The Model of Social Media Marketing Strategy Affecting Residence Purchase Decisions in the Southern Provinces of Thailand

Abstract

The research article consisted of the following objectives: 1) to investigate the marketing strategies and the use of social media of entrepreneurs living in the Southern provinces of Thailand; 2) to explore the marketing strategies and social media affecting residence purchase decisions in the Southern provinces of Thailand; and 3) to develop the model of marketing strategies and social media affecting residence purchase decisions in the Southern provinces of Thailand. The study used a mixed-method approach. The population for the quantitative method includes 400 customers who purchased residence in housing projects in Thailand's southern provinces. The questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 key informants, including housing project managers, real estate marketers, and residential customers, to obtain qualitative data. The obtained data were analyzed by multiple regression analysis.

From the study, the following results are found: 1) The marketing strategies and social media affecting residence purchase decisions in the Southern provinces of Thailand reveal that show that developing marketing strategies for a residential business requires product positioning, as well as different and distinctive residence types. Marketing opportunities are created through social media as a way for residential entrepreneurs to reach their target group. As a result, social media marketing must be promoted and supported because it is low-cost and regarded a competitive advantage; 2) Product strategies have an effect on residence purchase decisions in the Southern provinces of Thailand and the widespread use of social media has an effect on residence purchase decisions in the Southern provinces of Thailand with a statistical significance of 0.01; and 3) Social media components affecting residence purchase decisions in the Southern provinces of Thailand are at a high level. When looking at the individual components, the aspect of accepting rules is the one with the highest opinion level. The sample group have opinions about the sufficient knowledge and skills to protect personal information when using social media.