Role of Mediation Factors in Social Media Marketing’s Influence on Voting Intentions: Implications for Economic Development and Political Engagement

Authors

  • Ponco Sampurno Universitas Indonesia
  • Daniel Tumpal Hamonangan Aruan Universitas Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37385/ijedr.v6i1.6949

Keywords:

Social Media Marketing, Voting Intention, Mediating Factor, Political Marketing

Abstract

This study aims to analyze social media activity in influencing voting intention through various mediating factors, such as political branding, virality (e-WOM), opinions, trust, and religious beliefs. The study employs a Structural Equation Modeling approach based on Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) to examine the relationships between variables in the research model. Data were collected from 226 respondents selected based on specific criteria. The findings indicate that Social Media Marketing significantly influences candidate image, party image, voter trust, voter opinion, virality (e-WOM), religious beliefs, and voting intention. Moreover, party image, voter trust, and voter opinion have significant effects on voting intention, while candidate image, virality (e-WOM), and religious beliefs do not show significant effects. In terms of mediation, voter opinion and party image are proven to mediate the relationship between social media activity and voting intention, whereas other variables do not demonstrate significant mediation effects. This study is expected to provide new insights into how social media interactions affect voting intention. The findings also suggest that the success of political campaigns in the digital era requires strategies tailored to specific audiences based on their demographics, social media usage preferences, and religious beliefs.

References

Alhabash, S., & McAlister, A. R. (2015). Redefining virality in less broad strokes: Predicting viral behavioral intentions from motivations and uses of Facebook and Twitter. New Media & Society, 17(8), 1317–1339. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814523726

Aminulloh, A., Qorib, F., Fianto, L., & Setiamandani, E. D. (2022). Propaganda and Political Memes on Social Media in the 2019 Indonesian Presidential Election. Journal of Islamic World and Politics, 6(2), 342–365. https://doi.org/10.18196/jiwp.v6i2.16115

Atzger, B., Sá, E. S., & Silva, J. (2020). Exploring sources of voter-based political human brand equity. Journal of Brand Management, 27(4), 481–494. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-020-00192-9

Bashir, M. A., Saraih, U. N. B., Gundala, R., Ansari, J., Qureshi, M. A., & Ahmed, S. (2024). Digital Influence: Examining Social Media Marketing Dynamics and How They Affect Consumer Brand Loyalty. WSEAS TRANSACTIONS ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS, 21, 1571–1583. https://doi.org/10.37394/23207.2024.21.128

Campbell, R., & Cowley, P. (2014). What Voters Want: Reactions to Candidate Characteristics in a Survey Experiment. Political Studies, 62(4), 745–765. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9248.12048

Catt, H. (1991). What Do Voters Decide? Political Science, 43(2), 30–42. https://doi.org/10.1177/003231879104300202

Cheung, C. M., & Lee, M. K. (2012). What drives consumers to spread electronic word of mouth in online consumer-opinion platforms. Decision Support Systems, 53(1), 218–225.

Pich, D. C. (2022). Political branding: a research agenda for political marketing. In A Research Agenda for Political Marketing. Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800377202.00014

Chu, S., & Chen, H. (2019). Impact of consumers’ corporate social responsibility?related activities in social media on brand attitude, electronic word?of?mouth intention, and purchase intention: A study of Chinese consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 18(6), 453–462. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1784

Dalton, R. J. (2008). Citizenship Norms and the Expansion of Political Participation. Political Studies, 56(1), 76–98. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.2007.00718.x

Dash, G., Kiefer, K., & Paul, J. (2021). Marketing-to-Millennials: Marketing 4.0, customer satisfaction and purchase intention. Journal of Business Research, 122, 608–620. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.10.016

de-Oliveira, M., de Almeida, C. M., & Mainardes, E. W. (2022). Politics and social media: an analysis of factors anteceding voting intention. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 19(2), 309–332. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-021-00301-7

Dubrow, J. K. (2012). Do Political Parties Represent Women, the Poor, and the Elderly? International Journal of Sociology, 42(1), 78–86. https://doi.org/10.2753/IJS0020-7659420104

Evita, N., Prestianta, A. M., & Asmarantika, R. A. (2023). Patterns of media and social media use in generation z in Indonesia. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi (Indonesian Journal of Communications Studies), 7(1), 195–214. https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v7i1.5230

Fam, K., Waller, D. S., & Zafer Erdogan, B. (2004). The influence of religion on attitudes towards the advertising of controversial products. European Journal of Marketing, 38(5/6), 537–555. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090560410529204

Fatema, S., Yanbin, L., & Fugui, D. (2022). Social media influence on politicians’ and citizens’ relationship through the moderating effect of political slogans. Frontiers in Communication, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2022.955493

Fazylzhan, D. (2022). COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE SPREAD OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES BASED ON THE STUDY OF THE EXPERIENCE OF THE UK AND KAZAKHSTAN. Adam Alemi, 93(3), 102–110. https://doi.org/10.48010/2022.3/1999-5849.09

Fernández-Gracia, J., Suchecki, K., Ramasco, J. J., San Miguel, M., & Eguíluz, V. M. (2014). Is the Voter Model a Model for Voters? Physical Review Letters, 112(15), 158701. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.158701

Gilardi, F. (2022). Digital Technology, Politics, and Policy-Making. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108887304

Gilliland, D., Warner, B. R., Villamil, A., & Jennings, F. J. (2023). Intergroup Bias in Political Decision Making. Communication Studies, 74(5), 428–446. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2023.2222282

Rodríguez, P. G.-, Villarreal, R., Cuesta-Valiño, P., & Blozis, S. A. (2023). Valuation of candidate brand equity dimensions and voting intention: alternative polling data in the Spanish presidential election. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1), 295. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01790-z

Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Hult, G. T. M., & Ringle, C. M. (2022). A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.

Hoegg, J., & Lewis, M. V. (2011). The Impact of Candidate Appearance and Advertising Strategies on Election Results. Journal of Marketing Research, 48(5), 895–909. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.48.5.895

Hoferer, M., Böttcher, L., Herrmann, H. J., & Gersbach, H. (2020). The impact of technologies in political campaigns. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and Its Applications, 538, 122795. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2019.122795

Kadir, N. (2022). Media Sosial dan Politik Partisipatif?: Suatu Kajian Ruang Publik, Demokrasi Bagi Kaum Milenial dan Gen Z. RESIPROKAL: Jurnal Riset Sosiologi Progresif Aktual, 4(2), 180–197. https://doi.org/10.29303/resiprokal.v4i2.225

Kandiawan, A. B. (2022). CODE-SWITCHING AND SLANG USED BY GEN Z INDONESIANS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. ELTR Journal, 7(1), 48–56. https://doi.org/10.37147/eltr.v7i1.165

Kaplan, A., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the World, Unite! The Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons, 53, 59–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003

Kayaoglu, A. (2017). Determinants of trust in Turkey. European Societies, 19(4), 492–516. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2016.1228992

Kekkonen, A., Suuronen, A., Kawecki, D., & Strandberg, K. (2022). Puzzles in affective polarization research: Party attitudes, partisan social distance, and multiple party identification. Frontiers in Political Science, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2022.920567

Keller, K. L., & Swaminathan, V. (2019). Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, Global Edition. Pearson. https://books.google.co.id/books?id=98AoEAAAQBAJ

Kelm, O., Angenendt, M., Poguntke, T., & Rosar, U. (2023). Which candidates benefit from social media? An analysis of the 2021 German federal election. Electoral Studies, 86, 102701. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2023.102701

Khan, M. A., Minhaj, S. M., Vivek, Alhashem, M., Nabi, M. K., Saifi, Mohd. A., & Inkesar, A. (2024). Unleashing the role of e-word of mouth on purchase intention in select Facebook fan pages of smart phone users. PLOS ONE, 19(9), e0305631. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305631

Khan, M. F., Amin, F., Jan, A., & Hakak, I. A. (2024). Social media marketing activities in the Indian airlines: Brand equity and electronic word of mouth. Tourism and Hospitality Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/14673584241237436

Khasabu, S., Pawito, P., & Rahmanto, A. N. (2023). Social Media Preference to Reach Young Indonesian Voters. Journal of Social and Political Sciences, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.31014/aior.1991.06.01.399

Kim, A. J., & Ko, E. (2010). Impacts of Luxury Fashion Brand’s Social Media Marketing on Customer Relationship and Purchase Intention. Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 1(3), 164–171. https://doi.org/10.1080/20932685.2010.10593068

Kim, S., & Park, H. (2013). Effects of various characteristics of social commerce (s-commerce) on consumers’ trust and trust performance. International Journal of Information Management, 33(2), 318–332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2012.11.006

Kocaman, R., & Co?gun, M. (2024). Political Marketing and Voting Behavior: A Systematic Literature Review and Agenda for Future Research. Journal of Political Marketing, 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377857.2024.2374253

Kotler, P. (1972). A Generic Concept of Marketing. Journal of Marketing, 36(2), 46–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224297203600209

Luebke, S. M., & Engelmann, I. (2022). Do We Know Politicians’ True Selves From the Media? Exploring the Relationship Between Political Media Exposure and Perceived Political Authenticity. Social Media + Society, 8(1), 205630512210770. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221077030

Malhotra, N. K. (2021). Marketing research?: an applied orientation: Vol. 7 edition.

McGregor, S. C. (2018). Personalization, social media, and voting: Effects of candidate self-personalization on vote intention. New Media & Society, 20(3), 1139–1160. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444816686103

McGregor, S. C. (2020). Taking the Temperature of the Room”: How Political Campaigns Use Social Media to Understand and Represent Public Opinion. Public Opinion Quarterly, 84(S1), 236–256. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfaa012

Molokwane, S., Marope, O., & Ollyn, M. (2023). Design Elements and Principles. In African Industrial Design Practice (pp. 131–154). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003270249-11

Morgan, M., & Kulkarni, A. (2023). Analyzing User Communication on Mainstream and Alternative Social Media Platforms Using Natural Language Processing: A Case Study on the COVID-19 Pandemic (pp. 340–354). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35927-9_24

Moslehpour, M., Schafferer, C., Lewi, S., Kurniawati, D., Pham, V. K., & Faez, S. E. P. (2024). The Influence of Social Media Marketing on Voting Intention in Indonesia. Journal of Political Marketing, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377857.2024.2303509

Moslehpour, Massoud., Pourfaez, S. Ebrahimi., & Tiwari, A. Kumar. (2024). The effect of social media marketing on voting intention; an application of multidimensional panel data. International Journal of Emerging Markets. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-08-2022-1250

Mujiwati, Y., & Laili, I. (2023). THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CHANGING BEHAVIOR PATTERNS OF GENERATION Z. Cebong Journal, 2(3), 77–82. https://doi.org/10.35335/cebong.v2i3.88

Newman, B. I., & Sheth, J. N. (1985). A Model of Primary Voter Behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 12(2), 178. https://doi.org/10.1086/208506

Nurhajati, L., Wijayanto, X. A., Fitriyani, L. R., & Rachmawati, D. (2023). Building Democracy and Freedom of Expression by Fighting the Covid-19 Infodemic in the Digital Space Among the Younger Generation in Indonesia. Jurnal Komunikasi Ikatan Sarjana Komunikasi Indonesia, 8(1), 239–249. https://doi.org/10.25008/jkiski.v8i1.861

Pancer, S. M., Brown, S. D., & Barr, C. W. (1999). Forming Impressions of Political Leaders: A Cross?National Comparison. Political Psychology, 20(2), 345–368. https://doi.org/10.1111/0162-895X.00148

Plante, T. G., & Boccaccini, M. T. (1997). The Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire. Pastoral Psychology, 45(5), 375–387. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02230993

Riski, W. N. (2023). COMMUNICATING DEMOCRATIC WILL ONLINE: THE CASE OF MASS REJECTION TO FUEL PRICE ADJUSTMENT POLICY IN INDONESIA. Jurnal Ranah Komunikasi (JRK), 7(1), 33. https://doi.org/10.25077/rk.7.1.33-42.2023

Roca Trenchs, N., Estanyol Casals, E., & Montaña Blasco, M. (2023). Do politicians connect with young people? Analysis of Twitter use by candidates in the 2019 European Parliament election campaign. Catalan Journal of Communication & Cultural Studies, 15(1), 27–53. https://doi.org/10.1386/cjcs_00077_1

Russmann, U., Klinger, U., & Koc-Michalska, K. (2024). Personal, Private, Emotional? How Political Parties Use Personalization Strategies on Facebook in the 2014 and 2019 EP Election Campaigns. Social Science Computer Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944393241254807

Sakti, R. E., & Nainggolan, B. (2023). Understanding the Role of Social Media Toward Satisfaction of Government in Indonesia. Jurnal Komunikasi Indonesia, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.7454/jkmi.v12i1.1185

Schöll, N., & Kurer, T. (2024). How technological change affects regional voting patterns. Political Science Research and Methods, 12(1), 94–112. https://doi.org/10.1017/psrm.2022.62

Šeri?, M., & Mikuli?, J. (2023). The impact of integrated marketing communications consistency on destination brand equity in times of uncertainty: the case of Croatia. Tourism Review, 78(3), 697–711. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-03-2022-0166

Singhapakdi, A., Vitell, S. J., Lee, D.-J., Nisius, A. M., & Yu, G. B. (2013). The Influence of Love of Money and Religiosity on Ethical Decision-Making in Marketing. Journal of Business Ethics, 114(1), 183–191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1334-2

Sjöstrand, B. (2021). Politics and Technology. In Derrida and Technology: Life, Politics, and Religion (pp. 137–157). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83407-4_7

Toros, S., & Toros, E. (2022). Social media use and political participation: the Turkish case. Turkish Studies, 23(3), 450–473. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2021.2023319

Vazquez, F., Saintier, N., & Pinasco, J. P. (2020). Role of voting intention in public opinion polarization. Physical Review E, 101(1), 012101. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.101.012101

Vliegenthart, R., Van Ham, C., Kruikemeier, S., & Jacobs, K. (2024). A Matter of Misunderstanding? Explaining (Mis)Perceptions of Electoral Integrity across 25 Different Nations. Public Opinion Quarterly, 88(SI), 495–515. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfae021

Wahab, A., Lavanya, V. R., Priya, S., Maneesha, S., Begum, S., & Fatima, S. (2024). Unveiling the Power of Branding: A Study on the Importance and Effects on Products in Business. International Journal of Engineering Technology and Management Sciences, 8(2), 238–243. https://doi.org/10.46647/ijetms.2024.v08i02.030

Welzel, C. (2013). Freedom Rising. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139540919

Zaiter, R., Sabbagh, N., & Koabaz, M. (2023). The Impact of Social Media on Political Efficacy and Real-Life Netizens Political Participation (Lebanon- Case Study). International Journal of Professional Business Review, 8(5), e02153. https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2023.v8i5.2153

Zhu, Y.-Q., & Chen, H.-G. (2015). Social media and human need satisfaction: Implications for social media marketing. Business Horizons, 58(3), 335–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2015.01.006

Downloads

Published

2025-01-17

How to Cite

Sampurno, P., & Aruan, D. T. H. . (2025). Role of Mediation Factors in Social Media Marketing’s Influence on Voting Intentions: Implications for Economic Development and Political Engagement. International Journal of Economics Development Research (IJEDR), 6(1), 190–216. https://doi.org/10.37385/ijedr.v6i1.6949