Exploring The Relationship Between Social Media Advertising Characteristics and Purchase Intention Towards Cosmetics and Personal Care Industry in Egypt

      This study examines how various social media advertising characteristics affect the intention to buy in Egypt's cosmetic and personal care industry, with online customer engagement as a mediating variable.The research focuses on four main advertising characteristics: entertainment, interactivity, vividness, and informativeness. The main goal is to see how these elements shape customer engagement and, in turn, the desire to purchase. The study uses data from 396 valid survey respondents. The questionnaire respondents were from Egypt, used social media actively, and had seen advertisements on social media platforms. The primary objective of this study is to ascertain which factor, whether it be entertainment, interactivity, vividness, or informativeness, shows greater influence on online customer engagement and purchase intention. The research draws from the answers of 396  respondents who live in Egypt, are active on social media, and have seen advertisements on these platforms. Data was collected through an online questionnaire and was distributed through various social media platforms.
      By employing structural equation modeling (SEM), the study examines the direct and indirect effects of these advertising characteristics on customer engagement and purchase intention. The results indicate that entertainment, interactivity, and informativeness positively contribute to customer engagement, with interactivity demonstrating the strongest influence. Vividness, conversely, exhibits a relatively weaker effect on engagement. Notably, customer engagement emerged as a significant driver of purchase intention, demonstrating a strong direct positive impact and underscoring its critical role in shaping consumer purchasing behavior.
      The findings of testing the direct relationship between social media advertising characteristics and purchase intention were mixed. Interactivity demonstrated a significant negative impact on purchase intention, suggesting that excessively interactive advertisements may hinder consumers's purchase intent. Conversely, entertainment, vividness, and informativeness exhibited no direct influence on purchase intention. However, customer engagement served as an effective mediator, transforming interactivity, entertainment, vividness, and informativeness into indirect drivers of purchase intention. The research concludes that online customer engagement plays a crucial role in altering social media advertisement attributes to purchase intent.
      However, although interactivity has a direct negative effect on purchase intention, its effect through customer engagement is high. This shows the need for the creation of social media advertisements that not only attract attention but also induce participation from consumers. In this case, for marketing practitioners, it is vital to encourage customer engagement so that the advertisement over social media can be effective and enhance the possibilities of purchase intention. These findings suggest that a strategic focus on engagement-driven campaigns is essential for optimizingpurchase outcomes in an increasingly digital marketplacen