Effect of Engagement on Social Media and Brand Accessibility on Brand Building Strategies: A Study of Apparel Market

Introduction The exponential development of digital technology as well as the phenomenal emergence of social media platforms have altered the way consumer interacts with companies - for the fashion industry in particular, where visual appeal, accessibility and faster trend comes around dominate the consumer decision process. As brands continue to use social media as a tool for communication, promotion and relationship development, understanding the role that methods such as social media engagement and accessibility of brand have on basic aspects of brand construction has become an essential area of research. In case of apparel brands, brand building is understood, according to more recent literature from the fields of marketing, mainly with respect to brand preference, brand acceptability and adaptability, brand loyalty, and perceived brand quality, brand awareness and association, which altogether have an effect on the identification, judgement and attachment of apparel brands by consumers. The rise of social networking sites has changed one-way communication between the brand and their consumers to much more interactive, participatory and community oriented brands. Researchers drive home that this transition measures wider structural changes seen across other sectors as well where digital involvement and stakeholder engagement is a progressive influence in behavioral results (Ahmed, 2012; Alçura et al., 2016). Consequently, social media engagement does not work solely as a marketing tool, but also as a behavior ecosystem where consumer opinions, preferences and loyalty can be influenced in ways that cannot be achieved through other traditional media.