Effects of Facebook Fan Pages on Consumer Brand Loyalty and Purchase Intention

Business organisations use Facebook fan pages to market their brand by tapping into virtual communities to attract customers. This study investigates whether consumers joining Facebook fan pages identify with and trust brand communities by assessing sense of belonging, interactivity and word-of-mouth advertising and whether these factors positively impact brand loyalty and purchase intentions. Through an online survey, 468 questionnaires were obtained. Structural equation modelling was employed to analyse the correlation between variables; the relation between the variables was studied using the modelling results to determine whether these variables could increase customers’ purchase intentions. Sense of belonging and interactivity positively affect brand community identification, and positive word-of-mouth and information value positively impact brand community trust. Moreover, brand community identification has a positive effect on brand community trust, brand community identification and trust positively affect brand loyalty, and brand loyalty positively affects purchase intention.