The Perceived Effects of Social Media Brand-Building on Business Success in Malawi

This paper examines the perceived effects of social media brand building on business success in Malawi, drawing on Objective Three of the broader study on the efficacy of social media tactics in brand building. The study employed a mixed-methods research design. The quantitative target population comprised 135 marketing-related staff across 10 purposively selected companies, from which a required sample of approximately 101 respondents was determined using a finite-population sample-size formula. Quantitative data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analysed using MS Excel and SPSS, while qualitative evidence from interviews, peer-reviewed literature and content analysis was used for contextual interpretation and triangulation. The findings show comparatively stronger mean assessments of overall marketing effectiveness for Facebook and WhatsApp, while the influence of the examined brand-building factors was generally moderate. Brand-building outcomes varied across sales, market share, customer loyalty and brand reputation. Click-through rate and brand awareness were among the strongest-rated KPIs, Facebook and Instagram were comparatively stronger for increasing brand awareness, and most platforms were regarded as important for building and maintaining brand image. The study concludes that respondents perceived social media brand building as relevant to business success, particularly through platform effectiveness, performance measurement, audience engagement and the strategic integration of social media activities. These findings are descriptive and should not be interpreted as proof of causal effects.