Keyword

Social Media Marketing, Brand Equity, Telecommunication Industry, Ghana

Abstract

Purpose - As the digital version of word-of-mouth, social media represents the materialization, storage, and retrieval of word-of-mouth content online. The study examined the social media marketing activities of Vodafone and MTN Ghana’s Facebook pages and the objectives set for this purpose were to determine whether social media marketing activities enhance brand equity, identify the kind of social media marketing activities that enhance brand equity and investigate the effects of social media marketing on brand equity.
Design/Methodology - The study used 203 valid responses out of 300 questionnaires that were distributed. The study used the quantitative research method; and the quantitative data was analysed using the PLS approach of the Structural Equation Model (SEM).  
Results/Findings - Results showed that social media marketing contributed more to the brand association, loyalty and perceived quality dimensions on brand equity. 
Practical Implications - Individually, the Facebook interaction activities assessed in the study proved relevant in attaining brand equity at MTN and Vodafone Ghana. Whilst picture interaction with consumers generated significant improvements in all dimensions of brand equity; liking a brand’s page is only a significant contributor to brand awareness and association with video interaction also contributing significantly only to brand loyalty and perceived quality. This goes to show that the social media marketing activities should not be pursued in isolation, but should be done so together to obtain optimum benefits
Originality – The presence of social media is exploding in Ghana however there is little to show for whether this presence actually generates any form of return on investment or brand equity. The study is original since it revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between social media marketing activities and brand equity. The study recommends that marketing or brand managers should concentrate their efforts largely on brand loyalty, which has high importance in the construct of brand equity, and will further contribute positively to the organization’s brand equity.
 


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