The influence of social media advertising on consumer brand preferences and consumption: a case of advertisers and students' perspectives on energy drinks

Abstract

In spite of the growing literature on social media advertising, little is known about the influence of social media platforms on student preferences and consumption of energy drinks (ED). Moreover, scant academic research exists that examines how advertisers use social media platforms for advertising and communicating about brands consumed by students. This study examines how students navigate such platforms to make informed choices about energy drinks. Drawing on an interpretivist epistemology and qualitative research approach, interview guides for advertisers and students were used to establish the influence of social media advertising on consumer brand preferences. Thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted with students and four interviews were conducted with advertisers. Although students expressed some negative sentiments about Monster energy drinks, they had positive affirmations of Play energy drinks, which they perceived to boost their energy levels. Advertisers conceived social media advertising as an invaluable tool when seeking to understand how students feel about their products, their preferences and consumption of energy drinks. As such, the results demonstrated that Electronic-Word-of-Mouth (EWOM) via social media platforms (especially via Facebook) influenced student preferences for brands moderately. This study recommends several interventions to improve the growth of social media advertising in order to widen the consumption of energy drink brands amongst the youth. In view of students’ moderate use of social media for making informed choices and decisions about brands, advertisers are encouraged to proactively develop and nurture dynamic and persistent relationships with consumers such as students through fostering durable social media interactions. This study provides a crucial point of departure for investigating the motivations for the growing popularity of social media advertising, and for developing effective strategies for fostering lasting bonds between particular brands and consumers.