The effect of consumer perceptions of marketing efforts via social media on brand and purchase intention

This research is about social media marketing which is considered an important topic in the marketing literature. Lately, social media has become a popular tool, not only in the public and private organizations, but in the business world as well. Companies are acknowledging the great potential of social media as it is a gateway for businesses to expand their brands and engage with potential customers. The heart of every successful brand lies in marketing which is an important strategy that ensures the growth of a brand. The purpose of the research is to investigate the effect of marketing efforts via social media on brand and purchase intention. The result of the research is based on the survey users who engage in social media regularly. In order to collect the data for the research, the questionnaire was distributed on different social media platforms to social media users from different countries and 292 valid responses were used for the analysis. Based on the literature, a conceptual model was developed and was tested using structural equation modeling through AMOS. The results show that social media marketing engagement does indeed have an effect on brand relationship quality and that brand relationship quality does have a positive impact on brand love and self-brand connection. The results also ensure the positive relationship between the self-brand connection and brand love. Moreover, brand love leads to brand loyalty and increases the intention to purchase. The results show that brand loyalty doesn't have a positive effect on purchase intention. Finally, the results show that brand loyalty positively influences the willingness to pay. Keywords: Social Media, Marketing, Brand, Engagement, İntention to Purchase.