity publicly. Despite these achievements, most Indonesian Islamic banks still tend to use Instagram as a one-way rather than a two-way communication channel, reflecting the findings of previous studies. Originality/value There is little guidance about social media’s role in management practices of financial institutions in general and even less for Islamic banks; hence, we summarize how Islamic banking practitioners and business leaders use Instagram to enhance public engagement. Furthermore, because Islamic banks have unique characteristics that distinguish them from their conventional counterparts, we also review aspects of Sharia-related compliance related to social media use (particularly Instagram) at Islamic banks.


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