149 © 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. Relationship of consumer behaviour in social media influences between perceived quality and brand awareness respectively towards brand image Wong Chee Hoo1+ Chong Shin Hau2 Visal Moosa3 Arasu Raman4 Muhammad Kamran Khan5 1,2,4Faculty of Business and Communications, INTI International University, Nilai, Malaysia. 1Email: cheehoo.wong@newinti.edu.my 2Email: i21020208@student.newinti.edu.my 4Email: arasu.raman@newinti.edu.my 3Centre for Research & Publication, Islamic University of Maldives, Maldives. 3Email: visal.moosa@ium.edu.mv 5Management Studies Department, Bahria Business School, Bahria University, Islamabad, Pakistan. 5Email: mkkhan.buic@bahria.edu.pk (+ Corresponding author) ABSTRACT Article History Received: 15 August 2023 Revised: 17 November 2023 Accepted: 6 February 2024 Published: 26 February 2024 Keywords Brand awareness Brand image Consumer behaviour Drone Perceived quality Social media influencer. This study aims to investigate how consumer behaviour in Malaysia is influenced by the characteristics of social media influencers who shape consumers' perceptions of drone quality and brand awareness. The research framework on brand recognition, brand loyalty and brand image were adopted from the previous literature. The Malaysian Gen-Z population with disposable income and who use social media are the target of this study. They were users of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and email. Convenience sampling was used to deliver online surveys. A total of 230 samples were successfully collected. The findings indicate that brand awareness and perceived quality are positively and significantly impacted by social media influencers while brand image is positively and significantly impacted by perceived quality but not brand awareness. Perceived quality acts as a mediator between social media influencers and brand image. An analysis of prior research frameworks and studies was conducted to assess the relationship between drone brand image and influencers. Drone research has not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, this will address some knowledge gaps. A thorough comprehension of the principles of perceived quality and brand awareness is necessary in order to better comprehend the role that social media influencers can play in marketing consumer drone brands. Contribution/Originality: The existing research on drones is limited indicating a need to address the knowledge gaps in this field. It is important to understand the concepts of brand awareness and perceived quality in order to gain a deeper understanding of how social media influencers can effectively promote consumer drone brands. 1. INTRODUCTION Social media has been around for almost 20 years. It started mainly as a way for people to connect with each other and post content about their current status and activities. It has seen numerous changes and enhancements during its whole development making it possible for users to interact with it more and find it interesting. As mobile phones have gotten better and cheaper, software like social media and hardware like mobile devices have come Humanities and Social Sciences Letters 2024 Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 149-161 ISSN(e): 2312-4318 ISSN(p): 2312-5659 DOI: 10.18488/73.v12i2.3658 © 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0691-4463 https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1779-0936 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0618-1896 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8281-3210 mailto:cheehoo.wong@newinti.edu.my mailto:i21020208@student.newinti.edu.my mailto:arasu.raman@newinti.edu.my mailto:visal.moosa@ium.edu.mv mailto:mkkhan.buic@bahria.edu.pk https://www.doi.org/10.18488/73.v12i2.3658 Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2024, 12(2): 149-161 150 © 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. together to form an ecosystem that lets businesses and marketers reach their target audiences with marketing materials that are specific to each person's preferences. The advent of the internet has significantly improved our lives in many ways in today's world. One excellent example is the development of Facebook, Instagram and other social media sites. Social media has developed from a platform for seeking entertainment, participating in online communities and connecting with new people to a marketing platform for businesses to reach a larger and more relevant audience. As a result, social media marketing has given rise to new choices, one of the most lucrative of which is becoming a social media influencer on social media platforms. They are not developed in terms of brand awareness or perceived quality in the consumer drone sector which has just recently emerged and is being discovered by hobbyists and people. It is an industry that is projected to reach a market cap of $11.56 billion by the year 2030 with an estimated Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.8%. Social media influencers and consumer drone companies have an opportunity to work together in order to elevate the company’s brand image with the help of influencers. The objective of this research is to study the social media influencers’ traits influencing perceived quality and brand awareness towards consumer drone brand image in Malaysia. The market for consumer drones is still very new and has a lot of potential to develop. Brand awareness and perceived quality are still critical academic research phenomena because they will influence the level of market reach and overall success in the market. According to prior studies, social media influencers have a significant positive influence on brand awareness and the perceived quality of brands (Ardiansyah & Nilowardono, 2019). However, there has been no prior research done on what traits affect brand awareness and perceived quality in the consumer drone sector. Influencers for drone brand image were identified using previous research frameworks and studies. This study aims to address the gap in the current state of drone research. Understanding brand awareness and perceived quality contributes to a better understanding of what social media influencers can do to market consumer drone brands. This study attempted to answer the research question on factors affecting the brand image of drones in Malaysia. 2. LITERATURE REVIEWS 2.1. Social Media Influencers Social media influencers use their own relationships with influential individuals or opinion leaders to influence people's views about a business and their purchasing decisions (Cheung, Pires, & Rosenberger, 2019). Influencers attract potential consumers in public while giving brands' products distinctive personal qualities. 94% of marketers claim to have used influencer marketing at least once and feel it is an extremely efficient strategy (Shiyun, Tao, Hong, & Tsai, 2022). In an average situation, social media influencers usually possess unique personal qualities that make them stand out to a specific audience and these influencers have a strong relationship with specific brand aspects. According to a survey, people are more likely to observe and even believe influencers' opinions when they collaborate with brands (Hall, 2016). Newspapers and television are being replaced by new media outlets. Social media influencers are determining online media trends and influencing public opinion as traditional media users are decreasing and losing their commercial worth faster than before. They share information rapidly and globally. Additionally, social media offers two ways to contact people. Virtual communities expand and more information is shared and disseminated as a result of these interactions (Borchers, 2021). This represents the main advantage over traditional media. Social media influencers were able to spread ideas and value through channels they created on the network with users, companies and band management as potential customers. As a result, social media influencers may now benefit businesses from their following by helping them with marketing. According to prior studies, consumer trust in influencers, virtual relationships between consumers and influencers and influencer reputation all contribute to the efficacy of influencer marketing (Arora, Bansal, Kandpal, Aswani, & Dwivedi, 2019; Salvation & Sorooshian, 2018). Young female Instagram users who participated in in-depth interviews said that influencers on social media frequently provide content that is more relatable and trustworthy than celebrities (Ardiansyah & Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2024, 12(2): 149-161 151 © 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. Nilowardono, 2019). According to Porto, Watanabe, De, Barrozo, and De Souza Júnior (2021), there is a significant relationship between the influence of word of mouth and consumer decision-making. Walton et al. (2022) showed that environmental quality had a significant effect on life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. . 2.2. Brand Awareness According to Aaker (1991), brand awareness is a prospect's ability to recall a brand's niche. This consumer brand recognition ranking can be accessed at any time. More familiar brands are more likely to be noticed by consumers. Literally, when consumers shop, they are more aware and have a better chance of obtaining their business (Cheung et al., 2019). Brand-aware consumers may make easier, safer and more sensible choices when they buy (Świtała, Gamrot, Reformat, & Bilińska-Reformat, 2018). Consumers' decisions are influenced by the amount of information they are given and their familiarity with a brand. Brand familiarity and brand recognition are related. However, growing brand recognition can raise the fundamental degree of brand awareness (Gopinath, 2021). Brand awareness has also been an important topic in studying how companies are perceived when they are performing corporate social responsibility activities in the area of Sulaimaniah, Saudi Arabia (Ismael, 2022). Additionally, the meaning transfer theory was used to examine brand awareness from the perspective of celebrity descriptions and the brands they are associated with. The findings demonstrate the importance of celebrity endorsements and associations and demonstrate the substantial relationship between brand awareness and celebrity descriptions (Shiyun et al., 2022). Recently, Bazuhair (2023) found a significant relationship between students' awareness of digital marketing and the growth of electronic commerce. 2.3. Perceived Quality A buyer's assessment of the stability of brand product quality or an analysis of a product's value is known as perceived quality (Aaker, 1991). It enhances the value of a brand to produce high-quality products that consumers want to purchase and even at greater prices (Aaker, 1992). According to Aaker (1991), the customer's sense of an item's general quality or superiority over alternatives in relation to the intended use. Increased perceived value gives brands a strong foundation and a competitive advantage. Customers' perceptions of perceived quality might bring attention to a clear difference between two brands and products (Aaker, 1992). However, the perceptions of producers and consumers are different which results in a discrepancy between perceived quality and actual brand quality (El-Adly, 2019). What's worse is that a brand's poor reputation will affect customers over the long run and make it difficult to reverse the unpleasant shopping experience, negatively influencing customers' perceptions (Aaker, 1991). If a company provides buyers with an adverse experience, it can be challenging to get back their trust, even in the case of high-quality items. Chi (2018) asserts that consumer acceptance determines perceived quality. Extrinsic, intrinsic, appearance and performance are the four dimensions (García-Fernández et al., 2018) used to characterise perceived quality. In addition, customers' perceptions of a brand's or a product's quality are highly subjective and dependent on a variety of variables. A buyer's past purchases, level of education, risk of the transaction, situational variances, financial condition and personal history are few examples of the variables that might affect how well a consumer perceives a brand or product (Konuk, 2019). All ratings come from memories and personal experiences. In recent years, research has demonstrated that in the sports equipment sector, brand experience plays a major role in how consumers perceive the quality of products. This study was also able to highlight the critical role that perceived quality plays in mediating customer loyalty and brand experience (Akoglu & Özbek, 2022). Other studies also show that research has been done in the tourism sector where perceived quality of the destination was taken as a factor in the concept of self-congruity and visit frequency and a hypothesis was accepted in this study (Tran, Nguyen, Le, & Tran, 2022). Perceived quality was also studied as a mediating role with the independent variable as advertisements and the dependent variables as brand loyalty, consumer buying Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2024, 12(2): 149-161 152 © 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. behavior and brand awareness. The results show that perceived quality has a mediating effect in this relationship (Zhao, Butt, Murad, Mirza, & Saleh Al-Faryan, 2022). 2.4. Brand Image Brand image refers to how a brand is perceived by consumers, depending on the qualities, traits and significance that consumers should associate with the brand. The brand image serves as a visual representation of the relationship between consumers and the brand. According to Bilgin (2018), people prefer to buy branded goods that have a style that is perfect for them and reflects their thoughts about the brand's advantages. Various opinions will also exist over various products belonging to the same brand. According to Newman (1957), brand image refers to the association that customers have with a brand and their recognition of it. People develop attitudes about brands and other associated ideas based on their extensive past brand experiences. Two components of brand equity were proposed by Keller (1993): brand image and brand awareness. The qualities and connections in many forms of brand associations are also included in the components of brand image. Features include type, preference and strength. Each individual consumer has unique opinions about brands which they associate with their specific backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. However, most customers have some general opinions about brands. Consumer representation of a brand is connected to the brand's positioning and evaluations (Kim & Chao, 2019). The effectiveness of communication between brands and consumers can also be improved by improving brand image. Consumer reaction is correlated with every aspect of brand image. Consumers are then conveyed each company's unique charms and qualities and gradually the reputation of the brand grow. Consumer perception of a brand is a type of marketing outcome, social interaction and purchasing experience (Savitri, Hurriyati, Wibowo, & Hendrayati, 2022). The aforementioned factors have an impact on consumers' attitudes and mindsets towards brands as well as how they understand and evaluate brands. Product price reaction is the best indicator of consumer brand attitudes. Brand image also influences how consumers react to product prices. Customers who value brands highly are more inclined to spend more money on goods and services (Mao et al., 2020). Improving brand perception can encourage customer brand attitudes and increase consumers willingness to pay premium prices for brands' items. Positive brand perception will improve benefits for brands and give them more chances to raise product prices. According to Mokhlis, Nik Hussin, Nizam, Mohd Noor, and Muslim (2021), they predicted the career intentions of university students in the retail industry using the image. 2.5. Theoretical Framework The research framework on brand recognition, brand loyalty and brand image that was conducted by Bilgin (2018) through social media marketing is shown above. A total of social media marketing initiatives were focused on this research framework's brand equity components, including awareness and image of brands and the connection between loyalties. The study's hypothesised associations are all substantial and favourable. However, brand awareness's effect on brand image is the smallest necessitating further research. Furthermore, the indirect impact of awareness on brands with brand image on brand loyalty was not further examined in the study. The research's framework and hypotheses are based on this study to strengthen the research's credibility and provide a solid foundation for the argument. Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of the research where the initial independent variables are social media influencer traits and the effects are studied on how they affect perceived quality and brand awareness. Brand awareness and perceived quality of the brand are used as independent variables to study the dependent variable of brand image. Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2024, 12(2): 149-161 153 © 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. Figure 1. Conceptual framework 2.6. Hypothesis Developments H1: Social media influencers significantly affect the perceived quality of consumer drone brands. Naive approaches in the context of social settings (Arora et al., 2019), customer socialization conjectures (Borchers, 2021), market signaling theories (Shuyi, Mamun, & Naznen, 2022) and other theories have all been put forth to explain how social media influencers might affect brand attitudes. These tested theoretical models help to explain how social media influencers can improve consumers' purchasing motivation by positively influencing their expectations of a company. Consumers commonly use a range of one-sidedly collected data to create disruptions and connect the dots in understanding prior to making purchasing decisions in an attempt to close the semantic gap regarding brands, goods and services (Ardiansyah & Nilowardono, 2019). It is one of the fastest ways for people to assimilate knowledge. Consumers can determine their expected psychology and attitude towards brands, products and services based on the information shared by social media influencers and can subsequently translate these expectations into consumption incentives based on them. The authors of this study contend that it is conceivable that social media influencers' personality qualities may also have a significant impact on customers' psychology and perceptions of brands in addition to the proof provided by other researchers. According to research by Salvation and Sorooshian (2018), consumer brand attitudes are favourably correlated with the influence of social media influencers. The first hypothesis of this study is that the personal traits of influencers on social media would alter a prospect’s expectations of the stature of the businesses they promote because a significant portion of the influencers’ capacity for charm and persuasion is made up of their exclusive and special traits and features. H2: Social media influencers significantly affect the awareness of consumer drone brands. The goal of an ambassador representing a brand is to promote the company to the masses, draw in fresh audiences of potential customers and eventually boost sales (Cheung et al., 2019). One of the goals of influencer marketing methods is brand awareness which influences consumer purchasing decisions without being explicitly acknowledged. Bilgin (2018) research indicates that YouTube has a significant influence on youthful consumer groups. The brand recognition in the advertisement will increase if this target audience sees promotional content on YouTube that is regarded as worthwhile. The relationship between the influencer and their following will significantly increase followers' interest in being endorsed as well as increase awareness of the brand while elevating brand attitude. Social media icons continue to deliver valuable knowledge and engaging content to their fans which involves the brands that the social media influencer has endorsed. The reliability of information sources may influence consumer perceptions of advertising content including the brand featured in the commercial and the advertisement itself (Świtała et al., 2018) as well as brand equity (Foroudi, 2019). However, most studies have focused on how advertising affects consumers, with relatively few examining how social media influencers' personalities and brand advocacy impact consumers' brand awareness. According to Cheung et al. (2019), the elements that contribute to brand awareness include the online mediums that users view along with the quality of the infomercial they are watching. This confirms the relationship between the reliability of a source of knowledge and brand awareness. According to this study, brand recognition among Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2024, 12(2): 149-161 154 © 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. consumers will be significantly impacted by the platforms used by social media influencers and the advertising content they supply as well as by the personal traits of these influencers themselves. H3: The perceived quality of consumer drone brands significantly affects the brand image of consumer drone brands. Perceived quality is the primary predictor of brand loyalty and prior research has shown that it has a beneficial impact on buying attention (Lesmana, Widodo, & Sunardi, 2020). Due to the fact that the methodology of this research is grounded in the study, it reveals that marketing activities through social media have an impact on brand image’s impact on brand loyalty (Bilgin, 2018). Hence, since perceived quality is a prerequisite for building brand loyalty, it is fair to infer that it can positively and significantly boost brand image. Additionally, Chi (2018) and Konuk (2019) and others have noted how perceived quality affects brand perception. H4: Awareness of consumer drone brands positively and significantly affects the brand image of consumer drone brands. According to Cheung et al. (2019),the ability to understand, become familiar with, and retain a specific brand is known as brand awareness. The first recognition of a brand’s potential in terms of capability for eliciting such an illogical sense of familiarity and articulate ideas and implied results related to a brand (Aaker, 1992). Advertising reach and spending are positively connected with brand awareness (Cheung et al., 2019). Social platforms reduce the time it takes for information to be transmitted and the need for inconvenient space. Brands will be able to know their customers and become more familiar with them as a result of their actions on social platforms. A brand will have a significant positive influence on subsequent purchase behaviour if it passes market testing and fulfils consumer expectations as well as subconscious desires (Bilgin, 2018). Additionally, once customers have experience with a brand, there is a significant rise in their probability of liking it (Kim & Chao, 2019). A high level of brand awareness makes creating a brand image easier (Gopinath, 2021). Therefore, this research brings us to conclude that customers’ brand awareness does have a favourable as well as considerable effect on brand image on the basis of the aforementioned research design and the aforementioned literature. 3. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY Researchers have classified the diverse range of topics into four different categories: quantitative, exploratory, descriptive and multiple regression. This research will employ a quantitative study due to the nature of the factors and the sampling of the variables in the prior studies was based on quantitative data. The purpose of a quantitative study is to use numerical data to test the research hypothesis. Quantitative research is attractive because it makes it possible to analyse how variables interact and correlate with one another as well as convert abstract ideas into quantifiable standards (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). The study's variables such as social media influencers, brand awareness, perceived quality and brand image are ideal for this kind of relationship verification. Participants in the study are young people in Malaysia with discretionary money who use social media on a daily basis. It will be delivered in the form of online surveys at random through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Email. Social media access and regular influencer following are requirements for subjects. Subsequently, they should select a product or service that has been endorsed by the social media influencer they are following and use it as the basis for the follow-up score. The test volunteers fill out the questionnaire and subsequent scoring questions as well as basic details about the study variables show that they have finished the response. The scores are then transformed to be ready for statistical analysis. This study used convenient sampling to obtain research samples within time and space constraints. The researchers will distribute online questionnaires using Google Form for sampling. Online questionnaires allow for convenient sampling since respondents are able to participate anytime, anywhere and contact researchers online. This greatly boosts sample efficiency. Studies recommend at least 200 respondents (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). Structural Equation Model (SEM): SEM is capable of handling multiple independent and explanatory variables and can include attributes in the analysis that are not readily observable. The bootstrapping method is used in this study to test predictions between independent and explanatory variables in order to increase the accuracy of the Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2024, 12(2): 149-161 155 © 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. research findings. Structural equation modelling of variance is used as a statistical method to test hypotheses, allowing testing the explanatory power of dependent variables. Bilgin (2018) had also used SEM for testing the hypothesis. 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSION The outcomes of the descriptive analysis are discussed in this section (see Table 1). Instagram accounted for 121 (52.6%) of the 230 samples that were gathered, making it the majority of the sample group. In terms of region, the region with the most respondents comes from Negeri Sembilan with 79 (34.3%) of the total sample size whereas for gender, 173 (75.2%) of the total respondents were male participants. Lastly, in terms of educational background, the majority of the entire sample size was bachelor degree holders with 142 respondents (61.7%) . Table 1. Descriptive analysis. Variables Frequency % Platform Facebook 49 21.30% Instagram 121 52.60% YouTube 36 15.70% Twitter 21 9.10% Other social media 3 1.20% Sex Man 173 75.20% Woman 57 24.80% Education level Bachelor’s degree 142 61.70% Secondary school 36 15.70% Master’s degree 23 10% Diploma 24 10.40% Doctorate degree 5 2.20% Region Negeri Sembilan 79 34.30% Melaka 11 4.80% Selangor 34 14.80% W.P. Kuala Lumpur 46 20% Johor 15 6.50% Pahang 8 3.50% Penang 14 6.10% Perak 5 5.10% Kelantan 2 0.90% Kedah 3 1.30% Perlis 4 1.70% Terengganu 3 1.30% Sabah 3 1.30% Sarawak 3 1.30% 4.1. Validity and Reliability Test Results According to experts, when the Cronbach's alpha coefficient is greater than 0.7, it is considered to have excellent reliability. 0.5 or more is considered acceptable and less than 0.35 is considered to have low reliability and has to be rejected. Table 2 indicates that all of the constructs included in this study have Cronbach's alpha coefficients that fall within the acceptable range. Table 2. Cronbach’s α result. Item Cronbach alpha Influencer traits 0.885 Branding awareness 0.948 Perceived quality 0.957 Brand image 0.878 Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2024, 12(2): 149-161 156 © 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 4.2. Hetero-trait Mono-Trait Ratio (HTMT) Henseler, Ringle, and Sarstedt (2015) presented an indicator to quantify discriminant validity to address the issue of insufficient cross-load sensitivity. According to experts, the HTMT value threshold must be less than 0.9 to be considered acceptable (Henseler et al., 2015). Table 3 shows that the HTMT values used in this study are recognised to be consistent with the norms advised by academics. Table 3. HTMT results. Variable Influencer traits Branding awareness Perceived quality Brand image Influencer traits 0.379 0.459 0.334 Branding awareness Perceived quality 0.812 0.716 Brand image 0.642 4.3. Fornell-Larcker Criterion The square root of the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) of a single construct must be greater than the correlation coefficient of other constructs in order to satisfy the Fornell-Larcker technique for mean variation derivation. This implies that the same construct is represented and cannot be separated if the root of the AVE of one item is lower with reference to the correlation coefficient of other items. Table 4 shows that every construct in the study satisfies the discriminant criterion. Table 4. Fornell-Larcker criterion result. Variable Influencer traits Branding awareness Perceived quality Brand image Influencer traits 0.789 Branding awareness 0.362 0.841 Perceived quality 0.429 0.743 0.889 Brand image 0.301 0.567 0.730 0.830 4.4. Model Fit The Standardized Root Mean Squared Residual (SRMR) value which ranges from 0 to 1 represents the test model's degree of matching. A saturated model is one where the frequency of pathways in the framework in the context of this research is equal to the frequency of relationships between the variables in the model for evaluation while an estimated model has its definition outlined as one where the data and paths in the research are calculated. According to Hu and Bentler (1999), the model has a satisfactory fit when the SRMR of the two models is less than 0.08. According to Wang and Wang (2019), the range is acceptable when the SRMR of the two models is less than 0.1. There should be as little numerical difference across models as is achievable (Henseler, Hubona, & Ray, 2016). According to Table 5, it is estimated that the model is 0.182 while the permitted range for the saturation model is 0.066. This study's sample size was adequate at 230. The sample size will have an impact on SRMR as it decreases as the sample size increases. Table 5. SRMR. Index Saturated-model Predicted model SRMR 0.064 0.183 4.5. Structural Equation Modelling (Sem) The hypothesis in this study is tested using bootstrapping to assess its significance using the path coefficients. In practice, a sampling size that is randomly collected with a magnitude of 5000 is the recommended amount. Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2024, 12(2): 149-161 157 © 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. Hence, the frequency of sampling at random through the bootstrapping technique must not be lower than its effective sampling size. Ordered judgement standards: P values less than 0.001 (.001) are considered to be in the most ideal scenario in terms of the significance of the result, p values lower than the threshold of 0.01 (.01) are considered to be in a standard significance threshold, p values lower than 0.05 (.05) are the minimal level of significance that can be considered and p values above the threshold of 0.05 (>.05) are not significant enough to be considered. Table 6 displays the results. All three of the other paths reached significant levels with the exception of "brand awareness". Table 6. Results of the path coefficient. Relationship P-value Brand awareness → Brand image 0.301 Perceived quality → Brand image 0.000*** Influencer traits → Brand awareness 0.000*** Influencer traits → Perceived quality 0.000*** Note: ***P-value less than 0.001. 4.6. Hypothesis Tests The goal of this study is to determine whether the traits of social media influencers have an impact on the products they promote, on customers' views of those items based on those traits and whether those traits have an impact on the development of brand identities as well. The results of the analysis allow for the following inferences: Table 7. Hypothesis testing. Hypotheses Result H1: Social media influencers significantly affect the perceived quality of consumer drone brands. Accepted H2: Social media influencers significantly affect the awareness of consumer drone brands. Accepted H3: The perceived quality of consumer drone brands significantly affects the brand image of consumer drone brands. Accepted H4: Awareness of consumer drone brands significantly affects the brand image of consumer drone brand. Rejected 5. RESULTS AND DISCUSION 5.1. Relationship between Influencers and Perceived Quality by Consumers The analysis's findings demonstrate that social media influencers significantly and favourably affect how consumers see a brand's quality (see Table 7). A similar study done on the influence of advertising on consumers also found that perceived quality had been positively impacted (Zhao et al., 2022). Consumers do not take the initiative to research the features of a product. Consumers typically need to actively spread knowledge from the outside world and passively receive information in order to make up for the uncertainty and mistrust of goods and services. The findings of this study support the notion that consumers' expectations of goods and services are positively correlated with the personality traits of social media influencers and their public personas. The more positively perceived social media influencers are, the more likely it is that consumers will demand higher-quality goods and services (according to the research questionnaire). 5.2. Influencers on social media and Brand Awareness among Customers According to Dehghani, Niaki, Ramezani, and Sali (2016), the more positive material there is, the more brand recognition a brand can achieve when it promotes image advertising on YouTube. It was also shown in a similar study done on celebrity endorsements that they helped raise brand awareness for smaller brands, hence improving the smaller brand’s brand awareness significantly (Shiyun et al., 2022). The study also stressed how much brand Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2024, 12(2): 149-161 158 © 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. recognition will be influenced by the specifics of the advertising information provided to consumers. The findings of this study demonstrated that social media influencers' own moral reputation and public perception in addition to the content of advertisements will affect the businesses they endorse. The findings are consistent with Dehghani's research when social media influencers are seen positively. Influencers on social media are also a key factor in boosting brand awareness in addition to the substance of commercials. 5.3. Perceived Quality and Brand Image Relationship Quality perceptions boosted the brand’s image. Chen and Tseng (2010) found that perceived quality boosts brand loyalty. Recent research have also shown that perceived quality boosts sports customer brand loyalty which is connected with brand image (Akoglu & Özbek, 2022). Aaker (1992). This study demonstrates that brand image must take into account customers' quality judgements. Consumers' sense of quality will boost the brand's image. 5.4. Brand Awareness and Brand Image Relationship Aaker (1992) defines brand loyalty as brand awareness and image. Keller (1993) defines brand equity as brand awareness in addition to image. Previous research has placed brand awareness and brand image in the same quadrant but no studies have examined their relationship. This study found no relationship between brand awareness and image. Consumer quality perception mediates social media influencers and brand perception. The previous chapter's mediation effect test indicates that the relationship between social media influencers' brand image and customers' perceived quality is almost mediated. This study showed that when consumers learn about a product through reliable sources or social media influencers, their expectations for it increase rapidly. Consumer satisfaction boosts the brand's reputation. Finally, the brand connects with a social media influencer who promotes it to consumers and boosts the brand’s reputation through product expectations. 6. CONCLUSION The goal of this study is to look at the personality traits of social media influencers and determine whether raising consumer expectations for a company's products or services has an impact on how the general public perceives that brand. This study examines the effects of two consumer-driven factors on a company's image: perceived quality and brand awareness. The development of the hypothesis, the validation of the data and the final research findings all show that social media influencers act as a bridge between how consumers see a brand and how they feel about its quality. This study's results and limitations can be used as a point of comparison for future relevant research and marketing strategy makers. This research investigates whether or not followers of social media influencers will impact their online personalities and the goods and services they promote. 6.1. Implications Marketing managers and pertinent policymakers can refer to the study's findings as validated outcomes. According to the study's findings, social media influencers' perceptions have an impact on customers' perceptions of the quality and brand recognition of particular products and services. General research studies on the feelings that consumers receive from commercials suggest that the informational richness or content composition of commercials affects consumers' psychological expectations for businesses. This study focuses on social media influencers that promote their own companies and highlights the need to consider the personality qualities of these individuals when creating marketing plans. Consumers today acquire a limited amount of information every day due to the Internet's quick information dissemination. Companies use social media influencer to promote them which not only make information transmission more effective but also enable small brands to have more diversified marketing strategies Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2024, 12(2): 149-161 159 © 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. at more affordable prices. It is easy to overlook the social media influencers who are frequently chosen as brand representatives. According to this study, social media influencers have a greater (and more positive) ability to raise consumer expectations for and visibility of brand products. The evaluation and personality features of potential internet representatives must be taken into account when determining whether they will leave a positive impression on customers. Consumption will be greatly decreased if the social media influencer has a bad reputation, even if the advertisement contains rich and fascinating content. In this study, the only thing that affected how people thought about a brand was how good they thought it was. The study's findings demonstrate that one of the most crucial marketing strategies for establishing a brand's reputation is enhancing consumers' favourable perceptions of that brand. The more expectations a brand generates for customers, even on the internet, the easier it is to develop a public brand image. However, this study could not find a causal link between brand awareness and brand image. This study found that social media influencers' traits directly and positively affect brand image, indirectly confirming that the two constructs are at the same level and that there is no causal relationship. Consumers' quality perceptions will influence social media influencers and brand image. Thus, decision-makers in the market should promote online influencers with good qualities to raise consumers' quality expectations and boost the brand's public perception. 6.2. Limitations and Recommendations The questionnaire for this study was created as an online survey. The age group is unequally distributed among the valid samples that were gathered and the research objects are not enough. Therefore, it is hard to determine any questionnaire's validity with any degree of accuracy. Some users might rush through the questionnaire's completion or give the grading questions too similar ratings which will have an impact on how the research is presented. It is recommended that future studies take into account factors including gender, age, education and the location of the consumer which were not restricted in this study. Researchers might explore certain consumer groups in the future such as males, females, students, consumers with purchasing experience etc. in order to have a deeper understanding and explanation of the research situation. Businesses within a particular industry analyse variances such as whether different social media influencers will have a different impact on the brand equity of information product brands versus beauty brands. Funding: This research is supported by INTI International University, Malaysia (Grant number: T&E3284). Institutional Review Board Statement: The Ethical Committee of the INTI International University, Malaysia has granted approval for this study (Ref. No. INTI/UEC/2023/013). Transparency: The authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. This study followed all writing ethics. Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Authors’ Contributions: All authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. REFERENCES Aaker, D. A. (1991). Managing brand equity: Capitalizing on the value of a brand name. New York: The Free Press. Aaker, D. A. (1992). The value of brand equity. Journal of Business Strategy, 13(4), 27-32. Akoglu, H. E., & Özbek, O. (2022). The effect of brand experiences on brand loyalty through perceived quality and brand trust: A study on sports consumers. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 34(10), 2130-2148. Ardiansyah, P. W., & Nilowardono, S. (2019). The influence of brand image, product innovation and social media marketing on samsung smartphone‘s buying interest: Case study on Narotama University students. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business Development, 2(2), 210-217. Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2024, 12(2): 149-161 160 © 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. Arora, A., Bansal, S., Kandpal, C., Aswani, R., & Dwivedi, Y. (2019). Measuring social media influencer index-insights from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 49, 86-101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.03.012 Bazuhair , N. A. S. (2023). Awareness of business administration students of the role of digital marketing in the growth of e- commerce. International Journal of Professional Business Review, 8(2), e01123. https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2023.v8i2.1123 Bilgin, Y. (2018). The effect of social media marketing activities on brand awareness, brand image and brand loyalty. Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 6(1), 128-148. https://doi.org/10.15295/bmij.v6i1.229 Borchers, N. S. (2021). Social media influencers in strategic communication. New York: Routledge. Chen, C., & Tseng, W. (2010). Exploring customer based airline brand equity: Evidence from Taiwan. In (pp. 24-34). Taiwan: National Science Council. Cheung, M. L., Pires, G. D., & Rosenberger, I. P. J. (2019). Developing a conceptual model for examining social media marketing effects on brand awareness and brand image. International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 17(3), 243-261. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijebr.2019.10019330 Chi, T. (2018). Understanding Chinese consumer adoption of apparel mobile commerce: An extended TAM approach. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 44, 274-284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.07.019 Dehghani, M., Niaki, M. K., Ramezani, I., & Sali, R. (2016). Evaluating the influence of YouTube advertising for attraction of young customers. Computers in Human Behavior, 59(6), 165-172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.01.037 El-Adly, M. I. (2019). Modelling the relationship between hotel perceived value, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 50, 322-332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.07.007 Foroudi, P. (2019). Influence of brand signature, brand awareness, brand attitude, brand reputation on hotel industry’s brand performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 76, 271-285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.05.016 García-Fernández, J., Gálvez-Ruíz, P., Fernández-Gavira, J., Vélez-Colón, L., Pitts, B., & Bernal-García, A. (2018). The effects of service convenience and perceived quality on perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty in low-cost fitness centers. Sport Management Review, 21(3), 250-262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2017.07.003 Gopinath, R. (2021). Consumer perception on brand awareness of household fabric care products. International Journal of Scientific Research and Reviews, 8(2), 3418-3424. https://doi.org/10.55057/ijbtm.2023.5.1.18 Hall, J. (2016). Build authentic audience experiences through influencer marketing forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhall/2015/12/17/buildauthentic-audienceexperiences-through-influencer- marketing/#589d25fa4ff2 Henseler, J., Hubona, G., & Ray, P. A. (2016). Using PLS path modeling in new technology research: Updated guidelines. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 116(1), 2-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/imds-09-2015-0382 Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43, 115-135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403- 8 Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118 Ismael, Z. N. (2022). Marketing strategy: The influence of corporate social responsibility on brand awareness. International journal of Engineering, Business and Management, 6(5). https://doi.org/10.22161/ijebm.6.5.6 Keller, K. L. (1993). Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 1-22. Kim, R. B., & Chao, Y. (2019). Effects of brand experience, brand image and brand trust on brand building process: The case of Chinese millennial generation consumers. Journal of International Studies, 12(3), 9-21. https://doi.org/10.14254/2071- 8330.2019/12-3/1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.03.012 https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2023.v8i2.1123 https://doi.org/10.15295/bmij.v6i1.229 https://doi.org/10.1504/ijebr.2019.10019330 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.07.019 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.01.037 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.07.007 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.05.016 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2017.07.003 https://doi.org/10.55057/ijbtm.2023.5.1.18 https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhall/2015/12/17/buildauthentic-audienceexperiences-through-influencer-marketing/#589d25fa4ff2 https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhall/2015/12/17/buildauthentic-audienceexperiences-through-influencer-marketing/#589d25fa4ff2 https://doi.org/10.1108/imds-09-2015-0382 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8 https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118 https://doi.org/10.22161/ijebm.6.5.6 https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-8330.2019/12-3/1 https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-8330.2019/12-3/1 Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2024, 12(2): 149-161 161 © 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. Konuk, F. A. (2019). The influence of perceived food quality, price fairness, perceived value and satisfaction on customers’ revisit and word-of-mouth intentions towards organic food restaurants. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 50(C), 103-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.05.005 Lesmana, R., Widodo, A. S., & Sunardi, N. (2020). The formation of customer loyalty from brand awareness and perceived quality through brand equity of Xiaomi Smartphone users in South Tangerang. Journal of Competitive Marketing, 4(1), 1-12. Mao, Y., Lai, Y., Luo, Y., Liu, S., Du, Y., Zhou, J., . . . Bonaiuto, M. (2020). Apple or Huawei: Understanding flow, brand image, brand identity, brand personality and purchase intention of smartphone. Sustainability, 12(8), 3391. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083391 Mokhlis, S., Nik Hussin, N. S., Nizam, N. Z., Mohd Noor, N. A., & Muslim, N. A. (2021). Predicting Malaysian university students’ intent to pursue retailing career: Applicability of theory of planned behavior. International Journal of Professional Business Review, 7(1), e0277. https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2022.v7i1.277 Newman, J. W. (1957). New insight, new progress, for marketing. Harvard Business Review, 35(6), 95-102. Porto, R. B., Watanabe, E. A., De, M., Barrozo, M. M. A., & De Souza Júnior, E. X. (2021). Electronic word-of-mouth advertising versus brand strength: Effects on consumers’ purchasing decision. International Journal of Professional Business Review, 7(1), e0250. https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2022.v7i1.250 Salvation, M. D., & Sorooshian, S. (2018). The role of social media marketing and product involvement on consumers' purchase intentions of smartphones. Computational Methods in Social Sciences, 6(1), 65-81. Savitri, C., Hurriyati, R., Wibowo, L., & Hendrayati, H. (2022). The role of social media marketing and brand image on smartphone purchase intention. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 6(1), 185-192. https://doi.org/10.33086/amj.v6i2.3028 Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill building approach (7th ed.). West Sussex: Wiley-Ebook. Shiyun, T., Tao, W., Hong, C., & Tsai, W.-H. S. (2022). Meaning transfer in celebrity endorsement and co-branding: Meaning valence, association type, and brand awareness. International Journal of Advertising, 41(6), 1017-1037. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2021.1940059 Shuyi, J., Mamun, A., & Naznen, F. (2022). Social media marketing activities on brand equity and purchase intention among Chinese smartphone consumers during COVID-19. Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTPM-02-2022-0038 Świtała, M., Gamrot, W., Reformat, B., & Bilińska-Reformat, K. (2018). The influence of brand awareness and brand image on brand equity–an empirical study of logistics service providers. Journal of Economics and Management, 33, 96-119. Tran, P. K. T., Nguyen, P. D., Le, A. H. N., & Tran, V. T. (2022). Linking self-congruity, perceived quality and satisfaction to brand loyalty in a tourism destination: The moderating role of visit frequency. Tourism Review, 77(1), 287-301. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-04-2020-0143 Walton, W., Taib, N. M., Khadri, M. W. A. B. A., Yip, F. Y., Lajuma, S., & Punniamoorthy, P. A. L. (2022). The unique role of hope and optimism in the relationship between environmental quality and life satisfaction during COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(13), 7661. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137661 Wang, J., & Wang, X. (2019). Structural equation modeling: Applications using Mplus. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley and Sons. Zhao, J., Butt, R. S., Murad, M., Mirza, F., & Saleh Al-Faryan, M. A. (2022). Untying the influence of advertisements on consumers buying behavior and brand loyalty through brand awareness: The moderating role of perceived quality. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 803348. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.803348 Views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the author(s), Humanities and Social Sciences Letters shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.05.005 https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083391 https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2022.v7i1.277 https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2022.v7i1.250 https://doi.org/10.33086/amj.v6i2.3028 https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2021.1940059 https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTPM-02-2022-0038 https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-04-2020-0143 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137661 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.803348