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Social Media’s Influence on the Restaurant Industry
Reginald Terry
North Carolina Central University
rterry2@eagles.nccu.edu

Social Media’s Influence2
Table of Contents
I. Abstract
II. Introduction
III. Literature Reviews
IV. Methodology
A. Sampling Design
B. Data Collection
C. Design
D. Procedures
V. Results
VI. Conclusions
VII. References
VIII. Survey Questionnaire
Abstract

This paper describes the influences of social media on the restaurant industry. Social
media is the most common form of gathering information and restaurants have utilized this to
their advantage by developing their own websites. Online review sites have also been used to help
consumers talk about their experiences and comment on them. A convenient sample of 20
respondents was taken of students, family and friends in the southeastern area of Durham NC.
They were distributed surveys and answered questions about their experiences using social media
and restaurants and returned the surveys to the researcher. The information gathered was analyzed
and the results found that several people in the group agreed that social media plays a significant
role in their restaurant decision making.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2015) defines social media as any form of electronic
communication such as websites for social networking and microblogging through which users
create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages and other content.
Social Media is used by almost everyone on the planet in some way, shape, or form. There are
many forms of social media. People either go online to sites like Facebook and Twitter to
converse with friends, LinkedIn and Monster to check for jobs, or Instagram and Pinterest to post
information and photos about their adventures. There are over 2.5 billion people using some form
of social media in every way shape or form. Everyone loves to eat. Whether they cook their food
at home or have take out or delivery, consumers eat a lot. When consumers use sites like
Foursquare or Yelp.com they can post reviews or photos of their experiences in different
restaurants. UPI.com (2015) states that Americans eat out 4.8 times a week. This study is
investigating social media’s role on the restaurant industry and how it influences customer
satisfaction.
Literature Reviews
We use Social media in several different ways; to stay in touch with family and friends,
to share information, to communicate our interests. We also Also, social media utilize it to search
for products and services as well as purchase the same. Nunes and Lucian (2014) stated that
buying a product or good occurs rationally when individuals buy what is needed, paying and
acceptable value for it. Many use social media as a tool to search for varieties of different
restaurants to check out or experience. This has created an assortment of user generated sites that
people can search, upload photos, and comment on products and services that other people have
used. Hicks, Comp, Horovitz, Hovarter, Miki, and Bevan (2012) explained that the creation of

user generated sites have changed the face of communication, entertainment, and information.
When we go out to restaurants, we choose them for certain reasons, like the type of food, the
atmosphere and what our friends and family have tried before. We use social media to make sure
our decisions on each restaurant meets our specifications. We look for the best reviews that hold
positive feedback for restaurants that we decide to try. Park, Lee, and Han (2007) found that the
quality and quantity of online consumer reviews positively affects consumers’ purchase
intentions, and that consumer’s state of involvement has a moderating effect here. Review sites
give the consumer the chance to participate in the review of restaurants by allowing them to write
their own review or take photos and post online of their experience. Hicks et al. (2012) also found
that previous research determined that online review sites influence customer’s attitudes and
behaviors. In looking at the information, we come to certain questions that we need to ask.
Question 1 is what are the influences of using social media in the restaurant decision making?
When asking this question, the researcher has found that the answer is not as simple as we think.
So we narrow it down to create H1) Customers favorable reviews positively influence restaurant
choice decision.
Nunes et al. (2014) states that other researchers describe the importance of word of
mouth marketing, noting that consumers often look for friends and family for opinions and
information on products and services. This comes to our next question. Question 2 is what social
media sites influence customer participation in the restaurant decision making? And narrowing
that question down brings us to our second hypothesis. H2) Word of mouth communication from
family/friends positively influences restaurant search.

Word of mouth can be influential in many ways. It can describe and give information
about a particular experience and allow the customer to make that decision whether or not to
purchase that good or service. Rosen (2001) believes that the best way to advertise or sell
products and services is the one where consumers commented among themselves. And this brings
us to our question 3 which is what social media sites are influential in allowing customer
feedback and customer satisfaction surveys? Which in turn creates our final hypothesis, H3)
Word of mouth communication positively influence restaurant revisit.
Methodology
Sampling Design
The population for this research is from the southeastern region of the United States. The
sample selected from this region is primarily from the Central Piedmont area of North Carolina in
the southeastern region. From this sample, a convenient sample of 20 students, family, friends and
co-workers from the southeast region of Durham, NC was selected. They consisted of 12 females
and 8 males with 8 of the sample in the range of 18-23 years of age, 3 between the age of 24-29, 2
between the age of 30-35, and 7 that were over the age of 36.
Explanation of data collection method
The method for collecting the data for the research will consist of using a survey
questionnaire asking basic questions about their use of social media sites, their use of posting
photos and reviews, reading reviews from online review sites, and word of mouth communication
all in the decision making process for choosing a restaurant. The first 12 questions will contain a
5 point Likert scale of measurement starting with 1 representing “Strongly Agree” to 5
representing “Strongly Disagree” asking the respondents about their decision making process and

usage of social media sites. The last 4 questions are about the demographics of the respondents.
These surveys will be handed out and the respondents will complete and return to the researcher.
Design & Procedures
The plan of the research is to see if social media positively influences people’s decision
in choosing a restaurant. The population chosen was from the southeastern region of the United
States. The sample selected was from the central part of North Carolina and they were students,
family, friends and co-workers from the southeastern area of Durham, NC. The data collected will
consist of answers from a survey with questions about their choice of online review sites, what
they look for when they are choosing a restaurant, and several demographic questions. The
participants was given the questionnaire by the researcher and asked to fill it out to the best of
their ability. Once completed they returned the survey to the researcher to be recorded. They were
chosen conveniently by the researcher and assured confidentiality for their answers.
Results
There was 20 participants in the final sample for this study. They consisted of 12 females
and 8 males with 8 of the sample in the range of 18-23 years of age, 3 between the age of 24-29, 2
between the age of 30-35, and 7 that were over the age of 36.
The participants answered 12 survey questions pertaining to their use of social media and
decisions of specific restaurants and how it influenced that decision. They were also asked
questions about their age, and how many times a month they ate at restaurants.
The results were as follows: In looking at H1: Customers favorable reviews positively
influence restaurant choice decision. They were asked questions about their decision using several

forms of online review sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp.com and if they write a review or post
photos on the sites. The results show that the reviews positively influence the consumers
restaurant decision.
Items Mean Response by Percentage
Online review sites like
TripAdvisor.com
2.7 20.0 30.0 15.0 30.0 5.0
Online review sites like
Yelp.com
2.65 15.0 45.0 10.0 20.0 10.0
Writing a review on sites
like Yelp.com
3.6 5.0 15.0 15.0 45.0 20.0
Post photos on review sites 3.8 5.0 20.0 0.0 40.0 35.0
In H2: Word of mouth communication from family/friends positively influences
restaurant search. The respondents were asked questions pertaining to talking with friends about
their experiences and asking questions about the quality of food and pricing, and the atmosphere
of the restaurant. The results show that word of mouth communication can positively influence
restaurant searching
Talking to friends about their experience 1.5 45.0 55.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Ask questions about the quality of food 3.2 5.0 25.0 30.0 20.0 20.0
Ask questions about the pricing 3.3 0.0 30.0 25.0 30.0 15.0
Ask questions about the atmosphere 3.1 10.0 25.0 30.0 15.0 20.0
And in looking at the last hypothesis, H3: Word of mouth communication positively
influence restaurant revisit. The respondents were asked questions about the ambience of the
restaurant, recommending friends and family to their selection, and online reviews about the food
quality. The results show that word of mouth communication positively influences restaurant
revisit.

Ambience of restaurant to
appeal to senses
1.5 45.0 55.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Recommend it to your
family and friends
1.5 50.0 50.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Quality of food based on
online reviews
2.4 20.0 45.0 15.0 15.0 5.0
Conclusion
The results of this study were clearly similar to the expectations. The first hypothesis
suggested that customer’s favorable reviews positively influence restaurant choice decision and
the data showed that many of the respondents utilized social media in their decision making
process and used various sites to check for reviews and write reviews about their experience. In
the second hypothesis, the respondents agreed that word of mouth communication positively
influences restaurant search. And they strongly agreed on the word of mouth communication
positively influences restaurant revisit. This researcher suggests that they can continue to look at
the online reviews and somehow come up with an easier way to track the usage of reviews. The
consumer puts reviews up and people read and comment on each review so if they can track the
amount of reviews that people read or comment on then the data would increase and the consumer
influence would be greater.

References
Hicks, A., Comp, S., Horovitz, J., Hovarter, M., Miki, M., & Bevan, J. L. (2012). Why people
use Yelp.com: An exploration of uses and gratifications. Computers in Human Behavior,
28, 2274-2279.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2015). Retrieved from Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
www.merriam-webster.com
Nunes, M. C., & Lucian, R. (2014). A Study on the Influence of Word of Mouth Communication
in the Facebook Audience of Restaurants. International Business Research, 7(11), 1-24.
Ong, B. S. (2012). The Perceived Influence of User Reviews in the Hospitality Industry. Journal
of Hospitality Marketing and Management, 21, 463-485.
Rosen, E. (2001). R Marketing boca a boca: como fazer com que os clientes falem de sua
empresa, seus produtos e serviços. Futura.
Social Media &Restaurant Questionnaire
The purpose of this survey is to determine how you make a decision on a restaurant based on
your knowledge of social media sites and consumer online surveys. Please circle one answer per
question using the 5 pt. scale that ranges from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree”.
1. In choosing a restaurant, you look for the quality of food based on online reviews.
Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Disagree
2. When you’re making a decision about a restaurant, you check the online review sites like
TripAdvisor.com.

Disagree
3. When making a decision about a restaurant, you choose online review sites like
Yelp.com.
Disagree
4. After eating at a restaurant, you go to the online review websites like Yelp.com and write
a review of the restaurant.
Disagree
5. While in the restaurant, you post photos on other review sites about the experience.
Disagree
6. While in the restaurant, you write reviews about your experience on the online sites.
Disagree
7. After your experience at that restaurant, you recommend it to your friends.
Disagree
8. In choosing a restaurant, you talk to friends about their experiences in that restaurant.
Disagree
9. In choosing a restaurant, you ask questions about the quality of food to online friends.
Disagree
10. In choosing a restaurant, you ask questions about the pricing to online friends.

Disagree
11. In choosing a restaurant, you ask questions about the atmosphere to online friends.
Disagree
12. When choosing a restaurant, you want the ambience of the restaurant to appeal to your
senses.
Disagree
Demographic Questions
1. What is your gender?
Male
Female
2. What is your race/ethnicity?
White/Caucasian
African American/Black
Latin American/ Hispanic
Other
3. What is your age range?
18-23
24-29
30-35
36+
4. How many times do you eat out in a month?

Never
1-2
3-4
5-6
7 or more

Points
Earned
Points
Possible
1. Title Page 2 2
2. Abstract (½ page) 5 5
3. Introduction (½ page) 10 10
4. Literature Review and Hypothesis (1½ pages) 11 15
5. Methodology (1½ pages) 15 15
6. Result (3pages) 25 35
7. Conclusion (½ page) 3 5
8. References 3 3
9. Survey Questionnaire (minimum10 sample questionnaires) 5 5
10. Spelling, grammar, clarity, structure, font size, paragraph
spacing,
consistent visual layout, length
4 5
TOTAL 83 100
Overall, this paper is great! See grading rubric throughout paper and comments for specific areas
where you earned or lost points on the overall paper grade.
Good cover (title) page, good short summary of abstract and strong introduction.
The following areas are needed to improve;
Those literatures are not strongly supported your all hypothesis and research questions. Every
question that you added at questionnaire, you need to find support literatures.
Good Methodology and summary of samples.
You didn’t explain correct info of the results.
Based on your questionnaire scale (1—strongly agree, 5-stronly disagree). Thus, mean score is
lower than 2.5, it should be considered as not supported your research hypothesis of the items.
Conclusion, you also write your research limitation and suggestion of the future research.
There are several grammatical mistakes.
Bonus Point: more than 10 questions (+1)
more than 10 survey samples (+1)
2 additional literatures (+1)
Grade = 86/100

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