A User Gratification Theory Approach to Social Media Marketing: The Impact of Brand Engagement and Awareness on Purchase Intention

Abstract

The use of social media has become a part of our lives. As technology is becoming more sophisticated, individuals are spending more time on social media to achieve various objectives. Digital age social media is one of the vital areas that define the behavior of customers and has become an important element of marketing. As the volume of consumers soars dramatically, marketers are moving into social media networking sites to be creative in establishing their brand in social media and reach more people through social media. Through the User Gratification Theory that states that people use social media to fulfill their needs and wants, this paper will explore the direct correlation between social media marketing and consumer purchase intent and effects of brand awareness and brand engagement as mediators. In this Study, to realise this end, the research paper applies deductive reasoning through a quantitative research design. It is gathered using an online questionnaire in the form of an e-questionnaire, with the help of a Likert scale, from a sample of Pakistani social media users across various platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and others. With the objective of a cross-section of time, a non-probability (non-random) convenience sampling design was utilized in which 473 Pakistani individuals were surveyed. The data that were collected were then analyzed using SmartPLS (Partial Least Squares). This paper proposes that social media marketing has a positive impact on consumer purchase intention, and brand awareness is the most significant mediator of this association. Although the impact of brand engagement was somewhat smaller, the research still shows that social media marketing is a vital element in attracting the target audience and influencing the decision to make a purchase.