Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing (SMM) is a form of digital marketing that leverages social media platforms to achieve marketing and branding goals, fundamentally changing how organizations communicate with consumers (Islam & Sheikh, 2024; Vinerean & Opreana, 2021). Its core characteristic is the emphasis on constant engagement and two-way communication with the target audience, moving beyond the one-way communication model of traditional media (Islam & Sheikh, 2024).

The strategy is inherently focused on content creation and sharing—often user-generated content—and community building to create emotional connections and increase brand visibility (Islam & Sheikh, 2024; Vinerean & Opreana, 2021). Social media enables real-time interaction, allowing brands to respond to customer needs and preferences quickly (Islam & Sheikh, 2024). This requires real-time monitoring and analysis, a process known as social listening, where marketers track conversations and feedback across channels to guide their understanding of customer preferences, competitor activity, and brand perception (Islam & Sheikh, 2024).

A primary objective for businesses using these platforms is to increase brand awareness and brand image (Agarwal & Alami, 2024; Kalra et al., 2023). For example, one study found that 65% of business owners in the Café & Resto sector cited increasing brand awareness and brand image as the next highest benefit obtained from using social media marketing (Islam & Sheikh, 2024). This goal is critical because high brand awareness increases the likelihood of consumers choosing a product over competitors (Yudha et al., 2024).

References

Agarwal, S., & Alami, R. (2024). Unveiling the Digital Impact: Exploring the Influence of Social Media Advertising on Brand Perception. Journal of Ecohumanism, 3(8). https://doi.org/10.62754/joe.v3i8.4905

Islam, M., & Sheikh, S. A. (2024). Are Social Media-Based Marketing Strategies the New Mechanisms for Attracting Consumers? A Quantitative Method-Based Approach. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 19(4), 3571–3583. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer19040173

Kalra, A., Itani, O. S., & Rostami, A. (2023). Can salespeople use social media to enhance brand awareness and sales performance? The role of manager empowerment and creativity. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 38(9), 1738–1753. https://doi.org/10.1108/jbim-01-2022-0056

Vinerean, S., & Opreana, A. (2021). Measuring Customer Engagement in Social Media Marketing: A Higher-Order Model. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(7), 2633–2654. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer16070145

Yudha, R., Ika, M., & Hartono, M. P. (2024). Does Tiktok and Instagram Affect Brand Awareness? Empirical Study on Asiacommerce Companies. Asian Journal of Logistics Management, 3(1), 44–52.