THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMER BRANDING AND RELATIONSHIPS

Abstract

Social media, also known as social websites, has become a key method of communication development and a key driver in the way individuals and organizations around the globe create a collaborative environment. Although social media is widely used by individuals, it is not well understood how consumers are connected to social media for brand follow-up and purchase purposes. Thus, this work has studied the impact of social media on consumer branding and relationships in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This work was carried out based on quantitative and qualitative research method. A mini focus group comprising of 5 people was conducted in order to collect qualitative data. In order to validate the research, a sample of 100 consumers was approached and questionnaire was used through to fulfill the requirement of a quantitative approach. The results have shown that, individuals’ attitude and buying behavior of brand are influenced by the use of social media. Thus, it is concluded that social media has a significant impact on consumer branding and relationships