Grey relational analysis between social media engagement and users' decisions

Abstract

With the rapid development of social media and social strategies, firms have defined and applied an action plan in order to offer and to lure their customers. In this context, the internet has become the meeting place between companies and their targeted audience. Recent studies have shown us that customers are more likely to buy a certain product or service from a company they can follow or contact on social media. Moreover, the customers that are using social media feel a stronger relationship with the companies they are interacting with in virtual networks. But have the companies succeeded in getting everything from this strong relationship? Are their online advertising campaigns getting to the right customers? Is there any connection between social media engagement and the decisions users are taking? These questions are going to be addressed in this paper through a grey relational analysis applied to the selected variables. As the nature of relationships created in online social networks is characterized by incomplete information, the analysis will make use of the concepts and means offered by the grey systems theory, a theory that has obtained good results over time when used on uncertain situations.