Bohr. Amr. BOHR International Journal of Advances in Management Research Bohr. Amr. 2583-6943 BOHR 10.54646/bijamr.2025.38 Comparative Study Social media marketing and influencer marketing in digital age – A comparative study Shenoy Swathi 1 † Bhojgar Deeksha 2 † Megha   2 † Chethanraj   3 * † 1Department of Customer Success, Swire Digital Center, Bengaluru, India 2Department of Commerce, Sharada College Mangalore, Mangalore, India 3Department of Commerce and Management, SDM College of Business Management, Mangalore, India *Correspondence: Chethanraj, rchethan621@gmail.com

†ORCID: Swathi Shenoy, 0009-0000-0173-395X; Deeksha Bhojgar, 0009-0002-3796-4252; Megha, 0009-0007-5101-5527; Chethanraj, 0009-0007-0069-4208

 21 08 2025 4 1 28 34 01 02 2025 28 03 2025 Copyright © 2024 Shenoy, Bhojgar, Megha, Chethanraj. 2025 Shenoy, Bhojgar, Megha, Chethanraj

© The Author(s). 2024 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Social media platforms have revolutionized marketing strategies, providing businesses with unprecedented opportunities to reach and engage with their target audiences. Two prominent marketing techniques that have gained significant popularity are social media marketing and influencer marketing. This comparative study aims to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness, benefits, challenges, and customers associated with these two approaches in the context of the digital age. This comparative study looks at social media marketing on consumer behavior in comparison with influencer marketing. In this study, we came to know that both marketing is preferable because the respondents are using social media marketing, and sometimes their product choice is based on the advertisement. Influencer marketing is also affecting consumer behavior. It is observed that the majority of respondents use digital marketing platforms frequently. Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Snapchat are actively using social media channels and have a powerful impact on people, especially on the young generation.

 digital marketing social media influencer marketing strategies respondents Introduction

Digital media marketing is the strategic use of digital channels to promote products and services to consumers. With the rise of the internet and mobile technology, businesses leverage websites, mobile devices, applications, and search engines to reach their target audiences effectively. This approach enables companies to interact with consumers in real time, offering personalized experiences that drive brand loyalty and sales growth. One of the most significant components of digital marketing is social media marketing, which utilizes platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok to engage with audiences. While traditional terms such as e-marketing and digital marketing remain dominant in academic circles, social media marketing has gained widespread recognition among industry professionals and researchers. Most social media platforms provide built-in analytics tools, allowing companies to monitor their ad campaigns, measure engagement, and assess overall effectiveness. Businesses use social media marketing to connect with various stakeholders, including potential customers, employees, journalists, bloggers, and the general public. At a strategic level, this form of marketing involves managing campaigns, governance, defining the marketing scope, and establishing a company’s social media presence and tone.

Influencer marketing, a subset of social media marketing, has emerged as a powerful tool for increasing brand visibility and engagement. By collaborating with social media influencers, brands can shape consumer trends and preferences. Influencers hold strong credibility within their niche audiences, making their endorsements highly valuable. This strategy enhances brand awareness, improves customer trust, and generates new leads. Advertising across multiple social media platforms enables businesses to expand their reach, target specific demographics, and build stronger relationships with potential buyers.

Digital media marketing has a significant impact worldwide, with major countries leading the way in innovative marketing strategies. The United States, the United Kingdom, China, India, Germany, and Australia are among the top nations where digital marketing plays a crucial role in business growth. The United States and China are at the forefront of digital advertising and influencer marketing, with companies investing heavily in online promotions. Meanwhile, emerging markets like India and Southeast Asia are rapidly adopting digital marketing strategies due to increasing internet penetration and smartphone usage. As digital media marketing continues to evolve, businesses must stay updated on trends, leverage data-driven insights, and adapt to changing consumer behaviors to maintain a competitive edge in the global market.

Literature review

Krishna Veni and R. Venkatesh (1) carried out a research work, “A Study of the Impact of Social Media Marketing on Consumer Behavior in India.” It contains social networking, a medium that not only links people around the world but also serves the best for online marketing as well. The unwavering increase in demand and supply is increasing due to the rapid evolution of technology. Due to the evolution of technology, the unremitting increase in supply & demand is growing. With the growth of the internet and an increase in the utilization of smartphones, the time has come to change the conventional way of marketing.

Dhun and Hamendra Kumar Dangi (2) carried out a research work “A study on Influencer marketing: Role of influencer credibility and congruence on brand attitude and e WOM.” The paper indicates that expertise, similarity, and congruence have a positive relationship with brand attitude. While expertise, trustworthiness, and similarity have a positive relationship with users’ intention to engage in eWOM. The current study also offers theoretical and managerial implications.

Saravanan Ravi and Sundara Rajan Cholapandiyapuram Rajasekaran (3) carried out a research work, “A study on Perspective of Digital Marketing in Rural Areas: A Literature Review.” This study aims to find users who are willing to use digital marketing over traditional marketing. The article is portrays various research, which includes quantitative and qualitative analyses and case studies available in various databases like the Web of Science and Scopus to illustrate for a better understanding of the topic.

Arijit Bhattacharya (4) carried out a research work, “A study on Parasocial Interaction in Social Media Influencer-Based Marketing: An SEM Approach.” This study aims to hypothesize and empirically test a conceptual model of parasocial interaction (PSI) with antecedents, outcomes, and the moderating role of gender using a structural modeling approach. The findings of the study, in general, support the extant literature; however, the role of gender produces a contrary result. The research contributes to knowledge creation in PSI in the social media domain. Research implications for both academicians and managers, along with limitations and future directions, are discussed.

Wikipedia (5) provides a foundational overview of marketing as a discipline. It explains marketing as a process of creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers, emphasizing not only selling but also relationship management and societal value. This broad definition establishes the context in which both traditional marketing and social media marketing operate, highlighting how marketing has evolved from a one-way communication tool into a two-way interactive system.

Ocoya (6) contrasts social media marketing and traditional marketing, underscoring key differences in cost, reach, engagement, and measurement. According to their analysis, traditional marketing—via TV, radio, and print—offers wide audience exposure and credibility but lacks personalization and direct feedback. Social media, on the other hand, is more cost-efficient, allows precise targeting, and enables real-time engagement with consumers. The article stresses that while both methods have strengths, integrating them often yields better results. It also notes the increasing role of digital innovations such as AI and analytics in shaping marketing effectiveness.

Maryville University (7) also compares social media marketing with traditional marketing, presenting a more educational and student-oriented perspective. It emphasizes that traditional marketing is usually one-directional, focused on broad audiences, and effective for brand awareness, while social media marketing is interactive, personalized, and measurable. Importantly, it highlights that both strategies serve similar end goals—customer engagement and brand growth—but differ in approach, speed of feedback, and adaptability. Maryville also positions social media as especially relevant to younger, tech-savvy audiences.

 Objectives

To know the perception of respondents towards influencer marketing.

To find the opinion of consumers towards social media marketing.

To know the challenges of influencer and social media marketing.

To compare the opinion towards influencer and social media marketing.

 Hypotheses

H1: Personal profile of the respondents is independent of their opinion on social media marketing.

H2: There is no relationship between the personal profile and perception of influencer marketing.

H3: There is no relationship between the perception of consumers towards social media and influencer marketing.

 Research methodology

This study is based on both primary and secondary data. Secondary data was collected from various websites and journals, while primary data was gathered through a well-structured questionnaire using Google Forms. The sample size consists of 100 respondents from Belthangady Taluk. For data analysis, we employed percentage mode, chi-square test, and t-test. The results are presented in the form of tables for clarity.

 Data interpretation and analysis

In this part of the study, the data collected through primary sources is analyzed and interpreted.

The Table 1 depicts that 68% of respondents are female and the remaining 32% are male. Among them, 9% of respondents are pursuing their re-University courses, 36% of respondents are pursuing undergraduation, and 50% are post-graduates, majority city. 65% of the respondents family income is below ₹1,00,000, 21% is between ₹1,00,000– ₹2,50,000 and the remaining falls under more than ₹2,50,000.

Personal profile of the respondents.

Variable Options Frequency Percentage
Gender Female 68 68
Male 32 32
Total 100 100
Age Below 18 3 3
18–24 78 78
24–30 13 13
Above 30 6 6
Total 100 100
Education Pre-University Course (PUC) 9 9
qualification Under graduation 36 36
Postgraduation 50 50
Other 5 5
Total 100 100
Family income Less than 1,00,000 65 65
1,00,000–2,50,000 21 21
More than 2,50,000 14 14
Total 100 100

Source: Primary data.

Table 2 exhibits that most of the respondents (35%) are frequently using digital market platforms, and 32% are using several times a week, and 12% are using once a month; the remaining are using rarely.

Usage frequency of digital marketing platforms.

Options Frequency Percentage (%)
Frequently 35 35
Several times a week 32 32
Once a month 12 12
Rarely 21 21
Total 100 100

Source: Primary data.

It is a fact from the Table 3 that 88% of the respondents made purchases based on the influence from advisement. 12% of respondents are not influenced while purchasing.

Do social conversation influence your product choice?

Options Frequency Percentage (%)
Yes 88 88
No 12 12
Total 100 100

Source: Primary data.

From the Table 4, it is observed that 78% of respondents are actively using Instagram, followed by WhatsApp (77%) and Snapchat (32%).

Actively using social media channel.

Options Frequency Percentage (%)
Instagram 78 78
Facebook 20 20
Pinterest 11 11
LinkedIn 15 15
Snapchat 32 32
WhatsApp 77 77

Source: Primary data.

From Table 5 it is clear that 43% of respondents opined that social media marketing and 14% are purchasing product by influencer and 43% of respondents stated that social media and influencer marketing are both equally effective.

Preferable marketing channel.

Options Frequency Percentage (%)
Social media marketing 43 43
Influencer marketing 14 14
Both are equally preferable 43 43
Total 100 100

Source: Primary data.

Along with several advantages, we can also see the drawbacks of social media marketing. It is observed that a trust issue (45%) is one of the major issues of social media marketing. Information overload (28%) and privacy concerns (43%) also have an impact on social media marketing. It is found that difficulty in measuring the effectiveness and return on investment (31%) is another drawback of social media marketing (Table 6).

Challenges face while using social media marketing.

Options Frequency Percentage (%)
Trust issues 45 45
Information overload 28 28
Privacy concerns 43 43
Difficulties in measuring effectiveness 31 31

Source: Primary data.

There are many advantages, but also, we can see some challenges of influencer marketing. It is observed that misleading information (36%) is the major problem. Finding the right influencer (27%) and fraud and fake followers (26%) also have an issue in influencer marketing (Table 7).

Challenges of influencer marketing.

Options Frequency Percentage (%)
Finding right influencer 27 27
Influencer fraud and fake followers 26 26
Misleading information 36 36
Risk of negative publicity 11 11
Total 100 100

Source: Primary data.

It is crystal clear from the Table 8 that 67% of the respondent’s positive customer reviews and 31% of the respondents are relevant and personalized content are factors that make social media influencing.

Factors that make social media influencing.

Options Frequency Percentage (%)
Relevant and personalised content 31 31
Positive customer reviews 67 67
Limited-time offers or discounts 25 25
Influencer endorsements 8 8

Source: Primary data.

We have used Liker’s five point scale to collect the data about the opinions of the respondents. Five indicate strongly agree, and one indicates strongly disagree. Table 9 shows that the mode value is 4 for all the statements. Hence, it could be concluded that the respondents have favorable opinions on social media marketing.

Descriptive statistics of social media marketing opinions.

Questions Mode Standard deviation Standard error
Social media marketing helps build brand awareness and recognition. 4 0.6050 0.0605
Social media marketing positively influences my purchasing decisions. 4 0.6664 0.0666
I find social media content from brands to be engaging and relevant. 4 0.6667 0.0667
Social media marketing helps me discover new products or services. 4 0.7067 0.0707
Social media marketing campaigns have a significant impact on shaping popular trends and preferences. 4 0.6765 0.0677
I enjoy engaging with brand content on social media platforms. 4 0.7688 0.0769
Social media marketing is an essential component of a successful digital marketing strategy. 4 0.6709 0.0671
I feel more connected to a brand when it has an active social media presence. 4 0.6884 0.0688
Social media marketing campaigns are more memorable compared to traditional advertising campaigns. 4 0.7447 0.0745
Social media marketing helps foster customer engagement and interaction. 4 0.6618 0.0662

Source: Primary data.

We have used Likert’s five-point scale was used to collect the data about the opinions of the respondents. Five indicate strongly agree, and one indicates strongly disagree. Table 10 shows that the mode value is 4 for all the statements. Hence, it could be concluded that the respondents have favorable opinions on influencer marketing.

Descriptive statistics of influencer marketing opinions.

Questions Mode Standard deviation Standard error
Influencer marketing is an effective strategy for increasing brand visibility. 4 0.7749 0.0775
Influencer marketing helps build credibility and trust for a brand. 4 0.7961 0.0796
Influencer marketing positively influences my purchasing decisions. 4 0.7849 0.0785
Influencer marketing has a significant impact on shaping popular trends and preferences. 4 0.8221 0.0822
I enjoy engaging with influencer-sponsored content on social media. 4 0.7720 0.0772
Influencer marketing is a reliable source of product recommendations and reviews. 4 0.8406 0.0841
Influencer marketing campaigns are more memorable compared to traditional advertising campaigns. 4 0.8572 0.0857
I trust influencers to provide honest opinions about products or services. 4 0.8409 0.0841
Influencer marketing has a positive impact on brand loyalty. 4 0.7437 0.0744
Influencer marketing is an effective way to reach niche audiences. 4 0.8278 0.0828

Source: Primary data.

Table 11 reveals that all of the calculated statistics are lesser than the critical value or insignificant at a 5% level of significance; we have to accept the null hypothesis and conclude that the personal profile of the respondents is independent of their opinion and perception of social media marketing.

Chi square values.

Question Gender Age Education qualification Family income
Social media marketing helps build brand awareness and recognition. 3.936 4.97 10.587 3.657
Social media marketing positively influences my purchasing decisions. 0.454 7.059 5.157 7.847
I find social media content from brands to be engaging and relevant. 1.884 3.55 5.842 3.499
Social media marketing helps me discover new products or services. 6.207 6.076 7.476 11.703
Social media marketing campaigns have a significant impact on shaping popular trends and preferences. 2.664 4.371 1.318 1.542
I enjoy engaging with brand content on social media platforms. 3.683 12.287 6.609 10.919
Social media marketing is an essential component of a successful digital marketing strategy. 3.161 2.343 8.812 5.681
I feel more connected to a brand when it has an active social media presence. 1.606 4.681 5.712 1.656
Social media marketing campaigns are more memorable compared to traditional advertising campaigns. 4.651 10.392 11.76 9.128
Social media marketing helps foster customer engagement and interaction. 5.047 11.751 13.371 6.303

Source: Authorised Compilation. *significant at 5%.

Table 12 reveals that all of the calculated statistics are less than the critical value or insignificant at a 5% level of significance; we have to accept the null hypothesis and conclude that the personal profile of the respondents is independent of their opinion and perception of influencer marketing.

Chi-square values.

Question Gender Age Education qualification Family income
Influencer marketing is an effective strategy for increasing brand visibility. 5.056 33.196* 24.255* 9.965
Influencer marketing helps build credibility and trust for a brand. 4.85 31.319* 12.917 15.33
Influencer marketing positively influences my purchasing decisions. 4.114 30.998* 18.033 7.061
Influencer marketing has a significant impact on shaping popular trends and preferences. 8.271 24.942* 12.628 9.524
I enjoy engaging with influencer-sponsored content on social media. 5.18 37.636* 18.601 12.828
Influencer marketing is a reliable source of product recommendations and reviews. 8.884 20.259 29.011* 11.68
Influencer marketing campaigns are more memorable compared to traditional advertising campaigns. 2.996 28.872* 9.919 10.195
I trust influencers to provide honest opinions about products or services. 1.483 27.158* 15.45 9.1
Influencer marketing has a positive impact on brand loyalty. 4.54 34.772* 17.193 4.13
Influencer marketing is an effective way to reach niche audiences. 3.736 27.436* 16.455 10.147

Source: Authors Compilation. *significance at 5%.

In Table 13 we applied a t-test to compare the opinion of respondents regarding social media marketing and influencer marketing. Here the P-value is 0.147, which is less than the significance value. So here we accepted the null hypothesis and concluded that there is no relationship between the perception of consumers towards social media marketing.

t-test: Paired two samples for means.

Paired differences t df Sig. (2-tailed)
Mean Std. deviation Std. error Mean 95% confidence interval of the difference
Lower Upper
0.0770 0.5263 0.0526 −0.0274 0.1814 1.463 99 0.147

Source: Authors compilation.

We applied the correlation technique to find out the correlation between consumers opinions towards social media marketing and influencer marketing. We found that there is a high positive correlation between social media marketing and influencer marketing. So, respondents’ preferences towards social media marketing and influencer marketing have a high positive correlation (Table 14).

Correlation between consumers’ perception towards social media marketing and influencer marketing.

Social media marketing Influencer marketing
Social media marketing 1
Influencer marketing 0.62664 1

Source: Authors compilation.

 Findings

It is found that the majority of respondents are female (68%).

It is clear from the study that 67% of respondents belong to the age group of 18–24, followed by the 24–30 age group.

Most of the respondents are qualified postgraduation (50%), and 65% of the respondents have a family income of less than 1,00,000

Among 100 respondents, 88% of respondents are social conversation influence on their product choice.

It is observed that the majority of respondents use digital marketing platforms frequently. Instagram, WhatsApp, and Snapchat are actively using social media channels.

It is found that both marketing strategies are preferable.

Trust issues and misleading information are major challenges in social media marketing and influencer marketing.

After applying the chi-square test for the Likert scale question, we came to know that the personal profile of the respondents is independent of their opinion and perception of social media marketing and influencer marketing.

We found that the effectiveness of hybrid marketing strategies, consumer trust and perception, measuring return on investment (ROI) and campaign performance, niche and micro-influencer marketing, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation in digital marketing, cultural and regional differences, ethical and regulatory challenges, and future social media platforms and marketing trends are key areas of interest. Further research in this field is expected to explore these topics in greater depth.

 Conclusion

In conclusion, both social media marketing and influencer marketing are viable and effective strategies for businesses to consider. They have their own unique benefits and can be used in combination to maximize results. The purpose of this study was to the comparison between social media marketing and influencer marketing on consumer behavior. Through various questions, we collected valuable insights from participants about their perceptions. The results suggest that these days people are using more digital marketing, so we come to know that social media marketing and influencer marketing are equally effective on consumer behavior. But there are some challenges like misleading information and trust issues, so businesses should focus on that. Social media marketing allows businesses to reach a wide audience through various platforms. It provides the opportunity to engage with a large number of users and build brand awareness. Influencer marketing, on the other hand, leverages the existing followers and influence of popular individuals to reach a targeted audience, resulting in more personalized and niche exposure.

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