Effect of video marketing, blogging and infographics on digital brand engagement: evidence from the banking sector in Zimbabwe

This study examines the effect of video marketing, blogging and infographics on digital brand engagement in the banking sector in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe banking sector is unique because it operates within a highly volatile macroeconomic environment characterized by hyperinflation history, currency reforms and a multi-currency system. It has also rapidly adopted digital and mobile banking solutions to cope with cash shortages and liquidity constraints, making electronic transactions and fintech integration central to everyday financial activity. Although banks in Zimbabwe are increasingly adopting digital platforms to communicate with customers, prior research has largely focused on internet banking adoption and service quality, with limited empirical attention to how specific digital marketing strategies influence customer engagement. Moreover, existing studies often treat digital marketing as a single construct, overlooking the distinct effects of different content formats. This study addresses this gap by disaggregating digital marketing into video marketing, blogging and infographics and assessing their individual effects on digital brand engagement. The study is underpinned by the information processing theory. The study adopted a positivism philosophy, which is a research philosophy that asserts that knowledge is derived from observable, measurable and objective facts obtained through empirical investigation. It emphasizes the use of quantitative methods, hypothesis testing and statistical analysis to establish cause-and-effect relationships and generalizable findings. The study adopted a quantitative and a cross-sectional survey, as well as a structured self-administered questionnaire. Data was collected from 358 bank customers in Harare, Zimbabwe. The respondents were randomly selected by intercepting them as they left the banking halls. Structural equation modelling and multiple regression were utilised to validate the hypotheses. Reliability tests produced Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.821 to 0.902. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the model explained 64% of the variance in digital brand engagement (R² = 0.64). The findings show that infographics has the strongest positive and significant effect on digital brand engagement (R² = 0.794, p < 0.001), followed by blogging (R² = 0.613, p < 0.01) and video marketing (R² = 0.510, p < 0.001). The study contributes to digital marketing and engagement theory by demonstrating that content format significantly influences customer engagement in emerging banking markets. Practically, the findings suggest that banks should prioritize infographics strategies while integrating blogs and video-based content to enhance consumer engagement, trust and long-term brand relationships.