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drive brand equity of electronic component retailers. From the findings, this study proposed and implemented the marketing
strategies that could increase the brand equity of Top One Technology Sdn. Bhd.

1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

This study listed three main research objectives:

RO1: To identify the factors that drive the brand equity of electronic component retailers.
RO2: To implement marketing strategies that could increase the brand equity of Top One Technology Sdn. Bhd.
RO3: To examine the best implemented marketing strategies that could increase the brand equity of Top One Technology
Sdn. Bhd.

⬛ 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 SOCIAL MEDIA BRAND COMMUNICATION

The Internet is evolved from a military-only network (Naughton, 2016) to its present position as one of the developed
world's primary sources of information and communication. The Internet's presence and Web 2.0 innovation have altered how
people live and interact (Curran et al., 2012). Web 2.0 or collaborative web are often used interchangeably with social media
(Berthon et al., 2012). Social media has become embedded in people's daily lives as a means of communication, information
exchange, and content creation (Khalid, 2016). The term "social media" refers to a virtual network where people may express
themselves, share ideas, and regulate communications from any location (Jha, 2019). Furthermore, from a business perspective,
social media is often used as a marketing and sales tool (Royle & Laing, 2014). Two common characteristics contribute to the
definition of social media. First, social media platforms need involvement. Second, social media require interaction (Jimmie,
2014). Social media contributes to increased sales, customer engagement in the brand creation process, brand recognition,
favorable brand connotations, and consumer loyalty (Fournier & Avery, 2011). According to Rudloff and Frey (2010), users
place a higher weight on social media recommendations than business advertisements. As a result, marketers have now
embraced social media as a very effective marketing tool (Appel et al., 2020). Therefore, to assess the effect of social media
brand communications, it is essential to differentiate between two types: (1) firm-created communications and (2) user-
generated communications (Godes & Mayzlin, 2009).

2.1.1 User-generated content (UGC)
User-generated content (UGC) is any digital material produced and shared freely by users of different social
media platforms or websites in the form of videos, images, blogs, tweets, and articles (Naem & Okafor, 2019). UGC is
often referred to as electronic word–of–mouth (e-WOM), functions identically to traditional word–of–mouth (WOM)
(Manap & Adzharudin, 2013). UGC on social media platforms and search engines significantly impact consumers' online
purchases (Ghose et al., 2012). For instance, Stephen and Galak (2012) found that certain social interactions on social
media platforms, such as referring friends features and debates in online forums, may benefit critical marketing outcomes
including new customer acquisition and sales. According to Sethna et al. (2017), UGC is useful for business because it
enhances brand awareness, broadens market reach, and gains customer insight. As highlighted by Sulianta and Sapriya
(2019), the benefits of the UGC platform include business-oriented advertising, community engagement, valuable
information from users, constant accessibility, and active interaction between viewers, which has made it as an outstanding
information tool feature. Studies such as Müller and Christandl (2019) reported the content influence on the content
response of sponsored and user-generated content. Besides, Crowston and Fagnot (2018) highlighted the user's motivation
to participate in user-generated content.

2.1.2 Firm-created content (FCC)
Firm-created content (FCC) is defined as content produced by marketers for official brand pages on social media
platforms (Colicev et al., 2019). Recent research has shown that the connection between social media and business success
is mainly due to its impact on customer attitudes and behaviour (Hewett et al., 2016). According to Kumar et al. (2015),
FCC has a more significant effect on consumers who have remained with a business for an extended period and on
customers who are tech-savvy and active on social media. Several studies have proven that FCC has a significant impact
on the engagement and interactions of users (Hernández-Ortega et al., 2020; Huertas & Marine-Roig, 2016; Pletikosa
Cvijikj & Michahelles, 2013). According to Yilmaz and Tuncel (2020), FCC is beneficial for businesses to attract and
engage customers by producing compelling content on their social media platforms. Meanwhile, Nisar et al. (2020) found
that FCC is useful to improve firm reputation through information diversity toward users and valence.

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