Social Media Advertising/Marketing: A Study of Awareness, Attitude and Responsiveness by Nigerian Youths

Nkiru Esther Otugo 1 *, Chikezie Emmanuel Uzuegbunam 2, Chinedu Okey Obikeze 1
More Detail
1 Anambra State University, Nigeria
2 Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka – Nigeria
* Corresponding Author
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, Volume 5, Issue December 2015 - Special Issue, pp. 117-140. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/5679
OPEN ACCESS   1345 Views   3664 Downloads   Published online: 01 Dec 2015
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

The growing popularity of the social media has without question brought about a paradigmatic shift in the way advertisers and marketers seek to promote their goods and services and affect the purchasing decisions of their customers and targets. However, research on advertisements positioned on these social networks and the level of awareness, attitude and responsiveness of its users are relatively still developing, especially within the Nigerian context. Because Facebook has, among the various social media, grown exponentially to become the biggest and most popular today, this study thus investigates the level of awareness, attitude and responsiveness to Facebook advertising on the part of Nigerian youths who are believed to be active social media users. Drawing a sample size of 400 from some select universities in South East Nigeria, the survey finds high awareness of Facebook advertising among the youths. However, it was found that in their vicarious experiences with Facebook, these youths experience some “attention challenges” in noticing and observing the ads. Their attitude to the Ads also indicate a cause for worry: even though they fancy and see Facebook Ads as useful, majority of them would not buy the product or visit the website for more or even “Like” products or services liked by their friends. Debunking the Uses-and-gratification theory to some extent, the study supports the social cognitive theory of communication and recommends that social media advertisers make their Ads more assertive, eye-catchy, detailed, brief and concise, more visible and more properly positioned, among others.
Keywords: social media, Facebook, advertising, marketing, Nigerian youths

CITATION

Otugo, N. E., Uzuegbunam, C. E., & Obikeze, C. O. (2015). Social Media Advertising/Marketing: A Study of Awareness, Attitude and Responsiveness by Nigerian Youths. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 5(December 2015 - Special Issue), 117-140. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/5679

REFERENCES

  • Bati, U. (n.d.). The era of the new marketing: Attitudes of young consumer towards social media marketing. Paper presented at the 7th International Symposium of Interactive Media Design.
  • Bajpai, V. Pandey, S. and Shriwas, S. (2012). Social media marketing: Startegies and its impact. International Journal of Social Science and Interdisciplinary Research, 1 (7).
  • Boyd D. M. and Ellison N. B. (2007). Social Network Sites: Definition, History and Scholarship, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 31 (1), pp. 210-230.
  • Cauwenberge, A. V., d’Haenens, L., & Beentjes, H. (2010). Emerging Consumption Patterns Among Young People of Traditional and Internet News Platforms in the Low Countries. Observatorio (OBS) Journal, 4(3), pp. 335-352.
  • Chi, H. (2011). Interactive digital advertising versus Virtual brand community: Exploratory study of user motivation and social media marketing responses in Taiwan. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 12 (1).
  • December, J. (1996). Units of Analysis for Internet Communication. Journal of Communication, 46(1), pp. 14-37.
  • Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C. & Lampe, C. (2007). The Benefits of Facebook ‘Friends:' Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online Social Network Sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4). Available at http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue4/ellison.html.
  • Evans, L., 2010. Social Media Marketing: Strategies for Engaging in Facebook, Twitter & Other Social Media. Que.
  • Facebook (2012b). Statistics. Available at: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics Accessed 6 April 2013.
  • Finin, T., Ding, L., Zhou, L. and Joshi, A. (2005). Social networking on the semantic web. The Learning Organisation, 12 (5), pp. 418-30.
  • Hausmann, A. and Poellmann, L. (n.d.). broadcast your services! Impact of social media on the marketing of Performing Arts Organisation. European-University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder).
  • IAB Platform Status Report (April 2008). User Generated Content, Social Media, and Advertising — An Overview. Published by Interactive Advertising Bureau.
  • Katz, E., Blumler, J., & Gurevitch, M. (1974). Utilization of Mass Communication by the Individual. In J. Blumler & E. Katz (Eds.), The Uses of Mass Communication: Current Perspectives on Gratifications Research. (pp.19 -34). Bervely Hills, CA: Sage.
  • Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68.
  • Kaushik, R. (2012). Impact of social media on marketing. IJCEM International Journal of Computational Engineering and Management, 15 (2).
  • Kocak, A. & B. Terkan (2009). Media Use Behaviours of Elderly: A Uses and Gratifications Study on Television Viewing Behaviours and Motivations. GeroBilim Journal of Social & Psychological Gerentology Issue 1.
  • Kuehn, S. A. (1994). Computer-Mediated Communication in Instructional Settings: A Research Agenda. Communication Education, 4, 3-17.
  • Liu, H. (2008). Social network profiles as taste performance. Journal of Computer-mediated Communications, 13(1), 252-275.
  • Mayfield, T.D. (2008). What is social media? [e-book] iCrossing. Available through: <www.icrossing.co.uk/.../What_is_Social_Media_iCrossing_ebook.pdf> website. Accessed 21 February 2014.
  • Meerman Scott, D. (2010). The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Blogs, News Releases, Online Video, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly (2nd ed.). San Francisco: John Wiley and Sons.
  • Morris, M., & Ogan, C. (1996). The Internet as Mass Media. Journal of Communication, 46(1), 39-50.
  • O’ Toole, K. (2000). Results of the Stanford Institute for the quantitative study of Society: Study on social impact of computer use. Retrieved from www.stanford.edu. Accessed 25 March 2014
  • Omenugha, K.A., Ndolo, I. S. and Uzuegbunam, C. E. (2012). Celebrity culture, media and the Nigerian youth: negotiating cultural identity in a globalised world. Paper presented at 2012 International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) Conference, 25 – 29 June, 2012, Durban South Africa.
  • Roy, S. K. (2008). Determining Uses and Gratifications for Indian Internet Users. CS-BIGS, 2 (2), 78-91.
  • Terragon Insights Report (2013). State of Digital media: Nigeria. Retrieved from Terragon New Media Agency, www.terragonltd.com. Accessed 10 December 2014.
  • Raacke, J. & Bonds-Raacke, J. (2008). MySpace and Facebook: Applying the Uses and Gratifications Theory to Exploring Friend-Networking Sites. Cyber Psychology and Behavior, 11 (2), 169-74.
  • Rudloff, S. and Frey, B. (2010). Social media and their impact on marketing communication. Bachelor Thesis published by Department of Business Administration and Social Sciences. Lulea University of Technology.
  • Sunden, J. (2003). Material Virtualities., New York, NY: Peter Lang.
  • Tong, S., van Der Heide, B., Langwell, L. and Walther, J. (2008). Too much of a good thing? The relationship between number of friends and interpersonal impressions on Facebook. Journal of Computer-mediated Communication, 13 (3), 531-49.
  • Trusov, M., Bucklin, R., & Pauwels, K. (2009). Effects of Word-of-Mouth versus Traditional Marketing: Findings from an Internet Social Networking Site. Journal of Marketing, 73, 90-102.
  • UN World Youth Report (2003). The Global Situation of Young People at: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/wyr/index.html. Accessed 30 May 2012.
  • Weinberg, T. (2009). The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly.
  • Yaakop, A. Y., Annar, M. M., Omar, K. and Liung, A.L. K. (n.d.). Consumers’ perception and attitudes towards advertising on Facebook in Malaysia. Paper presented at World Business and Economics Research Conference, Auckland, New Zealand.