لیلا فتحی

The study was conducted with the aim of offering a social media-based digital marketing model for the development of foreign trade. This is an applied-developmental research in nature, following a mixed-method approach in terms of data. Information was gathered through library research, and data collection was conducted via fieldwork. In the qualitative section, the variables, components, and indicators of the model were identified and extracted using content analysis. The qualitative statistical population consisted of 17 marketing managers from exporting companies in the detergent, cosmetic, and hygiene product sectors, selected through non-probability, purposive, and theoretical sampling using the snowball technique. The quantitative statistical population included 151 managers, experts, and marketing experts randomly selected based on stratified sampling. Data collection was done through fieldwork, and the tool for gathering data was a researcher-made questionnaire. The qualitative content analysis results identified the model variables as: “Social Media Trade Strategy in International Markets”, “Marketing Communications in Social Media in International Markets”, “Social Messaging Strategy in Social Media in International Markets”, “Marketing Actions in Social Media in International Markets”, “Customer Value Creation in Social Media”, and “Export Trade Development”. Interpretive-structural modeling was used to generate the model, and the findings from this section indicate that the structural model consists of five levels, with “Social Media Trade Strategy in International Markets” and “Marketing Actions in Social Media in International Markets” being the most influential and independent variables. The variables “Marketing Communications in Social Media in International Markets” and “Social Messaging Strategy in Social Media in International Markets” are interconnected, and finally, “Customer Value Creation in Social Media” is the most dependent and affected variable, with a sequential effect on the others. Subsequently, the relationships within the generated model were tested using SEM. The validation findings demonstrated on export development were positively and significantly confirmed in the model. The results of this study suggest that to enhance social media marketing for export development, customer value creation should be strengthened through marketing communications and the implementation of social media marketing.