Abstract
The study was necessitated by the observation that the
Zimbabwean hospitality sector particularly city hotels is confronted by a
significant challenge in utilizing social media marketing to enhance brand
awareness. In spite of the low growth rate in the accommodation sector and
increasing importance of online platforms, the adoption of social media
particularly Facebook remains limited. The study employed an explanatory
research approach to assess the influence of social media marketing on brand
awareness as it helps in understanding the relationships between
social media marketing and brand awareness and explaining why these
relationships exist. The study population comprised of managers, employees and
customers of Hyatt Regency hotel who were selected using simple random and
stratified sampling methods. A structured questionnaire was used to gather
primary data. The study's results showed that social media marketing influences
brand awareness for Hyatt Regency Hotel. More explicitly, the research
discovered that social media marketing has a significant impact on prompting
consumer perception of the services offered by Hyatt Regency Hotel and that
social media marketing can be used to complement other marketing
strategies to enhance brand awareness. The study identified that Hyatt
Regency Hotel need to unceasingly monitor and manage social media platforms to
ensure effective communication with customers. Based on the findings, the study
recommends that Hyatt Regency Hotel should continually invest in social media
marketing to enhance brand awareness and customer engagement. Future research
should explore other ways in which social media marketing can be used to
influence brand awareness and customer engagement for Hyatt Regency Hotel.
