Does E‐Brand experience matter in the consumer market? Explaining the impact of social media marketing activities on consumer‐based brand equity and love

Abstract The present study aims to examine the influence of perceived social media marketing activities (SMMAs) on the consumer‐based brand equity and brand love and to analyze the mediating role of E‐brand experience (EBE) between SMMAs and brand equity and between SMMAs and brand love. The data for the present study is collected from 441 Chinese consumers having exposure to the social media brand page through a structured questionnaire. The data is analyzed through IBM SPSS AMOS 26 by performing structural equation modeling. Results of the present research show that the positively perceived SMMAs have a great potential to enhance the consumer‐based brand equity as well as brand love. Furthermore, it is found that the EBE serves as the significant mediating variable between perceived SMMAs and brand love however, it does not serve as the significant mediating variable between perceived SMMAs and brand equity. The current study is of great significance in theoretical as well as practical terms because it will help researchers, marketers, and policymakers to understand the contribution of social media marketing towards different consumer‐based branding outcomes, for example, brand equity, brand love, and brand experience of Chinese consumers. Hence, the Chinese firms will be able to make better decisions and actions regarding those outcomes.