The effects of social media marketing on brand equity in Chinese fashion industry: A study of young adults

Abstract Brand equity plays a key role in companies’ profitability, which can reflect consumers’ attitudes and feelings towards a brand. This study investigates the effects of social media marketing on brand equity. Because of the increasing interest in social media marketing among fashion brands, Chinese fashion industry is chosen as the research context. The current study adopts a qualitative methodology, interviewing 20 Chinese young adults in order to understand their relevant feelings and experiences in detail. The results of this study indicate that social media has changed the way of brand communication, which has significant impact on brand equity. Companies’ statements and marketing activities on social media both can more or less influence customer-based brand equity. The impacts on customer-based brand equity may be positive or negative. Details of this are provided in the part of findings. In addition, the fashion bloggers’ recommendations and user-generated information play an important role in customers’ attitudes towards a fashion brand. Keywords: Social media, brand equity, fashion bran