The impact of user interactions in social media on brand awareness and purchase intention-viral content.

Abstract

The purchase intentions are progressively influenced by social media interaction where it presents both challenges and opportunities for companies to adapt and make used of this new marketing communication. When making purchase decision, people tend to rely more than ever on information consumed from social networks. The effects of social media campaigns on consumers’ perception of products and brands as well as the effects on purchase decisions have yet to be better understood. The purpose of this article is to analyze how social media mediate on viral content, in specifically Thai insurance ads (approximately twenty-six millions viewers), and user interactions with the brand affect the perception of brands and eventually influence consumer purchase decision. An exploration of the study practice qualitative method to obtain inclusive and detailed data from in-depth interview. Therefore this study demonstrates a perspective of Thai consumer who has high exposure to the social media towards the viral marketing. The author’s finding shows the positive effect of viral content on brand awareness. From a theoretical perspective the outcomes of this study support to understanding of the value-enhancing potential of social media campaigns and demonstrate how the perception of brands is influenced through this new communication channel. For brand managers this study is of value, as it shows that social media activities do have a positive influence on brands as they support their management of the purchase process.