The Effect of Social Media Marketing and Customer Relationships in Creating Customer Response

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of social media marketing and customer relationships on creating profitable customer responses for marketers. Social media engagement mediation roles were also tested to see their relationship. The survey included 463 respondents who had purchased a product in response to marketing stimuli on social media. The research model was tested using the AMOS covariance-based structural equation modeling approach. Customer relationships significantly influence social media engagement and customer response. Meanwhile, social media marketing significantly influences social media engagement but has no significant direct effect on customer responses. Therefore, the mediating role of social media engagement is needed to strengthen the relationship between social media marketing and customer relationships in generating positive customer responses. This research provides new insights into social media marketing by showing that successful marketing efforts should not only rely on social media marketing but also on the essential role of customer relationships in increasing positive customer relationships. This research is the first to examine the effect of social media involvement on customer responses as a measure of the success of social media marketing.