Title: Engagement and brand loyalty through social capital in social media

Authors: Mohammad Abuljadail; Louisa Ha

Addresses: Faculty of Communication and Media, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia ' School of Media and Communication, Bowling Green State University, 411 Kuhlin Center, Bowling Green, Ohio 43402, USA

Abstract: This paper examines the process of brand-customer engagement based on the establishment of social capital through social media - Facebook. An online survey of 576 Facebook users in Saudi Arabia was conducted to examine customer engagement in Facebook. Although individuals indicated that they are more likely to engage in brands' Facebook pages if the posts offer more hedonic benefits (e.g., socialising and entertainment) than utilitarian benefits (e.g., coupons and discounts), they are more likely to become loyal to the brand if they receive utilitarian benefits from the brand's Facebook page. Many marketers depend on engagement metrics found in the common social media such as likes, shares and comments. But using only those engagement measures will be misleading because the effectiveness of utilitarian content might not be visible as hedonic content for marketers because it tends to generate less likes. Utilitarian content is the one that directly drives brand loyalty.

Keywords: engagement; social media; Saudi Arabia; social capital; Facebook marketing; brand loyalty; local brands; global brands.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIMA.2019.102557

International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 2019 Vol.13 No.3, pp.197 - 217

Received: 16 Mar 2018
Accepted: 07 Aug 2018
Published online: 30 Sep 2019 *

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