The Impact of Social Media Marketing on Brand Awareness of Sub-urban People of Bangladesh- An Empirical Investigation

Abstract

Purpose: The study aims at exploring the influence of the determinants of social identification, customer engagement, trust, psychological issue (i.e., psychological reactance), and customer satisfaction on sub-urban customers’ brand awareness and customer loyalty from the perspective of an emerging country (i.e., Bangladesh). Design/Methodology/Approach: The study has developed and validated a unique researches model incorporating the Theory of Psychological Reactance (TPR), Social identity theory (SIT), Customer Engagement Theory (CET) and Satisfaction Loyalty Theory (SLT) model along with contemporary dimensions (e.g., sustainability perception, trust, social media marketing activities, brand attitudes) to determine the customer satisfaction brand awareness and customer loyalty of sub-urban customers’ from the perspective of social media marketing in Bangladesh. The data were collected from 533 suburban social media customers using a mixed research strategy based on a cross-sectional setting using a purposive sampling technique (i.e., judgmental sampling) and analyzed with structural equation modelling (SEM) using SMART PLS 3 and SPSS AMOS software. Findings: The research found that social media marketing activities (SMMA, brand attitudes, and sustainability perception positively influence social identification, customer engagement, trust and psychological reactance, whereas social identification, customer engagement, trust and psychological reactance can predict e-satisfaction of suburban social media customers. Moreover, the study analogies that e-satisfaction forecasts both the outcome variables of the study (i.e., brand awareness and customer loyalty); and SMMAs can predict only customer loyalty, while the relationship between sustainability perception and brand awareness was not significantly found. In addition, the study conducted mediation analysis and found that e-satiation can mediate the influence of social identification, customer engagement, and trust on customer loyalty and brand awareness. However, the mediated impact of psychological reactance through e-satisfaction on customer loyalty and brand awareness was insignificant. Research Limitations/Implications: The study findings would assist marketers, governments, local governments, and other essential customers in the educational industry in developing policies and strategies to build entrepreneur satisfaction and mobility intention. This satisfaction and consumer preferences should be prioritized by practitioners when implementing procedures and regulations for the educational industry. However, the implementers need to be careful while generalising the study results since data were collected from a single source (i.e., from customers only) and Bangladeshi suburban areas on a cross-sectional basis. Originality/value: The study will enormously contribute to the existing social media marketing literature validating the proposed holistic framework applying the study has developed and tested a unique comprehensive model based on Theory of Psychological Reactance (TPR), Social identity theory (SIT), Satisfaction Loyalty Theory (SLT) and customer engagement theory (CET) from the perspective of an emerging country (i.e., Bangladesh) in social media marketing incorporating contemporary dimensions (e.g., sustainability perception, trust, social media marketing activities, brand attitudes)). Moreover, the mediating role of e-satisfaction in this industry also adds to social media marketing literature research. Besides, the examination of the motives, decision-making processes, and social marketing features contributes more to Bangladesh's economic sustainability. Finally, it will help bring considerable practical implications for respective stakeholders SME industry, including employees, managers, owners, customers, industry analysts, and respective government authorities.