Impact of social media marketing activities on brand awareness of Gen Z through the TikTok platform

This study aims to evaluate the impact of social media marketing (SMM) activities on TikTok on brand awareness among Generation Z in Vietnam. Using a quantitative research approach, data were collected from 205 Gen Z users in Hanoi and analyzed using SPSS 27 through Cronbach’s Alpha reliability testing, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and multiple linear regression. The results show that the SMM model explains 73.8% of the variance in brand awareness. Among the eight initial factors, “personalization” was eliminated, and “entertainment” was not statistically significant. The remaining six factors all positively affect brand awareness in descending order: electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), storytelling, interactivity, influencer presence, trendiness, and informativeness. Based on these findings, the study proposes managerial implications to optimize marketing strategies on short-video platforms.