Unraveling Brand Trust's Mediation Between Content Marketing, Website Quality, and Brand Loyalty: A Case Study of Detikcom

Abstract

The shift in societal lifestyles toward internet-based information consumption must contend with the proliferation of hoax content. Consequently, digital media companies must implement strategies to cultivate public trust, thereby enhancing brand loyalty. This study aims to examine the influence of content marketing and website quality on brand loyalty, while also comparing these effects with the relationships among variables when mediated by brand trust. The research focuses on one of Indonesia's largest digital media platforms and a pioneer in online news, Detikcom. The analysis employs structural equation modeling partial least square (SEM-PLS), mediation testing, and hypothesis testing. The findings reveal that content marketing has no discernible impact on either brand loyalty or brand trust, nor does it indirectly influence brand loyalty by influencing brand trust. Conversely, brand trust significantly influences brand loyalty, and website quality demonstrates a significant impact on brand loyalty, brand trust, as well as an indirect effect on brand loyalty mediated by brand trust. Moreover, brand trust serves as a partial mediator in the relationships among the observed variables.