The effect of social media communication on corporate reputation and brand image: A research on cosmetic products

In marketing activities, firms try to guess what, when, where and how much they want. Accordingly, they continue their activities. With social media, it becomes even easier to create this framework. Considering the widespread use of social media tools worldwide, it is inevitable that enterprises that use these tools more effectively will gain a competitive advantage. In this study, it is aimed to reveal the effect of social media communication activities on corporate reputation and brand image perceived by consumers. 542 cosmetics consumers residing in İzmir were included in the study. Sociodemographic Information Form, Social Media Communication Scale, Corporate Reputation Scale and Brand Image Scale were applied to the participants. While SPSS was used to evaluate the research data, descriptive statistics, correlation, regression, t-test and ANOVA results were used in the data analysis. The findings were evaluated at 95% confidence interval and 5% significance level. According to the findings of the study, the perceptions of consumers of cosmetics sector about social media communication have a significant effect on their perceptions about corporate reputation. Accordingly, consumers' ability to make evaluations for companies with social media tools increases their perception of corporate reputation, and their contradictory opinions on communication through social media tools reduce their perception of corporate reputation. According to another finding of the study, the perceptions of consumers of cosmetics sector regarding social media communication have a significant effect on their perception of brand image. In addition to this, the level of utilization of social media and sharing and feeling of belonging increase the perception of brand image. Keywords: Social Media Communication, Corporate Reputation, Brand İmage, Cosmetic Sector