SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING AND CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR: STRATEGIES FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has transformed marketing through the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics, and social media technologies. Social media advertising has become a driver of consumer behaviour. This paper examines the influence of social media advertising on consumer buying behaviour. A mixed research design was adopted, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Primary data were collected from 300 users of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X through questionnaires. Data collected were analyzed using regression and qualitative analysis. The findings indicate that social media advertising significantly influences consumer buying behaviour through personalization, emotional engagement, social proof, and trust. These factors enhance satisfaction, strengthen brand loyalty, and enable entrepreneurs and SMEs to expand market reach. Regression results show that social media advertising has a significant positive effect on consumer buying behaviour (R = 0.742, R² = 0.551, ? = 0.681, t = 18.945, p < 0.05). Personalized advertising significantly affects purchase intention (R = 0.698, R² = 0.487, ? = 0.624, t = 16.770, p < 0.05), while influencer marketing significantly influences consumer trust and buying decisions (R = 0.721, R² = 0.520, ? = 0.653, t = 17.948, p < 0.05). The study reveals that social media advertising promotes entrepreneurship, SME growth, market expansion, and employment creation. However, challenges such as data privacy concerns, algorithmic bias, and low digital literacy remain. The study concludes that ethical data governance, digital literacy programmes, and policy frameworks are essential for maximizing the economic benefits of social media advertising and supporting digital development.

0 23 Jun, 2026

pg: 14

JBMIC PORTAL SYSTEM

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