Social media activities impact on the decision of watching films in cinema

Abstract

The aim of the research is to examine the social media activities of film promoters and the factors that have an impact on public decision-making and to watch film in the cinema. This research looked at film audiences in Thailand to evaluate public perception, social media tracking and knowledge-based activity that has not yet been established in previous studies. Few studies have investigated the variables such as promotional programs, social media platform activities, trailer assessment, and decision to watch a movie. This study’s audience consisted of Thai citizens who are a sample of 400 subjects. This group has been identified as the group that watched the film in Thailand. The statistical tool used is ANOVA, which is concerned only with the disparity of results used in the comparative analysis. The strongest statistical relationship for the trailer assessment has been identified. Indication of the essential distinction between advertising, social media interactions and trailer assessment. References to social media will motivate the audience to feel that they are enjoying the recommended films. Social awareness is also related to the determination of the reference value for video screening. The findings of this study show that social networks affect audiences to watch movies. Overall, different factors need to work together to inspire audiences to watch movies. In order to make people watch films more frequently in cinemas, it is important to explore other strategies for market demand.

Keywords:

• Social media
• film
• cinema
• promotional programs
• trailer assessment

Public Interest Statement

Nowadays, social media influences people more than other media. This is the result of the existing lively interaction between social media users in the creation of comments and reactive efforts on the international virtual platform. Social networking sites such as YouTube and Facebook and users’ behavior in these arenas therefore have an effect on their decision to watch a film in cinema. And also, the findings have shown that Activity on Social Media Platforms has the greatest impact on customers the decision to watch a film in cinema. At the end of the day, appropriate suggestions have been made in this article, there are a variety of factors that need to work together to inspire people to watch films.

1. Introduction

Today, the majority of filmmakers have launched their campaign to expand to social media by actively endorsing films that improve their audience’s understanding of certain films (Kumar, 2012). Few studies have looked into variables like promotional programs, social media platform activities, trailer evaluation, and decision to watch a movie. Wang et al. (2010) also said that audiences would like to watch movies and often look for information about movies to watch movies before reading movie previews in magazines, browsing online, or looking for movie stars like friends or family. Potential film watchers were also more likely to watch a movie in theaters after reading the social media page on the official website of the film (Suvattanadilok, 2014). Facebook and Twitter also benefit audiences through their ongoing Facebook conversations with friends (Nanda et al., 2018; Wilcox, 2012) and by encouraging Twitter to encourage others to follow up on content (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt. Ltd, 2012). Tagg (2015) also encourages increased interaction with film. Film reviews compliment the pleasure of watching a movie and watching the whole story in the movies (Feng et al., 2020). These techniques were used to make the film public more confident by generating emotions (Pedersen, 2016). Having applied the use and enjoyment theory (Raney, 2013), the audience believe that it is possible to identify the motivations for using the media and explore the motivations for using the media by examining the social and psychological characteristics of other viewers (Tefertiller et al., 2020). Not only does the web shape the boundaries of mass media and casual communication, it also mixes them together (Tagg, 2015). This work examines how Thai viewers decide to watch movies using this concept of use. Key reasons for the use of social media have been proposed in social and psychological roles, namely cognitive needs, emotional needs, individual needs for inclusion, social inclusive needs, and tension-related needs (Raney, 2013; Yu et al., 2019).

Current research focuses on two aspects: 1) an analysis of the social media practices of film watchers and the factors that influence the decision-making process of the audience and then watching film in the cinema; and 2) an analysis of the factors that affect the decision-making processes of the public about what shows to watch as films. In this paper, the researcher aims to examine the role and extent of variables such as promotional programs, activities on the social media platform, and a trailer assessment of the decision to watch a film on theater. And their mean differences in order to find out which variable are most influential among all of them.

2. Literature review

Several factors may influence the choice of a film. Consumers therefore take certain things into account before selecting a film: (1) its marketing communication; (2) its unbiased source of information; (3) the features of the film; (4) its content; and (5) easy access (Umukoro et al., 2020). Customers who have seen or are exposed to a film in marketing messages that talk to other customers about their experiences and trigger a better word of mouth communication through direct conversations or social networking sites (Chakravarty et al., 2010). Movie critics usually write reviews on the web or in magazines and posts, including previews and a rundown of film content (Rui et al., 2013). Customers can therefore evaluate the content of films relating to history, unpleasant materials and technology (Moses et al., 2016). If a viewer can compare the desire of a trailer to watch a certain movie with that of seeing another movie, it is more likely that the audience will be “sold” to the advertised movie (Oja, 2019). Trailer trails shown by other media, linked to the emotions and expectations of the audience, will also make people interested and attracted (Amasaka et al., 2012).

3. Promotional programs

Promotional services are the most important element in movies, either individually or in groups, in the use of communication, both directly and indirectly, to provide details and to convince people to watch movies (Álvarez-Monzoncillo et al., 2018). Promotional campaigns are designed to raise public awareness of the film (Kumar, 2012). A film trailer also provides good information (Preece, 2010) on the original film, using digital media to promote it, with a view to promoting film and displaying the scene alongside attractive music. As a result, films will be screened and used in real time to promote film via the Internet and social media with an increase in information technology (Gong & Tung, 2017). By promoting film in social media, the public will be able to watch new films more quickly (Devlin et al., 2011). Film reviews can also help costumers’ judge movies. Film critics are also reflecting on the way in which film publications (Tsao, 2014) are shown in magazines, television programs or other outlets, including film reviews and social media, where film designs can actually promote film before it is released (Park & Berger, 2010). Overall, the Promotional Programs influence the decision of the audience to watch a film online on a platform like cinema (Pittman & Sheehan, 2015).

H₁: Promotional programs influence significantly on the decision to make a trip to watch a film at the cinema.

4. Activities on social media platforms

Berger (2014) has suggested that word of mouth is a social networking activity that is useful as a tool for independent film audiences and in-depth film stories. In addition, Chu and Choi (2011) argued that word of mouth had an impact on public perception. On a number of film review sites, they can decide to watch movies online through their influence and relationships with consumers (Bich & Lien, 2019). The Social Media Platform Activities comprises the main information networks and also includes word of mouth, which is still an important factor in film decision-making (Aytekin & Akar, 2019). Online review is an important driving force for consumers to make decisions, such as buying products and watching movies (Cui et al., 2012). The Internet boom, the word of mouth that is now available on all social media, including Facebook, is encouraging people to “like” their site and connect to friends (Suvattanadilok, 2020). YouTube also offers the opportunity to set up a channel for the official promotion of specific films, and not just to show trailers (Berk, 2009).

H₂: Activities on social media influence significantly on the decision to make a trip to watch a film at the cinema.

5. Trailer assessment

The data presented on the film’s social websites, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Line, help to foster interaction between businesses and the public. YouTube has the most popular movie trailers in its audience (Kernan, 2009). One of the uses of social media is to make the audience more interested in watching movies and also to raise awareness of the existence of movies (Southern, 2014). Feelings and emotions have a significant impact on whether a customer takes or rejects a movie trailer (Karray & Debernitz, 2017). The theory of mood management shows that an individual chooses a medium to regulate affective mood conditions that are more appropriate for a person, especially when external stimuli influence his or her mood (Smith et al., 2017). Trailers are both a good marketing and hedonistic experience (Southern, 2014). A person’s mood can affect his or her desire to find out about our other types of media, either seriously or humorously (Ekman et al., 2013). As people strive to keep their moods intact and to benefit from the strength they overcome, film advertisers need to understand how their film trailers relate to their audience’s emotions in order to achieve their desired condition (Strobin et al., 2015).

H₃: Trailer Assessment on social media influence significantly on the decision to make a trip to watch a film at the cinema.

The researcher developed the conceptual model of this study on the basis of the theoretical framework of the previous research:

Chakravarty et al., (2010) explored the persuasive effect of online (or word-of-mouth) reviews and the views of film critics on the appraisal of to-be-released films by film-makers. Their research shows that online word of mouth has a more persuasive impact on people who are unfamiliar than on regular film-watchers, especially when it is negative. The relative impact of word-of-mouth and critical assessments is asymmetric with few more mouth-to-mouth movie viewers affected, while regular film viewers are more influenced by the study.

In addition, Huang et al. (2011) investigated the impact of the internet on the relationship between social media and film sales commentaries. When different types of social media platforms have a different impact on sales of products. The findings indicated the favorability and popularity (volume of comments) of the social media comments on the published film list. It has also been found that reviews affect readers, often through text, rather than numerical scores.

Peng (2016) also showed the characteristics and promotion strategies of youth films based on the context of the attribute. He discovered that eight advertising tactics describe how the quality of a film is related. Each app includes a variety of features and promotional strategies for youth movies.

Overall, Weaving et al. (2020) in Australia outlines the opportunities to draw on experiences across various disciplines, in particular to explore the consequences of applying “customer journey” to understanding the range of social and material influences that may be at play in informing film audience decision-making.

Consequently, the researcher has extracted the following modified conceptual framework (Figure 1) based on the studies mentioned above.

Figure 1. Conceptual model of the study

6. Research methodology

The sample study group was the customers who decided to go to the theater to watch films in Thailand. According to Zikmund et al. (2012); Bujang, Sa’at, & Bakar (Bujang et al., 2018), The target audience included people in Thailand using a sample group formula of 400 subjects. Cinema goers are mostly between people aged 14–24 years (Morgan, 2020). As a result, the author selected volunteers over the age of 20 for this study. This community was described as a film audience group that watched the film in Thailand. The survey is conducted by the investigator for six weeks in the provinces of Bangkok, Samutprakarn and Nonthaburi in Thailand. In addition, the participants selected a film from the film theater with full freedom of choice, as the selected content may have been of interest to some volunteers. To conduct the survey, volunteers are told what the survey is all about, and then asked to complete a questionnaire. The data are analyzed in order to achieve the objectives of the study. In addition, the Cronbach alpha-value measurement to check the reliability of the measurement scales used in the variance analysis Three-Way ANOVA study for the SPSS 24 model testing (Rovai et al., 2013).

7. Results

Of the 400 interviewees, 58.5% were male and 41.5% were female. The interviewees are between 20 and 60 years of age. Around 62 percent of the samples were aged during 20–30. Approximately half (52%) had a diploma, while others had no college or post-doctoral degree. Approximately half of those surveyed earned between 15,000- and 40,000-baht monthly income which is equivalent to nearly USD 500–1300 (56.2%) (Average salary in Thailand is 19,300 Baht (Living & Your Bibliography, 2021).

Based on the mean of variables (Figure 2), including the Promotional Program, the Social Media Platform Activity and the Trailer Assessment, the results of the Levene Test assessment indicated that the independent variables had a different effect on the decision to watch a movie in theatre. Also, in Table 1, the variables are statistically significant as sig = .000 (Hair et al., 2013).

Figure 2. Conceptual model ANOVA results

Table 1. Levene’s test of equality of error variances ^a,b

Levene’s Test of Equality of Error Variances ^a,b
		Levene Statistic	df1	df2	Sig.
Decision to watch a film in cinema	Based on Mean	3.000	33	319	.000
	Based on Median	1.446	33	319	.059
	Based on Median and with adjusted df	1.446	33	223.85	.064
	Based on trimmed mean	2.682	33	319	.000

Tests the null hypothesis that the error variance of the dependent variable is equal across groups.

a. Dependent variable: Decision to watch a film in cinema

b. Design: Intercept + Promotional program + Activity on social media platforms + trailers Assessment + Promotional program * Activity on social media platforms + Promotional program * trailers Assessment + Activity on social media platforms * trailers Assessment + Promotional program * Activity on social media platforms * trailers Assessment

Source: Author

According to Table 2, the Promotional Program and the Activity on Social Media Platforms statistically have the same effect on the decision to watch a film in cinema (sig = .089). Trailers Assessment statistically does not have a positive effect on the decision to watch a movie in theatre (sig = .166). Activity on Social Media Platforms has statistically the highest impact on the decision to watch a film in cinema (Mean Square = .271). Following this, the promotional program with (Mean Square = .204) has a statistically high impact on the decision to watch a film in the cinema.

Table 2. Three-way ANOVA tests of between-subjects effects

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects
Dependent Variable: Decision to watch a film in cinema
Source	Type III Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.	Partial Eta Squared	Noncent. Parameter	Observed Power^b
Corrected Model	96.295^a	80	1.204	19.274	.000	.829	1541.947	1.000
Intercept	1220.231	1	1220.231	19,539.344	.000	.984	19,539.344	1.000
Promotional program	1.635	8	.204	3.273	.001	.076	26.187	.972
Activity on social media platforms	3.258	12	.271	4.347	.000	.141	52.167	1.000
Trailers Assessment	.736	8	.092	1.473	.166	.036	11.785	.662
Promotional program * Activity on social media platforms	.954	9	.106	1.697	.089	.046	15.277	.775
Promotional program * trailers Assessment	1.109	9	.123	1.974	.042	.053	17.763	.846
Activity on social media platforms * trailers Assessment	2.006	12	.167	2.677	.002	.092	32.129	.981
Promotional program * Activity on social media platforms * trailers Assessment	.000	0	.	.	.	.000	.000	.
Error	19.922	319	.062
Total	7530.861	400
Corrected Total	116.216	399

a. R Squared = .829 (Adjusted R Squared = .786)

b. Computed using alpha = .05

Source: Author

Analysis of variance (Table 3) At the significance level of 0.05, all independent variable effects were shown to be statistically significant. The main effect of the decision to watch films in the cinema was also the F ratio of F (3, 396) to 215.16, p < .000, indicating a significant difference between the promotional programs (M = .204), the activity on social media platforms (M = .271) and the trailers assessment (M = .092).

Table 3. Analysis of variance of variables used in the model

Three Way-ANOVA^a
Model		Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
1	Regression	72.028	3	24.009	215.166	.000^b
	Residual	44.188	396	.112
	Total	116.216	399

a. Dependent Variable: Decision to watch a film in cinema

b. Predictors: (Constant), Trailers assessment, Promotional program, Activity on social media platforms

Source: Author

8. Discussion

As Heinonen (2011) also argued, activity on social media sites leads customers to be entertained by following other statements which could therefore be an important decision-making parameter. According to the findings of this study, Ho et al. (2014) also agreed that social networking activities (Mean Square = .271) are one of the key social norms of consumer behavior for film recommendations in Thailand.

The results show that comments and references will increase the desire of the consumer to see a film. Marketers need to be aware of how they can develop reference techniques for social media to encourage consumers to watch films (C. Oh et al., 2017). Online referrals will have a positive effect on the viewer’s impression in such a way that they believe they would be entertained by the recommended films. Ma et al. (2016), have found that promotion programs is increasing word of mouth and encouraging sales. By word of mouth, if piracy did not have an impact on advertising, the profits from the box office would be reduced by another 1.5 per cent. Their research is based on my results of the promotional program with a statistically significant effect on the possibility of seeing a film in the cinema (mean square = .204).

S. Oh et al. (2017) argued that the number of times a trailer shared the box office revenue of a film and the box office revenue of a new film. Very few studies have investigated the effect of a movie trailer on watching a movie in a movie theater. In this paper, however, the researcher indicated that the Trailers Assessment statistically does not have a positive effect on the decision to watch a film in theatre (sig = .166) which is not supported by Oh Baek, & Ahn (2017).

Social perception is related to the determination of the reference value of video screening. The concept, the advantages and the efficiency of the amusing product are applied to the customer. Several researchers agree that the viewing of friendly films has a significant impact on attitudes (Chakravarty et al., 2010; Huang et al., 2011). Some of the characteristics of the film influence the perception of consumers and, in turn, influence the perceived value of the film. The findings of this research, which has been carried out in Thailand, show that customers view movies in the cinema are motivated by the value of social media. This can be attributed to Thailand’s high level of social awareness, which encourages people to act on the basis of their interest, which Madagaonkar (2018) supports.

The aim of this research was to better understand the impact of social media on social motivation and, in particular, on theatrical participation. While previous research indicates that social media interactions are linked to successful box office (Bhati & McDonnell, 2020; Peng et al., 2019). This study focused in particular on the role of social media-driven characteristics; in particular, the promotional program played a role in the decision to view a film in theatre. The study has shown that social media activities are best predicted to be viewed at the theater. However, social media sharing, like, and commenting on a film by viewers who have had the greatest impact on the social decision-making process.

9. Conclusion

The key objective of film marketing is to enable audiences to watch films on theaters. Many movie theaters have tried to reach different levels of sustainable audiences. As well, many companies and film industries consider it important to market the electronic word of mouth. Social media advertising, however, has continued to spread to the film industry in a different way. This was followed by a marketing approach that allowed viewers to be aware of and watch movies in theatre. Also, various factors need to work together to encourage viewers to watch movies. A strategy to meet market demand is needed to make film viewing more sustainable.

10. Limitation

The study looked at specific areas in Thailand to assess public awareness, social media monitoring and knowledge-searching behavior. Accessibility to the study sample and communication with people in this study was limited to a few social media sites. Out of the potential variables, the researcher studied some of the effective variables that influenced the decision to watch a film in a movie theater. Overall, this research focuses on self-reporting as a key constraint on past views. Although the current design allows researchers to examine motivations in other media, it integrates biases inherent to the study in order to ask participants to tell them about past drives.

11. Recommendations

Other tactics need to be put forward, such as increasing sales, cutting costs and producing new films. The relationship between feedback from film viewers and social media actions in future studies should be studied. While this study found support for social activities, it is better to study other social norm aspects. Future research should assess whether social wealth predicts other social media activities accurately. While the current study shows that both the Social Media Platform and the Trailer Assessment have distinct characteristics that operate independently, further research is needed to identify how they work together to motivate different social media behaviors.

Additional information

Funding

The author received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Montajula Suvattanadilok

The researcher has tried to examine the knowledge, attitudes and behavior of consumers in marketing strategies, cosmetics, real estate, social media activities, social norms, etc. in the context of the relative purchasing situation of consumers. Online and offline marketing strategies, however, are a constant concern for marketers and managers to balance and enhance the value of their businesses.