Page 82 - MARSIUM'21 COMP OF PAPER

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES TO INCREASE BRAND OF A TRADITIONAL

CHINESE PASTRY SHOP – CHOP KEK LIAN SENG

Yap Kai Ying, Dr. Grace Thoo Ai Chin

Azman Hashim International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru.

*Corresponding author: kaiying1998@graduate.utm.my

Abstract

Covid-19 has a wide range of effects on e-commerce and technology. The crisis has forced some retail

stores to stop operating. During the pandemic, the use of e-commerce and online retail applications is
increased significantly. This trend has triggered the social media as one of the effective marketing

channels to communicate brand-related information by stimulating brand engagement and brand
knowledge among consumers. In this case study, Chop Kek Liang, as a traditional Chinese pastry shop is

facing the problems like low brand awareness and brand image due to limited social media interaction.
Before designing a comprehensive social marketing plan for Chop Kian Lai Seng, this study firstly

examined the factors that influence the brand awareness and brand image of pastry shops in general. A

quantitative method using surveys was distributed via Google form. Purposive sampling technique was
used, and data was collected from respondents who are using social media platforms as interaction with

others in Malaysia to buy pastry products. The total usable data for the study is 169. The findings show
that there are positive and significant relationships between social media interaction, customer brand

engagement, brand awareness and brand image. Marketing strategies were conducted on the Facebook
page of Chop Kek Lian Seng for 2 months and the social media strategies successfully and effectively

increased the brand awareness and brand image of the company. In short, social media interaction is the

best-implemented strategy in the development of brand awareness and brand image for Chop Kek Lian
Seng. Therefore, this study has provided deeper insight into social media interaction for retailing industry

to enhance the brand awareness and brand image

Keywords: Social media interaction, brand awareness, brand engagement, brand image.

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