Abstract:

Social media has changed the shape of communication strategies in the corporate world. Corporations are using social media to reach their maximum stakeholders in minimum time at different social media forums. Consumers being an important corporate stakeholder hold significant importance in corporate communication strategy. The current study examines the role of social media communication on consumer brand perceptions and their buying behavior. A comprehensive survey is conducted through various social media forums including Facebook, Skype, Twitter, Linkedin, to collect data regarding social media communication of a cellular service provider company’s brand in Pakistan. The empirical results report positive and significant influence of company-generated and user-generated social media communications on consumer brand perceptions and purchase intentions. The study strongly recommends use of social media communication to influence consumer behavior, particularly for technology oriented brands. The findings of this study provide important information to the marketing professionals and brand managers to understand consumer behavior through social media communication.