How social media can be used to engage and interact with consumers in the retail industry: an analysis on Woolworths' online strategies

Abstract

This proposed research is a small-scale qualitative study that explored the world of digital media specifically social media. Social media was looked at in-depth with regards to how brands can utilise this media platform to engage and interact with their consumers. The South African retail brand, Woolworths, was analysed in terms of their social media strategy. Woolworths was analysed because of their strong online strategies. With the advancement of technology within the past few years, digital media has grown a lot and is sometimes preferred over traditional media, such as newspapers and magazines. Since digital media has advanced, social media platforms have been getting stronger every year. A lot of South African are using different types of social media platforms, therefore it is imperative that South African brands keep up to date with current trends and focus part of their marketing strategies on social media. This also includes brands being able to interact with their customers through social media. This proposed research topic is relevant both to brands and consumers, because social media plays a very big role in today’s age. Many people are using social media, so in order for companies to boost their brand recognition and build and foster relationships with their customers, they need to connect with them in an efficient way. This interpretivistic study analysed customers from Woolworths, with regards to their opinions and thoughts about brands interacting with their customers on social media. Information for this proposed research was obtained from questionnaires from twenty participants in the Umhlanga area. From the data collected, it was noted that consumers felt that social media is very important in today’s society and that many of the participants were attracted to the Woolworths social media pages, because of their interesting content and quick responses to consumers.