The influence of social media and brand equity on business-to-business marketing

Abstract

Purpose – Brand equity (BE) can be strengthened by the strategic association of brand heritage (BH) with social media (SM) in business-to-business (B2B) markets. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative research using cognitive maps. Findings – BH empowers BE and should be explored within B2B communications. Research limitations/implications – Brand image and other BH dimensions should be measured in next studies. Practical implications – BH strongly influences SM, especially the fan loyalty, and impacts BE in all dimensions. Social implications – Research shows marketing mix impacted, BE reinforcement and willingness to pay a premium price. Originality/value – Interaction between BH, SM and BE in B2B has not been evaluated yet.

Keywords

• Brand equity
• Brand heritage
• Social media
• B2B marketing