Impact of Social Media Marketing on Brand preference of Smartphones among Sri Lankan Youth

Abstract

The social media has unique features compared to traditional marketing tools and using social media has become very popular among youth. A smartphone also has become an essential part of the life among youth. Smartphone market also has become very competitive and building brand preference for a smartphone brand is not a very easy as leading brands are coming up with innovations frequently. This study evaluates the impact of social media marketing on brand preference of smartphone brands among Sri Lankan youth with special reference to Facebook. A research gap was identified and the objective was to evaluate the impact of social media marketing on brand preference of smartphone brands among Sri Lankan youth. Social media visibility, Social media engagement and Social influence from social media were selected as independent variables. Facebook was the selected social media network for the study for the convenience of studying. Brand preference was the dependent variable and the relationship between the brand preference and each independent variable was studied analyzing the collected data from 100 respondents using a structured questionnaire distributed online. Identifying the impact of above independent variables on brand preference of smartphones were the specific objectives of the study.