Impact of social branding on purchase intention: An empirical study of social media websites. Writer Jahanzeb Khan SPARKLES SOFT www.sparklessoft.com MobileWhatsApp/Viber: 00923004604250 00923124604250 Skype sparkles.soft Vonage/Viber 00923004604250 thesis help, uk dissertation help, custom thesis writing in uk, uk mba thesis,

1. Impact of social branding on purchase intention:
An empirical study of social media websites

2. I. Introduction
Social media is regarded as the phenomenon that has drawn attention of individuals
and companies for interacting with each other. However, when the term social media is
considered, understanding of its definition is minimal within literature. In this respect,
researchers and practitioners have different opinion on how social media is different
from other internet media and user generated content (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010).
Despite of the vagueness of definition of social media among researchers, it is a reality
that it has revolutionized in the last decade. This revolution of social media has
tremendously changed the way individuals and companies used to communicate with
each other (Hutter et al, 2013). Simply, it can be said that social media revolution has
changed the marketing communication aspects within organizations. Within the
increasing popularity and importance of social media networks such as Facebook,
YouTube and Twitter, consumers’ preferences and modes of communication with the
organizations have changed to a great extent. Several previous studies have noted that
with increasing money spending by consumers on social media reveals that increasing
communication occurs on social media networking websites (Barwise and Meehan,
2010). In perspective of marketing communication, it reveals that brand related
exposure and interaction takes place on social media networking websites by
organizations to an increasing level. In this way, it is evident that increasing
communication on social media has transformed traditional passive communication
mode of consumers to active influencers and creators (Kozinets et al., 2008; and Merz
et al., 2009). In this way, power shift has occurred from brands to consumers
(Constantinides and Fountain, 2008). In the same manner, Bernoff and Li (2008) also
suggested that increasing influence of users of social media in terms of customer power
and culture shift has resulted in customer centric brand communication.
In the current era, companies have started to rely on information available regarding
customer profiles for promoting their products and services in a diverse market (Kaplan
& Haenlein 2012). The increasing popularity of social media networking websites can be
assessed in a way that large and famous brands as well as small brands seek to

3. develop relations with customers by connecting with them through Facebook, Twitter
and other social media websites.
Traditionally, organizations used to communicate with customers through one-way
communication that has transformed into multidimensional and two-way communication
between the two. This new mode of communication has resulted in new opportunities
and challenges to companies as customers have started to rely on social media to a
great extent for taking their purchase decisions (Hinz et al., 2011). This implies that
social media plays an important role in customer decision making process. In this way,
social media websites have become very important partners in deciding branding
activities. Despite of increasing importance of social media communication, the
outcomes of social media are still vague and disputed in the eyes of researchers and
practitioners (Hoffman and Fodor, 2010). Previous researchers have suggested that
social media activities and practices do have certain negative impacts such as negative
word of mouth and information overload (McCoy et al., 2007). Hence, the impacts of
social media on brand awareness and customer decision making are yet to be explored
largely.
In this article, better understanding of social media has been explored while assessing
its influence on brand awareness and purchase intentions of customers. Specifically,
Facebook has been chosen to determine social media communication. For assessing
the aim of this study, the article has been organized in a specific structure. The first
section of the article presents a critical review of literature regarding social media
communication and branding. In the next section, methodology and data chosen for this
study has been described and justified. Next to this section is the analysis of data for
evaluating impact of social media on brand awareness and purchase intentions of
customers. Finally, an appropriate conclusion and future prospects of study have been
presented.
Objectives
The aim of the study is to “analyse impact of social branding on purchase intention in
leading fashion brands of Pakistan”.

4. Specifically, the researcher has focused fashion brands of Pakistan. The first objective
of study is to analyse theoretical propositions regarding social media communication
and brand awareness. Secondly, the theoretical propositions have been applied to
social media users of Pakistan. Finally, the quantitative Impact of social branding on
purchase intention has been found.
II. Literature Review
In this section of article, literature regarding social media websites, social media
communication and brand awareness has been critically analyzed to derive a
conceptual framework.
Social media and brand communication
In the current decade, latest technologies and devices have been changing lifestyles
and corporate communication modes. Within this scenario, organizations have started
to understand the importance of internet for undertaking marketing activities (Berthon et
al. 2012). Some researchers suggest that organizations have started to take
involvement and interest in online communications for promotion of their products and
services (Shankar & Batra, 2009; and Winer, 2009). Chen et al (2012) suggest that
emergence of Web 2.0 technologies have delivered internet users an exposure of online
environment through social media networking websites.
Social media offers organizations and customers to communicate and engage with each
other. It has been suggested by previous researchers that social media have become
one of effective mass media tools having wide demographical demand among
traditional communication sources (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). By incorporating social
media communication strategy, companies expect to engage with loyal customers for
spreading information, influencing their opinions and perception regarding products and
services, and also about learning beliefs and interests of target audience (Brodie et al.,
2013). It is important to note that social media spread viral information to wide
population in a quick manner. This can be one of the reasons of wide popularity of
social media. This is also approved by previous researchers that social media can reach
huge population than traditional media such as radio, newspapers, and television
(Hutter et al, 2013). At the same time, users have also been shifting from traditional

5. media to contemporary and interactive media such as internet and social networking
websites.
Kaplan and Haenlein (2012) suggested that social media is appropriate media for
creating and sharing content with others. From perspective of marketing, content
created on social media may involve information about products, services and brands.
In this way, traditional ways have no longer been the primary source of brand
communication for companies. Regarding trust on social media, several studies have
noted that social media is trustworthy source of information as compared with the
traditional modes of marketing communication (Karakaya & Barnes, 2010; and Hutter
et al , 2013). Hence, brand managers may assume that social media communication
enhances brand communication that ultimately results in enhancing brand awareness
(Smith et al. 2012).
Brand page commitment
Brand page commitment represents the psychological attachment of participants with
the efforts of a brand for building community on social media environment such as
YouTube community and Facebook Fan page (Kim et al., 2005). In this way, brand
page commitment can be represented as the psychological and active involvement of
customers with the social media communication practices of a brand. Within this
perspective, Hutter et al (2013) suggested that when customer enjoyment and
commitment on social media turns into annoyance, the customers are more likely to turn
away quickly. However, they further suggested that social media marketing tactics are
less annoying and less disturbing as compared to other traditional media marketing
tools. The main reason behind this is that customers have control on their exposure to
social media contents that is not possible in case of traditional marketing
communication. For that reason, companies have been using social media channel to
remain entertaining towards customers to get their attention. Tamborini et al (2010)
have pointed that enjoyment is the pleasurable response of customers towards
entertainment media whereas annoyance is the unpleasant reaction of customers
towards a certain media because of overexposure. This suggests that annoyance and
enjoyment are totally different responses of customers towards a particular media.
Specific to annoyance, McCoy et al (2007) also suggested that it is unwanted exposure

6. of individuals to advertisements. This implies that companies need to remain diligent to
reach customers and target them with entertaining advertisements to avoid annoyance.
Kim et al (2008) also pointed that social media contents that disturb customers are more
likely to produce negative effects on brand performance and purchase intentions of
customers.
Brand awareness
When it comes to branding, two important aspects are critical. One is to produce
labeling through marketing tactics whereas the other one is to make customers aware of
the brand. Keller (2008) explains brand awareness as the strength of brand in the minds
and memory of customers that reflects their ability to identify a brand among
competitors in different conditions. Alternatively it can be said that brand awareness is
the extent that describes how strong the image of a brand in the minds of customers is.
Brand awareness is created by any factor such as promotion, advertising, public
relations or publicity that can make customers to experience the brand. In this respect,
social media is the effective way to expose customers with a particular brand, hence
creating strong brand awareness. Hutter et al (2013) also noted that more customers
engage with the social media communication of a brand i.e. higher brand page
commitment, higher is the brand awareness.
Previous studies have noted that strong brand awareness is more likely to positively
influence purchase intentions of customers (Hutter et al, 2013). Others noted that
enhancing brand awareness increases likelihood that brand will be considered by
customers while making purchase decisions (Chakravarti et al., 2003). Hutter et al
(2013) also found that customers are more likely to purchase well known brands.
Specific to low involvement situations, Hutter et al (2013) have suggested that brand
awareness alone can be adequate to impact the choice of brands by customers.
Purchase intention

7. Hutter et al (2013) defined purchase intentions as likelihood of customers to purchase a
particular product of service. On the other hand, others defined this concept as the
mental stage of customers in decision making process when they are willing to
purchase a particular product (Wells et al., 2011). When it comes to marketing
communication, its main goal is to develop an intention to purchase a particular product
or service (Hutter et al., 2013). In perspective of social media communication, the same
goal is obvious. Several authors have noted that social media communication tactics of
companies are more likely to positively influence purchase intentions of customers
(Kapferer, 2008; and Hutter et al., 2013).
Theoretical Framework
On the basis of above literature review, following theoretical framework has been
developed:
This framework suggests that social media communication and brand page commitment
effect brand awareness and purchase intentions of customers.
III. Type of Research
This particular study is based on the evaluation of impact of social branding on
purchase intention by taking the case of Facebook fan page of leading fashion brands in
Pakistan. For undertaking this study, quantitative research methods have been chosen.
The qualitative research required numerical data from target population. This data is
Purchase
intention
Brand
awareness
Social brand
communication
Brand page
commitment

8. specifically in the numerical form that is appropriate for finding quantitative impact of
social branding on purchase intention of fashion brands in Pakistan. This study is
quantitative research that has determined statistically that whether social media
communication of leading fashion brands of Pakistan impact purchase intentions of
customers.
Type of Data
In terms of basic type of data, primary and secondary data have been used in this
article for getting in-depth analysis of impact of social branding on purchase intention.
On the other hand, specifically quantitative data has been collected from participants of
study regarding research aims and objectives. The quantitative or numerical data has
been collected from participants of study to find quantitative relationship between
variables.
Data Collection Method
For collecting quantitative data from participants of study, the researcher has developed
a close ended questionnaire. This questionnaire has given closed options to participants
for answering questions. The questionnaire has been divided into two parts. The first
part deals with the demographics of participants whereas the second part deals with the
opinion of participants about impact of social branding on purchase intention. For
collecting data, the researcher self administered questionnaire so that higher response
rate can be attained.
4.3 Sample and Population
The target population of this study is composed of social media users. Specifically, the
users of social media pages of leading fashion brands have been chosen in this study.
From this target population, the researcher chose a sample of 300 users for conducting
survey. This sample was chosen by applying convenience sampling technique. Through
this technique, only those participants were chosen who were easily accessible.
IV. Results and Analysis

9. In order to analyse research aims and objectives, a survey was conducted with a
sample of 300 users of social media fan pages of famous fashion brands in Pakistan. A
response rate of 93% was achieved in this study. Here is the analysis of the result of
survey.
Gender of Respondents
From survey results, it was found that most of respondents were females. From total
respondents of 279, it was found that 163 were females (58%) whereas 116 were males
(41%). Here is the tabular representation of results:
Gender # of Respondents % of Respondents
Male 116 41.577061
Female 163 58.422939
Total 279 100
Table 1: Gender of Respondents
Age of Respondents:
Regarding frequency distribution of survey results, it was found that most of
respondents were young. The results of survey revealed that 22% respondents were
less than 20 years of age. There have been 29% respondents who were between 21-30
years. 20% respondents were between 31-40 years of age. There have been 18%
respondents who were between 41-50 years of age. The rest of the respondents were
above 50 years of age. Here is the tabular representation of results:
Age of Respondents
Age # of Respondents % of Respondents
Less than 20 years 64 22.939068
21-30 years 82 29.390681
31-40 years 58 20.78853
41-50 years 51 18.27957
Above 50 years 24 8.6021505
Total 279 100
Table 2: Age of Respondents
Years of Using Social Media:
Respondents were asked to mention time span for which they have been using social
media for variety of purposes. In response to this question, it was found that 20%
respondents had been using social media for less than 6 months. There have been 38%

10. respondents who were using social media for last two years. 28% respondents were
using social media for last 3 years. There had been almost 9% respondents who were
using social media for last 5 years. The rest of the respondents had been using social
media websites for more than 5 years. Here is the tabular representation of results:
Years of using Social media
Years # of Respondents % of Respondents
Less than 6 months 56 20.071685
For last 2 years 108 38.709677
For last 3 years 79 28.315412
For last 5 years 25 8.9605735
For more than 5 years 11 3.9426523
Total 279 100
Table 3: Years of Using Social Media
Descriptive results
In order to analyse the results of survey, descriptive analysis has been performed.
Specifically, mean, standard deviation and standard error mean have been calculated
for all variables of the study.
Standard Standard
Variables N Mean deviation error mean
Social brand communication 279 26.36 2.30 0.225
Brand page commitment 279 21.14 1.65 0.165
Brand awareness 279 26.48 2.26 0.215
Purchase intention 279 16.62 2.21 0.248
Table 4: Descriptive results
Regression Analysis
For developing statistical analysis of the study, the researcher has calculated regression
for all variables. Specifically, T-test has been performed on survey data to assess the
impact of social branding on purchase intention. The regression analysis reveals that
social media communication effects purchase intentions of customers in a positive
manner. Here is the statistical analysis of results:

11. Variables F Significance t df
Significance (two-
tailed)
Social brand communication 1.193 0.271 18.30 203.25 0.001
Brand page commitment 91.52 0.001 11.81 338.85 0.000
Brand awareness 0.612 0.571 0.324 229.59 0.000
Table 5: Regression Analysis
Dependent Variable: Purchase intentions
From above statistical analysis, it is clear that social media communication practices of
brand and brand page commitment of customers influences brand awareness and it
ultimately affects purchase intentions of customers. It is evident from value of
significance in this table that is less than 0.05. This low value represents that significant
positive relationship occurs between social media communication efforts of brands,
brand page commitment and brand awareness that influences purchase intentions of
customers.
V. Conclusion
This particular study specifically focused on evaluating the impact of social branding on
purchase intention. On the basis of statistical and descriptive results of study, it has
been concluded that social media communication efforts of brands do have positive
impact on purchase intentions of customers. From perspective of Pakistan, it was found
that most of young individuals use social media for their respective interests and
purposes. Findings of article conclude that having customers engaged on the social
media fan pages, brand awareness is enhanced. When customers have high brand
awareness, they are more likely to select it for making purchase decisions. In this way,
results of this study specifically establish positive association between social media
communication and purchase intentions.
The results of this study are limited to a small sample of 300 individuals that generated
response rate of 93%. This small sample is unlikely to generalize results. In addition,
results are based on the opinion of customers of five fashion brands. In this way,
findings of this study refer to these five fashion brands only. Moreover, the researcher

12. did not use qualitative approach for collecting information. These research methods
have not provided in depth information regarding research aims and objectives.
The results of study can be implemented by marketers to enhance brand awareness
and purchase intentions. It has been recommended that fashion brands need to target
wide customer groups through social media communication efforts to engage wide
customer base and influencing customers to buy a particular brand.

13. References
[1] Barwise, P. and Meehan, S. (2010), “The one thing you must get right when
building a brand”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 88 No. 12, pp. 80-84
[2] Bernoff, J. and Li, C. (2008), “Harnessing the power of the oh-so-social web”,
MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 49 No. 3, pp. 36-42
[3] Berthon, P., Pitt, L.F. and Campell, C. (2008), “When customers create the ad”,
California Management Review, Vol. 50 No. 4, pp. 6-30.
[4] Brodie, Roderick J., Ilic, A., Juric, B. & Hollebeek, L. (2013) Consumer
engagement in a virtual brand community: An exploratory analysis. Journal of
Business Research 66, 105–114
[5] Chen, S.-C., Yen, D. C. & Hwang, M. I. (2012) Factors influencing the
continuance intention to the usage of Web 2.0: An empirical study. Computers in
Human Behavior 28(3), 933–941.
[6] Chakravarti, A., Janiszewski, C., Mick, D.G. and Hoyer, W.D. (2003), “The
influence of macro-level motives on consideration set composition in novel
purchase situations”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 30, pp. 244-258.
[7] Constantinides, E. and Fountain, S.J. (2008), “Web 2.0: conceptual foundations
and marketing issues”, Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice,
Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 231-244.
[8] Hoffman, D.L. and Fodor, M. (2010), “Can you measure the ROI of your social
media marketing?”, MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 52 No. 1, pp. 41-49
[9] Hinz, O., Skiera, B., Barrot, C. and Becker, J.U. (2011), “Seeding strategies for
viral marketing: an empirical comparison”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 75 No. 6,
pp. 55-71.
[10] Karakaya, F. & Barnes, N. G. (2010) Impact of online reviews of customer care
experience on brand or company selection. Journal of Consumer Marketing 27(5),
447–457
[11] Kapferer, J.-N. (2008), The New Strategic Brand Management, Kogan Page,
London.

14. [12] Kim, J.W., Choi, J., Qualls, W. and Han, K. (2008), “It takes a marketplace
community to raise brand commitment: the role of online communities”, Journal of
Marketing Management, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 409-431
[13] Keller, K.L. (2008), Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and
Managing Brand Equity, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
[14] Kim, H. & Kim, W. G. (2005) The relationship between brand equity and firms’
performance in luxury hotels and chain restaurants. Tourism Management 26(4),
549–560.
[15] Kaplan, A. M. & Haenlein, M. (2010) Users of the world, unite! The challenges
and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons 53(1), 59–68
[16] Kozinets, R.V., Hemetsberger, A. and Schau, H.J. (2008), “The wisdom of
consumer crowds: collective innovation in the age of networked marketing”,
Journal of Macromarketing, Vol. 28 No. 4, pp. 339-354.
[17] Merz, M.A., Yi, H. and Vargo, S.L. (2009), “The evolving brand logic: a service-
dominant logic perspective”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 37
No. 3, pp. 328-344.
[18] McCoy, S., Everard, A., Polak, P. and Galleta, D.F. (2007), “The effects of online
advertising”, Communications of the ACM, Vol. 50 No. 3, pp. 84-88.
[19] Shankar, V. & Batra, R. (2009) The Growing Influence of Online Marketing
Communications. Journal of Interactive Marketing 23(4), 285–287.
[20] Smith, A. N., Fischer, E. & Yongjian, C. (2012) How Does Brand-related User-
generated Content Differ across YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter? Journal of
Interactive Marketing 26(2), 102–113.
[21] Tamborini, R., Bowman, N.D., Eden, A., Grizzard, M. and Organ, A. (2010),
“Defining media enjoyment as the satisfaction of intrinsic needs”, Journal of
Communication, Vol. 60 No. 3, pp. 758-777.
[22] Winer, R. S. (2009) New Communications Approaches in Marketing: Issues and
Research Directions. Journal of Interactive Marketing 23(2), 108–117.
[23] Wells, J.D., Valacich, J.S. and Hess, T.J. (2011), “What signal are you sending?
How website quality influences perceptions of product quality and purchase
intentions”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 35 No. 2, pp. 373-396.

15. Appendix: Questionnaire
Dear Respondent,
I have been conducting a study to analyse that how social media communication of
brands influence brand awareness. I need you to fulfill this questionnaire as per your
honest opinion. Your cooperation will be highly appreciated.
To which gender you belong to?
 Male
 Female
To which age group you belong to?
 Less than 20 years
 21-30 years
 31-40 years
 41-50 years
 Above 50 years
For how many years, you have been using social media networking websites?
 Less than 6 months
 For last 2 years
 For last 3 years
 For last 5 years
 For more than 5 years
To accomplish the study, I need you to fulfill following questionnaire as per
following scale:
Strongly agree= 1, agree= 2, neutral, 3, disagree, 4 and strongly disagree=5
1 2 3 4 5
Social media Communication
I am satisfied with the social media communication of the brand
Social media communication practices of brand meet my expectations
Social media communication efforts of the brand are attractive
As compared to competitors, the social media communication efforts of

16. company are well developed
The social media content generated by other users on company’s fan pages is
effective
Brand page commitment
I get informed about new offers and news of the brand frequently
I feel like the part of community of the brand
I have close relationship with other users of brand on social media page
Very often, I participate on activities of the brand page
If I do not visit brand’s fan page regularly, I miss important things
It is always a fun for me to inspire other users of brand on social media page
Brand awareness
Because of continuous engagement on social media page of brand, I always
consider myself as member of the brand community
I know all variants of the brand
I can distinguish this brand among competitors
I can recognize this brand among competitors
Whenever I see brand, several characteristics of this brand come into my mind
Purchase intention
I would purchase this product as compared to other brands
I am willing to recommend this brand to others as compared to other brands