Humanized Brand Interaction and Digital Storytelling: A Community-Based Social Marketing Perspective on Community-Driven Engagement in Social Media

Abstract

The rapid evolution of social media has transformed digital marketing communication from one-way promotion into participatory engagement driven by online communities. This study examines how humanized brand interaction and digital storytelling influence community-driven engagement through the perspective of Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM). The research focuses on the viral interaction phenomenon between Toshiba TV Indonesia and Amanda Brownies on platform X (formerly Twitter), which generated extensive audience participation and inter-brand engagement. Using a quantitative approach with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), data were collected from 209 respondents familiar with the interaction phenomenon. The findings reveal that humanized brand interaction significantly influences community participation, while digital storytelling also positively affects participation, although with a weaker effect. Furthermore, community participation significantly enhances perceived brand engagement and mediates the relationships between communication strategies and engagement outcomes. The study demonstrates that social media engagement is increasingly generated through participatory community dynamics rather than promotional exposure alone. Theoretically, this research extends Community-Based Social Marketing into the context of digital brand communication and community-driven engagement in social media environments.