Unleashing the Power of Social Media: Leveraging Interactions & Influencing Markets

AbstractSocial media has become a driving force and a game changer for many players within different sectors. With the advances in technology and the increasing penetration rates of the internet, social media platforms are now not just being used for personal connections but also by organisations and corporates for customer engagements. It is now being realised more than ever the enormous power that social media has in enhancing interactions and in utilising influence within markets. This paper takes a closer look at the fashion brand industry of the United Kingdom and how social media is being used in consumer engagement. This paper will highlight interesting insights on how web tools such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are now being adopted by fashion brands in the UK to engage and develop brand loyalty among potential clients. Social media has redefined the whole scope of the modern enterprise, where organisations are now re-adjusting their budgets as sponsors are slowly but steadily moving away from conventional media outlets such as fashion magazines to digital advertising and social media. More and more brands, not only in the fashion industry but also in other sectors in the world are now enrolling to social media sites and adopting these technologies in their marketing and relation strategies. Social media has proven to be an effective tool in fast-paced industries such as fashion by being adaptable and having increased visibility in marketing content, which has changed the way people interact and connect with each other online. This paper will, therefore, seek to unpack this concept in relation to the fashion industry in the United Kingdom.

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Keywords: Social media, Consumer engagement, fashion in the UK, brand communities

AcknowledgmentI would like to express my deepest appreciation to all those who helped me in the completion of this dissertation. I would want to convey special gratitude to my lecturer and mentor throughout this project [Professor/ Dr____], who's contribution, insightful suggestions and encouragement helped me to complete this research. I would also like to acknowledge the crucial role that the committee members, department staff and university played in facilitating the completion of this dissertation. I am also very grateful to my colleagues and friends with who I held numerous discussions and deliberations that brought great insight to this research paper.

Table of Contents

TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Abstract PAGEREF _Toc14009320 \h 2Acknowledgement PAGEREF _Toc14009321 \h 3Chapter One: Introduction PAGEREF _Toc14009322 \h 61.1 Research Aims and Objectives PAGEREF _Toc14009323 \h 61.1.1 Research Aims PAGEREF _Toc14009324 \h 61.1.2 Research objectives PAGEREF _Toc14009325 \h 61.2 Research questions PAGEREF _Toc14009326 \h 71.3 Research Outline PAGEREF _Toc14009327 \h 7Chapter Two: Literature Review PAGEREF _Toc14009328 \h 92.1 E-Commerce PAGEREF _Toc14009329 \h 92.2 Evolution of Media PAGEREF _Toc14009330 \h 122.3 Web 2.0 PAGEREF _Toc14009331 \h 132.4 Social Media PAGEREF _Toc14009332 \h 152.5 Social Media Brand Communities PAGEREF _Toc14009333 \h 162.6 Social Networking Sites PAGEREF _Toc14009334 \h 172.7 Gaps in Social Media Fashion Brands PAGEREF _Toc14009335 \h 172.8 Enterprise 2.0 PAGEREF _Toc14009336 \h 192.9 Consumer Engagement PAGEREF _Toc14009337 \h 202.10 Consumer Brand Communities PAGEREF _Toc14009338 \h 202.11 Consumer Engagement value PAGEREF _Toc14009339 \h 22Chapter Three: Methodology PAGEREF _Toc14009340 \h 223.1 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc14009341 \h 223.2 Research to be undertaken PAGEREF _Toc14009342 \h 233.3 Research Design PAGEREF _Toc14009343 \h 233.3.1 Quantitative Approach and Strategy PAGEREF _Toc14009344 \h 243.3.2 Mixed Methods Strategy PAGEREF _Toc14009345 \h 253.4 Selecting a Research Design PAGEREF _Toc14009346 \h 263.5 Summary PAGEREF _Toc14009347 \h 26Chapter Four: Questionnaire Results and Findings PAGEREF _Toc14009348 \h 274.1 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc14009349 \h 274.2 Questionnaire Results and Findings PAGEREF _Toc14009350 \h 27References PAGEREF _Toc14009351 \h 28Appendices PAGEREF _Toc14009352 \h 32Appendix 1: Ethical Approvals (Human Participants) Sub-Committees PAGEREF _Toc14009353 \h 32

Chapter One: IntroductionThis chapter seeks to introduce the research topic by defining the research problem that the researcher of this paper aims to examine. The chapter will also highlight the research aims and objectives as well as define the research questions that will be used to guide the researcher in the framing and fulfilment of this study. This research study will focus on analysing the social media and consumer engagement of fashion brands in the United Kingdom. In doing so, much emphasis will be made on the interrelationships between social media and its influence on consumer engagement on fashion brands in the UK. A more in-depth discussion and analysis on the impact of social media, more so, on consumerism and customer engagement will be analysed in subsequent chapters.

1.1 Research Aims and Objectives1.1.1 Research Aims

The aim of this research is to analyse and investigate how social media and consumer engagement are connected with regards to fashions brands, particularly in the United Kingdom.

1.1.2 Research objectivesTo examine how social media users are influenced by commercials on fashion brands

To explore how UK fashion brands attract consumers and accomplish customer gratification

To discover how consumer engagement is being evaluated through digital media sites

To examine the precise customer engagement actions in branded social media sites

To assess how social media brand societies subsidize to the revolution of the brands

To recognize brand communication plans on social media sites

To explore the trends of engagement forms across precise periods

1.2 Research questionsThe study will be guided and based on the following research questions:

To what extent are social media users affected by advertisements on fashion brands?

How do UK fashion brands attract consumers and achieve satisfaction?

How is consumer engagement being measured through social media?

What are the specific consumer engagement behaviours in branded social media platforms?

How do social media brand communities contribute to the innovation of the brands?

What are the brand communication strategies on social media platforms?

What are the trends of engagement patterns across specific time periods?

1.3 Research OutlineThe research outline of this study will be divided into five chapters and will be presented and analysed as follows:

Chapter 1- Introduction

This chapter defines the problem that the investigator aims to examine in this study. The outline provides an impression of the aims and objectives of the study as well as research questions that frame the thesis.

Chapter 2-Literature Review

An overview of social media and consumer engagement in regard to fashion brands in the UK. Further UK articles, academic journals, researches, and periodicals, on the matching or similar concept by other academics and investigators, are reviewed in this chapter. A literature review offers the researcher information and thoughts that have been recognized on the issue thus, providing substantial ideas on social media and social media brands. This chapter presents consumer engagement and fashion brands, which is the main concept of this study. The section will focus on consumer engagement, consumer brand communities, fashion trends, and social networks.

Chapter 3- Methodology

This chapter will introduce the research methodology and design to be used in the study. In order to effectively address the aims, objectives and research questions of the study, the researcher needs to select the most suitable research tool for collecting data essential to the study. A suitable research design will also be selected by the researcher.

Chapter 4- Findings and analysis

In this chapter, after a suitable plan and appropriate approaches for measuring appropriate variables have been recognized and implemented, the results will be analysed using a suitable process. Data collected will be presented in pie charts and graphs.

The findings will be conferred so at to identify if the research questions have been responded and the objectives satisfied.

Chapter 5 - Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations

After all the significant literature has been analytically reviewed and data collected during the research, the author will be able to determine if the study purposes have been achieved and that the research questions were answered through conclusion. In addition, the recommendation for additional research will also be provided in this chapter.

Chapter Two: Literature ReviewIn this chapter, the researcher of this study will give an overview analysis of social media and consumer engagement in regard to fashion brands within the United Kingdom. The study will analyse various articles, academic journals, research papers, and periodicals that give a further insight into previously done works by other researchers and investigators in relation to the research topic. As a secondary form of data, the literature review of this study will contribute a considerable amount of input for the researcher by offering information and thoughts that have been previously recognized on this issue CITATION Bol08 \l 2057 (Bolderston 2008).

The study will adopt a systematic review of literature, where the researcher will focus on the research questions in trying to identify, appraise, select, and analyse high-quality research material and evidence relevant to those study questions CITATION And16 \l 2057 (Booth, Sutton and Papaioannou 2016). By conducting a literature review, the researcher will not only be able to provide a foundation of knowledge on the research topic CITATION Oli12 \l 2057 (Oliver 2012), but will also identify inconsistencies and gaps in previous researches and through that find a need for additional researcher, which is essential while justifying the purpose of this research study CITATION Chr185 \l 2057 (Hart 2018). The literature review will also play a significant role in identifying the relationship of variables in the research study and place the study within context.

2.1 E-CommerceThe activity of buying and selling goods online commonly referred to electronic commerce (or e-commerce), is a relatively new concept with a strategy for rapid growth as a result of emerging and continuously developing the technology. E-commerce abolishes the concept of national borders in the transaction between businesses and customers. It increases the number of cross border transaction that takes place, and is thus, a drive in the creation of increasingly borderless marketers CITATION Kla03 \l 2057 (Fichter 2003). The development of cross-border transactions on social media offers developed and developing countries (both individuals and companies) the opportunity to take part in international markets and can be a tool for solving disparities between countries or individuals in access of information.

Figure 1. The Number of Online Shoppers in the UK and Future predictions CITATION Sta184 \l 2057 (Statista Research Department UK 2018)In an academic study, as well as in managerial practice, a controversy has evolved if fashion brands should use social media purely as means engage consumers in their businesses or if to understand the social media as a sales channel as well. The United Kingdom is of particular interest as it was categorized as having the highest per capita e-commerce spending in the world in 2010, with a worth of about PS100 billion. In 2015, the UK was categorised as t...