scholarly journals How to convert Millennial consumers to brand evangelists through social media micro-influencers

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-32
Author(s):  
Kanyawee Pornsrimate ◽  
Anon Khamwon
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Target Market ◽  
Specific Content ◽  
Market Strategy ◽  
Brand Love ◽  
Brand Engagement ◽  
Company Sector ◽  
Brand Evangelism

Undoubtedly, in the modern age of digitalization, Millennials, who are considered digital natives, have become a massive target market for salespersons. Changes in the way Millennials think accompanied by an explosion of social media have led to an increased focus on social media influencer marketing in the company sector. To help establish a new marketing paradigm that accounts for these changes, this research aims to conceptualize and investigate the process of building consumer-brand relationships with Millennial consumers through social media micro-influencers. Findings based on structural equation modeling revealed that four core characteristics of social media micro-influencers (i.e., authenticity, the meaning of the influencer, specific content, and secret sharing) were a significant antecedent of brand engagement and brand love, which, in turn, mediated the pathway from social media micro-influencer characteristics to brand evangelism. Understanding what social media micro-influencers mean to Millennials offers the promise of improving brand evangelism through more precise market analysis and market strategy. In the discussion, the paper introduces a three-stage building method towards brand evangelism through social media micro-influencer, including: (1) the stage of selecting influencers; (2) the stage of constructing intense emotional responses to the brand (brand engagement and brand love); and ultimately (3) the stage of becoming a brand evangelist. Lastly, limitations and future directions were discussed.

Do value cocreation and engagement drive brand evangelism?

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Harrigan ◽  
Sanjit K. Roy ◽  
Tom Chen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Customer Value ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Brand Love ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brand Engagement ◽  
Brand Advocacy ◽  
Value Cocreation ◽  
Service Logic

PurposeDrawing on service logic, the authors investigate how value cocreation leads to evangelical brand-related behaviors (brand defense and brand advocacy). The authors analyze the interplay between value cocreation and customer brand engagement on social media in driving these outcomes. The authors also consider the role of brand love in eliciting evangelical brand-related behaviors.Design/methodology/approachRespondents recruited through Amazon MTurk were surveyed on social media use in tourism-related decisions. The total useable sample size was 397. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the research model.FindingsValue cocreation and customer brand engagement are drivers of evangelical brand-related behaviors, emphasizing the importance of these two in marketing and how they drive behavioral outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsService logic highlights the significance of value cocreation which, through customer brand engagement and love, leads to brand defense and advocacy. This explains the mediation in our model, where marketers must undertake efforts to support customer brand engagement and brand love.Practical implicationsValue is created by the user for the user through their experiences over time. Brands are owned by customers, and their defense and advocacy of them must be earned. Marketers facilitate customer value creation by providing the resources to cocreate value and love the brand.Originality/valueMost studies investigate value cocreation from an in-role and/or extra-role perspective as to how it benefits firms. Through service logic, the authors illustrate how it leads to evangelical brand-related behaviors.

Understanding drivers of brand love - the role of personalized ads on social media

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Trang P. Tran ◽  
Adrienne Muldrow ◽  
Khanh Ngoc Bich Ho
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Brand Management ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Brand Love ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Brand Engagement ◽  
Digital World ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to test a theory-driven model reflecting the effects of perceived personalization on consumer–brand relationships on social media. Design/methodology/approach The conceptual model is empirically tested through two studies using partial least squares-structural equation modeling. Other techniques, such as common method bias, multigroup comparison, mediation analysis and model fit comparison, are also used to give more insights into the analytical process. Findings Data from two studies show that perceived personalization is positively related to brand-related outcomes including brand self-expressiveness, consumer–brand engagement and brand connection. While consumer–brand engagement and brand connection are positively related to brand love, brand self-expressiveness is not. Research limitations/implications The paper contributes to the advertising and brand management literature by shedding light on a better understanding of the impact of personalization in the digital world. Practical implications Management could learn important lessons from personalization. If a strategy of promoting personalized ads is implemented successfully, those ads could change customer perceptions of brands which ultimately strengthens brand love. Originality/value This research provides an empirical model that helps marketers better understand the factors affecting brand love with personalized ads on social media.

From fandom to fad: are millennials really engaged with and loyal to their loved brands on social media?

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Fernandes ◽  
Inês Inverneiro
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Brand Loyalty ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Holistic Model ◽  
Brand Love ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brand Engagement ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Purpose Exerting a peculiar fascination on both managers and academics, Millennials can be distinguished from other cohorts by their intense exposure to the internet and heavy use of social media, which, in turn, affect their identity formation, brand engagement, loyalty and purchase behaviour. Yet, uncertainties regarding online engagement and the real benefits brands can reap from Millennials’ avid use of social media remain. Therefore, by developing a holistic model of drivers and outcomes, this study aims to understand how Millennials engage with their most loved, self-expressive brands across social media platforms and its impact on loyalty-related intentions. Design/methodology/approach Data was gathered using a self-administered survey, answered by 343 millennial generation social media users and based on self-selected self-expressive, loved brands. Considering brand loyalty as a key outcome, a holistic model was developed and tested using partial least squares-structural equation modelling, emphasizing not only the role of social media engagement but also including brand love, experience and identification as direct and indirect antecedents. Findings Findings suggest a disconnection between online and offline brand relationships: though Millennials love and are very loyal to their favourite brands, they are not actively engaged in social media, which helps to explain the non-significant effect of engagement on brand loyalty. Moreover, together with brand identification, brand experience was found to play a major role in developing brand love, which, in turn, is positively related to engagement and loyalty. Originality/value Theoretically, this study contributes to bridging a gap in the literature, as research on engagement, its drivers and outcomes is scant and there is no robust evidence about its impact on brand loyalty, particularly among Millennials. Moreover, research on disengaged consumers who exhibit limited willingness to engage is still scant. Managerially, this study provides insights for brand managers wishing to successfully engage and build relationships with Millennials and to identify key routes to Millennials’ loyalty.

scholarly journals Fashion Brand Love: Application of a Cognition–Affect–Conation Model

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tae-Im Han ◽  
Dooyoung Choi
Keyword(s):  
Brand Loyalty ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Target Market ◽  
Ideal Self ◽  
Brand Relationships ◽  
Brand Love ◽  
Fashion Brand ◽  
Large Numbers

A large numbers of studies have supported the crucial role of brand love in consumer–brand relationships; however, research that examines fashion brand love and its relationship with cognitive aspects and self-concept congruency remains limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify important factors that are associated with fashion brand love. A questionnaire in which participants provided self-reported responses was created to measure the constructs and structural equation modeling (SEM) and independent sample t-tests were conducted to test the hypothesized relationships. Our results indicated that consumers who know more about fashion brands are more likely to have stronger emotional attachment to their favorite fashion brand and brand love, in turn, has a significant effect on performing brand-loyal behaviors. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that fashion brand love is strongly associated with actual and ideal self-congruity. These findings suggest that it is important for fashion brands to focus on developing affective relationships with consumers to gain brand loyalty and one way to achieve this goal is to enhance brand awareness or knowledge among consumers. Fashion brands also need to invest in activities that aim to deliver a brand image congruent with actual and ideal self-concepts of the target market.

scholarly journals Understanding a consumer's path to purchase jeans in a social media context

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanghavy Karunakaran
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Product Involvement ◽  
Brand Engagement ◽  
Fashion Brand ◽  
Brand Involvement ◽  
Brand Information

Consumers are increasingly depending on online and social platforms to find product and brand information while fashion brands seek to further engage with consumers online. This study proposes a five-construct structural model to measure the influence of product involvement, fashion brand involvement, altruistic involvement, and online brand engagement on purchase intention in a social media context. Through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), a sample of 799 shoppers in North America were empirically tested to validate the findings drawn from the model. From the six hypotheses presented, all were accepted; including three hypotheses which were an extension of previous research. The findings confirm a consumer’s journey is prevalent and future testing of the model in new applications will help to enhance and progress social media studies around involvement and engagement. Keywords: Social Media, Product Involvement, Fashion Brand Involvement, Altruistic Involvement, Online Brand Engagement, Purchase Intention, PLS-SEM

scholarly journals Understanding a consumer's path to purchase jeans in a social media context

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanghavy Karunakaran
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Product Involvement ◽  
Brand Engagement ◽  
Fashion Brand ◽  
Brand Involvement ◽  
Brand Information

Consumers are increasingly depending on online and social platforms to find product and brand information while fashion brands seek to further engage with consumers online. This study proposes a five-construct structural model to measure the influence of product involvement, fashion brand involvement, altruistic involvement, and online brand engagement on purchase intention in a social media context. Through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), a sample of 799 shoppers in North America were empirically tested to validate the findings drawn from the model. From the six hypotheses presented, all were accepted; including three hypotheses which were an extension of previous research. The findings confirm a consumer’s journey is prevalent and future testing of the model in new applications will help to enhance and progress social media studies around involvement and engagement. Keywords: Social Media, Product Involvement, Fashion Brand Involvement, Altruistic Involvement, Online Brand Engagement, Purchase Intention, PLS-SEM

Brand personality in cultural tourism through social media

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Peco-Torres ◽  
Ana I. Polo-Peña ◽  
Dolores M. Frías-Jamilena
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Brand Personality ◽  
Cultural Tourism ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brand Engagement ◽  
Exploratory Approach ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose This study aims to analyze the effect of the use of social media on the perception of brand personality and to identify its effect on customer brand engagement. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted an exploratory approach, adapting Aaker's brand personality scale (1997) to the context of cultural tourism before carrying out a quantitative study resorting to a structural equation modeling to obtain empirical evidence to identify these relationships. Findings The findings reveal that the use of social media has a positive effect on the perception of brand personality and that brand personality, likewise, has a positive effect on customer brand engagement. Research limitations/implications This study indicates that transmission of an attractive brand personality according to the desires of the public, combined with dissemination through social media, is a valid strategy to improve customer brand engagement. Originality/value This study represents an advance in the specialized literature on the value that consumers place on information transmitted through social media. Specifically, it sheds light on how the transmission of brand personality through social media affects customer brand engagement.

scholarly journals The Role of Social Media Marketing on Overall Brand Equity in the Telecommunication Sector in Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Brand Equity ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Social Media Marketing ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Systematic Sampling ◽  
Direct Influence ◽  
Telecommunication Sector ◽  
Brand Love

The objective of this study is to investigate the role of social media marketing (SMM) on overall brand equity (OBE) via value co-creation (VC) in the telecommunication sector in Bangladesh. Moreover, brand love is tested as a moderator of SMM and VC. A structured questionnaire was distributed to collect survey data from 241 mobile subscribers using a systematic sampling method from different areas of Dhaka city in Bangladesh. The hypotheses were examined using structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings have shown that social media marketing has a substantial direct influence on value co-creation which has also a significant direct influence on OBE. Findings have indicated that VC is partially mediated the relationship between SMM and OBE. The results have asserted that SMM significantly influences OBE. Furthermore, the results have affirmed that brand love act as a moderator to strengthen the relationships between SMM and VC.

Linking social media marketing activities with brand love

Kybernetes ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 1801-1819 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raed Salah Algharabat
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Brand Loyalty ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Social Media Marketing ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Brand Love ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Marketing Activities ◽  
Facebook Pages ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This research aims to investigate the link between social media marketing (SMM) activities and brand love. It further investigates the mediating impact of self-expressive brands (inner and social) between the relationships of SMM activities and brand love, which in turn impact brand loyalty. Using the context provided by Facebook, the author contributes in three ways to the nascent marketing literature: by linking SMM activates with brand love, by investigating the mediating impact of self-expressive brands between SMM activities and brand love and by investigating the impact of brand love on brand loyalty. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 400 followers of Facebook pages, data were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings The findings reveal that SMM activities positively affect self-expressive brands (inner and social), which in turn impact brand love. The author also finds that brand love positively affects brand loyalty. The author further finds that self-expressive brand (inner) fully mediates the relationship between SMM activities and brand love, whereas self-expressive brand (social) partially mediates this relationship. Originality/value Previous researchers neither have the chance to link SMM activities with brand love nor to explain its role as an antecedent to self-expressive brand. Therefore, the author contributes to nascent literature by linking and investigating the mediating impact of self-expressive brands between the relationships of SMM activities and brand love which in turn impact brand loyalty.

The moderating role of age on social media marketing activities and customer brand engagement on Instagram social network

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Hazzam*
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Social Media Marketing ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Product Categories ◽  
Social Media Networks ◽  
Brand Engagement ◽  
The Impact

Purpose In the context of fashion brands on Instagram platform, this study aims to investigate the impact of age on the relationships between informative, interactive and trendy social media marketing (SMM) activities, customer brand engagement (CBE) and brand loyalty. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative method was used to collect and analyses the data and to test the conceptual model. In total, 241 usable questionnaires were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling and multi-group moderation analysis. Findings The results of this study demonstrate that informativeness of SMM activities relates positively and significantly to CBE in all age groups. However, the strength and the significance of interactive and trendy social media activities differ between age groups. Research limitations/implications This study used only two age groups of college students to answer the research questions. Despite that tech-savvy millennials and generation Z are highly engaged in social media environment, the results may not be representative of the entire population and the findings may be cautiously generalized to other platform types or product categories. Originality/value By offering a new understanding of perceived SMM in different age groups on Instagram platform, this study contributes to the literature by identifying the types of social media activities that engage different age groups on social media networks.

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