FROM FEED TO FAN: HOW CONTENT MARKETING VALUE BUILDS BRAND ADVOCACY THROUGH AUTHENTICITY

Abstract

This study examines how content marketing value shapes consumer advocacy through brand authenticity, and how brand familiarity and digital engagement condition these relationships, among adult social media users in Punjab, Pakistan — as underrepresented in digital-marketing research. Integrating Signalling Theory, Uses and Gratifications Theory, and Social Exchange Theory, the study models content marketing value as influencing consumer advocacy both directly and indirectly through brand authenticity, with brand familiarity moderating the content value–authenticity path and digital engagement moderating the authenticity–advocacy path. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and data from 310 eligible respondents were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS. The measurement model demonstrated satisfactory indicator reliability, internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity, and common method bias was not a concern. The structural results supported all six hypotheses: content marketing value significantly predicted both brand authenticity and consumer advocacy; brand authenticity significantly predicted consumer advocacy; and brand authenticity partially (complementarily) mediated the content value–advocacy relationship. Both moderation effects were positive and significant — the content value–authenticity link strengthened at higher levels of brand familiarity, and the authenticity–advocacy link strengthened at higher levels of digital engagement. The findings extend authenticity-mediated content-marketing frameworks to a secondary urban market and offer brand managers evidence for calibrating content strategy to consumers’ familiarity and engagement levels rather than applying a uniform approach.