The Influence of Social Media Marketing on Consumer Purchase Intention and Brand Loyalty in the Indian Banking Sector

Abstract

Background: Social media has become an important communication and relationship-management channel for banks, particularly in-service contexts where trust, responsiveness and customer engagement influence behavioural outcomes. In India, however, limited empirical evidence explains how specific social media marketing dimensions shape customers’ purchase intention and subsequent brand loyalty in the banking sector. Aims: This study examined the influence of social media marketing on banking customers’ purchase intention and brand loyalty, with purchase intention tested as a mediating variable. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional design was adopted. Data were collected from 101 banking customers through a structured questionnaire using convenience sampling. Social media marketing was measured through five dimensions: entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customisation and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). The measurement and structural models were assessed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings: The results showed that all five social media marketing dimensions had statistically significant positive effects on purchase intention. eWOM and interaction emerged as the strongest predictors, indicating the importance of peer-generated content, customer reviews, responsiveness and two-way communication in banking-related social media engagement. Purchase intention also had a strong positive association with brand loyalty and mediated the relationships between social media marketing dimensions and brand loyalty. Conclusion: The findings suggest that social media marketing can contribute to loyalty formation in the Indian banking sector by strengthening customers’ intention to use or continue using banking services. Banks should therefore prioritise credible, responsive and customer-oriented social media communication across digital banking platforms.