AN EXAMINATION OF TWITTER BAN ON DIGITAL MARKETING
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Technology advancement and the growth of digital marketing go hand in hand. Ray Tomlinson’s 1971 email, which established the foundation for people to transmit and receive files via various machines, was one of the earliest significant events ( Nielsen 2016). The Archie search engine was developed in 1990 as an index for FTP sites, making this year more widely recognized as the beginning of digital marketing. Computer storage was already sufficiently enough in the 1980s to accommodate massive amounts of client data. Businesses were deciding against limited list brokers in favor of online strategies like database marketing. These databases changed the connection between buyers and sellers by enabling businesses to track client information more efficiently.
Digital marketing is the area of marketing that makes use of the internet and other online platforms and media, such as desktop and mobile computers, to advertise goods and services (Techopedia 2018). Because of its growth in the 1990s and 2000s, it altered how companies and brands use technology for marketing. Digital marketing campaigns have proliferated as a result of the integration of digital platforms into marketing strategies and daily life, as well as the rise in the use of digital devices by consumers in place of physical stores. These campaigns typically combine search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, content automation, campaign marketing, data-driven marketing, e-commerce marketing, and social media marketing, display advertising, e-books, optical discs, and video games are now standard (AMA, 2019).
When the Federal Government of Nigeria officially banned Twitter operation in Nigeria on June 5th, it created uncertainty for the majority of firms who use digital marketing to operate on social networks. Users submit and engage with messages known as “tweets” on the American microblogging and social networking site Twitter. Unregistered users can only view tweets, however registered users can post, like, and retweet them. Twitter can be accessed by users via its website or through mobile device applications.
It is sufficient to argue that social networks increase digital marketing, therefore a restriction on social media will undoubtedly have an impact on how profitable digital marketing is for brands and companies with Twitter accounts. This study will investigate the impact of Twitter’s prohibition on digital marketing based on this assumption.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Raising brand awareness—the degree to which consumers and the general public are familiar with and recognize a particular brand—is one of the main goals of contemporary digital marketing. Because it affects brand perception and consumer decision-making, increasing brand recognition is crucial for digital marketing and marketing in general. Yet it’s crucial to remember that a lot of companies and brands rely on digital marketing to promote their goods on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp, and more.
As a result, for a business that has established an online identity and reputation, losing access to any of their social media accounts always suggests that they are in danger of losing the market share they have worked so hard to establish. Due to the federal government’s judgment about a social networking site like Twitter, this uncertainty affected the majority of businesses and brands.
As Twitter deleted comments from Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari warning the Igbo-majority south eastern population of Nigeria of a potential repetition of the 2013 civil war, the Nigerian government officially banned Twitter from operating in Nigeria on June 4, 2021. However, it was ultimately based on “a litany of problems with the social media platform in Nigeria, where misinformation and fake news spread through it have had real world violent consequences,” according to the Nigerian government, who claimed that the removal of the President’s tweets was a factor in their decision. Amnesty International, the British, Canadian, and Swedish embassies in Nigeria, as well as local organizations like the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), all condemned the ban.
However, the ban’s implications are likely to have an adverse impact on brands and businesses that use digital marketing, such as lower customer engagement, a decline in brand awareness, and lower profitability If nothing is done, run. A comprehensive evaluation of the impact of Twitter’s prohibition on digital marketing is therefore presented in light of the context in which this study is set.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
Examining the effects of Twitter’s prohibition on digital marketing is the major goal of this study. In particular, the project aims to:
Find out how the Twitter ban has affected Nigerian brands and companies who use digital marketing.
Before Twitter was banned in Nigeria, look into the extent to which brand products were promoted via digital marketing on the company’s twitter account.
Examine how much brand recognition and a brand specialty were generated through digital marketing on their twitter account prior to the Nigerian Twitter ban.
Check to see if the current Twitter ban will also have an impact on the revenue and profitability of digital marketing in Nigeria.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following queries serve as a guide for the research
1. What impact does Twitter’s ban have on Nigerian firms and companies using digital marketing?
2. Before Twitter was banned in Nigeria, how much brand-name products were promoted digitally on the company’s twitter account?
3. How much brand awareness and brand niche were developed by digital marketing on their twitter handle prior to the Nigerian Twitter ban?
4. Would the latest Twitter ban have an impact on the income, profitability, and brand recognition of digital marketing in Nigeria?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The findings and theoretical aspects of this work will be pertinent to the major business brands and businesses that operate online via digital marketing because this study illustrates the nature of the twitter ban effect on digital marketing as well as the significant roles played by this sector under study. More specifically, the study will be very helpful to students, researchers, and other people who might be interested in gathering or doing any research relevant to the subject being studied.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of borders on the examination of twitter ban on digital marketing. The study is therefore limited to GoTV Lagos
1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
These are some of the study’s limitations:
Finance: This experiment is restricted to only Lagos state-based GoTV centers due to the researcher’s financial difficulties making a bigger sample size, which would have allowed the study to cover a larger territory, impractical.
Time: The researcher’s time constraints were not unexpected, as they directly interfered with the thorough coverage that was anticipated for this report. The researcher intended to speak with every employee of the chosen GoTV outlets, however due to a plethora of activities that crossed over into academics, work schedules, and other social activities, it became comparatively difficult to do so, the findings and theoretical aspects of this work will be pertinent to the major business brands and businesses that operate online via digital marketing because this study illustrates the nature of the twitter ban effect on digital marketing as well as the significant roles played by this sector under study. More specifically, the study will be very helpful to students, researchers, and other people who might be interested in gathering or doing any research relevant to the subject being studied.
Schedules for work and other social events Due to the difficulty in communicating the goal, only the digital marketing division was invited to participate in the study.
Respondents’ attitudes: The majority of employees fail to collect the surveys, and of those that do, some give it the urgent attention it needs to be filled out and returned, while others never did. Others were less amenable and may have divulged unreliable information out of a fear of being found out, despite the researcher’s assurances that all material would be treated in the strictest confidence and used exclusively for educational purposes.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Twitter: Twitter is an American micro-blogging and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages known as “tweets”. Registered users can post, like, and retweet tweets, but unregistered users can only read them.
Twitter Ban: this is the authoritative pause in the operation of twitter as mandated by the Federal government of Nigeria on June 5th 2021 until the owners of the social network meet the newly established requirement given to them by the government of Nigeria.
Digital marketing is the branch of marketing that uses online and internet-based tools like smartphones, desktop computers, and other digital media and platforms to advertise goods and services.
Brand Recognition: The level of consumer recognition of a product by name is referred to as brand recognition in marketing. A crucial stage in advertising a new product or revitalizing an established brand is raising brand awareness. The traits that set the product apart from the competitors should ideally be known by consumers who are familiar with the brand.
REFERENCE
The 2019 “The Four Faces of Digital Marketing” report from the American Marketing Association. obtained on August 22, 2019.
Nigeria bans CNN in 2021 after the firm removes a tweet from President Buhari. obtained on June 5, 2021.
Nielsen (10 March 2016). (10 March 2016). In Canada, digital advertising is expanding, necessitating more complex success metrics. The Nielsen Company. obtained on March 25, 2016.
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