Influence of Social Media Marketing and Trust on Purchase Decisions via TikTok in Phuket Province

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Social Media has become an important marketing communication channel that businesses use to build awareness, generate interest, and influence consumer purchase decisions—particularly through the TikTok application, which has become widely popular in Phuket province, an area with strong growth in e-commerce and tourism. However, for consumers to decide to purchase products through such applications, trust is a critical contributing factor. This research therefore aims to study 1) social media marketing communication influences consumer trust in purchasing decisions via the TikTok Application in Phuket Province, 2) social media marketing communication that influences consumer purchasing decisions via the TikTok Application in Phuket Province, and 3) trust influences consumer purchase decisions via the TikTok Application in Phuket Province.
Methods: This is a quantitative study. The sample consisted of 420 consumers in Phuket province who had previously purchased products via the TikTok application, selected using stratified sampling combined with convenience sampling. A questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument. The statistics used for data analysis included descriptive statistics—frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation—and inferential statistics used for hypothesis testing, namely multiple regression analysis and simple regression analysis.
Results: The results showed that social media marketing communication influences trust in Phuket consumers' purchase decisions via the TikTok application. The variables that significantly contributed to the predictive equation were need gratification (Beta = .430), entertainment (Beta = .166), and electronic word-of-mouth (Beta = .124), which together explained 45.90% of the variance in trust. In addition, social media marketing communication was also found to directly influence purchase decisions via the TikTok application, with entertainment (Beta = .346), electronic word-of-mouth (Beta = .232), and need gratification (Beta = .178) as the influential predictor variables, explaining 48.00% of the variance in purchase decisions. Furthermore, trust was found to have a significant direct influence on purchase decisions, with a regression coefficient of .841, explaining as much as 70.70% of the variance in purchase decisions—making it the most influential variable in this study.
Application of this study: The findings of this research can serve as a guideline for entrepreneurs and marketers selling products through the TikTok application in Phuket province. Priority should be given to building consumer trust, as it is the most influential factor in purchase decisions—for example, by providing transparent product information, credible reviews and social proof, and product quality guarantees. In addition, marketing communication content should be made more entertaining and designed to encourage electronic word-of-mouth, while also being tailored to meet the specific needs of each target group, in order to simultaneously enhance both trust and the likelihood of purchase.
Conclusions: Social media marketing communication influences Phuket consumers' purchase decisions via the TikTok application both directly and indirectly through trust, with trust being the most influential factor in purchase decisions (explaining 70.70% of the variance). Entrepreneurs should therefore prioritize building trust alongside developing marketing communication strategies that are entertaining, encourage word-of-mouth sharing, and address consumers' specific needs, in order to sustainably increase sales through the TikTok application.