Page 372 - MARSIUM'21 COMP OF PAPER

FYP PROPOSAL

AHIBS UTM SKUDAI JAN 2022

THE INFLUENCE OF INSTAGRAM MARKETING ON NANCY’S KITCHEN
RESTAURANT – A BABA NYONYA RESTAURANT TOWARDS VISITORS’ VISIT

INTENTION

LEON XIN CI, PROF. DR NOOR HAZARINA HASHIM

Azman Hashim International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru

*Corresponding author: xinci.leon@graduateutm.my

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of social media (Instagram) marketing by the restaurant located in Malacca, Malaysia, named “Nancy’s
Kitchen”. With the advance of technology, traditional marketing is slowly being replaced by social media marketing. Regardless of the industry, whether it is
tourism or catering, many companies have implemented social media for a variety of purposes. Thus, this study examined the visual effect and exposure effect
on visitors’ visit intention towards a restaurant selection. This study has been conducted by using quantitative methods by distributing survey questionnaire
to 250 respondents. The results are being generated by Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26. The study explores more on the effects of
professional photography, visual complexity, uniform page appearance and layout, and brand recognition which has a negatively significant relationship with
the visitor's visit intention. Endorsed brand attitude positively affects visitor intention to visit a restaurant. The sample chosen for this study belongs only to a
particular population which is only the current Instagram follower who might or might not visit Nancy’s Kitchen and its visitors. Hence, the outcome should
be summarized with caution.

Keywords: Professional photography, Visual complexity, Uniform page appearance and layout, Brand exposure, Visit Intention

1.0 INTRODUCTION

With the rapid development of the Internet, the speed and large-scale information collection and dissemination have reached an
unprecedented level. Today, there are about 4.1 billion users of social media platforms, accounting for more than half of the global population.
Coupled with the epidemic situation, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and other social platforms have become information
publishing centers. The era of information explosion makes our life and the information on the Internet complicated and chaotic. So, how
can we ensure that we will not be overwhelmed by this numerous information, and how can we turn all crises into opportunities? Instagram,
founded in 2010, plays an important role as a social media platform to increase human interactions by publishing photos, video, stories and
IGTV. According to Pittman and Reich, 2016, image-based platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat bring positive effects on creating
happiness, offering higher levels of satisfaction with life (SWL) and stimulated social presence, compared to a text-based platform which
relatively bring negative or neutral effects. With the growth of technology, people spend more time communicating with the network platform
in their mobile phones rather than getting along with others. In the market, traditional marketing approaches, such as leaflets and door-to-
door marketing strategies, have been replaced by social media and digital marketing. Thus, a business or an organization needs to fully
understand the current trend and their customer perception and eventually come out with strategies that make good use of the elements in
social media to achieve the most efficient brand exposure and create high profits.

1.1 CASE COMPANY INTRODUCTION

Nancy’s Kitchen is a restaurant located at Taman Kota Laksamana, Malacca which specializes in Baba Nyonya / Peranakan Home-cooked
cuisine. This restaurant has been in operation since October 27, 1999, and its owner and founder, Ms. Nancy, as the name implies, was
born and raised in a Peranakan family in a small town known as Batu Berendam, Malacca. Nancy also plays the role as a chef in the restaurant,
preparing authentic Peranakan dishes for all her new and repeat customers. She had been taught to cook since she was a child, but all her
cooking skills were built up depending on her own observations and helpfulness towards her mother in the kitchen. Today, all her scrumptious
recipes have been passed on to her third generation for inheritance. Nancy’s Kitchen is a non-halal restaurant where it provides some special
pork dishes such as Fried Pork Balls, pork with bean pastes or black nuts, Nyonya Laksa, banana flowers, chicken rendang, chicken in
tamarind etc. Baba Nyonya cuisine is a unique dish resulting from blending Chinese ingredients with various distinct spices and its cooking
techniques all used by the Malay or Indonesian community. Thus, to provide a memorable experience for the customers to cook their own
Peranakan dishes, Nancy’s Kitchen offers step-to-step teaching, a full hands-on guide, tips and tricks to cook like a Peranakan household.

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