Identifying the factors of social currency for social media marketing strategy
South Asian Journal of Business Studies
ISSN: 2398-628X
Article publication date: 10 March 2021
Issue publication date: 19 October 2021
Abstract
Purpose
Dynamism has been the key to the success and popularity of social media, and users always try to adapt to the available new changes. Continuous growth in the access and reach of social media in the past decade has enabled the users to make a calculative assessment of their social media usage. Social currency is a phenomenon that helps the customer in their evaluation of social media usage. However, this concept is still in its infancy phase, and there have been hitherto no studies to understand the influence of social currency dimensions on Indian users. This paper aims to study the dimensions of social currency for a better insight into social media usage of Indian customers.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 384 respondents from the biggest residential university in Varanasi through a structured questionnaire using the snowball sampling technique. Responses were taken on a seven-point Likert scale. Responses were analyzed by the factor analysis method using the maximum likelihood estimation model.
Findings
The result of this study empirically demonstrated that six dimensions, i.e. conversation, information, utility, affiliation, advocacy and identity, constitute the social currency of the user while browsing social media sites. It was also found that among the factors described above, advocacy emerged as the most influential dimension of social currency for Indian users, followed by identity and affiliation.
Practical implications
The findings have various managerial implications for the firms that want to have a significant social media presence. These findings can help marketers to design a tailored social media campaign for Indian users in an efficient manner by successfully incorporating the aforesaid social currency dimensions in their strategy.
Social implications
This study also reflects the societal impact of the dimensions of social currency on Indian users, as any change in the usage of social media can have a long-lasting effect on the mood of the people. The influence of the social currency dimension differs significantly in the context of Indian users compared to the existing literature, as they give more value to the behavioural aspect of the social currency (advocacy, identity and affiliation), strengthening the sense of belongings among the members.
Originality/value
This paper highlights, for the first time, the level of influence social currency dimensions have on Indian users, as there have been hitherto no studies to understand the influence of social currency dimensions on Indian users. Another significant contribution of this research is the empirical validation of the social currency determinants. Thus, this study may contribute to the social media strategy of the firm for Indian users by incorporating the social currency dimension, as discussed in the study.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This papers forms a part of special section “New Social Media Marketing Strategies”, guest edited by Jorge E. Fresneda and Rajesh Chandrashekaran.
Citation
Mishra, Y. and Singh, A. (2021), "Identifying the factors of social currency for social media marketing strategy", South Asian Journal of Business Studies, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 305-321. https://doi.org/10.1108/SAJBS-01-2020-0022
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited