Abstract
This study examined the relationship between social media content strategies and customer engagement in influencing customer preference toward selected beauty salons, namely Ms. White Beauty Salon & Spa, Legi8 Hair Care Salon, and Glamouroza Salon. In today's digital environment, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok serve as essential marketing tools for beauty salons to promote services, build brand awareness, and engage customers. Guided by the Uses and Gratifications Theory, this research focused on how content strategies-modality, agency, interactivity, and navigability-affect customers cognitive, affective, and integrative needs, ultimately shaping their salon preference. The study utilized a quantitative descriptive research design. A structured survey questionnaire was distributed manually to forty-five (45) selected respondents using purposive sampling. The instrument was validated by experts and analyzed using statistical tools such as frequency and ranking, weighted mean to determine the level of agreement and the significant relationship between variables. The findings revealed that the majority of respondents were aged 18-25, predominantly female, and either employed or students. Results showed that modality and navigability received the highest ratings among content strategies, indicating that visually appealing and user-friendly social media pages strongly influence engagement. Cognitive and affective needs were highly satisfied, while integrative needs received relatively lower ratings, suggesting limited community-building engagement. Pearson correlation analysis confirmed a strong and significant relationship between social media content strategies and customer preference. However, challenges such as slow responses to inquiries negatively affected engagement. The researchers concluded that well-designed, informative, and visually engaging social media content significantly influences the customer perception and preference toward beauty salons. Strengthening responsiveness, improving interactive features, and enhancing community engagement are recommended to increase customer loyalty and sustained engagement.
