Does the Perception between Premium and Non-Premium Social Media Platforms Impact Brand Image in the Digital Era?

Abstract

The increasing relevance of social media (SoMe) for brand success has led marketers to focus on selecting appropriate social media platforms (SMPs) for their brand. Academic research, on the other hand, has studied SMPs separately rather than as a brand with its own associations that can play a role in fitness when a brand decides to advertise on them. The main purpose of the thesis is to investigate how consumers' associations and expectations of different SMPs affect brand perception and whether congruence between the brand and SMP plays a role in this process. The findings of this study support the hypotheses that a premium brand advertised on Instagram (premium SMP) elicits a higher level of brand perception compared to when advertised on TikTok (non-premium SMP), and that non-premium brands elicit the same results. The study also reveals that the effect of platform premiumness and brand premiumness on brand perception varies depending on the level of product involvement, with only SMP perception having a direct effect on brand perception for high involvement products. This research contributes to the understanding of the complex interplay between brand image, SMPs and consumer associations by providing practical insights for marketers looking to better target their intended customers via SMPs while avoiding potential brand image dilution.