Role of Social Media Marketing Activities (SMMAs) in Apparel Brands Customer Response: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

Abstract

This study analyzes the influence of apparel/clothing brand social media marketing activities (SMMAs) on brand equity and customer response in Pakistan. First, the current SMMAs are examined; then, we propose new attributes, i.e., fundamental social media marketing activities (FSMMAs) and sophisticated social media marketing activities (SSMMAs) such as interactions, sharing, and trendiness. Second, the influence of innovative components, i.e., FSMMAs and SSMMAs, are analyzed regarding brand equity and customer response toward apparel brands. A survey was conducted with a total of 406 Pakistani customers who used apparel brands, and the collected data were analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Hayes PROCESS macro in SPSS. From the empirical results, we concluded that apparel brand equity (i.e., brand awareness, brand image) significantly mediates the relationship between FSMMAs and customer response (price premium willingness, customer loyalty). Moreover, it is also determined that SSMMAs moderate the indirect association of FSMMAs and customer response via brand equity.

The Influence of Social Media Marketing on Apparel Brands’ Customers’ Satisfaction: The Mediation of Perceived Value

“…Social media marketing is defined as "marketing communications through digital applications, platforms, and media that facilitate interaction, collaboration, and content sharing among users" (Kim & Ko, 2012). The literature presents that social media has an enormous influence on brand's reputation (Godey et al, 2016;Khan et al, 2019;Seo & Park, 2018;Tuten & Solomon, 2017). Thus, organisations and brands should focus on existing SMMAs to attract and engage more consumers.…”

“…On the social media platform, long-term exchanges of information and ideas regarding a particular product or service significantly improve members' loyal social relationships (Raacke & Bonds-Raacke, 2008). The impact of SMMAs on customer response has thoroughly been studied in the literature in a different context (Alalwan, 2018;Bianchi & Andrews, 2018;Khan et al, 2019;Seo & Park, 2018). All the marketing activities on the social media platform are significant for organisations to enhance customers' overall commitment toward a company (Lacey et al, 2007).…”

“…The literature presents numerous studies related to the impact of social media advertising on customers' responses in different organisations Alalwan, 2018;Khan et al, 2019;Godey et al, 2016;Seo & Park, 2018). Khan et al (2019) studied the impact of four well-known apparel brands' SMMAs on brand equity and customers' response towards apparel brands in Pakistan (Khan et al, 2019). Similarly, the authors investigated the influence of social media use and perceived value on Chinese environmentally sustainable apparel (ESA) purchase intentions by utilising hierarchical regression and a structural equation modelling approach (Zhao et al, 2019).…”

Social Networking Information and Pre-Employment Background Checks: The Mediating Role of Sustainable Organizational Reputation

“…SNSs can be recreational (Facebook), job-oriented (LinkedIn), or for posting statements (Twitter). These SNSs are a source of a huge amount of information, which is the central attraction of many third-party users such as organizations that want to promote their products or businesses [11,12], Governments that want to observe and control the flow of information and, very recently, HR professionals who want to recruit and select potential candidates as well as check their backgrounds.…”

Celebrity Endorsement and the Attitude Towards Luxury Brands for Sustainable Consumption

“…Future studies should also do comparison studies. Finally, future studies could consider the effects of brands and celebrity endorsement on social media (e.g., Instagram), within different countries [132]. Another interesting study could be conducting an experimental study to compare the results of two different brands and their celebrity endorsements through a factorial design study.…”