LITERATURE REVIEW

Through the advancement of technology in today’s modern era, society has moved increasingly deeper into a digital world, changing the face of marketing communications. A variety of marketing communications tools have been utilised by marketers in order to achieve their objectives, through the provision of information to consumers about their offerings as a means of persuasion and to affect their buying behavior (Shimp & Andrews, 2013). As society continues to develop into the digital age, many studies have highlighted the effectiveness of social media as a marketing communications tool. Social media, although relatively new, is one of the many tools in which marketers can engage with consumers by leveraging on social networking sites where consumers are increasingly present (Luigi, Oana, Mihai & Simona, 2011). Social media as a marketing communications tool not only allows marketers to send real-time messages to consumers through virtual environments, but also allows for two-way interactions in which the consumers are able to provide feedback to marketers (Luigi, Oana, Mihai & Simona, 2011). In addition to this, consumers are able to disseminate information about the brands in which they are engaged with to “friends” and “followers” (Diffley, Kearns, Bennet, Kawalek, 2011). Studies conducted even before the inception of social media suggest that there are advantages of interactivity with consumers, as it allows for the greater understanding of a company’s target market, consumer engagement and empowerment, which in turn can increase a company’s returns on investment (Bezjian-Avery, Calder & Jacobucci, 1998). However, in contrast to this, other studies suggest that social media is still limited in its power to be used as an effective marketing tool (Schultz & Peltier, 2013). Through out the review, the views on the effectiveness of the marketing communications tool will be presented while highlighting the supporting and opposing arguments. Social media can