EFFECTS OF FACEBOOK MEME MARKETING ON CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO GENERATION Z IN WESTERN PROVINCE, SRI LANKA

Abstract

1. Introduction Today, businesses and marketers are realizing the value of using social media meme marketing to engage with consumers due to memes’ humorous, shareable, and relatable nature. Despite the global trend indicating that social media meme marketing generates higher consumer engagement, especially on platforms like Facebook, the local market response in Sri Lanka presents a puzzling challenge and fails to elicit significant consumer engagement. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine how Facebook meme marketing impacts on Generation Z consumer engagement of consumers in Western Province, Sri Lanka. 2. Research Methodology This study employed the survey strategy under the quantitative methodology. Following a positivist research philosophy and deductive research approach, a sample of 350 individuals of Generation Z active Facebook users residing in Western Province, Sri Lanka who engage with meme-based posts of brands was selected using a purposive sampling technique to collect data. The IBM SPSS 21 software has been used to analyze the collected data and multiple linear regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses. 3. Findings and Discussion The findings reveal that entertainment, interaction, informativeness, and electronic word-of-mouth of Facebook meme marketing positively impacted Generation Z consumer engagement in Western Province, Sri Lanka, and the trendiness of Facebook meme marketing did not impact. The entertainment of Facebook meme marketing has been identified as the most influential factor that impacts Generation Z consumer engagement in Western Province, Sri Lanka. 4. Conclusion and Implications The Findings of this study provide valuable insights that can help marketers identify and effectively use meme marketing to enhance consumer engagement. Identified factors will enable firms to modify their marketing strategies to reflect the changing tastes of consumers.