Authors: Ashoka K. G, Shilpa Bhat N. H, Mahendra H. R, Karthik Naik
Abstract: Background: Firms increasingly invest in social media marketing activities (SMMAs), yet published studies differ in the activities measured, mechanisms proposed, and outcomes reported. Objective: To identify the dominant SMMA dimensions, explain how they influence consumer and brand outcomes, evaluate the quality of the evidence, and define a focused future research agenda. Methods: A publisher-bounded systematic review was reported according to PRISMA 2020 and PRISMA-S. Emerald Insight, Springer Nature Link, Wiley Online Library, Taylor & Francis Online, and SAGE Journals were searched for English-language, peer-reviewed empirical studies published from 2015 to 14 March 2026. Two-stage screening was applied to a register of 66 records. Thirty studies met the eligibility criteria. Data were extracted on context, design, SMMA dimensions, mechanisms, outcomes, and findings. Study quality was assessed with design-appropriate Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool criteria. Because constructs and effect measures were heterogeneous, results were synthesised narratively rather than meta-analytically. Results: The final evidence base contained six studies from each publisher group. Twenty-five studies used cross-sectional surveys, most commonly with structural equation modelling. Entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customisation, informativeness, electronic word-of-mouth support, and promotions were the main SMMA dimensions. The most consistent pattern was indirect: SMMAs shaped cognitive mechanisms such as brand awareness, image, credibility, value, and equity; relational mechanisms such as trust, experience, love, satisfaction, and self-brand connection; and engagement mechanisms. These mechanisms then influenced loyalty, purchase or visit intention, repurchase, electronic word of mouth, customer equity, and, in one study, financial performance. Longitudinal evidence was rare and did not always confirm the positive cross-sectional pattern. Limitations: The review was intentionally limited to five publisher platforms, English-language journal articles, and studies published from 2015 onward. Most included studies relied on self-reported, single-country, cross-sectional data. Formal publication-bias tests and certainty grading were not appropriate without a pooled effect estimate. Conclusion: SMMAs generally create outcomes through trust, brand experience or equity, satisfaction, and engagement rather than through stable direct effects. Future research should use longitudinal, experimental, multi-source, and objective-performance designs. Registration and funding: The review was not registered and no separate protocol was published. No specific funding was received.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21413824
