Positive Impact of Social Media on Cosmetic Industry - Case Study Example

The paper "Positive Impact of Social Media on Cosmetic Industry" is a great example of a media case study. Social media has grown and evolved, and it is defined in various ways by academicians, scholars and researchers. This study focused on the impact of social on the cosmetic industry with regard to its influence on consumers' cosmetic brand perception. The reference was on blogosphere and Facebook. To give the study guidance and structure, three objectives were highlighted. The first objective was to review the theoretical frameworks and conceptual models linked to cosmetic brand perceptions and social media. The second one was the evaluation of consumer blogs and Facebook, and the role of reference groups on cosmetic consumers. The last objective focused on determining optimal strategies for improving brand reputation and sales of cosmetics via increased presence in social media sites; particular blogs and Facebook.

The findings of the study revealed that both management and consumers not only accept but also appreciate the significance of the impact of social media on cosmetic brand perception. Essentially, the blogosphere and Facebook fulfill important roles in marketing communication. Blogs play the role of providing information while Facebook is specifically a social interaction space. The study provides recommendation and proposals for future study.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the study is to investigate the positive impact of social media on the cosmetic industry, with specific interest on consumers’ brand perception. In this context, social media refers to blogs and Facebook. The study is qualitative in nature and is largely focused on proving the positive impacts of the mentioned media on the cosmetics industry. Chapter one opens with a very comprehensive introduction to the paper. The section guides the reader into the research by providing a strong background and justification of the study. Moreover, the chapter outlines the aims, objectives and research questions. The second chapter gives an elaborate literature review, while chapter three and four explores the methodology and data presentation and analysis respectively.

1.2 Study background

Social media sites are defined as internet-based services that allow people to create a profile that is public or partly public in a delimited framework, converse with other users whom are virtually-connected acquaintances and observe or skim through their connection lists and those updated by others in the same framework (De Vries, Gensler & Leeflang, 2012). Social media sites vary from one another in terms of their nature and arrangement. In this research proposal, all social media sites’ mentions represent Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn, among other social web blogs (Sivesan et al., 2013). Research evidence shows that many people around the globe are spending a lot of time on the internet; this is connected to the ever-increasing rate of socialization via diverse networks of social sites.

The initial purpose of social sites’ networking centred on the notion of establishing online friendships. Online friendships continued to conceptualize through consistent sharing of information, video clips, and photographs publicly (Kim & Ko, 2012). Over time, online friendships have emerged as key influencers of the modern-day decision-making process, especially in purchasing products. Nowadays, they are part of the so-called ‘reference groups.’ Reference groups are real or virtual interactive groups that can influence an individual’s perceptions and behaviours. They are currently widespread across the network system of social media sites. Since many people spend most of their time on social media sites, online-based reference groups are likely to impact their decision-making approach (Gopaldas, 2015).