Social media brand engagement practices: Examining the role of consumer brand knowledge, social pressure, social relatedness, and brand trust

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to deepen the understanding on social media brand engagement (SMBE) practices by exploring the impact of consumer brand knowledge, perceived social pressure, perceived social relatedness (PSR) and the role of brand trust. Design/methodology/approach: A model is proposed to suggest the influence of consumer-level antecedents and moderators of SMBE. Following a survey design approach, data collected from 687 respondents on Facebook are examined through structural equation modelling using AMOS 23.0. Findings: The findings reveal significant relationship between the examined antecedents (brand knowledge, perceived social pressure and brand trust) and SMBE. Examination of the moderation role of PSR revealed significant interaction effects on the relationship between brand knowledge and SMBE, as well as perceived social pressure and SMBE. The findings also suggest a lack of interaction effect of PSR on the relationship between brand trust and SMBE. Research limitations/implications: This research provides empirical evidence in support of understanding SMBE practices by testing theoretically grounded hypotheses. The study focussed on technologically savvy respondents and only Facebook users in Ghana, which could limit the generalisation of the findings reported. Practical implications: This study illustrates a need for managers to integrate multi-communication channels to enhance brand interactions and engagements. Firms must also adopt strategies that would enhance the sharing of interesting information about their brands on their social media platforms to attract others through customer networks. Originality/value: The conceptualization of SMBE in this study zooms out our understanding of online SMBE by examining pertinent variables that drive or moderate consumer participation in SMBE activities. The integration of these variables brings out new empirical understanding and extends our knowledge on SMBE.