The Role of Social Media Engagement in Influencing Customer Loyalty in Saudi Banking Industry

Abstract

Social media has gained significant popularity in the modern era, as people are spending an increasing amount of time over platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This has instigated the organizations to amend their marketing communication techniques and to invest in the development of activities which may engage the customers. The aim of this research paper is to determine the role of social media engagement in influencing the customer loyalty from the perspective of the banking sector of Saudi Arabia. In order to ascertain this role, a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods has been employed in order to obtain relevant data and to come up with the conclusions. The regression analysis and the in-depth analysis of the qualitative data have established that the use of social media engagement has influenced the customers' loyalty in the banking sector. Therefore, banks should further focus on the social media in enhancing the customers' loyalty. Moreover, qualitative analysis suggests that customer loyalty gives strength to the financial position of the banks.

Millennial behavioural intention in Islamic banks: the role of social media influencers

“…In the past, consumers tended to get information from the company via traditional media such as television or printed media, but now they use social media and other internet sources of information (Pick, 2020). The use of SMIs as marketing influencers is widespread in lifestyle brands, but not in financial firms such as banks (Ajina, 2019; Mohd Thas Thaker et al , 2020). There are many benefits for banks using SMIs.…”

“…Firstly, the current social media platforms are crowded, and targeting the right audience is not only difficult, but it is also crucial for a specialized bank. Instead of broadcasting content media, SMIs can help banks to reach their target audience and make a meaningful connection with them (Ajina, 2019). Secondly, the power of SMIs is not limited to marketing a brand on social media, they also can help to rebrand the bank and support launching new banking services (Ghahroud et al , 2020).…”

Social Media, Islamic Financial Literacy, and Islamic Banking Product Ownership: A Moderating Model

“…Tutberidze et al (2020) prove that there is a positive influence between social media engagement on the intention to buy a Sharia product. Ajina (2019) proves that the concept of social media engagement has a significant positive effect on increasing consumer loyalty at banks in Saudi Arabia in strengthening the financial aspect.…”

Türkiye’deki mevduat ve katılım bankalarının sosyal medya kullanımı: İnstagram değerlendirme endeksi ile karşılaştırmalı bir çalışma

“…Sosyal medya platformlarının sağladığı tüm bu avantajlar uzun vadede müşteri sadakatini de beraberinde getirmektedir (Mousavi, Rad, ve Asayesh 2015). Ajina (2019)'nın Suudi Arabistan bankacılık sektöründe sosyal medya kullanımının müşteri sadakatine etkisini incelediği çalışmasında, sosyal medya etkileşiminin müşteri sadakatini etkilediği; sadakatin ise bankanın mali yapısını güçlendirdiği belirtilmiştir. Bezer bir şekilde Chung, Animesh, Han ve Pinsonneault (2014) sosyal medya kullanımının piyasa performansı ile önemli ölçüde ilişkili olduğunu ve tüketicilerin davranışlarını firmaya kar sağlayacak ölçüde arttığını tespit etmişlerdir.…”