The Effect of Social Media Marketing on Consumer Purchase Decisions in Klang Valley: The Mediating Role of Brand Awareness

In Malaysia, social media marketing (SMM) has become key tools in helping businesses to engage and attract with their consumer which could lead to purchase decisions. Nowadays, platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook are widely used for product discovery, engagement and making purchases of the product. This study examines the influence of SMM on consumer purchase decisions (CPD) among consumers in Klang Valley, with brand awareness (BA) as a mediating factor. The quantitative approach was used, and data were collected from 404 respondents through a structured questionnaire. The findings indicated that the components of SMM, particularly content quality and influencer collaborations significantly influence CPD with BA serving as mediating factor in these relationships. Nevertheless, BA does not have the mediate relationship between brand interactivity with CPD. However, BA, which could lead to CPD and drive the sales performance of the company. Future research could explore other geographical regions, adopt qualitative method, and investigate additional factors such as economic and psychological factors as well as the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and chatbots in enhancing the effectiveness of SMM.