Authenticity as a Strategic Weapon: Navigating the Social Media Battlefield to Enhance Brand Loyalty

Q4 Business, Management and Accounting

Review of Marketing Science Pub Date : 2024-07-04 DOI:10.1515/roms-2023-0118

Sohail Ahmad, Li Liang, Ahmad Iqbal, Irshad Hussain Sarki

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract In the dynamic landscape of the fashion industry, cultivating brand loyalty has become a challenging endeavour, intensified by the competitive realm of social media. This study addresses the crucial problem of fostering brand loyalty in the digital era by employing authenticity as a strategic weapon. Using an integrated Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework and social presence theory, we explore the diverse impact of social media marketing activity (SMMa) on brand authenticity and brand loyalty. Through empirical analysis of data from 365 consumers engaging with global fashion brands on social media, we find a direct and significant impact of SMMa on brand authenticity and brand loyalty. Brand authenticity partially mediates the relationship between SMMa and brand loyalty. While self-congruence does not moderate the effects, the research highlights the importance of authenticity in shaping effective brand strategies on social platforms. The implications of these findings are valuable for fashion marketers, guiding them in creating authentic brand images and fostering enduring customer relationships in the competitive world of digital marketing.

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将真实性作为战略武器：驾驭社交媒体战场，提高品牌忠诚度

摘要在时尚产业的动态景观中，培养品牌忠诚度已成为一项具有挑战性的工作，而社交媒体领域的竞争又加剧了这一挑战。本研究将真实性作为一种战略武器，以解决在数字时代培养品牌忠诚度这一关键问题。我们运用刺激-组织-反应（SOR）综合框架和社会存在理论，探讨了社交媒体营销活动（SMMa）对品牌真实性和品牌忠诚度的不同影响。通过对在社交媒体上与全球时尚品牌接触的 365 名消费者的数据进行实证分析，我们发现社交媒体营销活动对品牌真实性和品牌忠诚度有着直接而显著的影响。品牌真实性在一定程度上调节了 SMMa 与品牌忠诚度之间的关系。虽然自我一致性并不能调节这些影响，但研究强调了真实性在社交平台上塑造有效品牌战略的重要性。这些研究结果对时尚营销人员很有价值，可以指导他们在竞争激烈的数字营销世界中创建真实的品牌形象并培养持久的客户关系。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Review of Marketing Science Business, Management and Accounting-Marketing

CiteScore

1.10

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Review of Marketing Science (ROMS) is a peer-reviewed electronic-only journal whose mission is twofold: wide and rapid dissemination of the latest research in marketing, and one-stop review of important marketing research across the field, past and present. Unlike most marketing journals, ROMS is able to publish peer-reviewed articles immediately thanks to its electronic format. Electronic publication is designed to ensure speedy publication. It works in a very novel and simple way. An issue of ROMS opens and then closes after a year. All papers accepted during the year are part of the issue, and appear as soon as they are accepted. Combined with the rapid peer review process, this makes for quick dissemination.