The impact of social media communication has on brand attitudes in the South African fast-food industry.

Abstract

In this study did the research examine to what extent the social media presence of fast-food brands in South Africa influence brand love, trust, and engagement. This study focussed on young South African active Facebook users, their engagement towards fast-food brands on Facebook were measured in order to determine the brand love and trust that comes from the engagement. According to Abel and Roshan (2022), the South African fast-food industry will reach $4.9 billion in 2026, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.9 percent over the next five years. South Africa has the largest food service market in sub-Saharan Africa as well as a highly competitive hospitality industry. The food service industry is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period, despite negative impacts on several economic parameters. This thesis delivers some insights for fast-food chains in South Africa which could assist them in social media marketing. Social commerce could account for approximately R5 billion in South Africa (Stewart, 2022). This year alone, R7 billion will be generated in sales revenue, which could increase to R21 billion (Stewart, 2022). The next three years will see a 2-billion rand increase (Stewart, 2022). Social commerce refers to brands selling directly to consumers via a platform (Stewart, 2022). As well as influencers, refer to brands engaging their followers to drive sales, and thirdly, individual sellers who sell to their own networks (Stewart, 2022). With e-commerce and the fast-food industry growing in South Africa is it needed for fast-food brands to determine how to cut through the online clutter and to build brand love and trust through brand engagement. With the Covid-19 pandemic which made an impact on many organizations globally, have they made the shift towards social media platforms to attract and retain customers (Davis, 2022). Organizations are rethinking how they will use social media to enhance customer loyalty in 2023 (Davis, 2022). Brands use social media as a touchpoint to engage their customers these days, creating an omnichannel experience for the consumer (Davis, 2022). It is particularly true for millennials, who currently account for over 90% of global social media usage, and whose collective spending power now exceeds $1.4 trillion (Davis, 2022). Additionally, 95% of internet users between the ages of 18 and 34 follow at least one brand on social media (Davis, 2022). ii Fast-food chains continue to create effective marketing strategies to entice loyal customers, ultimately leading to remaining competitive in a competitive business world and gaining more market share (Omran, 2021). Brand love, trust, and engagement of consumers are influenced by the social media presence of Facebook brand pages, this study covers to what extent does Facebook pages influence consumers.