Various social media marketing activities affect online brand trust

Authors: Tser-Yieth Chen; Hsueh-Ling Wu; Chen-Yi Chi

Journal: Corporate Management Review. Dec. 2022, 42(2): 125-156

Keywords: Brand image, brand familiarity, online brand trust, perceived differentiation, social media marketing activities

Abstract:
The purpose of the study is to explore the three types of social media marketing (SMM) activities (internet celebrity endorsements, official website messages, and electronic word-of-mouth) derived from paid, owned, and earned (POE) strategies, and to explore the causal relationship between social media marketing activities, brand image/brand familiarity, and online brand trust on Instagram. The value of the study is to explore the mediating effect of brand image/brand familiarity between social media marketing activities and online brand trust. This study collected 500 valid online questionnaires in Taiwan in the Spring of 2022 and estimated by structural equation modeling (SEM). Empirical results show that brand image and brand familiarity successfully play a mediating role between social media marketing activities and online brand trust. Additionally, perceptual differentiation plays a significant moderating role in building online brand trust. Moreover, internet celebrity endorsement is the most effective tool to influence brand image and brand familiarity, and then affect online brand trust.