Abstract:
Purpose
Pakistan’s textile industry is contributing a lot to the country’s growth. Different brands are
responsible for their development. Social media has become part of everyone’s daily life. In
order to remain competitive, clothing brands are trying to be active in these activities. The aim
of this study is to examine the impact of social media marketing on word of mouth with
mediating role of customer satisfaction in the clothing industry.
Methodology & Design
The research is quantitative in nature and based on a deductive approach. This study is based
on a convenience sampling technique with a sample size of 384. The questionnaire is used as
a data collection method. The questionnaire is adopted from previous studies. Smart PLS is
used as a data analysis tool. For hypothesis testing, Structural Equation Modelling is used in
this study.
Findings
The findings revealed that there is a positive relationship between social media marketing and
word of mouth in the presence of a mediator which is customer satisfaction. Socially active
marketing activities help in grabbing customers, and they get satisfied, which in turn results in
positive word ofmouth.
Limitations
This research is limited to Pakistani clothing brands and the results only discuss opinion of
Pakistani people. The findings ofthis study cannot be generalized to any other country, as the
research solely considers Pakistan’s clothing brands, their performance and people’s opinion
about them. People in western countries may have different opinion regarding social media
marketing and word ofmouth.
Recommendations
Clothing brands should create consistent and focused social media marketing strategies that
are aligned with the goals and objectives. It is recommended to clothing brands to initiate
innovative and customer- centric advertising approach. The company’s marketing strategies
should revolve around empathy. While planning advertising strategies, brands should put
themselves in customers shoes. They must know what customer is expecting, questions and
how that product will fulfill that desire.
