The Influence of Social Media Marketing Activities on Brand Equity and Customer Response on Laidlunos

: The Indonesian cosmetics industry is expected to experience sustainable growth from 2023 to 2028, driven by a growing interest in health and beauty among the public. This increased awareness has led to higher revenues in the beauty and skincare sectors, especially for local skincare brands. With 213 million internet users and 167 million active social media users, social media plays a crucial role in brand marketing in this industry. Despite producing more content, Laidlunos has struggled to increase social media engagement. This study investigates how social media marketing impacts brand equity and customer response to Laidlunos in Indonesia's growing cosmetics market. Using a quantitative approach with causal and descriptive objectives, the research surveyed a non-probability sample of 385 respondents. It proposes that various aspects of social media marketing, including entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization, and risk reduction, have a positive influence on brand equity and customer response. The study aims to improve Laidlunos' social media strategy by identifying the factors that contribute to brand equity and elicit positive customer reactions. By examining these dynamics, this research provides insights into optimizing social media marketing to enhance brand equity and customer response in the Indonesian skincare sector.


INTRODUCTION
Indonesia's cosmetics industry is experiencing a significant boom, fueled by a growing national interest in self-care and maintaining a healthy appearance.This trend can be attributed to several factors, including the recent COVID-19 pandemic.With more people spending extended periods at home, there's been a heightened focus on personal well-being, leading to a surge in the popularity of local skincare products.
As a result of this growing interest in local skincare, Indonesia's beauty and personal care industry has seen a significant boost in revenue (Statista Research Departement, 2023a).The beauty industry's growth in Indonesia isn't just about income; it's fueling a boom in local cosmetics and personal care products.This surge in demand has led to a wider variety of skincare products available, catering to the growing focus on individual skin health (Statista Research Departement, 2023b).People are placing a greater emphasis on skin health and looks, leading to an increased need for skincare products (Mariska & Middot, 2023).The abundance of skincare products creates a springboard for innovative newcomers.These businesses can introduce targeted solutions with powerful ingredients to address the wide range of skin concerns consumers face today (Putra, 2023).
Further evidence of the industry's potential comes from the Perhimpunan Perusahaan dan Asosiasi Kosmetika Indonesia (PPA Kosmetika Indonesia).According to their data, the number of Indonesian cosmetics companies has witnessed a remarkable growth of 21.9%, rising from 913 companies in 2022 to 1,010 by mid-2023.This rapid increase signifies a highly competitive landscape, where local brands are influenced by consumer lifestyles, perceptions, and product usage patterns.This competitive environment allows them to develop products that can stand toe-to-toe with imported brands.
Social media use is also on the rise, reaching 167 million active users (60.4%) in January 2023, with an expected upward trend (Hootsuite, 2024).The digital age has transformed marketing, with social media becoming an essential tool across all industries, especially in the economic sector (Hafez, 2022).Social media has become a cornerstone of marketing, offering businesses innovative tools to connect and engage with existing and potential customers (Ebrahim, 2020).Technological advancements have fueled a social media boom, with platforms like Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram boasting massive user bases globally (  ).Fueled by this booming digital landscape, social media has become a powerful marketing tool for the Indonesian cosmetics industry.
These highly active platforms act as trend accelerators, rapidly spreading ideas and trends across the world, including Indonesia (Dixon, 2023).Indonesian brands are jumping on the social media marketing bandwagon, with Facebook and Instagram leading the charge.Statista data shows Facebook is the top platform for marketers globally (January 2023), and Indonesia boasts a massive user base on both platforms (Dencheva, 2023).Recognizing this potential, Indonesian brands are increasingly embracing social media marketing.Statista data suggests Facebook will remain the top platform for global marketers in 2023, with a survey revealing 89% of social media marketers utilizing it.Instagram also holds significant weight, with 80% of marketers leveraging its power.This trend extends to Indonesia, boasting a substantial user base of approximately 104.8 million on Instagram (as of November 2023), ranking fourth globally.Businesses have capitalized on this by leveraging social media to boost brand and product awareness, ultimately driving traffic to their websites.
The rise in skincare enthusiasts in Indonesia directly correlates with the increasing number of social media users.This trend is further fuelled by an expanding digital population with improved internet access and affordable smartphones.Social media has become an integral part of Indonesian life, acting as a primary platform for communication and interaction.Recognizing its vast potential, local skincare brands, including Laidlunos, have embraced social media marketing, primarily utilizing Instagram to raise brand awareness and promote their products.Collaborations with influencers and endorsers further amplify their reach and product visibility.This highlights the crucial role social media plays in the current Indonesian cosmetics landscape, offering a powerful platform for brands like Laidlunos to connect with a growing base of potential customers.
The goal of social media marketing is to help customers understand the products and services offered by businesses (Utami & Sugiat, 2023).Social media marketing activity are key tactics used by brands to build brand awareness and attract potential customers, ultimately leading to customer acquisition (Saputra & Fadhilah, 2022).By consistently showcasing and reinforcing their brand on social media, companies can leverage its power to elevate brand awareness in the eyes of customers (Ana Margarida Barreto, 2019).According to Laidlunos' social media activity histories, Laidlunos had a thriving presence on Instagram, with significant growth until March 2023, suggesting a strong focus on social media marketing during that time.There was a shift starting from April 2023, and the activity showed inconsistent declines and occasional surges.Interestingly, despite this instability, October 2023 marked a record high in Instagram posts.This aims to achieve what should be achieved, namely brand awareness, which leads to customer response (Seo & Park, 2018).
Although Laidlunos' Instagram activity fluctuated, the overall trend indicates an upward trajectory, aligning with their goals of boosting brand awareness, image, and customer engagement through social media marketing on Instagram.Research by Bilgin (2018) supports this approach, showing a significant correlation between social media marketing activities and positive impacts on brand awareness, image, and even loyalty.Significantly, social media activity influences brand awareness, making it essential for reminding consumers about a brand and maintaining a solid presence in their minds (Bilgin, 2018).
Several studies highlight the positive impact of social media marketing activities (SMMAs) on brand equity.Seo and Park (2018) and Anugerah & Kusumahadi (2021) demonstrate that SMMAs effectively enhance brand awareness and image, fostering a more robust customer connection.This aligns with Ajaib's potential to leverage social media for similar gains.However, Bilgin (2018) suggests a potentially nuanced relationship.While Bilgin acknowledges a positive impact on brand loyalty and image, its findings indicate a weaker influence on brand awareness.This potential contradiction might be attributed to different research methodologies or industry specificities.
Building brand awareness is crucial, but it is just the first step.Increased visibility through SMMAs can lead to more substantial customer commitment (Seo & Park, 2018).This is further supported by the findings of this study, which reveal a positive and significant impact of brand awareness and image on e-WOM and commitment.In conclusion, social media marketing is valuable in building brand equity.By fostering brand awareness and image, SMMAs can create a foundation for stronger customer relationships and loyalty.However, it is essential to acknowledge potential variations in the strength of these relationships across different industries or research approaches.
This study delves into the elements that contribute to strong brand equity and encourage customer interaction on social media platforms.Five key factors that influence a brand's social media marketing effectiveness: entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization, and word-of-mouth (Godey et al., 2016).By analyzing these factors, we aim to understand how brands can leverage social media to build lasting customer relationships and achieve positive brand perception.

LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT Social Media Marketing Activity
Social media platforms have become integrated into marketing strategies, enabling businesses to utilize the novel mechanisms and communication tools afforded by this technology for engaging and communicating with both existing and prospective customers (Ebrahim, 2020) Social media has developed into a forum for consumer discussion and idea sharing.Social media interactions allow users to meet and engage with other users as well as gain insight and knowledge about how to use and respect particular brands or products (Muntinga et al., 2011).The ability to share and exchange information with others is referred to as an interaction characteristic in social media (Liu et al., 2021).Users learn about a brand through social media interactions, (Seo & Park, 2018).c.Trendiness Another aspect of social media marketing activities is trendiness, which involves providing customers with the most recent and relevant product information (Godey et al., 2016).According to Godey et al. (2016), trendiness refers to offering the most recent information about products and services on social media.

d. Customization
Businesses can use social media for customisation, specifically as a way to interact with customers and build brand preference and loyalty (Martin & Todorov, 2010).According to Godey et al. (2016), customisation in social media refers to the intended consumer target.e. Perceived Risk As a part of social media marketing activities (SMMA), perceived risk is the risk that customers choose and accept.It can help to lessen the anxiety and concern that customers feel directly (Seo & Park, 2018).

Social Media Marketing Activity and Brand Equity
Social Media Marketing Activity is a marketing activity that utilizes social media features which are expected to increase brand awareness and brand image of the company (Lestari Adriana & Widodo, 2019).SMMAs positively influence brand image, and a strong brand image in turn strengthens brand equity (Peng et al., 2024).By crafting SMMAs that cultivate a positive brand image, brands can amplify the impact of their social media efforts (Peng et al., 2024).Building on prior research, [NO_PRINTED_FORM] [26] conclude that Social Media Marketing Activities (SMMAs) have a direct influence of on brand equity.Therefore, the researchers have proposed the following hypotheses: H1: Social media marketing activities have a positive effect on brand awareness.H2: Social media marketing activities have a positive effect on brand image.

Brand Equity
Acording to [27], Brand equity is the monetary value of a brand that represents the premium on a company's valuation due to its brand ownership.The net present value of the total financial returns that a brand will produce over its lifetime is what brand equity entails.To ensure a company's financial well-being, it is critical to comprehend the concept of brand equity, manage its antecedents and consequences, and develop methodologies to assess brand equity.[NO_PRINTED_FORM] [27] also mentioned that the accounting concept of goodwill, which is the total monetary value of a company's intangible assets, includes brand equity.According to Keller (1993) in [13] it elaborated on brand equity by dissecting it into brand awareness and brand image, introducing the concept of 'customer-based brand equity.' Brand equity resides in a consumer's memory as a distinctive value distinguishing it from other brands, amalgamating diverse brand attributes.Hence, Keller (1993) and Seo & Park (2018) also highlight that brand equity transcends a product name, representing a socio-cultural phenomenon and symbolic meaning sought by the brand.
A. Brand Awareness According to [NO_PRINTED_FORM] [28], brand awareness refers to a consumer's ability to identify and recall a brand that is associated with a product.According to some theories, brand awareness is a gauge of how well a brand is remembered by consumers.

B. Brand Image
In marketing terms, brand image is the schematic memory of a brand; it is the market's interpretation of the features, benefits, applications, and traits of the product or marketer.When consumers hear or see a brand name, they have these thoughts and emotions in mind.In essence, a consumer's learned associations make up a brand's image [29].Only then will it be able to create a brand image that is relevant, trustworthy, and gains recognition among the targeted market segments [30].

Customer Response
Consumer response provides valuable insights into the post-purchase experience, reflecting customer satisfaction with a product's quality, price, and other aspects (Godey et al., 2016).When brands and consumers interact, commitment should be mutual [24].Engagements on social media between brands and customers hold substantial influence over consumer opinions and behaviours [31]

Brand Equity and E-WOM
Social media marketing activities (SMMAs) positively impact brand image, which consequently results in elevated electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) [13].Creating a favorable brand image for a business influences online or digital sources of consumer word-of-mouth (Laelian & Widodo, 2021).Previous research by Godey et al. (2016) found that the brand image variable significantly affects e-WOM.Therefore, the researchers have proposed the following hypotheses: H3: Brand awareness has a positive effect on e-WOM.H4: Brand image has a positive effect on e-WOM.

Brand Equity and Commitment
Brand image significantly influences e-WOM and commitment, indicating that SMMAs benefit brands by shaping customer sentiment and e-WOM (Seo & Park, 2018).Additionally, brand image has been found to positively and significantly impact commitment (Anugerah & Kusumahadi, 2021).Laelian and Widodo (2021) similarly concluded in their research that both brand awareness and brand image significantly affect customer commitment.Based on these findings, the researchers propose the following hypotheses: H5: Brand awareness has a positive effect on commitment.H6: Brand image has a positive effect on commitment.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Seo and Park (2018) conducted a study that examined how social media marketing activities are related to brand equity using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).Their model focused on five critical dimensions of social media marketing: entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization, and perceived risk.Brand equity, as defined by Keller (1993)

Subjects
This study, categorized as a descriptive analysis, seeks to clarify the connection between social media marketing activities and their influence on brand equity and customer response.Descriptive research is research carried out to describe an object which can be an organization or company, person, event, or situation.using a qualitative approach and a quantitative approach [32].Data will be collected through questionnaires distributed to a targeted sample of consumers who have experience using Laidlunos skincare products.The author collected data using a Google Forms questionnaire distributed through online media, namely Instagram, Line, WhatsApp, and Twitter.As a result, the author obtained valid surveys from 385 participants.The gathered data will be analysed using SmartPLS 4.0 software.The respondents' characteristics were categorized by gender, age, occupation, monthly income, and information source.
A sample is a part or component of a population, meaning that several members of the population will form a sample [32].A sample taken will be influenced by several factors such as the costs incurred, the energy required, the researcher's time and opportunity, and the equipment needed to take the sample [33].The research utilized a purposive sampling technique.Purposive sampling defined by Sekaran & Bougie is a limited to certain types of people who can provide information according to what the researcher needs, some of whom meet the criteria set by the researcher.The purposive sampling technique in this research refers to the criteria required, namely respondents who have used the Laidlunos skincare brand.In this study, the number of consumers who have used the Laidlunos skincare brand in Indonesia has yet to be discovered, Therefore, the sample size for this study was determined using the Bernoulli calculation.The calculation shows 384.16, so the number of samples used in the research is 384.16,rounded up to 385 respondents.Based on this sample size, the minimum number of respondents required in this research is 385.In this study, 385 respondents used skincare products from Laidlunos.

Measurement
The assessment method used in the study was an online survey, which was developed based on theories from previous research on social media marketing activity, brand awareness, brand image, e-WoM, and commitment.Table 1 provides details of the measurement instrument for each variable used.Participants answered the survey using a seven-point Likert scale, where 5 indicated "strongly agree" and 1 indicated "strongly disagree."This approach allowed for the evaluation of the content validity of each assessment question.

Structural Equation Modelling
In this study, the researcher used quantitative methods are used to gather data from specific populations or samples, and quantitative or statistical data analysis is performed to evaluate pre-existing hypotheses.Researchers used quantitative methods, gathering data from a sample population, and applying SEM-PLS (Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares) for statistical analysis to test pre-existing hypotheses.Structural equation modelling (SEM) is a statistical method used to test the relationship between observed variables and latent variables.PLS-SEM is a variant-based statistical technique for solving matters related to multiple regression [34].In this research, we used the PLS-SEM data analysis technique.PLS-SEM involves two main procedures: the measurement model and the structural model.The measurement model, including the reflective measurement model, evaluates the validity and reliability of the data.This involves examining individual items and conducting tests for convergent validity, discriminant validity (using measures like AVE, Fornell-Larcker, Cross-Loading, etc.), and reliability tests (commonly using composite and alpha models).After evaluating the measurement model, we assess the structural model to determine the relationships between the measured constructs.This evaluation involves examining the significance of the relationship between constructs or variables using T-tests from partial least squares and analyzing the path coefficient and R-squared value.PLS-SEM analysis consists of two essential stages: the SEM measurement model and the SEM structural model, in which the data is assessed for validity and reliability.

Discriminant Validity
According to Indrawati (2015), discriminant validity checks whether the measures used for different variables are genuinely distinct.It ensures that items measuring one concept are not accidentally capturing another concept they were not intended to measure.A variable has good discriminant validity if the square root of its Average Variance Extracted (AVE) is higher than its correlation with any other variable in the model.This means the measure captures more variance from its intended construct than shares with other constructs [35].The findings of the correlation values between the study's variables are displayed in Table 3.   Indrawati (2015) states that evaluating the structural model-also known as the inner model-The second test assesses the relationships between a focal latent variable and other latent variables in the structural inner model (Indrawati, 2015).Testing involves examining the path value to determine if the effect is significant.Additionally, we used PLS bootstrapping to calculate the study's t-value.The path coefficients, t-values, and p-values, along with the results, are computed and displayed in Table 5.With an acceptable level of significance of 5% in this study, an important correlation between the independent and dependent variables is present if the t-value is greater than 1.65 and the p-value is less than 0.

Goodness of Fit Testing
Fitness is a statistical measure that reflects how closely a model, or a set of estimated values aligns with the actual data, which is a predetermined reference of the exact dimensions (Zikmund et al.  3) The third hypothesis (H3), stating that brand awareness positively influences electronic word-of-mouth (e-WoM), is supported.
The bootstrapping analysis using SmartPLS confirms H3's acceptance, with the T-statistic at 8.750 and a p-value of 0, signifying a significant impact of brand awareness on e-WoM.Therefore, brand awareness positively affects Laidlunos' e-WoM.This study contradicts previous research that indicates brand awareness does not influence e-WoM.For instance, a study on Tokopedia e-commerce found that brand awareness had no impact on e-WoM, suggesting it does not motivate consumers to interact voluntarily through online media (Adriana & Widodo, 2019).Similarly, research on the Eiger clothing industry showed that brand awareness did not affect e-WoM (Laelian & Widodo, 2021).Additionally, a study on South Korean 2023 . According to Steinhoff et al., 2019, and Lamberton and Stephen, 2016 in (Johansson & Zhu, 2023) social media marketing capitalises on the seamless, omnichannel, highly personalised, and anthropomorphized nature of online relationships.It has been applied in theory and practice as a market intelligence source, a decision-support tool, and a facilitator of individual expression.It makes it possible for people to communicate with each other in a variety of ways and for companies and marketers to engage with customers and businesses directly (Appel et al., 2020).Numerous researchers have examined the aspects of social media marketing in their own contexts in earlier studies.In studies carried out by (Yadav & Rahman (2018); Chen & Lin (2019)) activities that related to social media marketing have been divided into categories such as word-of-mouth, customisation, trends, information, and interactions.The five dimensions of social media marketing activity that were taken up by this study were taken from research done by Seo & Park (2018).They are as follows: a. Entertainment According to Bilgin (2018), entertainment plays a significant role in motivating consumer behaviour and fostering favourable brand perceptions among social media followers.In the meantime, (Seo & Park, 2018) clarify that enjoyment from social media leads to entertainment.People use social media as an excuse to have fun, find entertainment, and create online communities around their interests.b.Interaction . In the earlier research, Seo & Park (2018) separated customer responses into two categories: e-WOM, which is consumer behaviour, and commitment, which is an emotional response from customers.According to (Bickart and Schindler, 2001; Pitta and Fowler, 2005) in (Seo & Park, 2018) the study divides consumer response into two categories: behavioral response and emotional response.
and cited bySeo and Park (2018), and brand image.In addition, Seo and Park (2018) categorized customer responses as behavioral and emotional, with Electronic Word-of-Mouth (e-WOM) falling into the behavioral responses category and commitment classified as an emotional response.Expanding on this study, the research model analyzes the influence of social media marketing activities (SMMA) on e-WOM and commitment.This influence is mediated by brand awareness and brand image, which is in line with previous research(Seo & Park, 2018).

Figure 3 .
Figure 3. Inner Model Measurement Result, Source: SmartPLS 4.0 Proceed by Author (2024) , 2013).The GoF equation is as follows:  = √    2 ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅  = √0,794  0,748 ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ = 0,771 In general, GoF values range from 0 to 1. Higher values indicate a better fit between the model and the data (Ghozali & Latan, 2012).With a Goodness-of-Fit of 0.771, this model demonstrates an acceptable fit to the data.addressing research hypotheses, researchers can utilize previous data processing results.Hypothesis testing involves examining T-statistics and P-values.The criteria for accepting or rejecting the hypothesis are determined by P-values < 0.05.Here are the results of the research hypothesis testing obtained through the inner model:

Table 2 . Outer Loading Value Indicator Outer Loading
ISSN:

Table 1 ,
it is known that each variable indicator has an outer loading value > 0.70.Thus, all indicators are valid for further research and analysis.

Table 3 . Discriminant Validity Value
, high cross-loading values indicate strong correlations between variables and their intended measures, exceeding correlations with other constructs.This suggests good discriminant validity, meaning the variables are distinct and capture unique concepts.Table4displays the cross loading value for this investigation, demonstrating discriminant validity. ISSN:

Table 4
reveals high cross-loadings for each indicator, indicating that each item aligns more strongly with its intended construct compared to other constructs.This suggests that the research questionnaire meets the criteria for discriminant validity.