Using Facebook for Multinational Cosmetics Companies Proposal

An Audience Study on the Effectiveness of Using Facebook for Multinational Cosmetics Companies to Target Local Emirati Females Living in Dubai.

Introduction

Research question and sub-questions

Social media influence many aspects of the people’s life, including the persons’ purchasing behavior. In this context, it is important to conduct a research on the role of Facebook in affecting cosmetic companies’ marketing strategies in Dubai and answer the following research question: How can multinational cosmetic companies MAC and Bobbi Brown effectively engage in communicating with local Emirati females in Dubai via Facebook?

Sub-questions important to be answered in the research are the following ones:

1. How has MAC used FB for marketing its products to Emirati females 20-25 y/o in Dubai?
2. How has Bobbi Brown used FB for marketing its products to Emirati females 20-25 y/o in Dubai?
3. How do local Emirati females 20-25 y/o experience and assess marketing via FB for the multinational cosmetic companies MAC and Bobbi Brown?

Importance of studying this topic

The importance of studying this topic is in the fact that the role of social media in affecting the market can be different, depending on the cultural features of certain regions, such as Dubai. Theories that support the discussion are Framing and Agenda-Setting Theory and Social Cognitive Theory.

In this research proposal, I will discuss the research methodology with the focus on data collection and analysis of the appropriateness of close reading and focus group methods to answer the formulated research questions in the context of the presented theories. I will discuss the methods’ strengths and weaknesses, explain the choice of methods, and analyze the methods’ reliability, validity, and ethics.

Methodology

Focus group method

The focus group is a qualitative survey method used to explore what opinions and perceptions are prevalent in the concrete population group (Belk, 2007, p. 256). Focus group in the form of a discussion or interview is the most effective method to choose for this research because participants can discuss the proposed issues openly and from their individual perspectives (Hultman & Ek, 2011, p. 166).

The method allows recording any agreement or disagreement in the discussion without interrupting the conversation. Furthermore, the focus group method is correlated with Social Cognitive Theory, according to which individual opinions of participants are discussed with references to the visions of other members of the group (LaRose & Eastin, 2004, p. 358).

Close Reading

The next method to be used in the research is close reading. The method is useful because it allows analyzing the effectiveness of texts used in marketing with the help of social media (Treadwell, 2010, p. 114). Close reading helps interpret the text and identify patterns, as it is important with references to Framing and Agenda-Setting theory.

Close reading is an effective method to examine posts of cosmetics companies and focus on how they frame objects in their slogans and messages (Close reading of a literary passage, 2014).

Strengths and weaknesses of methods

Strengths of the focus group method are the focus on the real-life data and flexibility in conducting the interview (Babbie, 2009, p. 323). It is an in-depth socially oriented research technique which provides opportunities for obtaining individual perceptions in the non-threatening environment (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2010, p. 209).

Focus group is “a quick and cheap alternative to ‘proper’ survey or interview research” (Belk, 2007, p. 256). The limitations of focus group are impossibility to control dynamics properly and difficulties associated with the data analysis (Babbie, 2009, p. 323).

Strengths of close reading are the possibility to analyze any text in the sphere of marketing and identify patterns (McNamara, 2012, p. 112). Still, close reading is time-consuming (McNamara, 2012, p. 114).

The appropriateness of using methods

The focus group method is appropriate for the research because of the necessity to explore the individuals’ opinions regarding the use of social media as the part of the marketing strategy. The received data will be used to create the conceptual framework to discuss the issue.

This method is the most effective because of reflecting the females’ real visions regarding the effectiveness of social media use in marketing. Close reading is important to understand what aspects in texts attract the target group’s attention.

Data collection and stages of the research

To collect the real-life data with the help of a focus group interview, it is necessary to develop an interview guide (Packer-Muti, 2010, p. 1025). The second step is to assemble the group of young female Emiratis with similar demographic features (Babbie, 2009, p. 323).

The next step is to conduct the interview while recoding the data. It is important to control the participants’ engagement into the discussion and make notes regarding the patterns identified in the conversation. The collection of data through close reading includes the reading of posts; making annotations; and identifying patterns (McNamara, 2012, p. 112).

Validity, reliability, and generalization of results

The focus group method is characterized by the “high face validity” because personal data is collected during the research (Babbie, 2009, p. 323). Close reading is reliable, but it is a less valid method because different researchers interpret the received data from different perspectives (Close reading of a literary passage, 2014; McNamara, 2012, p. 115). The results received via focus group and close reading cannot be generalized (Packer-Muti, 2010, p. 1024).

Ethics

Inviting respondents to participate in the focus group interview, it is necessary to ask them to sign the informed consent regarding the use of collected data and to focus on the issue of confidentiality (Belk, 2007, p. 134).

Conclusion

In order to conduct the research on the topic of using Facebook posts for influencing the target public of young females in Dubai with the focus on the business of two cosmetic companies, it is necessary to use such methods as the focus group interview and close reading because these methods address the requirements of the exploratory research.

Focus group is most useful because it provides the data regarding the personal perceptions of the target audience, and this data can be used for improving marketing strategies. The problem is in the fact that this data can be applied only to the discussed companies because of the method’s limitations.

Close reading is effective enough to provide the idea on why young female Emiratis are interested in the discussed companies’ products. The study could have been better if I had used a combination of other qualitative methods to support the focus group’s results.

My focus on highlighting certain topics in the focus group’s discussion and during close reading could impact the results of the research and my overall approach to analyzing the received information while discussing it in the context of the identified theories. The bias could be avoided with the focus on using more detailed ethnographic research in addition to the focus group method.

References

Babbie, E. (2009). The practice of social research. NewYork, NY: Cengage Learning.

Belk, R. (2007). Handbook of qualitative research methods in marketing. Boston, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Close reading of a literary passage. (2014). Web.

Hesse-Biber, S., & Leavy, P. (2010). Handbook of emergent methods. NewYork, NY: Guilford Press.

Hultman, J., & Ek, R. (2011). Can there only be one? Towards a post-paradigmatic service marketing approach. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 3(2), 166-180.

LaRose, R., & Eastin, M. (2004). A Social Cognitive Theory of Internet Uses and Gratifications: Toward a new model of media attendance. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 48(3), 358-377.

McNamara, D. (2012). Reading comprehension strategies: Theories, interventions, and technologies. Boston, MA: Psychology Press.

Packer-Muti, B. (2010). Conducting a focus group. The Qualitative Report, 15(4), 1023-1030.

Treadwell, D. (2010). Introducing communication research: Paths of inquiry. NewYork, NY: SAGE Publishing.