A Review of Brand Evangelism in the Digital Era: A Structured Review of Social Media-Driven Advocacy

Authors

  • Dr. Prabhavathy R St.Joseph's College of Engineering Author
  • Dr S SenthilKumar Author
  • Dr K Subathra Author
  • Paul Arun Kumar J Author
  • Dr. Sindu Bharathi S K Author
  • Dr. Prabu A Author
  • Gayathiri G Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.66210/yhjbew62

Keywords:

Brand Evangelism, Digital Era, Social Media, Advocacy, Systematic Review.

Abstract

The objective of the article is to provide a systematic examination of brand evangelism in the digital phase, emphasizing the part of social media in building customer advocacy. The study incorporated online databases such as Elsevier, Emerald, EBSCO, Taylor & Francis, Springer, and Google Scholar. A total of 165 articles were utilized for the study. This article explores the fundamental concepts, drivers, and effects of brand evangelism in the digital age, highlighting consumer advocacy driven by social media. The review notes that consumer brand connections, emotional engagement, brand love, trust, affective commitment, online brand communities, influencer marketing, immersive technologies, and user-generated content are some of the key contributors to brand evangelism. The data also show that relationship quality, brand trust, and affective commitment increase evangelical behaviors with positive word-of-mouth, brand defense, and loyalty. The review concludes that interactive, emotionally engaging, and communal brand experiences can build brand loyalty and digital competitive advantage.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Aman, Y. Z., Setyawati, D., Widiawati, D., & Tama, S. Y. (2024). Digital marketing strategy in increasing Brand Awareness in the Industrial Era 4.0. Journal of Economic Bussines and Accounting (COSTING), 7(4), 9334–9339. https://doi.org/10.31539/costing.v7i4.10504

Bhandari, M. P., Bhattarai, C., & Mulholland, G. (2024). Online brand community engagement and brand evangelism: the role of age, gender and membership number. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 33(3), 301–313. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpbm-02-2023-4373

Cavadas, R. J. O. M. dos S., & Moreira, A. C. (2025). Brand evangelism: A review and research agenda. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 49(3), Not Available. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.70064

Feng, G., & Ou, Y. (2025). The Impact of Marketing Channel Changes on Brand Loyalty in the Digital Era. Economics & Business Management.

Fueller, J., Schroll, R., Dennhardt, S., & Hutter, K. (2012). Social brand value and the value enhancing role of social media relationships for brands. 2012 45th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

Gholipour, N., Khabiri, M., & Eidi, H. (2020). The Effect of Brand Identification on Brand Evangelism Football Teams in Social Media: With the Mediating Role of Brand Loyalty. Communication Management in Sport Media, 7(3), 43–54.

Hadi, A., & Sabardini, S. E. (2025). The influence of brand congruity on brand evangelism through the mediation of brand trust and brand commitment among Generation Z Shopee users. Telaah Bisnis, 26(1), 43. https://doi.org/10.35917/tb.v26i1.592

Harrigan, P., Roy, S. K., & Chen, T. (2021). Do value cocreation and engagement drive brand evangelism? Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 39(3), 345–360. https://doi.org/10.1108/mip-10-2019-0492

Hidayat, R. S., Maulana, P., Muhdaliha, E., Bongsoikrama, J., & Wibowo, F. L. (2025). Customer focus strategy in the digital era: The influence of AI implementation and competitive advantage on enhancing brand loyalty in Edutech platforms. Jurnal Publikasi Sistem Informasi Dan Manajemen Bisnis, 4(3), 539–547. https://doi.org/10.55606/jupsim.v4i3.5487

Hsu, L. C. (2019). Investigating the brand evangelism effect of community fans on social networking sites: Perspectives on value congruity. Online Information Review, 43(5), 842–866.

Hung, P. (2025). The impact of digital social responsibility on brand love, brand evangelism, and buying intention in green products: A mediated analysis. Tạp Chí Khoa Học Đại Học Công Thương, 314–323. https://doi.org/10.62985/j.huit_ojs.vol25.nos3_ica.292

Ibrahim, B., Hazzam, J., Ali Qalati, S., Aljarah, A., & Dobson, P. (2025). Building a tribe on Instagram: How User-generated and Firm-created Content can drive brand evangelism and fidelity. Journal of Marketing Communications, 31(8), 905–924. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2024.2338788

Jam, F. A., Khan, T. I., & Paul, J. (2025). Driving brand evangelism by Unleashing the power of branding and sales management practices. Journal of Business Research, 190(115214), 115214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115214

Khairy, H. A., & Salama, W. M. (2026). Humanizing brands as social change in the digital age: how anthropomorphism, empathy, and technological empowerment drive hotel brand evangelism. Societies, 16(3), 94.

Lee, C. T., & Hsieh, S. (2016). The effects of social capital on brand evangelism in online brand fan page: The role of passionate brand love.

Mansoor, M., Alibrahim, I. A., Khan, T. I., & Ali, M. (2026). Mindful travel in the digital age: How immersive technology transforms value-driven well-being into brand evangelism. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 92(104780), 104780. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2026.104780

Mansoor, M., Paul, J., Khan, T. I., Abukhait, R., & Hussain, D. (2025). Customer evangelists: Elevating hospitality through digital competence, brand image, and corporate social responsibility. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 126(104085), 104085. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2025.104085

Nobi, B., Kim, K.-M., & Lee, S. (2022). The aftermath of a brand transgression: the role of brand forgiveness and brand evangelism. Journal of Asia Business Studies, 16(6), 1030–1040. https://doi.org/10.1108/jabs-05-2021-0204

Pornsrimate, K., & Khamwon, A. (2021). How to convert Millennial consumers to brand evangelists through social media micro-influencers. Innovative Marketing, 17(2), 18–32. https://doi.org/10.21511/im.17(2).2021.03

Poulis, A., Theodoridis, P., & Zacharatos, T. (2026). Green branding in the digital era: The role of influencer credibility and greenwashing in shaping brand authenticity, trust and purchase intentions. Sustainability, 18(1), 451. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18010451

Rabby, F., Murthy, Y. S., & Bansal, R. (2025). Brand evangelism in the digital era: The impact of data-driven influencer marketing. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 11(2), 100552.

Reddy M N, D. A. (2019). A study on influence of social media communication on brand equity and brand evangelism of millennials. International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology, 7(10), 294–301. https://doi.org/10.22214/ijraset.2019.10045

Safeer, A. A., & Le, T. T. (2023). Transforming customers into evangelists: influence of online brand experience on relationship quality and brand evangelism in the banking industry. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 35(12), 2947–2964. https://doi.org/10.1108/apjml-12-2022-1018

Samal, A., Lyer, K.A., Agarwal, V., Mittal, S., Mishra, M., & Verma, U. (2025). Review of social media marketing strategies and their influence on brand loyalty in digital era. Multidisciplinary Reviews.

Sanjari Nader, B., Yarahmadi, F., & Baluchi, H. (2020). The Impact of Social Network Based Brand Communities on Brand Evangelism through Strengthening Brand Trust. Consumer Behavior Studies Journal, 7(2), 24–47.

Santoso, N. R., & Negoro, S. H. (2025). Brand evangelists’ expectations: consumption decisions towards digital corporate social responsibility communication. Jurnal Kajian Komunikasi, 13(2), 365–385.

Shaari, H., & Ahmad, I. S. (2016). Brand evangelism among online brand community members. International Review of Management and Business Research, 5(1), 80–88.

Sharma, P. (2022). Understanding destination evangelism: a social media viewpoint. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 40(1), 72–88. https://doi.org/10.1108/mip-04-2021-0128

Sharma, P., & Khandeparkar, K. (2024). Exploring the nexus between influencers and brand evangelism. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics. https://doi.org/10.1108/apjml-06-2023-0581

Sharma, P., & Khandeparkar, K. (2025). Understanding brand evangelism-a systematic review of the literature and future research avenues. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 33(2), 205–238.

Sharma, P., Sadh, A., Billore, A., & Motiani, M. (2022). Investigating brand community engagement and evangelistic tendencies on social media. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 31(1), 16–28. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpbm-01-2020-2705

Sharma, T., & Jha, S. (2025). Ai-powered analysis of brand-consumer engagement in the digital era: Insights from Indian millennials. ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts, 6(4s), 538–547. https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v6.i4s.2025.6930

Sohaib, M., Safeer, A. A., & Majeed, A. (2024). Does firm-created social media communication develop brand evangelists? Role of perceived values and customer experience. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 42(6), 1074–1092. https://doi.org/10.1108/mip-09-2023-0465

Vijayan, V., & Thomas, J. (2025). Examining the Role of Brand Trust in the Association Between Brand Evangelism and Marketing 5.0. IUP Journal of Brand Management, 22(3).

W.D.D.S, W., D.M.R., D., & A.P., M. (2025). Conceptual Review on Brand Community and Brand Evangelism: With Special Reference to Sri Lankan Context. International Journal of Business and Management Invention.

Wang, Y., Gu, G., Cai, X., & Li, W. (2026). The impact of social media information on brand evangelism: a moderating effect model based on three-way interaction. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 38(2), 240–257. https://doi.org/10.1108/apjml-11-2024-1765

Yao, X. (2024). Digital marketing in the New Era: Exploring the affordances of chatbots in consumer engagement and brand connection. Communications in Humanities Research, 24(1), 80–86. https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7064/24/20231503

Zhang, Y., & Choi, H. (2023). Brand anthropomorphism and consumer brand evangelism on social networking sites: Prevention focus as a moderator. Social Behavior and Personality, 51(12), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.2224/12726

Downloads

Published

2026-05-29

How to Cite

A Review of Brand Evangelism in the Digital Era: A Structured Review of Social Media-Driven Advocacy. (2026). International Journal of Management Research & Innovation, 1(2), 46-58. https://doi.org/10.66210/yhjbew62

Similar Articles

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)