The role of influencer marketing in building rural brand equity among generation Y customers
Oratilwe Penwell Mokoena & Solly Matshonisa Seeletse
Abstract
In the current fast paced competitive digital marketing era, businesses explore every possibility to differentiate their brand, retain customers and remain resilient. Contrary to the popular usage of conventional celebrity endorsements, modern businesses are often turning to social media influencers for their brand marketing initiatives, using popular social media platforms. Currently, it is unknown how successful local non-celebrity influencer endorsements are in building brand equity among generation Y. The purpose of this paper was to explore the perceptions of generation Y customers on building local beauty brand equity through influencer marketing. A questionnaire using Google form was given to generation Y customers, recruited using a convenience sampling technique. A total of sixty-two (62) generation Y customers were recruited in the study. The results indicated that only few of the generation Y customers (n = 16; 25.81%) had positive perception about building local beauty brand equity through influencer marketing, while (n = 28; 45.16%) said that influencer marketing is sustainable. Furthermore, 45.55% (n=27) felt that influencer marketing is important for beauty brand industries. The study concludes that authenticity is a crucial factor in determining the impact of influencer marketing on building brand equity. Moreover, authentic influencers who genuinely interact with their audience and conform to local preferences greatly contribute to fostering strong brand connections.
Keywords
generation Y, brand loyalty, brand equity, influencer marketing
Author information & Contribution
Oratilwe Penwell Mokoena. Corresponding author. Department of Statistical Sciences, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Molotlegi Street, Ga-Rankuwa, 0204, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Email: oratilwe.mokoena@smu.ac.za
Solly Matshonisa Seeletse. Department of Statistical Sciences, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, 1 Molotlegi Street, Ga-Rankuwa, 0204, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Email: solly.seeletse@smu.ac.za
“All authors equally contributed to the conception, design, preparation, data gathering and analysis, and writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.”
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Funding
This work was not supported by any funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
Data and Materials Availability
AI Declaration
Notes
Acknowledgement
References
Aaker, D. A. (1996). Measuring brand equity across products and markets. California Management Review, 38(3).
Aaker, D. A., & Keller, K. L. (1990). Consumer evaluations of brand extensions. Journal of Marketing, 54(1), 27–41. https://doi.org/10.2307/1252171
Ahen, F., Buabeng, K. O., & Salo-Ahen, O. M. (2023). Market violence through destructive entrepreneurship: Assessing institutional responses to the proliferation of counterfeit traditional and alternative medicines in Ghana. Heliyon, 9(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13881
Akto, G. (2024). Consumer perspective on influencers, the rising trend of digital marketing perspective: A qualitative research on generation Y. In: Advancements in Socialized and Digital Media Communications (pp. 99-117). IGI Global.
Andhini, G. K., & Ramadhan, A. S. (2023). The role of social media influencer towards fashion brand sales for Indonesia’s young consumers. 2023 8th International Conference on Business and Industrial Research (ICBIR) (pp. 155-160). IEEE.
Ardiansyah, F., & Sarwoko, E. (2020). How social media marketing influences consumers purchase decision: A mediation analysis of brand awareness. JEMA: Jurnal Ilmiah Bidang Akuntansi Dan Manajemen, 17(2), 156-168. https://doi.org/10.31106/jema.v17i2.6916
Barreda, A. A., Nusair, K., Wang, Y., Okumus, F., & Bilgihan, A. (2020). The impact of social media activities on brand image and emotional attachment: A case in the travel context. Journal of hospitality and tourism technology, 11(1), 109-135. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-02-2018-0016
Bateman, M. (2019, January). South Africa’s post-apartheid microcredit experiment: moving from state-enforced to market-enforced exploitation. In: Forum for Social Economics (Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 69-97). Routledge.
Bateman, M. (2024). The rise of microcredit ‘control fraud’ in post-apartheid South Africa: from state-enforced to market-driven exploitation of the black community. In Capitalism and Economic Crime in Africa (pp. 55-82). Routledge.
Belova, D. (2023). Exploring the effectiveness of influencer marketing in expanding brands to new markets. Master’s Thesis. Tampere University of Applied Science.
Bilgihan, A. (2016). Gen Y customer loyalty in online shopping: An integrated model of trust, user experience and branding. Computers in human behavior, 61, 103-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.014
Bonus, A. K., Raghani, J., Visitacion, J. K., & Castaño, M. C. (2022). Influencer marketing factors affecting brand awareness and brand image of start-up businesses. Journal of Business and Management Studies, 4(1), 189-202. https://doi.org/10.32996/jbms.2022.4.1.22
Budiman, S. (2021). The effect of social media on brand image and brand loyalty in generation Y. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 8(3), 1339-1347. https://doi.org/10.13106/JAFEB.2021.VOL8.NO3.1339
Chang, M. (2023). Factors influencing purchase intention of foreign apparel amongst millennials in South Africa. University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Deepa, E. (2021). Digital marketing a catalyst in creating brand image through customer. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education (TURCOMAT), 12(4), 1308-1315. https://doi.org/10.17762/turcomat.v12i4.1196
Delbaere, M., Michael, B., & Phillips, B. J. (2021). Social media influencers: A route to brand engagement for their followers. Psychology & Marketing, 38(1), 101-112. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21419
Dewi, S. R., & Hidayat, A. (2024). Exploring the impact of influencer marketing on brand equity: A mediation analysis involving brand awareness and customer brand engagement. Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting, 24(1), 46-62. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajeba/2024/v24i11211
Dong, Y. (2022). Research on Chinese beauty brands’ marketing strategies based on the comparison of international beauty brands and Chinese beauty brands. Highlights in Business, Economics and Management, 2, 373-378.
Enaifoghe, A., & Vezi-Magigaba, M. F. (2023). Conceptualizing the role of entrepreneurship and SME in fostering South Africa’s local economic development. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), 12(4), 96-105. https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v12i4.2444
Enaifoghe, A., Dlamini, N. P., Jili, N. N., & Mthethwa, R. (2023). The role of e-government as enabler of good governance for socio-economic development in South Africa. International Journal of Social Science Research and Review, 6(1), 493-508. https://doi.org/10.47814/ijssrr.v6i1.826
Febrian, A., Nani, D. A., Lina, L. F., & Husna, N. (2022). The role of social media activities to enhance brand equity. Journal of Economics, Business, & Accountancy Ventura, 25(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.14414/jebav.v25i1.2881
Febriyantoro, M. T. (2020). Exploring YouTube marketing communication: Brand awareness, brand image and purchase intention in the millennial generation. Cogent Business & Management, 7(1), 1787733. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1787733
Fetais, A.H., Algharabat, R.S., Aljafari, A., & Rana, N.P. (2023). Do social media marketing activities improve brand loyalty? An empirical study on luxury fashion brands. Inf Syst Front, 25, 795–817. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-022-10264-7
Garas, S. R. R., Mahran, A. F. A., & Mohamed, H. M. H. (2023). Do you consider buying a counterfeit? New evidence from the theory of planned behaviour and cognitive dissonance theory. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 32(4), 544-565. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-11-2021-3734
Hassan, S. H., Teo, S. Z., Ramayah, T., & Al-Kumaim, N. H. (2021). The credibility of social media beauty gurus in young millennials’ cosmetic product choice. Plos one, 16(3), e0249286. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249286
Hund, E. (2023). The influencer industry: The quest for authenticity on social media. Princeton University Press.
Ilunga, K. C. (2018). Consumers buying decision process towards cosmetics: a comparison of the generations X and Y in Durban (Doctoral dissertation).
Ingrassia, M., Bellia, C., Giurdanella, C., Columba, P., & Chironi, S. (2022). Digital influencers, food and tourism—A new model of open innovation for businesses in the Ho. Re. Ca. sector. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 8(1), 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc8010050
Jaitly, R. C., & Gautam, O. (2021). Impact of social media influencers on customer engagement and brand perception. International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 15(2), 220-242. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJIMA.2021.114336
Jun, S., & Yi, J. (2020). What makes followers loyal? The role of influencer interactivity in building influencer brand equity. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 29(6), 803-814. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-02-2019-2280
Kariyawasam, K., & Wigley, S. (2017). Online shopping, misleading advertising and consumer protection. Information & Communications Technology Law, 26(2), 73-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/13600834.2017.1289835
Kauffmann, P., & Vaičiūnaitė, S. (2024). An ethical dilemma in influencer marketing. Master’s Thesis. School of Economics and Management.
Keller, K. L. (1993). Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of marketing, 57(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299305700101
Khan, I., & Fatma, M. (2019). Connecting the dots between CSR and brand loyalty: the mediating role of brand experience and brand trust. International Journal of Business Excellence, 17(4), 439-455. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJBEX.2019.099123
Khan, R. U., Salamzadeh, Y., Iqbal, Q., & Yang, S. (2022). The impact of customer relationship management and company reputation on customer loyalty: The mediating role of customer satisfaction. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 21(1), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332667.2020.1840904
Kumar, P., & Singh, G. (2020). Using social media and digital marketing tools and techniques for developing brand equity with connected consumers. In: Handbook of research on innovations in technology and marketing for the connected consumer (pp. 336-355). IGI Global.
Le, K., & Aydin, G. (2023). Impact of the pandemic on social media influencer marketing in fashion: a qualitative study. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 26(4), 449-469. https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-11-2021-0133
Leban, M., & Voyer, B. G. (2020). Social media influencers versus traditional influencers: Roles and consequences for traditional marketing campaigns. In: Influencer marketing (pp. 26-42). Routledge.
Leung, F. F., Gu, F. F., & Palmatier, R. W. (2022). Online influencer marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 50(2), 226-251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-021-00829-4
Liu, Y. (2023). Analysis of the L’oreal group’s marketing strategy in the face of the COVID-19 from a macro perspective. BCP Business & Management, 38, 2692-2702. https://doi.org/10.54691/bcpbm.v38i.4174
Liu, W. Y., Lin, C. C., Lee, Y. S., & Deng, D. J. (2013). On gender differences in consumer behavior for online financial transaction of cosmetics. Mathematical and Computer Modelling, 58(1-2), 238-253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcm.2012.08.010
Lou, C., & Yuan, S. (2019). Influencer marketing: How message value and credibility affect consumer trust of branded content on social media. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 19(1), 58-73. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2018.1533501
Macheka, T., Quaye, E. S., & Ligaraba, N. (2024). The effect of online customer reviews and celebrity endorsement on young female consumers’ purchase intentions. Young Consumers, 25(4), 462-482. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-05-2023-1749
Martínez-López, F. J., Anaya-Sánchez, R., Fernández Giordano, M., & Lopez-Lopez, D. (2020). Behind influencer marketing: key marketing decisions and their effects on followers’ responses. Journal of Marketing Management, 36(7-8), 579-607. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2020.1738525
Mgiba, F. M., & Nyamande, N. (2020). Persuasive influencers and the millennials: how their relationships affect brand, value, and relationship equities, and customers’ intention to purchase. Journal of Contemporary Management, 17(2), 492-522. https://doi.org/10.35683/jcm19115.88
Mupangavanhu, Y., & Kerchhoff, D. (2023). Online deceptive advertising and consumer protection in South Africa-The law and its shortcomings? De Jure Law Journal, 56(1), 86-106. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2225-7160/2023/v56a7
Nafees, L., Cook, C. M., Nikolov, A. N., & Stoddard, J. E. (2021). Can social media influencer (SMI) power influence consumer brand attitudes? The mediating role of perceived SMI credibility. Digital Business, 1(2), 100008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.digbus.2021.100008
Nguyen Thi Nhu, T. (2020). Gender differences in determinants of customer satisfaction in beauty and cosmetic e-commerce. Journal of Asian Finance Economics and Business, 7(10), 811-822. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2020.vol7.no10.811
Park, G. H., Nam, C., Hong, S., Park, B., Kim, H., Lee, T., & Kim, M. H. (2018). Socioeconomic factors influencing cosmetic usage patterns. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 28(3), 242-250. https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2017.20
Sadiq, T., Waheed, A., & Noor, Z. (2023). Examining the impact of social media make-up influencers on millennials. Global Digital & Print Media Review, 6, 183-197. https://doi.org/10.31703/gdpmr.2023(VI-II).12
Saima, & Khan, M. A. (2020). Effect of social media influencer marketing on consumers’ purchase intention and the mediating role of credibility. Journal of Promotion Management, 27(4), 503-523. https://doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2020.1851847
Savitri, C., Hurriyati, R., Wibowo, L., & Hendrayati, H. (2022). The role of social media marketing and brand image on smartphone purchase intention. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 6(1), 185-192. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.ijdns.2021.9.009
Sijabat, L., Rantung, D. I., & Mandagi, D. W. (2022). The role of social media influencers in shaping customer brand engagement and brand perception. Jurnal Manajemen Bisnis, 9(2), 280-288. https://doi.org/10.33096/jmb.v9i2.459
Singh, J., Crisafulli, B., & Xue, M. T. (2020). ‘To trust or not to trust’: The impact of social media influencers on the reputation of corporate brands in crisis. Journal of Business Research, 119, 464-480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.03.039
Sutia, S., Riadi, R., Tukirin, T., Pradipta, I., & Fahlevi, M. (2023). Celebrity endorsement in social media contexts: Understanding the role of advertising credibility, brand credibility, and brand satisfaction. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 7(1), 57-64. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.ijdns.2022.12.006
Tsai, C. M., & Hsin, S. P. (2023). The influence of influencer marketing on the consumers’ desire to travel in the post-pandemic era: The mediation effect of influencer fitness of destination. Sustainability, 15(20), 14746. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152014746
Wright, C. (2021). Social media marketing 2020: Cutting-edge strategies to grow your personal brand, reach millions of customers, and become an expert influencer with Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram (Vol. 165). Alakai Publishing LLC.
Cite this article:
Mokoena, O.P. & Seeletse, S.M. (2024). The role of influencer marketing in building rural brand equity among generation Y customers. International Journal of Academe and Industry Research, 5(4), 148-164. https://doi.org/10.53378/ijair.353129
License:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) International License.
Find this article in:
Most read articles
- Social media usage and the academic performance of Filipino junior high school students
- A narrative exploration of romantic experiences and ideal relationship standards among Filipino Gen Z
- Exploring the factors influencing commuters’ satisfaction and the use of public utility buses in Quezon City, Philippines
- Tiktok made me book it: The impact of Tiktok on tourism destination selection of generation Z and millennials in Manila
- Students’ exposure to social media and their radical involvement on the societal issues in the Philippines
- ChatGPT integration significantly boosts personalized learning outcomes: A Philippine study
- Senior high school students’ awareness and literacy on computer software applications
- Self-perception of ABM students towards their academic, social and emotional college preparedness
- Enhancing financial literacy among Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries
- Emotional intelligence and leadership efficacy of university student leaders