The Role of Social Media Marketing in Influencing Consumer Purchase Decisions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/ijmds.v15n01.008Keywords:
Social Media Marketing, Consumer Behaviour, Purchase Decision, Influencer Marketing, Electronic Word-of-Mouth, Brand Engagement, Consumer Trust, Digital MarketingAbstract
The rapid growth of digital technology and social networking platforms has fundamentally reshaped the relationship between organisations and consumers. Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and X have evolved from channels of communication and entertainment into significant marketing and commercial tools. This study examines the role of social media marketing in shaping consumer purchase decisions, with particular attention to social media advertising, influencer marketing, electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM), brand engagement, consumer trust, perceived usefulness and promotional content. Adopting a descriptive and analytical research design, the study proposes the collection of primary data from approximately 400 consumers through a structured questionnaire, supplemented by secondary data drawn from academic literature and authoritative industry reports. A conceptual model is developed in which social media marketing activities serve as independent variables and consumer purchase decision as the dependent variable, with demographic characteristics and digital experience treated as moderating factors. The discussion suggests that credible and relevant social media content can influence consumers across the stages of the buying process, from need recognition and information search through evaluation, purchase and post-purchase engagement, while excessive advertising, misleading endorsements, privacy concerns and information overload may erode consumer trust. The paper concludes that social media marketing is most effective when authenticity, transparency, responsiveness and consumer-oriented communication accompany informative and entertaining content, offering implications for marketers, small businesses and researchers seeking to understand evolving consumer behaviour in the digital marketplace.
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