Effects of social media marketing on consumer behaviour in South Africa

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to develop a conceptual model that explains the effects of social media marketing on consumer behaviour at each stage of the consumer buying process and validate the model in the South African context. It also assesses the influence of selected factors on consumer engagement; and provide marketers with a view of the type of content that is the most effective in engaging consumers in three different industries. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed method approach, comprising of both qualitative and quantitative research, was chosen to analyse impacts of social media marketing on consumer behaviour. The qualitative research formed the basis of identifying indicative factors that affect consumer behaviour across the consumer decision-making process, to develop a conceptual model. The model was then assessed through quantitative analysis of a consumer-based survey completed by 222 respondents. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of content posted on three pre-selected Facebook pages was carried out. Findings – Analysis of the survey responses validated three out of the ten hypotheses articulated within the model, while four were rejected, and three were assessed to require further investigation before a decision could be made. It was also found that responses differed according to respondent groups generated using demographics and social media activity. However, all respondent groups were most influenced by situational and personal factors throughout the consumer buying process. The content analysis also revealed that content media type and content topic influence consumer engagement which varies from company-to-company depending on the frequency of interaction a consumer has with the brand in the form of its product or services, and brand representatives, rather than the type of industry the company belonged to. Practical implications – The findings and discussions in this paper provide businesses, marketers, and content developers with a guideline of how to structure their marketing strategy to engage customers more effectively given that the South African population may not be as influenced by social media marketing as it has 2 been perceived to be considering that the results revealed that South African consumers are more prone to situational buying and that their own personal lifestyle choices have a huge impact on how their buying habits. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the body of literature by proposing and testing a conceptual model of consumer behaviour in the context of social media across various consumer groups, while simultaneously identifying specific content driving consumer engagement on Facebook pages. Keywords: Consumer buying process, Consumer Behaviour, Consumer Engagement, Social media marketing