Is it social media or traditional media?

That influence consumer decision-making in times of

The current situation is affecting the evolution of digital marketing in terms of customer behaviors and
changing how businesses adapt to Digital MarketingMary et al., 2020 ; pandemics have caused
significant change, mainly related to advertising which has led to adoption of digital technology for
promoting and selling goods and services (Mary et al. 2020). During a pandemic, all sectors will have to
face the challenge of changing communication channels (Rahman el Junusi, 2020); but in particular
technological changes and customer behaviour continue to be crucial factors for change within
marketing strategies. As published by Michael and et al., (2016), marketing agencies usually employ
their own forecasts of the most effective communication channels when they send messages. In
contrast, individual customer or intended audiences of information have their own preferences for
communications channels (Mubarak 2020). It is not easy for marketing people to evaluate the success of
an advertising campaign when it is carried out viatraditional communication channels, making one of the
challenges Marketing Managers must overcome in order to allocate their marketing budgets as
efficiently as they can (Yoonmo et al., 2018). It is hard to compete with new digital communication
channels used nowadays, which makes it harder on marketers as well and they unaware of
whattraditional communication media is the most effective one to communicate with target audience,
this is the main reason for them to pay large amount of money on media coverage without having actual
market survey on type of channel that has the greatest impact on consumers purchase decision (Simon
& Karon, 2013). Most researchers have shown that traditional media and reference groups such as
family, friends and celebrities influence customers' decisions, (Hoogbronner and Hoogbronner, 2011 and
2011) . This has an impact on the way people live and the way they live their lives, and customers are
motivated to comply with the opinions of their reference authors and to adapt their purchasing
decisions according to their recommendations, (Bigne et al., 2016, 2016). Today, Social Media is being
used by businesses all over the world with growing speed, particularly during the Crisis of 19 th century
when they were able to change communication customers through platforms such as Twitter and
Facebook. Since the use of social media has improved, influencing changes in consumers' focus on
information about internet marketing communications for 2020 as a consequence of this contagious
19th century flu virus (Rahman el Junusi, 2020). In particular, this covid-19 outbreak demonstrated the
need to advance a systematic and broad spectrum of social media engagement techniques to influence
customer decision-making and actions (Mary et al., 2020)Rising social media platforms are quite
different from traditional media channels that companies use for many years to communicate with their
target audience using TV, radio, magazine, newspaper and billboard etc. Communications via social
media require special attention and a variety of strategies to influence customers' decision making and
position their brand image, (Kaldeen, 2019a). In addition, the demands of today's younger generation
are greater; it is imperative for marketing professionals to be available in every important social media
channel such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, whatsapp and popular news blogs at any time (Bech &
Belch, 2014).
 All consumers nowadays are exposed to one or more traditional and social media channels, such as
television, radio, newspaper, outdoors, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, whatsup, viber,tiktok etc. with
sophisticated Internet technology that enables them to get a view of any mass media channel around
the world. Advertisement can have impact on customer decision-making in many aspects that normally
focuses on influencing their perception about the brand and emotional appeals (Rahman., (2020).
Advertising aimed at informing customers about their market offering can also affect customer attitudes
towards a brand, while advertising intended to create an image or status is influencing current users of
that brand as well as potential clients. The purchase decision, behaviour and attitude towards market
offerings may be influenced less by advertising targeting ex customers with previous experience, (Belch
& Belch, 2014). Impact of marketing communication on customer decision making can be simply
observed when the sales of new product increase, it witnesses that customers are aware about products
benefits, and this point can can be achieved by the execution of efficient marketing communication that
pull the customers to try the product by convincing them (Yoonmo et al.,2015).

Reference:

Ali, I. (2020). Is it social media or traditional media? That influence consumer decision-making in times of
pandemic.

Transition to Social Media from Traditional Media: A Review on Online Advertising

Compared to conventional advertisements, online advertising constitutes a two-sided marketing:

In the past years, social media has become a key marketing and advertising tool for brands that wish to
reach consumers online. In many ways, brands are able to engage with their target audience through
the use of social networking sites, e.g. brand pages, paid advertising or sponsored posts and electronic
word of mouth which can be found on websites.

As a marketing tool, social media tools may be used by business entities of various sizes and types.
(Birkner 2011), Social media allows business organisations to engage directly with their customers at the
right time, in terms of lower costs and greater effectiveness than other traditional communication tools.
In addition, users have the option of following their favorite brands through Twitter and Facebook
where they can also participate in comments or answer questions relating to comparable products or
services. With social media sites, businesses are in a position to obtain information on their brand's
reputation and direct communication with customers through these websites, (Reyneke, Pitt & Berthon,
2011).
 In order to gain maximum impact for advertisers and users, Social Media Influencers use networks or
virtual communities that provide exceptional value (Hair, Clark & Shapiro, 2010 Freberg) described a
new type of independent third party endorser who manipulates the audience's attitudes via blogs,
tweets and other social media" (Freberg et al. 2011), "social media influencers." It is particularly
desirable because it seems more effective for brands than traditional advertising methods, given the
greater authenticity and credibility which has led to lower resistance in their messages (De Vries,
Gensler & Leeflang, 2012).

The interactivity of internet advertisements, on the other hand, is likely to be one of the biggest
differences. In effect, such interactivity gives a media audience the possibility of selecting and
responding to specific advertisements that they find interesting. The effort to distinguish between the
Internet and traditional media should be based on a deeper understanding of audience's wishes and
needs, since they are often recognized as new mediums which break conventional boundaries for
advertising. As to the effectiveness of Internet advertising, it can be pointed out that some types of
consumers and certain kinds of advertisement are more effective than others.

Reference:

Lalramchuani, K. C., & Sharma, L. S. (2022). Transition to social media from traditional media: A review
on Online advertising. ResearchGate.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365964194_TRANSITION_TO_SOCIAL_MEDIA_FROM_TRADI
TIONAL_MEDIA_A_REVIEW_ON_ONLINE_ADVERTISING

The Relationship of CSR Communication on Social Media with Consumer Purchase Intention and
Brand Admiration

The popularity of social media is growing more and more, in use by leading businesses to communicate
across a range of communication objectives. Organizations can adopt social media as an effective means
of communication on several grounds. One is social media’s interactive environment [4], which is non-
existent in conventional media. The interactive nature of social media makes it possible to exchange
information between senders the organization and the recipient, the receiver, by posting, messaging, or
sharing. A large, fast coverage of social media to a wide audience in short time has also been an
important insight. Using a variety of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and others can enable
the organization to fulfil its various communication goals [7].

To deal with the pressure brought on by various stakeholders, such as consumers, competitors,
governments and others, modern companies have been conducting CSR activities. These stakeholders
have called on businesses to adopt sustainable practices in order to ensure the protection of society and
the environment at large, [14]. The importance of social media in communicating CSR activities to
consumers and other stakeholders is recognised by modern companies in the digital age, as follows. A
number of literature studies have identified social media as a major medium for CSR communication,
including [1516,17 and 17]. Consumers respond to CSR actions in various ways, not only by purchasing
certain products but also by recommending the brand to other friends and peers [32]. The literature
indicates that CSR has a positive impact on consumer behavior, for example in terms of buying likelihood
as described above:[25,33,34]

The key challenge in developing a good CSR communication strategy is how to engage with
stakeholders to reduce their skepticism and communicate dynamic progress to the company’s CSR
activities [36]. Recent research on CSR suggests that consumer’s engagement in CSR on social media
allow companies to build a strong organizational image, strengthen consumer-company relationships,
and improve collaboration [17,35,37].

Modern consumers in the present digital age prefer to buy from organizations that earn an image of a
socially responsible organization [42]. The emergence of Social Media has changed the face of
organisational communication, as outlined below. In order to improve their reputation, several
organizations are using social media for interactive communications with a variety of stakeholders ; [74].
Social media is also being used by organisations to communicate sustainability with their stakeholders,
such as consumers, in [75] different ways.

In order to communicate through social media, different groups of people can interact in a way that is
interactive. For the purpose of rapidly disseminating information that allows social media users to
express opinions and interact with others on social networking sites, platforms such as Facebook are
also helpful in this regard. In general, two major categories can be identified with regard to Social
Media. One of these domains is the express Social Media domain, which comprises various Internet
blogs and websites such as Facebook and Twitter. The second category is regarded as collaborative,
which includes Wikipedia and Craigslist [83]. With the emergence of media technologies, consumers'
role is changing [84].

Reference:

Gupta, S., Nawaz, N., Alfalah, A. A., Naveed, R. T., Muneer, S., & Ahmad, N. (2021). The relationship of
CSR communication on social media with consumer purchase intention and brand admiration. Journal of
Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(5), 1217-1230.

Do social media platforms develop consumer panic buying during the fear of Covid-19 pandemic?

Due to social media, people are more engaged and connected, which increases information sharing
(Aslam et al., 2018a; Muqadas et al., 2017) while at the same time allowing sensationalism and
misinformation to spread regarding Covid-19 because shocking or emotionally charged content gets
people's attention (Cogley, 2020; Mao, 2020). Consequently, experts say social media makes people
more anxious about what is to come, which had an impact on stock supplies (Reuters, 2020); therefore,
consumer panic buying increased across the globe based on a socially constructed meaning of Covid-19
that led to stockpiling behaviour of consumers.

In particular in the context of social business, consumers' purchasing behavior is complicated and
subjective; (Arragoncillo and Orus, 2018); (Abdelsalam et al., 2020, Algharabet et al., 2020). Other
researchers have also claimed that the use of social media has increased consumer information sharing
through online ratings, sponsored ads, Internet Reviews, Social Motivated and Social Influencers
(Alalwan et al., 2017; Alalwan, 2018, 2020). Social media has led to a rise in the use of online shopping,
so there is an increasing number of businesses and consumers who are connected because it allows
optimal purchasing decisions (Alalwan, 2018; Alalwan et al., 2019; Baker Qureshi et al., 2019).

Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have been used by a lot of people sharing stories, photos or
experiences that make panic buying more common among other consumers such as (Cogley, 2020; Mao,
2020). This resulted in a greater number of people initiating stockpiling, increasing pressures on
supermarkets and suppliers all over the world.

With the ease of ordering on the Internet from home, it has resulted in a growing need for inventory
management and computerized retailing machines to cope with bigger orders. However, the challenges
of monitoring, fragmentation of identity, and technological uncertainties have also emerged in
individual people's personal lives and their society as a whole due to the Digital Age.

Reference:

Naeem, M. (2021). Do social media platforms develop consumer panic buying during the fear of Covid-
19 pandemic. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 58, 102226.

Online media advertising and buying behavior of consumers: A systematic review

It is evident in the literature that both old and new media have different effects on consumers’ behavior
because of their different features e.g. availability of choices, diversity, and interactivity (Reeves & Nass,
2001). Therefore, new media are a means of providing advertisers with an opportunity to generate
content that is helpful in achieving their goals and enables people to react quickly (AlMeshal &
Almotairi, 2013). In view of the fact that Talafuse and Brizek (2015) found that online mediums were
not effective in moving individuals towards purchasing products and traditional media was preferred by
respondents, several researchers have attempted to analyse the comparative effectiveness of
advertising through both traditional and online media. However, a qualitative study conducted by
Durmaaz and Efendioglu in (2016) has revealed several results which argue for the more efficient use of
unconventional media advertising during this time when communication through computers is
mainstreamed into CMC; Furthermore, it highlights its relevance as an alternative to traditional
communications. Moreover, it was found that advertisements were more efficient when they appeared
simultaneously on older and new media platforms.

On the other hand, Korenkona, Maros, Levicky and Fila (2020) conducted a study which showed
respondents prefer to advertise online and socially media platforms compared with conventional
advertising when it comes to assessing the difference in effectiveness of marketing through traditional
and new media in view of their ability to present in depth and credible information that they are going
to evaluate for the purpose of buying what they wish. Although in a few cases, television advertising was
found to be informative which influenced consumers’ buying behavior and content of advertisement
over both mediums played a significant role. In television advertisements, demonstration and action
oriented content were more effective than emotional advertising in Digital Media. (Liaukonyte & Wilbur
Teixeira, 2015)

The research of Sama (2019) revealed that newspapers were a more persuasive platform for persuading
people to buy products, whereas television and the internet were found to be more significant for
generating awareness, interest, and conviction among potential consumers. This phenomenon
concludes that both (new and traditional) media advertising have their specific characteristics which
influence consumers in different domains.

The same findings were made by Lawrence, Deshmukh, and Navajivan (2018), who stated that
advertisements on both conventional and new media platforms are now interdependent. In contrast to
traditional media advertising, Kapoor and Kapoor's qualitative study from 2021 found that online media
advertising increased hotel bookings. As a result, businesses are switching from traditional media
platforms to this one, and policymakers have begun to notice this rapid shift among consumers.

According to Lin (2010), internet websites give customers satisfaction because they have access to
precise information about the things they want to buy. It was discovered that online marketplace
features like "cash-on-delivery" and "product search" have drawn customers to these platforms.
Because of its simpler interface and quicker processing, consumers thought a certain website was
valuable.

Reference:

Safwan, A., & Ahmed (2019), A. Online media advertising and buying behavior of consumers: A
systematic review.

Consumer response towards social media advertising: Effect of media interactivity, its conditions and
the underlying mechanism
It was reported that over 90% of brands use more than one social media network for advertising, and
businesses are proactive in using social media strategies and tactics to increase consumption of their
brand (Lee & Hong, 2016). Social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, have been used by
marketers to advertise brands more and more over the past two decades (Arora, Bansal, Kandpal,
Aswani, & Dwivedi, 2019; Lee & Hong, 2016).

This study handles this issue from a different angle, shifting from traditional media to a new media
outlet that aids in luring users to a platform that permits a high degree of realism (Coyle & Thorson,
2001).

More significantly, because social media is such a big part of consumer life, businesses rely heavily on it
to sell their products. Interactivity is one method used by new media (such as social media) to influence
the level of realism. Interactivity, according to Steuer (1992), is "the extent to which users can
participate in modifying the form and content of a mediated environment in real-time" (p. 84).

The main characteristic of all new media platforms, which alters not only how messages are transmitted
but also how they influence opinions and attitude (Fortin & Dholakia, 2005), is the level of interactivity
effected by social media. It has a significant impact on how users behave (Wang & Sundar, 2018). This is
due to the interactivity provided by the medium, which enables users to alter the communication
interface's cosmetic appearance, functionally customize the interface's task-oriented utility tools, and
manage information either through filtering or by producing original content (Sundar, 2012).

This indicates the quality of changing communication media and is a new media feature (Rafaeli &
Sutton, 1990). The degree to which a user of a social media platform uses and controls the format and
content of real-time communication depends on the network's interactive features (Lin & Chang, 2018).
Users can participate with their social environment, for instance, by creating and sharing content,
publishing their own messages, and reading those posted by others. As a result, the interactivity makes
it easier for users to introduce themselves and to have real-time informational exchanges among social
groups (Zhao & Lu, 2012).

The social media platform's interaction guides users' information processing toward the primary
communication goal of socialization, however too much involvement in this medium is harmful. That is,
the interactivity meant to support the primary goal of socialization may end up impairing the
information processing of the secondary communication of the advertisement shown.

Therefore, platform utilization and focusing solely on the task of socialization pose a danger to the
effectiveness of advertisements. Although research has adequately explained the significance of
interactivity in general advertising contexts (e.g., Chen, Griffith, and Shen, 2005; Liu and Shrum, 2009;
Sicilia, Ruiz, and Munuera, 2005; Sundar, Bellur, Oh, Xu, and Jia, 2014), little research has examined the
impact of interactivity in the social media context, particularly the effect it has on consumer responses
to the ad that is presented in these media. In addition, there is a lack of transparency regarding how it
affects customer reactions to the advertisement, which is displayed in social media with variable
degrees of engagement.

Interactivity aims to give end users a channel for effective real-time communication with other users as
senders or receivers in order to access or deliver information on-demand while giving them control over
the timing, content, and sequence of the communication (Fortin & Dholakia, 2005).

High levels of engagement in this medium encourage users to engage more in socialising, which has a
negative impact on the effectiveness of the advertisement.

Reference:

Sreejesh, S., Paul, J., Strong, C., & Pius, J. (2020). Consumer response towards social media advertising:
Effect of media interactivity, its conditions and the underlying mechanism. International Journal of
Information Management, 54, 102155.

The Effect of Traditional Media Communication and Social Media Communication in Generating
Consumer Based Brand Equity in Context of Pakistan

The idea of advertising has evolved with the rapid growth of technology. As digital and social media
marketing has grown in popularity, people are learning more about the brands. Recent years have seen
an unparalleled growth in technology, and social media platforms have become an essential component
of international marketing communications. In particular, reaching the younger demographic has
required a sizable portion of the advertising spending. For marketers, managers, and businesses, the
value of advertising on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter is of
tremendous interest (Saxena & Khanna, 2013). Traditional marketing strategies are still effective,
though. The traditional marketing methods' instruments may have a higher level of trust than social
media marketing, which may be the cause. The marketers employ both methods at the same time as a
result of their lack of confidence. Traditional media outlets including television, newspapers, and
magazines have a wider audience than social media, according to Stephen and Galak (2012). In a similar
vein, Pauwel et. al. (2010) have made the case that traditional marketing strategies tap into consumers'
buried desires and prompt them to look for the goods online. According to Sundar, Narayan, Obregon,
and Uppal (1998), traditional advertising mediums like TV ads, newspapers, magazines, etc. have a
significant impact on internet sales. While social media advertising delivers a richer and deeper content
and is less expensive than traditional means, conventional advertising forces the advertiser to offer a
clear and catchy message through TVCs (Huhman & Limbu, 2016).

In the past, a great deal of research has been done to determine how traditional marketing techniques
and social media marketing affect the buy intentions of consumers. However, there is a strong need to
investigate the effect of combining both marketing tools on the buy intention of the customer (Stephen
& Galak, 2012; Castronovo & Huang, 2012) and to understand the effect of user-generated content on
the purchase intention.

Vinhas Da Silva and Faridah Syed Alwi (2008) examined brand characteristics that contribute to positive
brand perception in an online environment. According to the report, features like security,
personalisation, customer service, and simplicity of use are crucial factors for creating corporate brand
image for online retailers. In the same perspective, Cho and Fiore (2015) recognized brand image,
customer perception, and feelings toward a brand as key aspects since these qualities influence the
consumer's brand and product choices.

Reference:

Ali, M., Iraqi, K. M., Khan, L., & Salam, F. (2019). The Effect of Traditional Media Communication and
Social Media Communication in Generating Consumer Based Brand Equity in Context of Pakistan. South
Asian Journal of Management Sciences, 13(2).

Customer Behavior as an Outcome of Social Media Marketing: The Role of Social Media Marketing
Activity and Customer Experience

Activity in Social Media Marketing

The value of using social media is found in user interactions and connections, as well as in material
produced by businesses, organizations, or individuals. A social media marketing strategy is a set of
integrated activities that an organization uses to transform social media networks and interactions into
effective strategic methods for achieving desired marketing outcomes [16].

The use of social media as a channel for communication with one or a small number of stakeholders falls
under the purview of social media marketing.

To underline that using social media as a marketing tool will appeal to different audiences than using
traditional marketing platforms like printed advertising, billboards, etc., Kim and Ko [4] devised the
concept of social media marketing (SMMA). The benefits of using social media as a marketing technique
include the first that customers will find the free marketing content provided by the company to be
more entertaining and that this will result in social network engagement.

The second customization option for clients is direct bespoke searching services offered by the
company, hashtags, or the SNS default search tool.
Third, social media is quick and real-time, enabling customers to learn about the latest developments
and trends in the company's goods and services.

Fourth, a social media marketing strategy enables the creation of personal connections between users,
which can result in word-of-mouth effects, or the propensity of customers to share information seen on
an enterprise's social media with others. Entertainment, engagement, trendiness, customisation, and
word of mouth are the five constructs that SMMA uses.

Value of a brand

According to Kim and Ko [4], SMMA has a significant impact on brand equity, purchasing intentions, etc.
Furthermore, numerous research have examined SMMA in other contexts and shown a number of its
effects. According to an analytical finding by Chen and Lin [2], SMMA may indirectly influence social
identity and perceived value on satisfaction.

In contrast, contentment is directly impacted by social identity and perceived worth, which in turn
influences deliberate consistency, purposeful involvement, and purchasing intention. SMMA was shown
by Seo and Park [5] to positively affect brand awareness and brand image, indicating that SMMA is a
model that results in brand equity.

Sequentially, commitment and word-of-mouth were positively impacted by brand awareness and brand
image. According to the aforementioned earlier research, SMMA is a second-order reflective construct,
which means that the construct's indicators (entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customisation, and
word-of-mouth) are thought to be caused by SMMA itself.

Customer satisfaction

Customer experience (CX) is a multifaceted notion that reflects on the consumer's cognitive, emotional,
behavioral, sensory, and social responses to the enterprise's goods or services throughout the
customer's purchasing journey, according to recent literature [17]. Due to the inability to connect face-
to-face with customer service representatives and the lack thereof, internet products and services are
generally thought to provide a terrible experience [18]. Enterprises should, however, offer incentives for
customers to participate in online experiences, such as favorable information processing by users,
perceived advantages, perceived usability, etc. [19]. CX is one of the crucial frameworks that the
manager should take into account while looking for and taking advantage of possibilities to strengthen
the enterprise's competitive position [20].

Relationship Quality

According to Tajvidi et al. [25], the development of relationships between service providers and
customers is the main goal of the marketing relationship. According to Anastasiei and Dospinescu [26],
the type of message the firm gave affects trust as one of the relationship quality dimensions. A positive
relationship is significantly influenced by the quality of the relationships [27]. Maintaining client loyalty
[28], purchase intention [29, 30], and intention to engage in social commerce [31] all depend on the
quality of relationships.
Three Customer Behavioral Outcomes

The idea of relationship quality serves as the driving force behind the implementation of customer
behaviors (such as purchase intention, loyalty intention, and participation intention) toward the
company [29,30,31,45]. Customers enjoy aligning their own good values with those of the business since
these values complement one another. Customers are also willing to support the business, and instead
of just transferring to a different provider if they see a service gap or have suggestions for improvement,
they prefer to communicate with the current provider.

The rapid advancement of digital media forces businesses to communicate with their clients using these
platforms, particularly social media, to manage the relationship and advance interactive marketing,
which can increase revenue. In the context of social commerce, consumer behavior, such as customer
purchase intention, loyalty, and customer involvement intention, is what drives firm revenues. As a
component of the relationship quality dimension, trust has a favorable impact on purchase intention
[30,58,67] and satisfaction has a considerable impact [29,68,69]. Customer loyalty has now developed
into a significant result that denotes a positive relationship between a company and its clients [43, 45].
Additionally, client interactions through physical and virtual channels will affect long-term consumer
loyalty [70]. Social commerce is characterized by a customer's desire to participate in business events,
discussions, or programs as well as contribute their knowledge, experience, and information about a
specific good or service. According to study, the corporate-customer relationship's quality affected
customers' intentions to engage in social commerce [31, 71]. Along with trust, which is crucial for
enhancing customer intention to participate, satisfaction, one of the relationship quality constructs, also
increases intention to participate [2].

Reference:

Wibowo, A., Chen, S. C., Wiangin, U., Ma, Y., & Ruangkanjanases, A. (2020). Customer behavior as an
outcome of social media marketing: The role of social media marketing activity and customer
experience. Sustainability, 13(1), 189.

The Role of Trust in Understanding the Impact of Social Media Marketing on Brand Equity and Brand
Loyalty

Social Media Marketing

The measurement of the impact of marketing managers' operations on social media is a significant
difficulty (Godey et al., 2016; Schultz & Peltier, 2013), despite the fact that social media offers a variety
of chances and advantages for successful brand management. Interaction, entertainment, trendiness,
personalization, and word-of-mouth are the five main forces identified by Kim and Ko (2010) as
capturing engaged customers' perceptions of various marketers' tactics on social media and
characterizing social media marketing activities (Yadav & Rahman, 2018). According to Chen and Lin
(2019), these activities increase consumer experiences, which in turn affect brand equity and
subsequent purchase intentions and behaviors. Consumer responses to various interactions on social
media are dependent on trust, which is crucial for maximizing the impact of online activities and
converting marketing efforts into equity and loyalty (Tatar & Eren-Erdogmus, 2016; Warner-Sderholmet
et al., 2018).

According to Kaplan & Haenlein (2010) on page 61, social media is "a group of internet-based
applications that build on the theoretical and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the
creation and exchange of user generated content." The power of social media comes from the Web 2.0
platform, which offers the technical infrastructure that makes it possible for users to create and share
content (Berthon, Pitt, Plangger, & Shapiro, 2012). Although social networks and social media are
sometimes used interchangeably in online contexts, there are some differences between the two. Social
networking is the practice of interacting with others through social media (Alalwan et al., 2017).

As seen in Table 1, despite numerous attempts to define social media marketing, no consensus has yet
been found. Early on in the literature, social media marketing was described as "brand communications
used in an online social networking context. In the brand's attempt to engage with its customers and
prospects, it is characterized by social connectivity and user interaction" (Chi, 2011, p. 48). Additionally,
according to Dwivedi, Kapoor, and Chen(2015, p. 5), social media marketing is "a dialogue frequently
triggered by consumers/audiences, or a business/product/service that travels in a circle amongst the
stated parties to set in motion revealing communications on some promotional information, or to learn
from one another's use experiences, ultimately benefiting either or all of the involved parties." Generally
speaking, social media marketing is the process of developing, communicating, and delivering marketing
products that increase the value of the company's stakeholders (Tuten & Solomon, 2017; Yadav &
Rahman, 2017; 2018).

Therefore, social media marketing activities can be characterized as efficient marketing communication
strategies that capture engaged consumers' perceptions and understanding of social media marketing
activities by five dimensions, namely entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization, and word-
of-mouth (Chen & Lin, 2019; Kim & Ko, 2010, 2012; Yadav & Rahman, 2018). The forces driving social
media marketing have been discussed in a number of studies with various settings. Kim and Ko (2012)
investigate the connection between luxury fashion brand purchase intentions and SMM, as well as the
determinants of customer equity—namely, value equity, brand equity, and relationship equity. The
report identifies entertainment, customisation, engagement, word-of-mouth marketing, and trendiness
as SMM activities.

Brand Equity
Customer-based brand equity is described as "the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer
response to the marketing of the brand" in the context of marketing decision-making based on
consumers (Keller, 1993, p. 8).

Brand Trust

Numerous studies have focused on the role of trust and a person's confidence on social media platforms
in the online context. Individuals' perceptions of trust in the online environment are significantly
influenced by their personality traits, which in turn impact their intents and behaviour. According to
Pentina, Zhang, and Basmanova (2013), confidence in a website is correlated with how well a user's
personality fits with social media. The findings of their study support the notion that trust is crucial in
social media because it affects users' behavioral responses, such as their intentions to use and suggest
social networks in the future.

Brand Loyalty

Focusing on the two viewpoints, brand loyalty is described as a fervent desire to continue purchasing a
brand in the future, regardless of external circumstances (Chaudhuri & Holbrook, 2001). According to
this concept, behavioral loyalty tends to increase market share, whereas attitudinal loyalty increases
relative brand value (Taylor, Celuch, & Goodwin, 2004).

Reference:

Ebrahim, R. S. (2020). The role of trust in understanding the impact of social media marketing on brand
equity and brand loyalty. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 19(4), 287-308.