THE EFFECT OF FACEBOOK ON CUSTOMER BRAND PREFERENCE: THE CASE OF COMMERCIAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Consumers are turning away from the traditional mediums of advertising, such as TV and print, and they are consistently demanding more control over what they consume on media (Vollmer &Precourt, 2008).Facebook can be used for market segmentation; it is suitable for promotion, brand building and to get feedbacks, So that Business companies can use social media for building a relationship, for market research, selling activities, promotion activities etc. The objective of this study is to describe the effect of Facebook advertising on customers brand preference in the case of Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. The study investigated the relationship between the dependent variable customers brand preference and the independent variables of Facebook Advertisement. The study used primary data which is collected online from the Facebook page members of Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. A close ended structured survey questionnaire was used to collect data and total sample size of 399 was selected using a random sampling technique. The research is quantitative and use Descriptive research design. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean) and inferential statistics like correlation and simple linear regressions. The finding revealed that there are positive and significant relationships between Facebook advertising and brand preference of CBE. The study recommends that the bank should use facebook advertising because its message is very effective and its cost efficient unlike other kind of advertising ways. The researcher recommends the bank should develop more of a two way communication in its facebook page with customers.