Impact of Social Media Marketing on Brand Equity of Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in UAE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47604/ejbsm.1965Keywords:
Social Media Marketing (SMM), Brand Equity, Brand Awareness, Brand Loyalty, Brand Image, Customer EngagementAbstract
Purpose: To investigate the impacts of SMM on brands equity of SMEs in UAE.
Methodology: We administered a survey using SurveyMonkey.com to select 50 participants, with a developed questionnaire emphasizing the effects of SMM on brand awareness, brand loyalty, brand image, customer engagement, and brand equity.
Findings: Findings indicated that social media marketing (SMM) of SME brands in the UAE affect their brand equity, brand image and brand awareness. However, there was no sufficient evidence supporting the effect of SMM of SMEs in the UAE on brand loyalty and customer engagement. This implies that social media marketing activities of firms alone may not be enough to influence loyalty among customers towards the brand.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study assists business owners of SMEs in the UAE in evaluating the worthiness of investing in SMM to grow their customer base and maintain strong brand equity.
Downloads
References
Aaker, D.A., 1996 Measuring Brand Equity across Products and Markets. California Management Review, vol. 38, no. 102. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/41165845
Ahmad, S.Z., Bakar, A.R.A., & Ahmad, N. 2019, 'Social media adoption and its impact on firm performance: the case of the UAE', International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 84-111.
Ahmed, T. & Saeed, A., 2021. The Impact of Social Media Marketing on Urban Youth’s Brand Loyalty: Through Facebook Marketing. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Research, 4(1), pp. 10 - 19.
Alkhawaldeh, A.M., Salleh, S.M. & Halim, F.B. 2016, 'Brand Equity and Brand Loyalty: New Perspective', International Review of Management and Marketing, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 722-730.
Apuke, O., 2017. Quantitative Research Methods : A Synopsis Approach. Kuwait Chapter of Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 6(11), pp. 40-47.
As'ad, A., 2014. The Impact of Social Media Marketing on Brand Equity: An Empirical Study on Mobile Service Providers in Jordan. Review of Integrative Business & Economics Research, 3(1), pp. 334-345.
Appel, G., et al. 2020. ‘The future of social media in marketing.’ J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci., vol. 48, pp. 79–95.
Barreda, A.A. et al. 2020. “The impact of social media activities on brand image and emotional attachment: A case in the travel context.” Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 11(1), pp. 109-135. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-02-2018-0016.
Bashar, A., Ahmad, I., & Wasiq, M. 2012, 'EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA AS A MARKETING TOOL: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY', International Journal of Marketing, Financial Services & Management Research, vol. 1, no. 11, pp. 88-99.
Bazarcı, S., 2020. Real-Time Marketing as a New Marketing Approach in the Digital Age: A Study on the Brands' Social Media Sharing in Turkey. New Media and Visual Communication in Social Networks.
Berthon, P., Ewing, M., T., & Napoli, J. (2008). Brand Management in Small to Medium-Sized Enterprises. Journal of Small Business Management, 46(1), 27-45
Bhosale, J. & Phadtare, R.G. 2020,'Usage of Social Media Marketing for Small Business: A comparative analysis of various actions on Social Media’, Annual Research Journal of Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies, Pune, vol. 8, pp. 63-73.
Bilgin, Y. 2018. The Effect of Social Media Marketing Activities On Brand Awareness, Brand Image And Brand Loyalty. BMIJ, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 128-148.
Bowden, J. 2009. The Process of Customer Engagement: A Conceptual Framework. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 63-74.
Boyle, E. 2007. A Process Model of Brand Cocreation: Brand Management and Research Implications. Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 16, pp. 122 – 131.
Budiman, S. 2021. The Effect of Social Media on Brand Image and Brand Loyalty in Generation Y. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 1339–1347.
Elaydi, H.O., 2018. The Effect of Social Media Marketing on Brand Awareness through Facebook: An Individual-Based Perspective of Mobile Services Sector in Egypt. Open Access Library Journal, 05(10):1-5
Felix, R., Rauschnabel, P. & Hinsch, C. (2017). Elements of strategic social media marketing: A holistic framework. Journal of Business Research, no. 70, pp.118-126. DOI:10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.05.001.
Fetais, A., Algharabat, R., Aljafari, A. & Rana, N., 2022. Do Social Media Marketing Activities Improve Brand Loyalty? An Empirical Study on Luxury Fashion Brands. Information Systems Frontiers, Volume 2022.
GMI (2021). UAE social media usage statistics (2021). Official GMI Blog. https://www.globalmediainsight.com/blog/uae-social-media-statistics/
Gupta, R. & Nair, K. (2021). A conceptual model for promotion on digital platforms. Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, vol. 27, no. 2, 1-23.
Haigh, R. 2022. How does brand equity impact business performance and value? Available at: https://brandirectory.com/faqs/how-does-brand-equity-impact-business-performance-and-value [Accessed 22 February 2022]
Hariharan, V.G. et al. (2018). The relationship of brand equity to behavioural loyalty. Journal of Business Research. DOI: 10.13007/704.
Harris, L., & Rae, A. (2009). Social networks: the future of marketing for small business. Journal of business strategy, 30(5), 24-31.
Homburg, C., Klarmann, M., & Schmitt, J. (2010). Brand awareness in business markets: When is it related to firm performance? International Journal of Research in Marketing, 27(3), 201-212.
Holly Paquette. (2013). Social Media as a Marketing Tool. DigitalCommons@URI | University of Rhode Island Research.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=tmd_major_papers
Hollebeek, L. 2011. Exploring customer brand engagement: definition and themes. Journal of Strategic Marketing, vol. 19, no. 11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0965254X.2011.599493.
Horak, J., Machova, V. & Vrbka, J. 2021. Financial Management for the Successful Company Value. In Handbook of Research on Financial Management During Economic Downturn and Recovery.
Ilona, D., Melmusi, Z., Pratiwi, H. & Zaitul 2019, 'Technology context and social media adoption among small and medium enterprises', International Conference Computer Science and Engineering, vol. 1339, pp. 1-7.
Jacoby, J. & Chestnut, R.W. (1978). Brand Loyalty Measurement and Management. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Kaushik, R. 2012, 'Impact of Social Media on Marketing', IJCEM International Journal of Computational Engineering & Management, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 91-95.
Keller, K.L. 1993. Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, vol. 57, pp. 1-22.
Kotler, P., 2001. A Framework for Marketing Management. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA.
Kuvykaitea, R., & Piligrimieneb, Z. 2014. Consumer engagement into brand equity creation. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 156, pp. 479-483.
Lim, J.-S., Pham, P. and Heinrichs, J.H. 2020. ‘Impact of social media activity outcomes on brand equity.’ Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 29, no. 7, pp. 927-937. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-03-2019-2298.
Malik, E.M., Naeem, B. & Munawar, M. (2012). Brand Image: Past, Present and Future. Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research, vol. 2, no. 12, pp. 13069-13075.
Malhotra, N. & Malhotra, P. 2015, 'Importance of Brand Equity', International Journal of Management and Commerce Innovations, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 366-389.
Nuseir, M., 2018. Digital Media Impact on SMEs Performance in the UAE. Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, 24(2), pp. 1-13.
Rossiter, J.R. & Percy, L., 1987. Advertising and Promotion Management. New York: McGraw-Hill
Samet, A. (2020). 2020 US social media usage: How the coronavirus is changing consumer behavior. Business Insider, June 9. Retrieved November 9, 2020, from www.businessinsider.com/2020-us-social-media-usage-report
Sebestova, J. & Lejková, M. 2020. Business Competencies Within Unstable Business Environments. In Developing Entrepreneurial Competencies for Start-Ups and Small Business. Available at: https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/business-competencies-within-unstable-business-environments/251719 [Accessed 22 February 2022]
Sebestova, J. & Lejková, M. (2020). Business Competencies Within Unstable Business Environments. In Developing Entrepreneurial Competencies for Start-Ups and Small Business. Available at: https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/business-competencies-within-unstable-business-environments/251719 [Accessed 22 February 2022]
Severi, E. & Ling, K., 2013. The Mediating Effects of Brand Association, Brand Loyalty, Brand Image and Perceived Quality on Brand Equity. Asian Social Science, 9(3), pp. 125-137.
Smith, K. 2016. Brand Equity Modernized: Why Social Media is your Best Asset. Available at:
https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/brand-equity-social-media-is-best-asset [Accessed 22 February 2022]
Sohail, M. S., Hasan, M., & Sohail, A. F. (2020). The impact of social media marketing on brand trust and brand loyalty: An Arab perspective. International Journal of Online Marketing (IJOM), 10(1), 15-31.
Tarkiainen, A., Ellonen, H.-K., Ots, M., & Stocchi, L. (2016). Double Jeopardy Phenomenon in Consumer Magazine Websites. Lappeenranta: IGI Global.
Taylor, S.A., Celuch, K. & Goodwin, S. 2004. The importance of brand equity to customer loyalty", Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 13 no. 4, pp. 217-227. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/10610420410546934.
Tavşan, N. 2016. What is Brand Equity? Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-brand-equity-a-nihat-tav%C5%9Fan-phdc-mba-ba
Tung, L., Dung, N. & Thai, N., 2017. The impact of Social media marketing on Brand loyalty: The case of Digital products in Vietnam. Zlín, Czech Republic, s.n., pp. 502-513
UAE Government, 2021. The impact of SMEs on the UAE's economy. [Online]
Available at: https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/business/crowdfunding/the-impact-of-smes-on-the-uae-economy [Accessed 4 April 2022].
Van Droon, J., Lemon, K.N., Mittal, V., Nass, S., Pick, D., Pirner, P. & Verhoef, P.C. (2010). Customer engagement behaviour: Theoretical foundations and research directions. Journal of Science Research, vol. 13, no. 3, 253-266.
Vinerean, S. 2017. ‘Importance of Strategic Social Media Marketing.’ Expert Journal of Marketing, vol.5, no.1, pp. 28-35.
Vij, A. 2017, 'Adoption of Social Media Marketing- An Overview of UAE Service Firms', International Journal of Business Administration and Management Research, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 23-28.
Yadav, M. and Rahman, Z., 2017. ‘Measuring consumer perception of social media marketing activities in e-commerce industry: Scale development & validation. Telematics and Informatics’ Forthcoming. doi:10.1016/j.tele.2017.06.001
Yoo, B., Donthu, N. & Lee, S., 2000. An Examination of Selected Marketing Mix Elements and Brand Equity. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Volume 28, pp. 195-211.
Yürük-Kayapinar, P. & Kayapinar, O., 2021. “New Media Channels in Corporate Communication and Interaction with the New Consumer: Digital Marketing.” Innovative Perspectives on Corporate Communication in the Global World. DOI: DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6799-9.ch001.
Zhang, Y. 2015. The Impact of Brand Image on Consumer Behavior: A Literature Review. Open Journal of Business and Management, vol. 3, pp. 58-62.
Zhang, X., 2020. The Influences of Brand Awareness on Consumers’ Cognitive Process: An Event-Related Potentials Study. Front. Neurosci. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.00549.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Khulood Sultan Majed Al Ali
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
