DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY: THE ROLE OF E-WOM IN MEDIATING THE CONSUMER BUYING DECISION PROCESS AMONG INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS OF FOOD SECTOR MSMES IN MUARA BUNGO
Downloads
Objective: This study aims to analyse the influence of social media marketing and content marketing on the consumer buying decision process, with electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) as a mediating variable among followers of food sector MSMEs on Instagram in Muara Bungo. Method: This study employs a survey-based approach and is a quantitative associative study with an explanatory research approach. The population in this study consists of Instagram followers of SMEs in the food sector in Muara Bungo who are interested in making online purchasing decisions for food snacks sold through Instagram accounts, with a sample size of 130 individuals. Data analysis was conducted using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Results: Based on the research findings, it was concluded that social media marketing has a positive and significant effect on the consumer buying decision process. Content marketing has a positive effect but is not significantly related to the consumer buying decision process. Social media marketing has a positive and significant effect on electronic word of mouth. Content marketing has a positive and significant effect on electronic word of mouth. Electronic word of mouth has a positive and significant effect on the consumer buying decision process. Novelty: Electronic word of mouth acts as a mediating variable between the effect of social media marketing on the consumer buying decision process, with the form of mediation being complementary mediation in the form of partial mediation. Electronic word of mouth also acts as a mediating variable between the influence of content marketing on the consumer buying decision process, with the form of mediation being indirect-only mediation, which is a form of full mediation.
Titi Herawati, Muhammad Iqbal Fasa, and Suharto, “Perilaku Konsumen dalam Berbelanja Online dimasa Pandemik Covid-19,” Islam. Econ. Financ. J., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 13–25, 2022, doi: 10.55657/iefj.v1i1.5.
Fakhre Alam Siddiqui, Hammad Zafar, and Ammarah Naseem, “The Impact of Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing and Online Convenience on Consumer Buying Decision Process in Fashion Apparel Industry of Pakistan,” Crit. Rev. Soc. Sci. Stud., vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 932–952, 2025, doi: 10.59075/wv5v1d03.
A. N. Ngadimen and E. Widyastuti, “Pengaruh social media marketing, online customer review, dan religiusitas terhadap keputusan pembelian konsumen shopee di masa pandemi Covid-19 dengan minat beli sebagai variabel intervening,” J. Manag. Digit. Bus., vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 122–134, 2021, doi: 10.53088/jmdb.v1i2.134.
M. A. Pratama, G. Subagja, and G. L. Duta, “Jurnal Bisnis dan Manajemen Influence of Tiktok’s Social Media Marketing and Online Consumer Review On Purchasing Decision,” J. Bisnis dan Manaj., vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 45–54, 2023.
D. Syed Abid Hussain and D. Afzalur Rahman, “Impact of Digital Marketing Platform on Buying Decision,” Futur. Trends IOT Vol. 3 B. 2, no. October, pp. 355–364, 2024, doi: 10.58532/v3biio2ch28.
N. T. A. Zainal, A. Harun, and J. Lily, “Examining the mediating effect of attitude towards electronic words- of mouth (eWOM) on the relation between the trust in eWOM source and intention to follow eWOM among Malaysian travellers,” Asia Pacific Manag. Rev., vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 35–44, 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.apmrv.2016.10.004.
T. Meliawati, S. C. Gerald, and Akhmad Edhy Aruman, “The Effect of Social Media Marketing TikTok and Product Quality Towards Purchase Intention,” J. Consum. Sci., vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 77–92, 2023, doi: 10.29244/jcs.8.1.77-92.
A. J. Kim and E. Ko, “Do social media marketing activities enhance customer equity? An empirical study of luxury fashion brand,” J. Bus. Res., vol. 65, no. 10, pp. 1480–1486, 2012, doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.10.014.
N. Sari, Y. Yasmanto, G. Angelita, N. Istikhomah, and A. Zharkasih, “Pengaruh Social Media Marketing dan Online Customer Review Terhadap Persepsi Nilai Serta Dampaknya Terhadap Minat Beli Pelanggan Shopee di Bekasi,” J. Kaji. Ilm., vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 61–76, 2025, doi: 10.31599/5rjvdp24.
A. P. Sutrisno and I. D. Mayangsari, “Pengaruh Penggunaan Media Sosial Instagram @Humasbdg Terhadap Pemenuhan Kebutuhan Informasi Followers,” J. Common, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 118–133, 2022, doi: 10.34010/common.v5i2.5143.
R. Aditya and R. Y. Rusdianto, “Penerapan digital marketing sebagai strategi pemasaran UMKM,” J. Pelayanan Dan Pengabdi. Masy. Indones., vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 96–102, 2023.
J. Rowley, “Understanding digital content marketing,” J. Mark. Manag., vol. 24, no. 5–6, pp. 517–540, 2008, doi: 10.1362/026725708X325977.
N. Joan Isibor et al., “Analyzing Successful Content Marketing Strategies That Enhance Online Engagement and Sales for Digital Brands,” Int. J. Adv. Multidiscip. Res. Stud., vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 842–851, 2025, doi: 10.62225/2583049x.2025.5.2.3906.
K. O. Winarno and I. Indrawati, “Impact of Social Media Marketing and Electronic Word of Mouth (E-Wom) on Purchase Intention,” J. Appl. Manag., vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 668–683, 2022, doi: 10.21776/ub.jam.2022.020.03.15.
N. M. P. Dewi, I. G. A. Imbayani, and P. K. Ribek, “Pengaruh Social Media Marketing Terhadap Keputusan Pembelian Yang Dimediasi E-Word of Mouth Pada Givanda Store Denpasar,” J. EMAS, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 28–42, 2021.
S. Ozer, “The Effect of Social Media on Consum er Buying Decision Process,” Natl. Coll. Irel., no. August, 2012.
Y. K. Dwivedi et al., “Setting the future of digital and social media marketing research: Perspectives and research propositions,” Int. J. Inf. Manage., vol. 59, no. May 2020, p. 102168, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102168.
A. A. Alalwan, “Investigating the impact of social media advertising features on customer purchase intention,” Int. J. Inf. Manage., vol. 42, no. June, pp. 65–77, 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.06.001.
I. F. Salman and Adhi Prasetyo, “The Influence of Social Media Marketing on Purchase Decision Through Brand Trust as an Intervening Variable,” Husnayain Bus. Rev., vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 21–32, 2025, doi: 10.54099/hbr.v5i1.1276.
Y. BİLGİN, “the Effect of Social Media Marketing Activities on Brand Awareness, Brand Image and Brand Loyalty,” Bus. Manag. Stud. An Int. J., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 128–148, 2018, doi: 10.15295/bmij.v6i1.229.
N. S. Ahmad, S. A. Bakar, and R. Musa, “Exploring the roles of social media content marketing (SMCM) towards return on investment (ROI): A conceptual paper,” Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. Humanit., vol. 25, no. February, pp. 261–268, 2017.
G. Holliman and J. Rowley, “Business to business digital content marketing: Marketers’ perceptions of best practice,” J. Res. Interact. Mark., vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 269–293, 2014, doi: 10.1108/JRIM-02-2014-0013.
C. Lou and Q. Xie, “Something social, something entertaining? How digital content marketing augments consumer experience and brand loyalty,” Int. J. Advert., vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 376–402, 2021, doi: 10.1080/02650487.2020.1788311.
C. du Plessis, “A Scoping Review of the Effect of Content Marketing on Online Consumer Behavior,” SAGE Open, vol. 12, no. 2, 2022, doi: 10.1177/21582440221093042.
A. Widyastuti, Marsudi, and L. D. Hilmi, “The Effect of The Electronic Word of Mouth on Purchase Decision with Image as Intervening Variable,” Jamanika (Jurnal Manaj. Bisnis dan Kewirausahaan), vol. 2, no. 03, pp. 226–234, 2022, doi: 10.22219/jamanika.v2i03.22085.
M. A. Sintiya, N. Aziz, and A. Praharjo, “The Influence of Electronic Word of Mouth (e-WOM) and Brand Awareness on Purchase Decision,” Jamanika (Jurnal Manaj. Bisnis dan Kewirausahaan), vol. 3, no. 02, pp. 111–119, 2023, doi: 10.22219/jamanika.v3i02.27361.
M. R. Jalilvand, S. S. Esfahani, and N. Samiei, “Electronic word- of-mouth: Challenges and opportunities,” Procedia Comput. Sci., vol. 3, pp. 42–46, 2011, doi: 10.1016/j.procs.2010.12.008.
T. Hennig-Thurau, K. P. Gwinner, G. Walsh, and D. D. Gremler, “Electronic word- of-mouth via consumer-opinion platforms: What motivates consumers to articulate themselves on the Internet?,” J. Interact. Mark., vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 38–52, 2004, doi: 10.1002/dir.10073.
L. Purwianti, J. Jason, and E. Yulianto, “The Influence of Price Value, E-WOM, Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavior Control on Online Purchase Intentions through Attitude,” MEC-J (Management Econ. Journal), vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 265–284, 2024, doi: 10.18860/mec-j.v8i3.28891.
H. Hendro and K. Keni, “eWOM dan Trust sebagai Prediktor terhadap Purchase Intention: Brand Image sebagai Variabel Mediasi,” J. Komun., vol. 12, no. 2, p. 298, 2020, doi: 10.24912/jk.v12i2.7760.
F. A. Siddiqui, H. Zafar, and A. Naseem, “The Impact of Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing and Online Convenience on Consumer Buying Decision Process in Fashion Apparel Industry of Pakistan,” Crit. Rev. Soc. Sci. Stud., vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 932–952, 2025.
J. F. Hair, W. C. Black, B. J. Babin, and R. E. Anderson, Multivariate Data Analysis: A Global Perspective, 7th editio. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2010.
I. Ghozali, Partial Least Squares Konsep, Teknik Dan Aplikasi Menggunakan Program SmartPLS 3.2.9 Untuk Penelitian Empiris. Semarang: Semarang : Badan Penerbit Universitas Diponegoro, 2021.
J. F. Hair, G. T. M. Hult, C. Ringle, and M. Sarstedt, A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Sage Publications, 2017.
S. Dwintri Nata and T. Sudarwanto, “Effectiveness of Brand Image, Content Marketing, and Quality Product on Purchase Decision of J-GLOW Products,” J. Econ. Bus. Aseanomics, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 78–91, 2022, doi: 10.33476/jeba.v7i1.2448.
F. A. Nasution, P. Ginting, A. S. Silalahi, and S. H. Situmorang, “The Influence of Content Marketing, Price, Product Quality On Purchase Decisions In The Online Marketplace Tiktok Shop SHOP,” Proceeding 2nd Medan Int. Econ. Bus., vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 2212–2217, 2024.
Copyright (c) 2025 Husnil Hidayat, Perengki Susanto, Dina Patrisia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
