The Impact of Social Media Marketing on Customer-Brand Relationship: A Post-COVID-19 Analysis.
Abstract
This study examines the impact of post-Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) social media marketing activities, including trendiness, active presence, and electronic word of mouth, on the customer-brand relationship, with the mediating effect of electronic brand experience in the twin cities of Pakistan. While some research has been conducted on these variables, a gap exists in the literature concerning post-COVID-19 social media marketing activities and the resulting changes in trends. Therefore, this study aims to identify trendy social media activities that can enhance the customer experience and their relationship with brands. A quantitative research method was employed, using primary data collected through a structured questionnaire based on a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 280 respondents were surveyed using the convenience sampling method. The collected responses were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) employing tests such as regression, correlation, the Hayes test for mediation, the normality test, and descriptive statistics. The results indicate that trendiness, active presence, and eWOM significantly impact the customer-brand relationship, with electronic brand experience playing a major role in the framework. These findings suggest that the independent, mediating, and dependent variables have positive relationships with each other and significantly influence one another. All stakeholders, including marketers, students, society, and policymakers, can leverage the findings of this study to shape their marketing strategies in the future and keep up with the ever-changing dimensions of consumer behavior, thereby improving their relationships with customers.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54663/2182-9306.2025.v.13.n.24.69-91
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Ahmad, N.; Salman, A.; Ashiq, R. (2015). The impact of social media on fashion industry: Empirical investigation from Karachiites. J. Resour. Dev. Manag.
Armitage, C.J.; Conner, M. (2001). Efficacy of the theory of planned behavior: A meta-analytic review. Br. J. Soc. Psychol, 40, 471–499.
Altaf, M., Iqbal, N., Mokhtar, S. S. M., & Sial, M. H. (2017). Managing consumer-based brand equity through brand experience in Islamic banking. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 8(2), 218– 242.
Bell, E., Bryman, A., & Harley, B. (2018). Business research methods.
Chaudhary, M. A., Chaudhary, N. I., & Ali, A. Z. (2020). Enhancing university's brand performance during the COVID-19 outbreak: The role of ICT orientation, perceived service quality, trust, and student's satisfaction. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences (PJCSS), 14(3), 629– 651.
Ellison, N.B.; Gibbs, J.L.; Weber, M.S. The Use of Enterprise Social Network Sites for Knowledge Sharing in Distributed Organizations. Am. Behav. Sci. 2014, 59, 103–123.
Flick, U. (2015). Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research project. Sage.
Hajli, M.N. A study of the impact of social media on consumers. Int. J. Mark. Res. 2014, 56, 387–404.
Hung, W. The 3C3R Model: A Conceptual Framework for Designing Problems in PBL. Interdiscip. J. Probl. Learn. 2006, 1, 55–77
Ho, C. H., K. H. Chiu, H. Chen, and A. Papazafeiropoulou. 2015. Can internet blogs be used as an effective advertising tool? The role of product blog type and brand awareness. Journal of Enterprise Information Management 28 (3):346–62. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-03-2014-0021.
Homburg, C.; Koschate, N.; Hoyer, W.D. The Role of Cognition and Affect in the Formation of Customer Satisfaction: A Dynamic Perspective. J. Mark. 2006, 70, 21–31
Hwang, I.J.; Lee, B.G.; Kim, K.Y. Information Asymmetry, Social Networking Site Word of Mouth, and Mobility Effects on Social Commerce in Korea. Cyberpsychol. Behav. Soc. Netw. 2014, 17, 117–124.
Huang, C.-C. (2017). The impacts of brand experiences on brand loyalty: Mediators of brand love and trust. Management Decision, 55(5), 915– 934.
Koay, K. Y., Ong, D. L. T., Khoo, K. L., & Yeoh, H. J. (2020). Perceived social media marketing activities and consumer-based brand equity: Testing a moderated mediation model. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics.
Kock, N., & Lynn, G. (2012). Lateral collinearity and misleading results in variance-based SEM: An illustration and recommendations. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 13(7), 546– 580.
Kamboj, S., Yadav, M., & Rahman, Z. (2018). Impact of social media and customer-centric technology on performance outcomes: The mediating role of social CRM capabilities. International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing, 9(2), 109– 125.
Kujur, F.; Singh, S. Visual Communication and Consumer-Brand Relationship on Social Networking Sites-Uses & Gratifications Theory Perspective. J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res. 2020, 15, 30–47.
Kumar, R. (2019). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. Sage Publications Limited.
Lim, J.-S., Pham, P., & Heinrichs, J. H. (2020). Impact of social media activity outcomes on brand equity. Journal of Product & Brand Management. Epub ahead of print. 29(7), 927– 937.
Mangold, W. G., and D. J. Faulds. 2009. Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business Horizons 52 (4):357–65. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2009.03.002.
Moran, N. Social marketing meets interactive media: Lessons for the advertising community. Strat. Dir. 2012, 28.
Morgan-Thomas, A., & Veloutsou, C. (2013). Beyond technology acceptance: Brand relationships and online brand experience. Journal of Business Research, 66(1), 21-27.
Mulyawati, S., Handayani, B., & Sudiartha, H. (2020). The relationship between celebrity endorsement, brand experience, brand love, and brand emotional value of nature republic cosmetics. The International Journal of Social Sciences World (TIJOSSW), 2(01), 85– 94.
Nobar, H. B. K., Kalejahi, H. K., & Rostamzadeh, R. (2020). Impact of social media marketing activities on brand equity and brand commitment in the leather industry. International Journal of Business Excellence, 20(2), 191-204.
Naqvi, B.; Soni, S.; Naqvi, B.; Soni, S. The Rise and Growth of the Indian Retail Industry. Indiaretailing, 29 August 2019. Available online: https://www.indiaretailing.com/2019/08/29/retail/the-rise-and-growth-of-the-indian-retail-industry/ (accessed on 10 March 2020).
Quan, N., Chi, N., Nhung, D., Ngan, N., & Phong, L. (2020). The influence of website brand equity, E-brand experience on E-loyalty: The mediating role of e-satisfaction. Management Science Letters, 10(1), 63– 76.
Roy, S. K., Eshghi, A., & Sarkar, A. (2013). Antecedents and consequences of brand love. Journal of Brand Management, 20(4), 325– 332.
Sharma, S., Singh, S., Kujur, F., & Das, G. (2020). Social media activities and its influence on customer-brand relationship: an empirical study of apparel retailers’ activity in India. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(4), 602-617.
Shao, G. 2009. Understanding the appeal of user-generated media: A uses and gratification perspective. Internet Research 19 (1):7–25. doi:https://doi.org/10.1145/1341531.1341557.
Singh, M.; Singh, G. Impact of social media on e-commerce. Int. J. Eng. Technol. 2018, 7, 21–26.
Seo, E. J., & Park, J. W. (2018). A study on the effects of social media marketing activities on brand equity and customer response in the airline industry. Journal of Air Transport Management, 66, 36-41.
Sharma, S., Singh, S., Kujur, F., & Das, G. (2020). Social media activities and its influence on customer-brand relationship: an empirical study of apparel retailers’ activity in India. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(4), 602-617.
Sikandar, M. D. I., & Ahmed, Q. M. (2019). Impact of social media marketing on brand love: promoting loyalty in the restaurant landscape of Pakistan. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 9(4), e201927.
Tafesse, W., & Wien, A. (2018). Implementing social media marketing strategically: an empirical assessment. Journal of Marketing Management, 34(9-10), 732-749.
Walrave, M., Poels, K., Antheunis, M. L., Van den Broeck, E., & van Noort, G. (2018). Like or dislike? Adolescents' responses to personalized social network site advertising. Journal of Marketing Communications, 24(6), 599– 616
Yadav, M., & Rahman, Z. (2018). The influence of social media marketing activities on customer loyalty: A study of e-commerce industry. Benchmarking: An International Journal.
Zollo, L., Filieri, R., Rialti, R., & Yoon, S. (2020). Unpacking the relationship between social media marketing and brand equity: The mediating role of consumers' benefits and experience. Journal of Business Research, 117, 256– 267.
Zarantonello, L., & Schmitt, B. H. (2013). The impact of event marketing on brand equity: The mediating roles of brand experience and brand attitude. International journal of advertising, 32(2), 255-280.
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2025 Shanza Noreen, Qazi Ahmed, Muhammad Arsalan Nazir

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
International Journal of Marketing, Communication and New Media
ISSN: 2182-9306
DOI: 10.54663/2182-9306
Qualis Periódicos - CAPES: B2
REBIB: Q2
Indexing:
WEB OF SCIENCE (WoS) & JOURNAL CITATION REPORTS (JCR)
QUALIS - GOOGLE SCHOLAR - LATINDEX - REDIB - RCAAP - OAJI - DRJI - MIAR - LIVRE - ERIH PLUS - INDEX COPERNICUS