ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ON MARKETING PERFORMANCE WITH CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT AS MEDIATION AT BIMBEL RUANG GURU JEPARA

Abstract

Social media marketing has emerged as a crucial strategy in the digital era, especially for service industries such as education. The tutoring industry in Indonesia, including Bimbel Ruang Guru Jepara, is experiencing rapid growth due to increasing academic demands and high internet penetration among students and parents. In this competitive landscape, social media platforms serve not only as communication tools but also as effective channels to promote services, build brand image, and engage consumers. Hence, it is important to validate how social media marketing strategies contribute to marketing performance in emerging markets like Indonesia. The present study, conducted with 120 respondents who are users of Bimbel Ruang Guru Jepara, aims to examine the influence of Social Media Marketing (SMM) on Marketing Performance (MP), with Customer Engagement (CE) as a mediating variable. Using Structural Equation Modeling with SmartPLS 4.0, the study found that SMM significantly influences both CE and MP. Furthermore, CE also has a significant positive effect on MP and successfully mediates the relationship between SMM and MP. Overall, the tested model explains 58% of the variation in marketing performance, indicating a moderate explanatory power. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for education service providers, emphasizing that building active engagement with consumers is as critical as promotional activities to achieve sustainable marketing performance in digital markets.