they collected their data through questionnaires, designed to measure brand loyalty; the reasons to follow brands on social media and content categories shared on social media. Their sample was refined using two filter questions to make sure that participants fit the requirements of the research. If the answers to both of the questions were positive, then the respondent was given the questionnaire. I thought this was a very clever way to filter, to actually find people who were relevant to the study, to save both time and money.
The research paper is set out in a typical style, written in a formal format with sections of information broken up under relevant headings. I found the paper read progressively, with the information flowing from one section to the next. After the Data Collection and Methodology section comes the Findings, which includes methods of analysis and tables presenting the data and findings. This is then followed by the paper’s Conclusion. The aim of the study was to understand the effect social media marketing is having on brand loyalty formation, from the perspective of the consumers . The results from the study concluded that a significant contribution was to practise and literature. Social media marketing, at that point in time, was defined as a new, albeit growing platform for building those positive relationships with customers and developing positive brand images. A drawback to this paper is that it was written in 2012, and when dealing with such a rapidly changing and evolving medium, three years can be seen as a long time.
I don’t believe that this paper, or its findings are out-dated, but this was written in a time when social media was only just developing as a tool for modern marketing. I still believe it to be a well-conducted study and a well-written paper.