Social media interaction, brand engagement, brand awareness, and brand image of a traditional Chinese pastry shop during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exerted a wide range of effects on electronic (e)-commerce and technology and even forced some retail stores to cease operations. The e-commerce and online retail application use increased significantly during the pandemic. This trend prompted social media, which is an effective marketing channel, to communicate brand-related information by stimulating brand engagement and brand knowledge among consumers. In this case study, a traditional Chinese pastry shop faced the issues of low brand awareness and brand image due to limited social media interaction. Before a comprehensive social marketing plan was designed for the shop, the general factors that influenced the brand awareness and brand image of pastry shops were examined. A quantitative method was used where surveys were distributed via Google Forms. Purposive sampling was performed, and data were collected from respondents who used social media platforms to interact with others in Malaysia to buy pastry products. The total usable data for the study was 169. The findings demonstrated that there were positive significant relationships between social media interaction, customer brand engagement, brand awareness, and brand image. The marketing strategies implemented on the Facebook page of the traditional Chinese pastry shop for two months successfully and effectively increased its brand awareness and brand image, which indicated that social media interaction was the best strategy to develop brand awareness and brand image for the pastry shop. This study provided deeper insight into social media interactions for the retail industry to enhance brand awareness and brand image during the COVID-19 pandemic.