The Impact of Social Media Advertising on Mainstream Media

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background to the Study

Social media is posited to be a phenomenon that has transformed the interaction and communication of individuals and entities across the world. Yet, it is argued that social media is not a new theme given that it has been evolving since the dawn of human interaction (Edosomwan, Prakasan, Kouame, Watson & Seymour, 2011). The authors observed that, recently, social media has influenced many facets of human communication, thereby affecting business. It is added that social networking has indeed turned into a daily practice in several users’ lives. The evolution of social media brings to focus major social networking sites including  Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, MySpace, Skype, LunarStorm, Cyworld, and LinkedIn. According to Dewing (2012), social media has several definitive tenets. These attributes influence the way people interact online. Social media open up new ways for collaboration and discussion. There is persistence in social media in that much of the content posted on social media could remain there permanently by default. There is also the aspect of replicability whereby the posted content could be copied and shared. There is also the characteristic of searchability where content can be found easily using online search tools. Social media is also accessible meaning that it can be used anywhere at any time as long as there is internet connectivity. It is reported that social media have enabled newspapers and broadcasters in the United Kingdom to gain traction around the world, particularly in the United States (Newman, 2011).

The advent of social media in the last decade was accompanied by a lot of disruptions in many aspects of life (Kperogi, 2016; Mahoney and Tang, 2017). The impact of social media in many of these aspects is still a subject of controversy. For example, the role of social media in communication, news broadcast, elections, terrorism, governance etc., has not been fully understood, given the polarity of views in literature (Kperogi, 2016; Mbanaso et al., 2015; Miller, 2020). The scenario is the same in the world of business. To prevent disturbances that could result in disorder and constitutional problems, inquiries and discussions must continue even as social media grows increasingly sophisticated. Businesses that properly comprehend the nature of these disruptions are better positioned to take advantage of the inherent advantages in the commercial context (Mosco, 2017).

Amazon is an excellent illustration of this. Many brick-and-mortar retailers were unwilling to investigate the possible disturbance that would arise when the internet arrived with its interruptions. However, it is currently believed that the online retailer Amazon is the main factor behind the closure of bookstores and small companies, and even poses a danger to the survival and business model of traditional brick-and-mortar commerce giants (Sadowski, 2020). Amazon controls approximately 5.1% of the entire US retail market share, while it generated 47.0% of all eCommerce sales in the US in 2019, according to eMarketer Editors (2019). Additionally, Malone and Davidow (2020) noted that roughly 55% of consumers begin their online purchasing choice on Amazon.

At a stage in a consumer’s purchase decision process, the choice to acquire a good or service is sometimes referred to as the purchase decision. It is a subset of the larger idea of consumer behaviour. The definition of consumer behaviour is “the behaviour that consumers demonstrate in seeking for, purchasing, utilising, assessing, and discarding products and services that they anticipate will satisfy their requirements” (Schiffman, Kanuk and Hansen, 2012). Consumer behaviour is also defined as the thoughts, feelings, and behaviours people engage in during consuming activities, as well as everything in the environment that affects these behaviours (Peter and Olson, 2010). These definitions demonstrate that a customer’s choice to purchase a good or service does not happen all at once or take a lot of time.

Human communication now has new depths thanks to the new media. The advent of social media is one of these aspects. Social connection is facilitated by social media. These are user-generated content platforms that enable people or groups to create material, participate in discussions, and share content (Wikipedia). According to Mayfield (2008), Shepherd (2009), Rodman (2010), Stagno (2010), and others, social media are online media that encourage participation, openness, dialogue, community, connectivity, interactivity, collaboration, and information sharing.

Ravasi, et al. (2019) claim that traditional media (TM) took far longer to establish its reputation than social media (SM) did. Due to its intense competition with TM and its effects on that company, SM is currently altering the way mass communication functions. SM is prevalent among younger individuals (millennials and Generation Z), especially those who are between the ages of 25 and 39. (Lee et al., 2018). Due to the ongoing rise in the usage of SM and its impact, this has caught the interest of academics and professionals alike. This paper explores and contrasts the length of time it takes leaders to respond (by SM and TM) as issues emerge, despite the paucity of research on the development and future of SM. This is significant because, to effectively utilise SM, commercial and political leaders must be aware of how it differs from TM. This investigation centred on Nigerian Twitter users.

The emergence of SM is altering how information is disseminated and has an effect on how an organization’s leadership and reputation are formed (Etter et al., 2018). With its numerous platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) and current level of popularity, SM allows for virtually any type of connection or communication. With TM, communication was never strictly one-way, which was unusual. Despite the paucity of research on the nature and extent of the connection/comparisons between SM and TM, how leaders approach SM is an important topic for investigation. It is crucial to determine whether leaders are responding to challenges in SM more quickly than they did before the invention and growth of SM.

Williams and Schoonvelde (2018) claim that mass media also referred to as TM, refers to all forms of communication, such as print, radio, and television. Newspapers and magazines are examples of print media (Catalan-Matamoros & Peafiel-Saiz, 2019). SM was defined by Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) as a collection of networked online venues with computer proxy communication for information sharing and exchange. Additionally, they described SM as “a collection of Web 2.0-inspired applications that enable the creation and exchange of user-generated content.” SM is essentially the usage of the internet via websites and mobile applications as a means of more interactive mass communication. TM is essentially the mass media avenue used before the arrival of SM.

According to Roy (2016), the major differences between Social media(SM) and Traditional media(TM) include:

• SM reaches a maximum audience, while TM’s audience is usually more targeted.
• SM is versatile (editable after sharing), but TM, once broadcasted, is set in stone.
• SM is instantaneous, while TM may be delayed due to press times.
• SM is a two-way conversation, whereas TM is one-way.
• SM often has inaccurate demographic data, but TM’s is more accurate.

Social media (SM) has grown rapidly over the past ten years, changing how the public perceives and defines the business, politics, and civic involvement in such a way that political conversations among peers using SM have become a prominent indicator of civic political interactions (Ravasi, 2019). Political and business leaders now have a rare opportunity to directly affect public opinion, better engage and understand the public, and develop lasting relationships thanks to the wide variety of evolving social media tools that have made it possible for the general public to participate in all discussions on accessible platforms (Hyun & Kim, 2015).

 

1.2       Statement of the Problem

Traditional advertising has up until now encountered numerous fundamental difficulties. Among other traditional advertising techniques, using print and electronic media, banners, and billboards can be expensive. Due to the expense of purchasing newspapers and the fact that many billboards are a reserve of urban regions, several traditional advertising avenues, such as print media and billboards, are also inaccessible. A report by SMG (2015) stated that the company had a manually run system that was ineffective and that it was necessary to switch to an automated and integrated system. This study’s major objective was to look into how social media advertising affected traditional media. This suggests that social media adoption has increased across the board, including in Nigeria. Despite the aforementioned acknowledgement, there is a paucity of scientific data showing how social media affects the success of the advertising industry. For instance, a 2013 empirical study by Jagongo and Kinyua examined the relationship between social media and the rise of entrepreneurship in Nigeria. The study found that social networking gives companies access to resources they would not otherwise have. The study did not, however, identify a connection between social media engagement and the advertising industry. The aforementioned inadequacies in empirical research further prompted the completion of this investigation.

Traditional advertising has up until now encountered numerous fundamental difficulties. Among other traditional advertising techniques, using print and electronic media, banners, and billboards can be expensive. Due to the expense of purchasing newspapers and the fact that many billboards are a reserve of urban regions, several traditional advertising avenues, such as print media and billboards, are also inaccessible. A report by SMG (2015) stated that the company had a manually run system that was ineffective and that it was necessary to switch to an automated and integrated system.

What is trendy today may not necessarily be trendy tomorrow due to the market’s dynamic nature in Nigeria. Therefore, research into promotion consistency between influencer marketing and traditional marketing is necessary. This is crucial since consumers now spend more time in front of screens due to improved internet connectivity, as opposed to earlier times when people relied more on television, newspaper, and radio advertisements (Darwish Omar, 2019). Consequently, this raises the question of how traditional media marketing is faring and how influencer marketing is doing right now in the Nigerian market.

• The objective of the Study

The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of social media advertising on mainstream media. Specific objectives include to:

1. Determine the effect of social media on the performance of advertisement businesses in the leading media groups in Nigeria.
2. Examine the effect of interactivity of social media effects on the performance of advertisement businesses in the leading media groups in Nigeria.
3. Assess the advantages of social media advertising over traditional media in the advertisement business in Nigeria.
4. Investigate the impact of social media advertising on the performance of advertisement businesses in Nigeria.
5. Examining the impact of social media influencers on advertisement businesses in Nigeria.

• Research Questions

The following research questions are cropped up in this study:

1. What is the effect of social media on the performance of advertisement businesses in the leading media groups in Nigeria?
2. What is the effect of the interactivity of social media effects on the performance of advertisement businesses in the leading media groups in Nigeria?
3. What are the advantages of social media advertisement over traditional media in the advertisement businesses in Nigeria?
4. What is the impact of social media advertising on advertisement businesses in Nigeria?
5. What is the impact of social media influencers on the advertisement businesses in Nigeria?
   • Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses are tested in this research:

Null Hypotheses(H₀):

1. There is no significant effect of social media on the performance of advertisement business in the leading media groups in Nigeria.
2. There is no significant effect of the interactivity of social media effects on the performance of advertisement businesses in the leading media groups in Nigeria.
3. There is no significant impact of social media advertising on the performance of advertisement businesses in Nigeria.
4. There is no significant impact of social media influencers on the performance of advertisement businesses in Nigeria.

 

Alternative Hypotheses(H₁):

1. There is a significant effect of social media on the performance of advertisement businesses in the leading media groups in Nigeria.
2. There is significant effect of the interactivity of social media effects on the performance of advertisement businesses in the leading media groups in Nigeria.
3. There is a significant impact of social media advertising on the performance of advertisement businesses in Nigeria.
4. There is a significant impact of social media influencers on the performance of advertisement businesses in Nigeria.
   • Significance of the Study

The importance of this work will be examined in terms of both its theoretical and practical applications. The results of this study will be extremely valuable to academia. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge that will aid scholars in understanding how social media networks function as a part of the ongoing technological revolution as the Fourth Industrial (4.0) Revolution takes hold. Second, this study’s findings were restricted to Nigeria. This opens up possibilities for further investigation and replication of this work in additional study regions in Africa and the developing world. Thirdly, because this study is quantitative, researchers with a qualitative bent or those accustomed to a mixed-methods approach can incorporate qualitative research processes to further put the research’s conclusions to a more rigorous scientific test.

Because Nigeria’s eCommerce sector is currently mainly informal, the study’s practical ramifications are therefore quite important (Mbanaso, Dandaura, Ezeh and Iwuchukwu, 2015; Ndubueze, 2016; Olaojo, 2020). As a result, this research will be successful in raising awareness of the problems facing an underdeveloped sector. Many young people have turned to independent production and sales of goods and services due to the high level of unemployment in the economy. In Nigeria, the majority of the eCommerce infrastructure is privately owned. Furthermore, a lot of young people use social media, which is ingrained in every aspect of society, to interact with potential customers and look for vendors. Additionally, this is a result of the fact that many young people spend a lot of time on social media. To comprehend the informal activities and perhaps offer means of standardising and formalising them so that players in the business can benefit to the fullest, this research will look into the problems faced by these participants in the eCommerce industry.

This study will also act as a manual for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to know how to run an online store in Nigeria, particularly those who want to take advantage of social media. The majority of people often experiment and learn from their mistakes. This need not be the case, though. This study would therefore act as a reference for people trying to thrive in e-commerce in Nigeria but having trouble. The overall goal of this study is to advance Nigeria’s e-commerce sector. It is hoped that by researching the problems plaguing the Nigerian market, successful vendors and consumers will be able to use their expertise to address these problems. These remedies can subsequently be used on a bigger scale to address more important problems or imitated by others who are dealing with related concerns. The Nigerian market is a cultural environment where various socio-cultural forces interact. Many people in the international community do not completely comprehend these dynamics. This is because Nigerian society is extremely distinctive worldwide. This research will also highlight global problems that Nigeria’s e-commerce sector is facing, which would encourage and consolidate potential global partnerships and solutions.

1.7       Scope of the Study

This study’s major objective was to look into how social media advertising affected traditional media. The study also examines the impact of social media on the performance of the advertising business in the top media groups in Nigeria, the interaction of social media on the performance of the advertising business in the top media groups in Nigeria, the benefits of social media advertising over traditional media in the Nigerian advertising sector, the impact of social media advertising on the advertising sector in Nigeria, and the impact of social media advertising on the Nigerian advertising sector.

• Limitations of the Study

This study was constrained by some factors. Firstly, the time frame allocated for the completion of this study was not enough for the researcher to extensively carry out research based on the theme of this research work. On the other hand, the research participants were not willing to participate in responding to the administered questionnaire of this study. Also, the required materials like journals and articles needed for the proper completion of this study were not readily available online and offline. All these constraints put together, ultimately determined the extent to which the researcher was able to go in this study.

• Definition of Terms

Social media: interactive technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks.

Social media marketing: the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Although the terms e-marketing and digital marketing are still dominant in academia, social media marketing is becoming more popular for both practitioners and researchers. Most social media platforms have built-in data analytics tools, enabling companies to track the progress, success, and engagement of ad campaigns.

Mainstream Media (MSM): a term and abbreviation used to refer collectively to the various large mass news media that influence many people and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought. The term is used to contrast with alternative media.

Advertising: the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention of consumers. It is typically used to promote a specific good or service, but there is a wide range of uses, the most common being commercial advertisement.

Communication: the transmission of information. The term can also refer to the message itself or the field of inquiry studying these transmissions, also known as communication studies. There are some disagreements about the precise definition of communication, for example, whether unintentional or failed transmissions are also included and whether communication does not just transmit meaning but also creates it.

Twitter: an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users send and respond publicly or privately to 280-character-long messages, images and videos known as “tweets”.Registered users can tweet, like, and ‘retweet’ tweets and direct messages (DM), while unregistered users only can view public tweets. Users interact with Twitter through browser or mobile frontend software, or programmatically via its APIs.

Facebook: an online social media and social networking service owned by the American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, its name comes from the face book directories often given to American university students.

WhatsApp: an internationally available freeware, cross-platform, centralized instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by American company Meta Platforms. It allows users to send text and voice messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other content. WhatsApp’s client application runs on mobile devices and can be accessed from computers. The service requires a cellular mobile telephone number to sign up.

1.10     Organization of the Study

This research work is categorized into five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows. Chapter one is concerned with the introduction, which consists of the (overview, of the study), background to the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, and definition of terms. Chapter two encompasses the conceptual review theoretical review and empirical reviews on which the study is based. Chapter three deals with the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding. Chapter five gives a summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.

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