“Examining the influence of social media marketing on purchase intention: The mediating role of brand image”

Abstract

Social media has revolutionized how businesses connect with consumers, going be yond product promotion to understanding consumer preferences. It is undeniable that social media plays a pivotal role in shaping consumer purchase decisions, as more individuals turn to these platforms to seek advice and opinions from peers. The current study engaged 410 Indian consumers, employing a quantitative approach backed by rigorous statistical methods, including descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, re gression analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) using AMOS software. The goal was to unravel the intricate dynamics between social media marketing, brand im age, and purchase intentions. The findings highlight a significant and positive relation ship between social media marketing efforts and brand image perception. Moreover it was discovered that brand image significantly influences consumers’ purchase in tentions. Surprisingly, it did not find a direct and significant impact of social media marketing on purchase intentions. Notably, the study revealed a crucial insight: the influence of social media marketing on purchase intentions is fully mediated by the perception of brand image. In light of these results, businesses are encouraged to establish a strong presence on social media platforms to effectively promote their products and services. Organizations can effec tively steer consumer purchase intentions by harnessing the synergy between social media marketing and brand image.