Academy of Strategic Management Journal Volume 17, Issue 1, 2018 1 1939-6104-17-1-162 REVISITING ANTECEDENTS OF BRAND LOYALTY: IMPACT OF PERCEIVED SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATION WITH BRAND TRUST AND BRAND EQUITY AS MEDIATORS Rizwan Ali Khadim, University of Lahore Mian Ahmad Hanan, University of Management and Technology Arooj Arshad, University of Lahore Noshina Saleem, University of Punjab Noman Ali Khadim, University of Lahore ABSTRACT Social media is constantly changing the brand communication tools in the corporate world by playing a significant role in how consumers learn, research and share information about their brands. Similarly, brands are also using social media networks for the sponsorship and advertisement of their products and services to make sustaining relationships and developing trust with their customers. Hence, it is worth noticing to inspect the impact of social media communication, brand trust and equity on brand loyalty using different social media websites. Therefore, the primary aim of the study was to test the mediating role of Brand Trust (BT) and Brand equity (BE) in explaining the more pronounced impact of social media communication (FCSMC & UGSMC) on Brand loyalty (BL). An online survey was conducted through social media forums (Facebook, Skype &Twitter) to collect data from different top garment brands (Uniworth, Outfitters, Levi’s). The findings from the SEM Path analysis revealed a partial mediating role of BT and BE in the relationship between social media communication (FCSMC & UGSMC) and BL. The findings help the brand managers and marketing professionals to understand consumer behavior about garment brand by not only social media communication, but by developing brand communities that increase trust and equity among customers. Also, the findings fill the gap in the existing literature by conclusively providing a significant model that incorporates both personal (BT & BE) and social factors (FCSMC & UGSMC) for improving brand loyalty for garment industry. Keywords: Social Media, Marketing Communication Tools, Garment Brands, Consumer Behavior, Brand Loyalty. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND The rapid growth of information technology has brought revolution in social media communications. Moreover, it has replaced traditional media in corporate communications (Coulter, Bruhn, Schoenmueller & Schäfer, 2012; Khadim, Zafar & Younis, 2015). Since, the advent of social media networks, it is building and expanding significant ways to attract users all over the globe. Social networking sites not only give an opportunity for consumers to connect with others, rather, it provides users to interact with their target audience better thus making a brand community where brand managers and marketers can communicate more efficiently