Digital Engagement in the Social Media Era: Assessing the Impact of Advertising Dimensions on Consumer Participation

Abstract

The quick development of social media ecosystems has completely changed modern digital marketing
strategies, posing previously unheard-of difficulties for companies developing and distributing successful
advertising material. In this study, the subtle relationships between the six key dimensions of social media
advertising – entertainment, informativeness, customisation, trust, customer interaction, and degree of
involvement – and the overall effect on online customer engagement are explored. The approach of this study is
quantitative cross-sectional research with interviews conducted using a structured Likert scale questionnaire on
social media users across the five major metropolitan cities of India: Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi and
Mumbai during July and September 2025. It is based on the Integrated Social Media Advertising Engagement
Framework (ISMAEF), integrating both the Uses and Gratifications Theory and Cognitive Absorption Theory.
Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), multiple linear regression, independent
sample t-tests, and one-way ANOVA were all included in the data analysis. The overall model was well explained
(R² = 0.687, Adj. R² = 0.679), and the most significant antecedents were entertainment (β = 0.264, p < 0.001) and
customer interaction (β = 0.253, p < 0.001). Interestingly, the relationship between advertisement parameters and
engagement was found to be somewhat mediated by consumer interactions. This reflected significant differences
with respect to age and gender, in which younger male members had higher tendency towards participation.
The implications are of practical managers' use, with optimization of the strategy of social media advertising in the
development of digital markets, and the theoretical contribution in the confirmation of an integrated approach to
understanding the processes of digital engagement.