Digital content marketing and EWOM: A mediational serial approach

Background: In this study, the parameters that directly impact purchase intentions were analysed, such as electronic word of mouth, customer engagement, brand awareness, and customer retention. Objectives: This study aimed to explore the impact of digital content marketing on customer purchase intentions. Methods/Approach: The study used Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to explore the hypothesised relationships between variables and the extent to which digital content marketing strategies influence purchase intention. Results: The study's findings highlighted that content marketing positively impacts electronic word of mouth, brand awareness, customer retention, and customer engagement. In contrast, the results revealed that content marketing does not directly impact purchase intentions. Conclusions: The study's results indicate that digital content marketing affects purchase intentions indirectly, primarily through customer engagement, brand awareness, customer retention, and electronic word of mouth. In essence, the complete impact of digital content marketing on purchase intention is realised through these indirect factors. The findings enrich the literature on digital content marketing and provide some practical implications for companies to invest more in this direction to improve their performance. Keywords: Brand awareness, customer engagement, customer retention, digital content marketing, e-WOM, purchase intention.