Social Media Marketing and Consumer Buying Behavior: A Literature Review

Abstract

Now-a-days, Social media marketing (SMM) has revolutionized modern marketing practices all over the world. As the traditional framework of marketing has morphed into a combination of traditional and social media marketing, consumers of all ages and genders are now increasingly demonstrating changes in their purchase decisions and/or behaviors. SMM and its possible associations with consumer buying behavior, thus, have been the focus of attention for numerous researchers and industry professionals. The aim of this exploratory study, therefore, is to conduct a systematic review of existing work on the concept and different aspects of social media marketing and its influence on consumer behavior. As part of the review, the study offers a brief overview of social media, social networking sites, social media marketing, and consumer behavior as well as of the relations between SMM and consumer behavior in general, between SMM and young consumer behavior, and between SMM and female consumer behavior. Though exploratory, this study has the potential to offer valuable insights into how consumers are heavily influenced by SMM now, especially to small and medium business owners who often do not have sufficient financial resources to utilize traditional marketing tools and are likely to benefit more from social media marketing. Keywords: Consumer Buying Behavior, Facebook, Female Consumers, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking Sites. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/15-8-02 Publication date: April 30 th 2023