Background

According to Christodoulides (2009), a brand is more of the discussion of a product amongst consumers than the promotional campaigns by a business. Social media is defined as the communication that exists between persons where they establish, share, and exchange information and views in the virtual community in addition to social network sites. In the past decades, the users of an online environment have been on the increase with the commercial industry turning the users into consumers. Moreover, social media has influenced the approach of interaction between marketers and buyers (Cheung and Lee, 2012). Businesses have utilised social media marketing as an efficient channel of ensuring consumer collaboration and the most inexpensive method. Social media equips consumers with the power to impact buyers through product or service reviews. The modern consumers are very dynamic and with exceptionally high demands thus necessitating the need for quite dynamic marketing approach to reach them and influence their behaviours. The use of social media in marketing allows consumers to express their view. Social media marketing has had a significant influence on consumer behaviour, especially on cosmetic products. For instance, studies indicate that over 60% of cosmetic product companies have their highest sales from social media (Cheung and Lee, 2012). However, there exists minimal research on the effect of social media on the consumer buying behaviour of beauty products in Australia. This research aims at assessing the effect of social media on consumer buying behaviour in the Australian beauty industry.

The research objectives are as outlined below

1.    To discover the meaning and concept of social media and consumer behaviour
2.    To explore and assess the effect of social media on consumer behaviour in the Australian beauty industry
3.    To recommend the social media marketing strategy to influence consumer behaviour with respect to the Australian industry.

This paper will examine the concept of social media marketing, its meaning and association with consumer behaviour. Additionally, its effect on consumer behaviour will be assessed with a particular focus on the Australian beauty industry. The research will also recommend an effective social media marketing strategy for the Australian beauty industry.

Social media are websites which connect users with similar interests, opinions and hobbies. The common examples of social media sites include Facebook, Yahoo, YouTube, Whatsup etc. (Heinonen, 2011). Social media is a cluster of techniques that use internet and are based on the philosophical and technical footings of Web 2.0 and permit the establishment and sharing of user-generated content (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). Consumer buying behaviour involves the processes that consumers undergo before they make their purchasing decisions (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). It also refers to the consumer actions in the market place and the underlying influence for such actions. Organizations critically study consumer behaviour to identify the potential needs of consumers that have not been met or market opportunities. Studies have indicated that consumer behaviour is primarily determined by three factors namely personal, social and psychological.

Social Media and Consumer Behaviour

Multiple consumer behaviour models have also been proposed. The black-box model is premised on a stimulus-response model from without, the personal-variable model asserts that consumers are influenced to make purchase decisions by internal factors. The complex model is a combination of both internal and external variables (Horner and Swarbrooke, 2016).

The effect of social media on consumer buying behaviour has been a researcher by several researchers. Lim, Cheah, and Wong (2017) observed that social media marketing substantially affects consumer buying behaviour in the Australian cosmetic industry. It provides businesses with a broad category of options for consumers to exercise their freedom of choice after doing intensive research on a variety of products and expressing their view on the products. However, negative product reviews can also affect the purchase decisions of other customers (Wright, 2017). Heller Baird and Parasnis (2011) assert that social media develops customer loyalty, and the marketing team can connect with customers on an individual basis, thus enabling them to address any issues raised by the potential buyers. Moreover, social media influences the purchase decision of consumers by appealing to their expectations through the use of videos and pictures (Patel, 2018). Social media influence consumer purchase decisions through branding because it provides an opportunity for consumers to share the strengths and weaknesses of a product or service through their feedback. The product with a lot of positive response receives much attention and is branded as the best in the market.

Need recognition takes place when buyers become aware that they have an unfulfilled dream which can be stimulated by both external and internal stimuli. An example of external stimuli is social media because it can show the buyer a need which was not previously known due to ignorance (Hoyer and McInnis 2010). Social media acts as a source of information by other experiences users about products and services. It provides the needful information that other customers consult before making the decision to buy or not. Studies on the influence of peer behaviours on the uptake of products or services have shown that friends of social media are likely to purchase similar products due to their share experiences about given products or services on social media platforms (Rehmani and Khan, 2011).

Social media marketing strategies can be diverse based on the characteristics of the target customers, the type of product and the aim of the marketing team. One of the marketing strategy suggested by Kumar et al. (2016) emphasised on providing authentic information about the products or services to the consumers as a way of positively influencing the consumer buying decision. The use of multiple social media platforms to increase brand loyalty is another strategy proposed by Hynes and Wilson (2016).

The Effect of Social Media on Buying Behaviour

The overall objective of this research is to examine the effect of social media on the consumer buying behaviour of Australian beauty products. The following are the specific research questions

Primary Question

1.    What is the effect of social media on consumer behaviour in the Australian beauty industry?

Secondary question

1.    What is the meaning and concept of social media and consumer behaviour
2.    What is the most effective social media marketing strategy to influence the buying behaviour of consumers in the Australian beauty industry?

These research questions will help to find the solution to the primary question of the study.

The research design is divided into qualitative and quantitative research approaches. This will specifically include the main steps to be used in conducting the research, validity and reliability approaches, sampling design and sample size, and data collection methods. The study will use a mixed approach because it allows the utilization of multiple tools which generates comprehensive statistical analysis (Creswell and Creswell, 2017).

The researcher utilised a qualitative method to develop a comprehensive understanding of the study topic. The researcher commenced by developing research questions aimed at providing solutions to the problem under study. A critical review of the literature was first conducted, which involved a review of the previously published researches relevant to the study topic.  This study used a case study approach to carry out qualitative research. Creswell and Creswell (2017) opine that a case study approach is much beneficial for qualitative research. Kothari (2019) suggests that a case study approach is more effective in situations where there is a need for an in-depth assessment of a single unit. More specifically the researcher used narrative case studies because they provide the researcher with an insight into an experience, stories or themes on varying perspectives and comprehending behaviours of people by assessing their experiences (Yin 2009). In this study, the researcher examined the buying experiences of beauty products by the consumers and the influence of social media in purchase decisions.  Out of the stories narrated by the consumer, the researcher gained an insight into how social media impacts the consumer buying behaviour of Australian beauty products. A single case study was used to evaluate the buying behaviour of a consumer using social interactive tools to gather information and check the opinions of other buyers regarding three selected beauty products in Victoria, Australia. Within the single case study, the unit of analysis comprised of varying products and prices so as to assess how the purchasing process and decision making of three beauty products were influenced by social media platforms. The main differences between the customer’s preferences would be compared to provide insight into what factors related to the use of social media influenced their decision. Data collection will be carried out using interviews and then analysed using the content analysis technique.

Social Media Marketing Strategies

The study will adopt a descriptive cross-sectional survey approach because it will enable the researcher to exercise authority over the measurement and the findings thus making it the most appropriate for the study. The study will endeavour to obtain responses from multiple people in Victoria; this will be achievable because the study will focus on one geographical area. The high number of feedbacks will also be a way of ensuring the credibility of the study. A target population is defined as the whole group of subjects, people or events that have a mutual characteristic that is observable (Mugenda and Mugenda, 2012). The target population for this project will comprise of all females in Victoria and aged 18 years and above. The choice of the female population is because they are the highest consumers of beauty products in the world. This population study has been approximated to be 69,823 (the City of Melbourne, n.d.).

The sampling frame will comprise of the 69, 823 women in the city of Melbourne. Since this sampling frame is large and minimal information is known about their buying behaviour with regard to the study topic, the Slovins formula will be used to ascertain the appropriate sample size as shown below,

n = N / (1+Ne2)

Where,

N = population size

e= margin of error

The margin of error will be assumed to be 5% and using the Slovin’s formula, the sample is found to be 397 women aged 18 years and above in the city of Melbourne. The 397 subjects will be selected using convenience sampling because it is less costly, easy to use and takes less time.

Primary data will be gathered using a structured questionnaire specifically designed for this study. It will then be administered to the respondents. The researcher prefers questionnaires because they allow the participant to give their views in a free and unrestricted manner. This ensures that the respondents provide honest feedbacks and are given sufficient time to respond to each question without biased help from the researcher. The questions in the questionnaire will be pretested to improve validity. Moreover, the pretesting will also assist the researcher to review and make necessary changes to the questions and guarantee the respondents of the clarity of the questions (Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill, 2009). Lastly, the researcher will personally administer the questionnaires by hand delivery by approaching customers in different beauty stores in the city of Melbourne, Australia to fill in the questionnaires. The collected data will then be analysed by categorizing, manipulation and assessment with an objective of obtaining feedbacks that answer the research questions (Mugenda and Mugenda, 2012). The obtained data will them coded, grouped and summarised for analysis using SPSS.  

Research Objective

The collected and analysed data will then be presented in the form of tables, bar graphs and charts. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be used to make meaning of the collected data and the association between the study variables. Under inferential statistics, a regression model will be used to determine the association between the study variables.

The use of social media will be the independent variable determined by the number of hours on social media, whereas the dependent variable (Y) will be the consent on whether the buyer decision of a beauty product was influenced by social media.

The validity of the data will be gained through the pre-test of the questions in the research questionnaire among five respondents who will not be included in the final research. Any detected errors are to be addressed before the ultimate study. The inclusion of a large sample size and consistency in the process of gathering data will improve the reliability of the study (Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill, 2009). Additionally, the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient will be used to determine the reliability of the research. a coefficient below 0.7 is reliable according to Kothari (2009). Coding of the collected data during analysis will also improve the validity of the research. Face validity will also be used to achieve validity by ensuring that the current measure is a reflection of the study content.

Under the qualitative approach, triangulation will also be used to achieve internal validity. Triangulation is used to collect data using multiple sampling strategies and different methods of data collection. Therefore, it enables data collection at a varying time and in situations, in addition to different people and thus allowing the researcher to compare the responses with expectations. To ensure triangulation, data will be gathered from a single consumer, but her three purchase decisions for three products will be evaluated to give an insight into the influence of the social media (Noble and Smith, 2015).  

The researcher is likely to meet some challenges that may compromise the attainment of the research aim. The most potential challenge is the lack of cooperation from the participant with regard to submitting their responses in time and others may not provide their views. However, this limitation is to be overcome by explaining the objective of the study to the participants before they accept to participate and offering any unbiased assistance.  The study is only restricted to a specific geographical area, thus limiting the generalization of the findings to other contexts.

Research Design

The researcher expects the study to be carried out in three months beginning January to March 2019. The timeframe of each activity is illustrated in the gnat chat below.

Conclusion 

The primary aim of this project is to determine the effects of social media on the consumer buying behaviour of Australian beauty products. The rise in technological advancement has significantly increased the use of social media platforms, and businesses have taken advantage to convert social media users to potential consumers of their products or services. Studies have indicated that consumers conduct a lot of research before deciding to purchase a given product. They thus would like to share their feedback experience after using a given product. These responses can be an endorsement to other potential buyers for or against the product. This has made social media to be an ideal platform that consumers use to influence their purchase decision-making process.

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