THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGIES ON BRAND AWARENESS AND PURCHASE INTENTION IN MYANMAR’S RETAIL CLOTHING SECTOR

Rapid mobile penetration coupled with ubiquitous social platform use has changed the face of retail globally, even in new markets such as Myanmar (GSMA, 2023). Social media marketing (SMM) has become and continues to be the singularly most important commerce mode within the local clothing sector as it reflects the world's trend towards social commerce, where platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok become the main touchpoints for consumer–brand interactions (Appel et al., 2019; Watty, 2025). This makes a case for a focused investigation on how these platforms can be strategically used to optimize marketing efficiencies and nurture business growth.
Though SMM has brought with it valuable commercial benefits, there is no local empirical research on strategy effectiveness within developing markets that are often characterized by formative impact, visual, personalized, and real-time engagement with consumers along their journey of purchase (Chaffey & Ellis Chadwick, 2016). Such constructs would be somewhat different from experience as exhibited by those found in Western digital ecosystems (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010).
Thus, this MBA thesis will discuss three core strategic variables of platform usage, content strategy, and engagement tactics linked to enhanced brand awareness as conceived from the established social commerce theory and, subsequently, increased purchase intention (Hajli, 2015). Bringing empirical evidence of this sequential relationship will enrich the academic discourse and provide real practice-based evidence for retail clothing entrepreneurs interested in boosting their digital marketing effectiveness.