1. Research Proposal on
THE USEFULNESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA
IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
SERVICE BRANDS’ IMAGE
UNIVERSITY OF KELANIYA | FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Dasun Tharanga H K [FGS/02/25/01/2014/74]

2. INTRODUCTION
GLOBALDIGITALSNAPSHOT
total population 7.210Bn
active internet users
3.010Bn
active social media
accounts 2.078Bn
unique mobile users
3.649Bn
active mobile social
accounts 1.685Bn
YEAR-ON-YEARGROWTH
total population + 1.6%
active internet users
+21%
active social media
accounts +12%
unique mobile users +5%
active mobile social
accounts +23%
Source: www.wearesocial.sg

3. What Next…
§ Social Media Ads represents 14% of Digital Ad spending
§ 70% marketers expected to spend on social media than last
year
§ Analyzers predicts 33.5% global increase on spending for social
media annually
§ Social Media Ad spending is likely to exceed $35Bn in 2017
§ Instagram predicts to bring $2.81Bn in year 2017
§ Over 50% of B2B marketers rank social media as a “VERY” or
“SOMEWHAT” low cost advertising option
§ Among to 100 YouTube advertisers, the average spend on
advertising has increased 60% year-over-year
Source: www.hootsuit.com

4. Larry Weber
“Marketing to the Social Web”
“Social media is a new strategy that has the capacity of
changing public opinion – every hour, minute, even a second.
And why not changing customers brand attitude? “

5. RESEARCH PROBLEM
The main research question is:
“How useful are Social Medias
for consumers in establishment
of positive image towards a
brand?

6. Sub Questions are
§ What is understood under the following “usefulness of social media in
establishing positive brand image”?
§ How can this usefulness of social media be measured?
§ What is meant under brand image?
§ What makes the relation between social media and brand image possible?
§ Which social media users hold more positive brand image?
§ Is the brand image created under the effect of social media or by
combination of social media and other factors? What’s the reason behind
that?
§ What does the usefulness of social media toward brand image depend on?
§ What is the role of brand awareness, brand equity and brand loyalty for the
usefulness of Social Media in the establishment of positive brand image?

7. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
Key Objective
§ To study the usefulness of social media in the establishment of
service brands’ image in local context
Specific Objectives
§ To study the impact of social media towards the establishment
of positive image on brand equity.
§ To study the impact of
§ Brand awareness
§ Brand association
§ Social media knowledge
§ Social media usage towards the positive band image.

8. LITERATURE REVIEW
§ Leading Service Brands #SL
§ Dialog Axiata
§ Mobitel
§ Ikman
§ Insurance Brands #SL
§ HNB Assurance
§ Union Assurance PLC
§ Union Assurance General Ltd
§ Ceylinco Life
§ Janashakthi Insurance PLC
Source: www.alexa.com

9. Keller’s Brand Equity Model
Resonance
Judgments | Feelings
Performance | Imagery
Salience
1. Identity | Who’re you?
1. Meaning | What’re you?
1. Response | What about you?
1. Relationship | What about you & me?

10. Factors that influence
Consumer’s Attitude
in relations to the
Social Media Marketing
§ Digital Experience
§ Experience with Social Media Tools
§ Information Transfer on Social Media
§ Social Media Usage
§ Social Media Knowledge
§ Internet & Social Media
§ Foresight about Social Media
§ Fear about marketing with Social Media
E Akar and B Topcu. 2011

11. CONCEPTUAL MODEL
Brand
Image
Brand Awareness
Brand Associations
Social Media
Usage
Social Media
Knowledge
Social Media
Monitoring

12. HYPOTHESIS
1. Followers/Fans that have been aware with a certain brand for a
longer period of time are holding more positive attitude toward
that brand image than non – followers
2. Followers/fans that have been using social media for a longer
period of time hold more positive attitude towards the brand
than non-followers
3. Followers that often engage in social media activities are more
positive toward brands than non-followers that engage in the
same activities
4. Followers that engage often in social media activities in regards
to any brand are more positive than non-followers

13. HYPOTHESIS
5. Followers/Fans that more often have personal experience with a
brand hold more positive attitude than non-followers
6. Followers/Fans that find social media important in their
everyday life are with more positive brand image than non-
followers who find it equally important
7. Followers/Fans that have more positive associations to certain
brand hold also more positive attitude toward it than non-fans/
followers

14. METHODOLOGY
§ Questioner Design & Measures
§ Q1 – Q6 Reasons, types and frequency of social media usage
§ Q7 – Q10 Understanding of the consumer about the
§ Brand concept
§ Usage
§ Consumption
§ Q10 onwards – Sample will be divided to two groups
§ Fans/ Followers
§ Behavior in relation to the Janashakthi Insurance brand
§ Influence of Facebook for the formation of that behavior
§ Non Fans/ Non Followers
§ Knowledge of the Janashakthi Insurance brand
§ Eventual social media behavior in relation to it
§ The frequency of discussion and visiting any of the locations of that
particular brand

15. Independent Variables
§ Longer Awareness
§ Longer Social Media Usage
§ Engagement in Social Media Activities
§ Engagement in Social Media Activities in Regards to Any
Brand
§ Personal Experience
§ Importance of Social Media in People’s Life
§ Brand Association – Open Ended Question

16. Dependent Variables
Brand Image
§ To be measured by the
mean of scores on 10
statements rated on five
points Likert scale
Attitudes
Judgements (User Imagery)
Quality
Credibility
Consideration
Superiority
Feelings (Usage Imagery)
Warmth
Active
Attentiveness
Security
Social
Approval
Self Respect

17. Sample & Data Collection
§ 100 – 200 Including both Fans & Non Fans of Janashakthi
Insurance Brand Facebook Page
§ People who can understand Social Media & A Brand
§ People who speak English
§ To be collected through Facebook/ Linkdin/ Emails

18. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
§ Lack of Infrastructure Development
§ Irregular access to technology
§ Use of social media separations as culture wise, religion wise
and language wise
§ Lack of awareness on terms like brand image, brand equity,
brand values, etc.
§ Uneven distribution of cultural, social & economical aspects
Hence, the sample will not fully represent the majority of
Facebook users & the results would be not applicable to a
large extent of people.

19. WORK SCHEDULE

20. Q & A
#ThankYou