The Impact of Social Media Marketing on Customer Decisions: A View from a New Era

Abstract

Social media marketing plays a crucial role in shaping what customers decide to buy. This is especially true in today's changing world, where social platforms greatly influence people's choices. Understanding how these marketing activities affect customer intentions can help businesses connect better with their audience and boost their success.

Over the past decade, there has been a tremendous growth in the use of social media platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook (Chen & Qasim, 2021). People now use these platforms to communicate with one another, and companies leverage them for marketing their products. Social activities that were once confined to the physical world have now shifted to the virtual realm of social networking sites. The real-time exchange of messages has enabled people to interact and share information more seamlessly. As a result, companies view social media as vital tools for succeeding in the online marketplace (Ebrahim, 2020). This practice of using social media to commercially promote products, services, or events to attract potential consumers online is known as social media marketing (SMM).

The rise of community websites has led many organizations to find effective ways to utilize these platforms in building strong relationships and communication with users. This has enabled the creation of online brand communities (Ibrahim & Aljarah, 2018). SMM efficiently fosters communication between customers and marketers, and it also facilitates activities that enhance brand awareness (Hafez, 2021). However, the impact of SMM on consumer intentions remains limited. Existing research on SMM has primarily focused on consumer behavior, creative strategies, content analysis, and the benefits of user-generated content in the context of virtual brand communities (Ibrahim, 2021).

The internet's development over time has led to the creation of new communication channels and significant changes in how people interact (Tarsakoo & Charoensukmongkol, 2020). Companies now recognize that sharing brand information and consumer experiences is a new avenue for brand marketing, driven by the widespread use of smartphones and social media. As a result, developing online communities has become a highly efficient strategy. These social groups create a sense of continuity for their members without the need for physical meetings (Yadav & Rahman, 2017). A community that acquires products from a specific brand is referred to as a virtual brand community. Customers are now interested not only in buying goods and services but also in creating meaningful experiences and building strong relationships with other customers and professionals. When customers are part of online communities, the cohesion that grows among them impacts the market. Therefore, companies need to identify methods or factors that will encourage customers to participate in these communities (Ismail et al., 2018).

The nature of online communities is similar to that of physical communities in terms of creating shared experiences, enabling social support, and catering to the members' need for self-identification, despite the differences between real-world and virtual communities (Seo & Park, 2018). However, online communities are distinct from real-life communities in terms of manifestations and technology, as the former primarily rely on computers to facilitate their operations. A specific brand product or service is used to establish a brand community, which refers to communities formed based on interactions that are not limited by geographical restrictions among brand consumers (Chen & Lin, 2019). Since consumers' social relationships create brand communities, these communities have their own customs, traditions, rituals, and community awareness. The group members learn from each other and share knowledge about a product, thereby appreciating each other's actions and ideas. When a consumer joins a particular brand community, the brand becomes a conduit and common language linking the community members together due to their shared brand experiences (Arora & Sanni, 2019).