SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND CUSTOMER PATRONAGE OF INSURANCE FIRMS IN PORT HARCOURT: MODERATING EFFECT OF BRAND AWARENESS
Abstract
Consumer usage of the internet has increased incredibly by way of making use of content-sharing sites, social networking, blogs, etc. for the purpose of adapting, sharing, and discussing internet content. This study was designed to ascertain the impact of social media platforms on customer patronage of insurance firms in Port Harcourt with brand awareness serving as a moderating variable. Data were collected from four hundred and thirty-three (433) customers from eighteen (18) insurance companies in Port Harcourt where 421 of the questionnaires were found valid and useful for analysis using Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient with the aid of SPSS version 23.0 to test four (4) formulated hypotheses. Findings show that dimensions of social media platforms: media credibility, interactive media, and media accessibility have a positive and significant relationship with customer patronage of insurance firms in Port Harcourt, while brand awareness moderates the relation between social media platforms and customer patronage significantly. The study concludes that users' loyalty will be increased by increasing the usage of multi-media to share their experiences. The study, therefore, recommends that marketers and managers should use social media marketing activities on Facebook properly, by having a full understanding of how social media functions businesses should establish and maintain regular and direct contact with present and potential customers in order to build effective brand relationships.
Downloads
References
Alhaddad, A.A. (2015). The effect of advertising awareness on brand equity in social media. International Journal of E-Education, E-Business, E-Management and E-Learning. 5(2). 73-84.
As’ad, H.A.I.R. & Al Hadid, A.Y. (2014). The Impact of social media marketing on brand equity: An empirical study on mobile service providers in Jordan. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 3, 315.
Barreda, A. A., Bilgihan, A., Nusair, K., & Okumus, F. (2015). Generating brand awareness in online social networks. Computers in human behavior, 50, 600-609.
Bilgili, B., &Ozkul, E. (2015). Brand awareness, brand personality, brand loyalty and consumer satisfaction relations in brand positioning strategies (A Torku brand sample). Journal of Global Strategic Management, 9(2), 10-20.
Bilgin, Y. (2018). The effect of social media marketing activities on brand awareness, brand image and brand loyalty. Business &management studies: An International Journal, 6(1), 128-148.
Bolotaeva, V., &Cata, T. (2010). Marketing opportunities with social networks. Journal of Internet Social Networking and Virtual Communities, 2010, 1-8.
Brown, C. H. (2010). 101 Ways to Promote Your Brand with Social Media Marketing. Retrieved fromhttp://webmarketing-coach.com
Bruhn, M., Schoenmueller, V. and Schäfer, D.B. (2012). Are social media replacing traditional media in terms of brand equity creation? Management Research Review, 35(9), 770-790.
Carlsson, L. (2010). Marketing and communications in social media: Fruitful dialogue, stronger brand,increased sales(1st ed.). Gothenburg: Kreafon.
Chan, K. W. & Li,S. Y. (2010). Understanding consumer-to-consumer interactions in virtual communities: The salience of reciprocity, Journal of Business Research, 63(9), 1033-1040.
Constantinides, E., & Fountain, S. J. (2008). Web 2.0: Conceptual foundations and marketing issues. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 9(3), 231-244.
Consultancy.uk (2018). Insurance industry embracing social media but struggles with pace of change.
Dewing, M. (2012). Social Media: Who Uses Them?. Library of Parliament.
Dominick, J., & Wimmer, R. (2003). Training the next generation of media researchers. Mass communication and society, 6(1), 3-9.
Ekhveh, A., & Darvishi, A. Z. (2015). The impact of brand awareness on re-purchase intention of customers with trilogy of emotions approach (case study for cell phones). Applied Mathematics in Engineering, Management and Technology, 3(4), 25-30.
Elwalda, A., Lü, K., & Ali, M. (2016). Perceived derived attributes of online customer reviews. Computers in Human Behavior, 56, 306-319.
Evans, D. (2008). Social media marketing. an hour a day. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing
Ezeah, G. H., Asogwa, C. E., &Edogor, I. O. (2013). Social media use among students of universities in South-East Nigeria. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 16(3), 23-32.
Facebook. (2013). Accessed July 10, 2013. https://www.facebook.com/facebook/photos_stream
Fischer, E., & Reuber, A. R. (2011). Social interaction via new social media:(How) can interactions on Twitter affect effectual thinking and behavior?. Journal of business venturing, 26(1), 1-18.
Fogg, B. J., Soohoo, C., Danielson, D. R., Marable, L., Stanford, J., & Tauber, E. R. (2003). How do users evaluate the credibility of Web sites? A study with over 2,500 participants. In Proceedings of the 2003 conference on Designing for user experiences (pp. 1-15).
Folarin, S. F. (2005). International pressures on Nigeria's economy: An evaluation of Activities of MNCs. Nigerian Journal of Economic History, (7 & 8), 154-163.
Gerrard, P., & Cunningham, J.B. (2003). The diffusion of Internet banking among Singapore consumers.International Journal of Bank Marketing, 21(1), 16-28
Godwin-Jones, R. (2001). Accessibility and web design: why does it matter?. Language Learning & Technology, 5(1), 11-19.
Goodrich, K., & De Mooij, M. (2014). How ‘social’are social media? A cross-cultural comparison of online and offline purchase decision influences. Journal of Marketing Communications, 20(1-2), 103-116.
Hackett, S &Parmanto, B. (2009). Homepage not enough when evaluating web site accessibility. InternetResearch, 19, (1),78 – 87
Henkel D, Houchaime N, Locatelli N, Singh S, Zeithaml VA, &Bittner (2006). The impact of emerging WLANs on incumbent cellular service providers in the U.S. M.J. Services marketing, McGraw-Hill Singapore
Howard, U. (2007). Find and keep the customers. Wall Street Journal, 21, 45-57.
Huang, R., &Sarigöllü, E. (2014). How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand equity, and the marketing mix. In Fashion branding and consumer behaviors (pp. 113-132). Springer, New York, NY.
Hudson, S., & Thal, K. (2013). The impact of social media on the consumer decision process: Implications for tourism marketing. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 30(1-2), 156-160.
Hutter, K., Hautz, J., Dennhardt, S., & Füller, J. (2013). The impact of user interactions in social media on brand awareness and purchase intention: the case of MINI on Facebook. Journal of Product & Brand Management. 22(5/6), 342-351.
Jalilvand, M. R., & Samiei, N. (2012). The effect of electronic word of mouth on brand image and purchase intention: An empirical study in the automobile industry in Iran. Marketing Intelligence & Planning. 30(4), 460-476.
Jamil, B., & Wong, C. H. 2010. Factors influencing repurchase intention of smartphones. Journal of Marketing Research, 4(12), 289-294.
Johnson, T., & Kaye, B. (2010). Choosing is believing? How Web gratifications and reliance affect internet credibility among politically interested users. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 18(1), 1-21.
Jung, N. Y., &Seock, Y. K. (2016). The impact of corporate reputation on brand attitude and purchase intention. Fashion and Textiles, 3(1), 1-15.
Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business horizons, 53(1), 59-68.
Katz, E., Blumer, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1974). Utilization of mass communication by the individual. In J. G. Blumler& E. Katz (Eds.), The uses of mass communications: Current perspectives on gratifications research (pp. 19-34). London: SAGE.
Khuong, M. N., & Tram, V. N. B. (2015). The effects of emotional marketing on consumer product perception, brand awareness and purchase decision: A study in ho chi Minh City, Vietnam. Journal of Economics, Business and Management, 3(5), 524-530.
Kim, A.J. and Ko, E. (2010) Impacts of Luxury Fashion Brand’s Social Media Marketing on Customer Relationship and Purchase Intention. Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 1, 164-171.
Kohli, C., Suri, R., & Kapoor, A. (2015). Will Social Media Kill Branding? Business Horizons, 58(1), 35–44.
Macdonald, E. K., & Sharp, B. M. (2000). Brand awareness effects on consumer decision making for a common, repeat purchase product: A replication. Journal of Business Research, 48(1), 5-15.
Malik, M. E., Ghafoor, M. M., Hafiz, K. I., Riaz, U., Hassan, N. U., Mustafa, M., &Shahbaz, S. (2013).Importance of brand awareness and brand loyalty in assessing purchase intentions of consumer. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4(5), 167-171.
Metzger, M. J., Flanagin, A. J., &Zwarun, L. (2003). College student Web use, perceptions of information credibility, and verification behavior. Computers & Education, 41(3), 271-290.
Miller, K. D., Fabian, F., & Lin, S. J. (2009). Strategies for online communities. Strategic Management Journal, 30(3), 305-322.
Moye, L. N., & Giddings, V. L. (2002). An examination of the retail approach‐avoidance behavior of older apparel consumers. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal.6(3), 259-276.
Musiime, A., & Ramadhan, M. (2011). Internet banking, consumer adoption and customer satisfaction. African Journal of Marketing, 3(October), 261–269. Retrieved from http://docs.mak.ac.ug/sites/default/files/Musiime and Ramadhan.pdf
Novansa, H., & Ali, H. (2017). Purchase decision model: Analysis of brand image, brand awareness and price (Case study SMECO Indonesia SME products). Saudi Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(8), 621-632.
Nwulu, C. S., &Asiegbu, I. F. (2015). Advancement inclination behaviors and university academic staff patronage of deposit money banks in Port Harcourt. International Journal, 94.
Ogbuji, C. N., Onuoha, A. O., & Abdul, U. (2016). Spatial layout and customer patronage of cinema firms in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. International Journal of Research in Business Studies and Management, 3(6).
Onuoha, A. O. &Nnenanya, D. (2017). Impact of servicescape on customer patronage of fuel stations in Abia State, Nigeria. international journal of managerial studies and research (IJMSR), 5(3), 14-19.
Palmer, A., & Lewis, K. N. (2009). An experiential, social network-based approach to direct marketing. International Journal of Direct Marketing, 3(3), 162-176.
Reich, L. S. (2002). The making of American industrial research: science and business at GE and Bell, 1876-1926. Cambridge University Press.
Reviewtrackers, (2019). Social media marketing for insurance: Dos and Don’ts
Roosevelt C. M. (2012).Social media analytics: Data mining applied to insurance twitter posts. Casualty Actuarial Society E-Forum, 2, 1-36.
Ruggiero, T. E. (2000). Uses and gratifications theory in the 21st century. Mass communication & society, 3(1), 3-37.
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.
Shabbir, S., Kaufmann, H. R., Ahmad, I., & Qureshi, I. M. (2010). Cause related marketing campaigns and consumer purchase intentions: The mediating role of brand awareness and corporate image. African Journal of Business Management, 4(6), 1229–1235. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5897/AJBM.9000129
Sharifi, S. S. (2014). Impacts of the trilogy of emotion on future purchase intentions in products of high involvement under the mediating role of brand awareness. European Business Review, 26(1), 43–63. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-12-2012-0072
Siali, F., Jiayi, P., Shakur, M. M. A., &Ya’kob, S. A. (2019). Relationship between brand equity and consumer purchase decision. International Journal of Service Management and Sustainability, 1(1), 58–75.
Stojanovic, I., Andreu, L., & Curras-Perez, R. (2018). Effects of the intensity of use of social media on brand equity: An empirical study in a tourist destination. European Journal of Management and Business Economics.27(1), 83-100.
Sulek, J. M., & Hensley, R. L. (2004). The relative importance of food, atmosphere, and fairness of wait: The case of a full-service restaurant. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 45(3), 235-247.
Taprial, V., & Kanwar, P. (2012). Understanding social media. Bookboon.
Tremayne, M., (2005). Lessons learned from experiments with interactivity on the Web, Journal of Interactive Advertising, 5(2), 40-46.
Tsai, W. H. S., & Men, L. R. (2013). Motivations and antecedents of consumer engagement with brand pages on social networking sites. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 13(2), 76-87.
Wang, X., Yu, C., & Wei, Y. (2012). Social media peer communication and impacts on purchase intentions: A consumer socialization framework. Journal of interactive marketing, 26(4), 198-208.
Weston, R. (2008). 7 Social Networking Strategies. Entrepreneur.com. http://www.entrepreneur.com/technolo gy/bmighty/article191312.html
Worldometers. (2013). Sociedade e Meios de Comunicac_a˜o. Accessed May 2013. http://www.worldometers.info/pt/.
Copyright (c) 2022 IJSSHR - International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Author(s) and co-author(s) jointly and severally represent and warrant that the Article is original with the author(s) and does not infringe any copyright or violate any other right of any third parties, and that the Article has not been published elsewhere. Author(s) agree to the terms that the GPH Journal will have the full right to remove the published article on any misconduct found in the published article.