study of social media as a tool for marketing and its influence on consumer decision making

Abstract

The last decade has seen the changing of the internet from its earlier Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. The previous version of the internet was quite simple. The websites were static and mostly allowed one-way communication. The devices used to access the internet were larger, like personal computers and laptops. Now we have moved to a far more interactive version of the internet, available to the consumers round the clock. It is currently being accessed primarily through mobile devices rather than PC or laptop. People nowadays have access to a wide variety of devices like smartphones, tablet pc, and smartwatches, which can be used to create text, audio, or video content at ease. They may share the same content with anybody in the entire world through the use of the internet. Information flow used to take place from the companies or the governments to the consumers and citizens alone. But now, the information flows are taking place in all the directions, just at the click of a button. The most crucial role in increasing this fastpaced communication across the globe has been facilitated by social media platforms and mobile phones accompanying apps. Social media are the online means of communication, conveyance, collaboration and cultivation among interconnected and interdependent networks of people, communities, and organisations enhanced by the technological capabilities and mobility . In the initial phase in the mid-2000s, only a limited number of organisations used social media to communicate with their customers, as they were unsure about its utility as a marketing tool. But in the last decade, they have woken up to the fact that social media can be used in a big way to influence consumer behaviour. We see many companies creating their profiles on various social media platforms for engaging their present and prospective customers. Marketers in the modern-day technological world have started using social media tools to do marketing campaigns for online consumers. The social networking sites have helped to do social...