The Impact of Brand Familiarity and Social Media Connectedness on Brand Loyalty and Purchase Intention: A Conceptual Study

Abstract

In the digital age social media has emerged as a new interactive technology that transforms the traditional approach for consumer brand interaction. Due to the growing usage of social media in the field of marketing the study aims to develop a conceptual framework for examining the relationship between social media connectedness, brand familiarity, brand loyalty, and purchase intention. The framework of the study is grounded in the brand equity theory and Cognitive- Affective- Conative hierarchy of effects theory which combinedly elaborates the cognitive and emotional processes influencing consumer behavior. Our study aims to amalgamate all the available literature and integrate key theoretical perspectives for proposing a comprehensive model of consumer-brand relationship in social media context. The study elaborates the branding theory through interconnectedness of social media platforms and brand familiarity for strategically leveraging brand loyalty and purchase intentions. For marketing experts, the study’s findings suggest the importance of creating brand familiarity through interactive social media experiences for fostering emotional connection with consumers. This study provides a novel perspective and offers an integrated model by addressing the research gap that captures the evolving dynamics of consumer-brand relationship in this digital age.