Effects Of New Media Advertising On Small Scale Businesses In Uyo Capital City

Effects Of New Media Advertising On Small Scale Businesses In Uyo Capital City

Chapter One

Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study

New media are internet-based communication platforms that offer media users the capability of producing and disseminating their own media messages. They are communication devices that have created an overlap between interpersonal and mass communication. In this connection, users have been enabled to function both as receivers and producers of communication messages, that is, a user generates his message, and gets feedback from the receivers of the message, to which it is targeted. New media advertising is a structured form of communication that exhibits products, services, brands or ideas. The new media informs, educates, entertains and provides a wider reach for business owners and consumers.

New media have been seen as a persuasive tool of communication that persuades the targeted audience. The advertiser’s idea in selling an existing or new product to a prospective buyer is relayed through the new media. A persuasive language of the media which involves the use of words, signs and symbols are needed to sway the minds of the buyers to buy a product.

New media are emerging lubricants in the wheel of industries. The new media intervene in nearly all aspects of economic and cultural life in our society. It highlights and stimulates certain vitality in trade and production, and gives small scale business men quick access to markets for the introduction of new products and ensuring consumers’ awareness for existing products and services.

The new media advertising has become an important element in small scale promotion tool because it gets to a great number of consumers online, at the comfort of their homes or offices.

It must be stressed that, quality products not brought to the knowledge of consumers may not be demanded by potential consumers.

In essence, the importance of advertising small scale businesses cannot be overemphasized in the business world. It can be likened to the role small scale businesses play in the growth of our economy.

Quality goods backed up by new media advertisement can compete favourably with the big firms or businesses. Some small scale business owners attach little importance to new media advertisement, because of the general belief that, advertising is expensive, but are ignorant of its importance. This research examines the extent to which small scale businesses in Uyo capital city can make use of new media advertisement to facilitate their business transactions.

Since the 1990s, the internet, World Wide Web and the social media have been altering society remarkably. Governments in both developed and developing countries have provided electronic information and services through government websites, and new media platforms for advertising business products have sprung up over the years, thereby giving consumers’ unhindered access to online purchase. Using the internet and new media, one can exchange electronic mails, find people who share similar interest, find similar products on different websites that are advertised.

In the new media advertisement, the use of creative ideas are encouraged through advertisement slogans, prompters, catchy headlines, etc. In order to have a successful new media advertisement, the effectiveness of the advertising language must be fully utilized. The advertiser must be able to decode the language of the people, and what they really want to hear that will drive the passion into product purchase. The language use in the new media advertisement must be appealing to the audience. In the words of Nwachukwu (2008, p.77) “Advertising persuasion is hinged on many factors, central to which is language.” The use of advertising language in the new media must not be ambiguous, and should be well understood by would-be-consumers.

Communication in human society has come a very long way, from the primitive era, through the era of supremacy of the mainstream media to the emerging era of the new media. The apparatus and styles of communication keep changing.This generational dynamism in communication tools and systems has resulted in astounding evolution of a collaborative, participatory, democratic and user-generated content pattern of communication.

The online platforms and technologies that are used for this new system of human communication are called the new media.Here, the new media includes; jumia, konga, Olx, jiji, ibom online store, facebook, tweeter, etc. According to Odi (2013,p.161), the new media have gone beyond the global village level. It has reduced the world to a global family.The new system of communication has drastically changed the processes of public communication and information dissemination.

The crux of the innovation is that the content of the new media could be user-generated. This development has resulted in the creation and use of a concept called “prosumer”- a situation where a new media user is both a content producer and a content consumer in Odi, (2013,p.161).This explains why Dutton (2009), cited in Newman, Dutton, and Blank, (2012), called,“the current use of the internet and other digital information and communication technologies with the potential for independent source of accountability, “the Fifth Estate”. While the mainstream media are the fourth estate, the new media are “the fifth estate of the realm.”

1.2 Statement of the ResearchProblem

Despite the numerous achievements of new media to make the world a global family, there are some problems posed to new media advertising practitioners and the small scale business owners in Uyo capital city. New media has compressed the world into a global family and it is necessary to build a new media advertising community in today’s jet age. The advertisements in the new media must have user generated content to ensure active patronage by the targeted consumers who visit the websites.

The persistent interruption in electricity supply, has an adverse effect in the media space, since the consumer, business owner and new media advertising practitioner spend a huge budget on alternative sources ofelectricity to enable them have access to the internet and deliver their needed services to members of the online community who are not restricted by time or territories.

Apart from the poor power supplies, network coverage by internet providers has been poor, which affects new media practice. Most new media advertisers get uneasy, when their targeted audiences are unable to visit their websites as often as they may wish. What makes the new media outstanding is the ability to interact between the online community, which includes the business owner who gets a feedback from products he advertises, the new media advertiser who advertises the products, and the consumer, who is at the receiving end of buying the advertised products. New media encourages this level of interaction, which has no external influence by the government.

This research undertook an in depth literature review and analysis of the new media advertising contents of small scale businesses in Uyo capital city. Solution to the research problem is sought through an analysis of audience perception of new media advertising as the fastest means of reaching out to consumers through advertisements.The research problem is; to what extent do new media advertising affect small scale business performance in Uyo Capital city?

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The objectives were to:

Find out if small scale business owners are acquainted with new media advertising language.

Investigate the means by which funds could be sourced for the purpose of new media advertising.

Establish if uneven spread of new media advertising in the days of the week is significant to the targeted audience.

Find out if gender and age are impediments to accessing new media advertisements for small scale businesses.

Find out if new media advertisements on small scale businesses are influenced by socio-cultural or economic background.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide this research:

To what level are small scale business owners acquainted with new media advertising language?

What are the means by which funds could be sourced for the purpose of new media advertising?

To what degree does the uneven spread of new media advertising in the days of the week significantly affect the target audience?

How do gender and age of individuals influence access to new media advertising?

To what extent are new media advertisements on small scale businesses influenced by socio-cultural or economic background

1.5 Delimitation of Study

The population of this research includes all small scale businesses in Uyo Capital City. It captures the selected small scale businesses used as a case study, and focuses on the level which new media has helped in the growth of the business, and the level of awareness the business owners has in the use of new media.

1.6 Significance of the Study

This research will contribute to the literature on new media advertising and pointed out problems faced by small-scale businesses. This is because, in our society of today, people are embracing newmedia, in place of the traditional media, as it is viewed as not too cumbersome, as the traditional media. New media makes it possible, to see advertisements at our convenience without bothering to purchase hard copies of newspapers from vendors, to see the products advertised. The importance of new media advertisement on websites, blogs, chat rooms, etc, cannot be over emphasized. One of the reasons for this research is to sensitize new media advertisers, on the need to be considerate in dealing with small scale business owners, who are willing to advertise their products through their platforms. It is also for the targeted audience to have freedom, in interacting with business owners and advertisers.

This research will create awareness to owners of small businesses in Uyo Capital city, on the need to ensure that their businesses are advertised using captivating messages and also serve as a missing link between the consumer and the business owners.

It will open a new way for further academic research in the advertising and promotion field.

1.7 Scope of the Study

One limitation of the study was that the researcher encountered a lot of difficulties with obtaining adequate sample; as very few organizations employ new media in advertising its products. This made the researcher to reduce the sample size from the planned size to the present size. Secondly, most members of the sample size refused to respond to the questionnaire. This caused a reduction in response rate.

1.8 Definition of Terms

In my contributions, we will be looking at definition of terms as they apply in this study:

Advertisement:

This is one of the communication or promotional tools employed by a marketing oriented establishment to reach its markets. Advertisement is also an impersonal form of promotion that involves transmitting standard messages through the mass media to a large number of intended receivers. According to www.uiniblogger.com, “It also consists of all activities involved in presenting to a group, a non-personal, oral or visual, openly sponsored message regarding a product, service or an idea.”

Effects:

It could be seen in both the negative and positive aspect in this research which is dependent on the human view. We could also see impact in this study, as an effect on small scale businesses in Uyo Capital City.

New Media:

Cited in www.uniblogger.com,“It is a means of communication using digital technologies such as the internet.New media most commonly refers to content available on-demand through the Internet, accessible on any digital device, usually containing interactive user feedback and creative participation. Common examples of new media include websites such as online newspapers, blogs, or wikis, video games, and social media.Some examples may be the Internet, websites, computer multimedia, computer games, CD-ROMS, and DVDs.”

Place:

This is where a product can be bought affects the quantity that will be bought. Copywriters are interested in where a product can be bought. Availability is a consideration in copy writing. There is no need advertising a product that will not be available. The closeness of a product to the consumers determines the quantity they will purchase.

Price:

It is a price at which a product is sold, which affects it either favourably. The product price is considered while buying. A manufacturer can use price to position his product and also get a market share. Advertiser’s price for a product can make a difference in the brand. Copywriters can use price to position a product in the minds of the consumers. Producers of products are expected to price their goods optimally. That is, price that is neither high nor low.

Product:

Goods which the producer has manufactured, sells to the consumer. The effectiveness of the advertisement is determined by how good a product is. For advertising message to help promote a product, such product must be a good one. It must be well manufactured and well packaged.

Promotion:

This is where advertising and other promotional tools come in. planned persuasive technique to inform, remind, or educate consumers about the existence of a product or service.

Small Scale Businesses:

I consider the definition as outlets where business is conducted with a minimal number of staff,a location for patronage, and a return on investment in product sales and services.

1.9 New Media Advertising and Budget

To successfully have an unhindered new media advertisement, priority should be given to the advertisement in order to have improved sales or raise consumer awareness to the advertised products. According to studies, each year, a firm must decide how much to spend on advertising of any kind. Kotler (2007, p.5) states that, in most small scale business, it is the owner or manager who plans the budget for all the operating expenses, including advertising. The business owner knows what can be afforded. But there are always difficulties in deciding how much as the situation changes.