THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ACTIVITIES ON BRAND EQUITY AND CUSTOMER RESPONSE IN TURKISH APPAREL INDUSTRY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN TURKISH AND MOROCCAN CUSTOMERS

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effect of social media marketing activities (SMPF) on the creation of brand value (brand awareness and brand image) and customer response (paying higher wages and loyalty) towards the company in the Turkish ready-made clothing industry, and to examine the relationship between social media marketing activities and Moroccan and Turkish customers. aims to compare the effect. Quantitative research was conducted and a questionnaire was used to collect data from 140 Turkish customer and 163 Moroccan customer of a Turkish textile brand that is considered one of the representatives of the Turkish ready-made clothing industry and will be referred to as X throughout the study. The collected data were analyzed with the SPSS program 28.0 and SmartPLS 4.0. The findings show that social media marketing activities have a significant impact on brand equity as well as a positive impact on customer response. In addition, the results show the mediating effect of brand equity on social media marketing activities and customer response. In addition, the analyzes made with the data obtained were not supported by the results as they showed that social media marketing activities did not differ between Turkish and Moroccan customers. As a result of this research, it has been concluded that, under the available data and conditions, Turkish ready-made clothing brands' presence on social media and their use of SMPF help them to build strong brand equity and obtain a positive customer response.