Enhancing Customer-Brand Interaction: Customer Engagement on Brand Pages of Social Networking Sites

Abstract

The current dynamic and interactive business environment pressure businesses and academics to focus on developing better interactive marketing strategies to remain competitive. Customers are actively engaged on social networking sites (SNSs) to make purchase decisions; thus, enhancing customers’ interaction experience with a brand on SNSs is crucial. Despite the growth of SNSs, empirical studies on the understanding of drivers of customer engagement and its impact on consumer trust and purchase intention of fabric handicrafts are scarce. Guided by the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) Model and Social Exchange Theory, this chapter investigates the role of customer involvement and practical and social benefits of the fabric handicraft page that could influence customer engagement which, in turn, could affect customers’ trust and purchase intention of fabric handicrafts. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed via a link sent through instant messaging on SNS, (i.e. Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Twitter), based on selected fabric handicraft brands in Malaysia. The results show that customer involvement and social benefits influenced customer engagement, while customer trust was essential in influencing purchase intention. The practical and theoretical implications, as well as suggestions for further research, are discussed.