THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

ADVERTISING ON PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR

Abstract—Traditional advertising is the main media A. Effectiveness of Traditional Advertising in the FMCG
employed by marketers in the FMCG sector to affect Sector
consumers decisions. However, people are exposed to plenty of
advertising media from various forms and different channels In the past decades, traditional advertising has been the
every day, especially from social media. Therefore, digital major advertising tool adopted by many FMCG brands.
advertising should be more powerful than traditional Generally, TV advertising is considered the most powerful
advertising in this era. This paper seeks to study when advertising medium because each exposure can reach a wide
consumers choose daily necessities, whether these range of consumers. It is able to present product attributes
advertisements affect their decisions, and whether social media visually and explain their corresponding consumer benefits
advertising effectively influences consumers purchase convincingly [2], [5], [7]. In addition, television enables
decisions. In order to promote the development of digital and customers in rural areas to learn about products available on
social media advertising research in the FMCG sector, this the market, and hence it plays a vital role in the FMCG
paper proposes further research directions. segment [8].

Keywords—traditional advertising, digital advertising, social Print advertising and outdoor advertising are also
media, purchase behaviour, FMCG common tools employed by FMCG marketers. Outdoor
advertising is used to evoke consumers' memories of brand
I. INTRODUCTION awareness and brand image, and creative outdoor
advertising can also give consumers a strong brand
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) refer to non-
association [9]. Print advertising is usually in the form of
durable goods that are quickly sold at a relatively low cost,
magazines, newspapers and flyers, which can effectively
with low-profit margins but accounting for more than half of
provide consumers with detailed product information and
all consumer expenditures, which are the largest category of
promotion offers by visual image and text [5], [10]. A study
consumer goods market [1]. The FMCG includes food and
by Sorce and Dewitz [11] found that magazine advertising is
non-food daily consumer goods, such as tobacco, cosmetics,
even more effective than TV advertising.
toiletries and household items, these products are common
in supermarkets and grocery stores [2]. These products are Point of purchase is the advertising that appears in the
consumed rapidly and have a short shelf life. From a store which can be in many different forms, such as
business perspective, the sales volume of FMCG is advertisements on shopping carts, ceilings and shelves,
significantly huge, which is why there are so many FMCG which is common to see in supermarkets [12]. The appeal of
brands, leading to fierce market competition [3]. In order to the point of purchase advertising lies in the fact that in many
attract consumers to buy their brands, FMCG marketers product categories, customers make most of the final brand
need to implement effective marketing strategies, and decisions in the store [5]. Therefore, it helps FMCG brands
advertising is one of the most commonly used and powerful to promote their products to transmit their brand information
marketing tools for marketers to convey brand information and promotional offers at the last minute, thereby trying to
to their potential customers [4], [5], [6]. influence the final decision of consumers.
Advertising is one of the main modes of the marketing B. Traditional Advertising VS Digital Advertising
communications mix [5]. It can be divided into two main There are some studies [11], [13], [14] that argue
categories, traditional media and digital media. In the book traditional advertising plays a key role in affecting
of Kotler and Keller [5] highlights that traditional consumers purchase behaviours. TV advertising can
advertising indicates broadcast media (TV and radio), consider as the best media since it has a major impact on
outdoor media (billboards, poster and bus Ads, etc.), print improving brand awareness and brand recall [15].
media (newspaper and magazine) and point of purchase. Furthermore, Kakkad [16] states that even if newspapers can
Digital advertising includes online media such as display target specific groups, TV advertisements are more
ads on websites, landing pages, eNewletter, email influential than newspaper advertisements. However, print
marketing, search engine marketing and so on, and social advertising is still valued by marketers, for instance, a study
media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Tiktok). found that magazine advertising is more effective than TV
advertising for certain target groups [11]. It can be seen that
traditional advertising is the most powerful tool for
marketers to promote brands, especially in the FMCG
sector. However, in this era where everything can be done decisions [27], [28]. The study of Banerjee [29] shows that
online, digital advertising should be more effective than FMCG marketers through social media advertising succeed
traditional advertising. In addition, the influence of social in producing attention and recall value to consumers than
media on our daily lives is increasing [17], so it is crucial traditional advertising. Social media advertising enables
for researchers to understand whether social media FMCG marketers to transmit the brand messages to
advertising can have an impact that affects consumer designated audiences based on target segments and
purchase decisions. preferences, this can ensure that target groups have access to
brand information, thereby influencing their purchasing
Hence, this paper aims to investigate does social media decisions. A recent study [30] shows that brands make use
advertising effectively influence consumers’ purchase of a wide range of social media advertising to provide
decisions on FMCG products? Can it play a key role in the massive product information to consumers, which make
FMCG sector? them receive the brand information successfully, and
To answer research questions, this paper conducts a generate brand association with brands and make purchase
literature review covering research in different disciplines. decisions. As consumers are exposed to a huge number of
The structure of this paper is as follows: First, we are going social media advertisements, it may succeed to enhance
to discuss the impacts of digital advertising. Second, their memories of brands and product information, thereby
providing an overview of existing research on social media affecting them to buy the products. Haddad [27] highlights
in the FMCG sector. Finally, summarise the conclusions, that social media can be regarded as an influential tool for
and propose directions for further research to promote marketing communication strategies because it provides an
digital and social media advertising towards FMCG research excellent opportunity to communicate with consumers. In
forward. the study of Banerjee [29] found that from the consumers
perspective, they believe that social media provide them
II. LITERATURE REVIEW with a high degree of freedom to interact with the brand and
more opportunities to give opinions to the brand, which is
A. Impacts of Digital Advertising unmatched by traditional media. It is worth noticing that the
With the widespread of smartphones, the internet has research findings show that many consumers believe that
provided the advertising industry with more rich media tools they purchase products of the designated FMCG brand
and global influence, it enables marketers to use digital because they have obtained brand information from social
media to disseminate brand information interactively at a media platforms that impresses them. This shows that
lower cost [18]. As the role of traditional media is gradually FMCG marketers can successfully convey their product
weakened, this has led to a significant increase in the information to targeted consumers through social media
popularity of digital advertising [19]. By investing advertising, they need to develop social media advertising
advertising in digital media, marketers can formulate strategies for specific groups to ensure they receive the
marketing strategies for a wider range of regions and more product information.
target audiences, and it is easier to measure results In terms of the effectiveness of social media advertising
compared with traditional advertising [20]. As social media for FMCG products, it may vary based on demographics
has become more and more popular in this decade, it and geography [28], [31]. A study [32] argues that social
enables consumers to participate in brands more deeply and media can be one of the effective methods to attract
widely than ever before. Social media has become a Generation Y consumers and encourage them to make
strategic tool for rapid development, marketers consider purchase decisions. Social media has become an
social media as their important advertising channel since it indispensable part of their lives and they tend to follow
allows them to create personalized messages to target these types of advertisements [31], [33]. Some studies [28],
audiences and receive feedback effectively [6]. [30] underline that these age groups are easily stimulated by
Some studies [20], [21] show that digital and social social media and especially young men under 30. Therefore,
media empower consumers, and brands play a significant successful social media advertising can attract them, thereby
role in promoting dialogue between consumers and stimulating their interest in the product, and perform more
themselves. Through interacting with customers, helps deep information research and make purchase decisions
brands to establish contact with customers, thereby [32]. Regarding geography, some studies [28], [31] argue
promoting consumers generate strong brand engagement that the effectiveness of social media advertising may vary
and increasing brand associations [22]. Furthermore, in different countries, especially emerging countries.
research by Sama [23] shows that traditional advertising is However, social media advertising is increasingly prominent
effective to remain high brand recall but digital advertising in emerging countries and its effectiveness cannot be
has a greater impact on pre-purchase and post-purchase completely denied. Social media advertising still has a
behaviours that affect consumers. Pre-purchase is where certain impact on the FMCG market in emerging countries
consumers conduct product research before making buying [28]. A recent study [34] highlights that different forms of
decisions, and post-purchase is a significant stage for brands social media advertisements have significant impacts on
[23]. It depends on whether the positive experience is interaction and engagement, which means that using
generated by consumers after consuming the products, effective strategies can make social media advertising
which is the key step in building brand loyalty, thereby become an effective communication tool for brands to
increasing repeat purchases [24]. promote their products in emerging countries.
B. Social Media Advertising Towards FMCG Products III. CONCLUSIONS
Significant changes have taken place in offline Social media is a decisive communication tool for
marketing, and the importance of online marketing marketers to interact with consumers and provide them with
communication forms and online marketing platforms is product information [20], [27], [28], [29], [30]. Day after
increasing [25]. With the widespread popularity of the day exposure in the massive FMCG advertisements on
internet and social media, even rural residents now use social media platforms can bring a deep impression for
social media as a daily communication tool [26]. Nowadays, consumers, thereby triggering them to perform purchase
social media is an important tool for consumers to search for decisions [29], [30]. FMCG brands can interact with
product information, and it can influence their purchasing consumers via social media, which helps increase customers
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