Impact of TikTok Social Media Marketing on Generation Z's Choice of Fitness Centers in Jordan

ABSTRACT


Introduction
Currently, the rapid development of information technology, followed by the development of social media platforms and applications from time to time, enables people to access any application more easily and efficiently using the internet network everywhere and anytime (Pieter et al., 2021). However, customers utilize social media to exchange text, image, sound, and video content with other users as well as with business companies (Kotler and Keller, 2016). As a result, social media empowers customers to spread positive word-of-mouth about different types of products (Kapoor et al. 2018). Concurrent with the evolution of several platforms of social media, online short video consumption has been expanding fast internationally and having an unparalleled influence on customers' daily lives, impacting the way customers communicate and share information . Globally, TikTok is one of the most widely used social media platforms for short videos . In contrast to other social media platforms, TikTok gained popularity because it allowed users to quickly create and share short videos that could include music, animation, and visual effects (Daryus et al., 2022).
Scholars argue that TikTok is globally available in more than 150 countries and 39 languages (Pieter et al., 2021). Thus, experts in social media marketing consider TikTik to be an effective tool for customers to access information about different products and services worldwide (Song et al., 2022). So, customers will be more interested in TikTok content (Permana & Pratama,2022). Marketers can benefit from TikTok in a variety of ways. First, as previously stated, because TikTok is the most popular short video application in the world, marketers have a great opportunity to reach a diverse range of customers. Second, it can help marketers drive a high volume of traffic to their products (Sharabati et al., 2022). Hence, marketers may adopt the TikTok platform to influence customers' purchase behavior toward a variety of products (Akbari et al., 2022).
With respect to the fitness industry, recently, the popularity and demand for fitness centers have expanded rapidly worldwide, however, fitness centers have exploited this, and over 201,000 fitness centers are operating (Ong et al., 2022). As a result, fitness centers have become a trend for millions of customers, rapidly growing the size of industry (Ong et al., 2022). Therefore, marketers of fitness centers may employ various forms of social media to target customers for such centers and benefit from services provided by fitness centers (Singh and Sharma, 2022). Bedside, social media content is crucial to the success of a marketing plan for fitness centers worldwide (Miryam and Antonio, 2022). Moreover, Mishra et al. (2021) stated that users of different fitness centers use social media to share their daily activities with others. Consequently, this study was carried out to better understand the impact of TikTok as a social media platform on Gen Z customers' choice of fitness centers in the Jordanian context. Based on the aforementioned, the existing study aims to achieve the following main objective: • To investigate the influence of TikTok social media marketing on the Gen Z choice of fitness centers in Jordan.
Based on this objective, this study tries to answer the following research question:

RQ:
What is the influence of TikTol social media marketing on Gen Z choice of fitness centers in Jordan?

Literature review
Literature indicates that companies can achieve their marketing objectives through digital and social media marketing at a relatively low cost (Pieter et al., 2021). In addition, the usage of digital and social media technologies and applications for promoting various products and services is also very common (Pieter et al., 2021). Recently, TikTok was adopted as a way to contact and influence customers' purchasing behavior toward several brands (Fortuna, 2022). The influence of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Messenger on customers' buying behavior has been widely examined (Sharabati et al., 2022). In the literature on social media, the study of TikTok has received little attention in comparison with other social media platforms (Kong et al., 2021;Song et al., 2022). Besides, in the context of fitness centers, evidently, according to Rosete (2022), no study has been undertaken to investigate the customers' purchase behavior towards the industry. Additionally, scholars argued that few studies have been carried out to understand the influence of TikTok as a social media platform on Generation Z's behavior (Fan, 2022). Therefore, it is necessary for marketing practitioners in business firms to employ and exploit short video applications such as TikTok to impact individuals' behavior toward buying various forms of products (Haenlein et al., 2020). Accordingly, the current study was carried out to better understand the potential influence of TikTok as a social media marketing tool on the choice of fitness centers in Jordan.

TikTok platform
TikTok is an application that displays short videos that have been developed by each content provider to be interesting (Rahayu et al., 2022). The ByteDance Company in China created this application for the first time in 2018 (Indrayani and Maharani, 2022). Further, nowadays, TikTok is considered to be a new form of social networking platform (Fan, 2022). In addition, the TikTok app has many advantages. First, it has been developed as a new platform for people to provide a new way of entertaining people in a fast-moving society to express themselves and their opinions (Yang, 2022). Second, socially, TikTok facilitates the reduction of loneliness through the users' everyday social connections and social interactions (Sharabati et al., 2022). Because of TikTok's visuals, TikTokers can present their products and services engagingly and entertainingly (Barta, 2023). Hence, for marketing research, the reach of TikTok's users is an interesting task (Fan, 2022). However, marketers may employ and utilize TikTok to enhance their sales and profitability via marketing campaigns on this app (Gesmundo et al., 2022).

TikTok and Generation Z
It was confirmed that Generation Z is the generation born between 1995 and 2010 (Reinikainen et al., 2020). So, the age of individuals in this generation is now between 12 and 25 years old. Further, literature has shown that Generation Z is the generation that has grown up on the internet (Rozhkova et al., 2016). Therefore, they utilize social media as inspiration (Lina et al., 2022). Moreover, the TikTok platform is particularly popular among young people and teenagers worldwide (Barta et al., 2023). In addition, scholars argue that the percentage of Generation Z customers is approximately 41% of the whole market (Djafarova and Foots, 2022). Besides, it has been asserted that impulsive buying behavior is common among Generation Z (Lina et al., 2022). As a result, the purchasing power of Generation Z is five or six times that of generations before them (Djafarova and Foots, 2022); hence, they were considered an important group to be targeted by the companies (Conlin and Bauer, 2022). Moreover, marketing scholars stated that Generation Z customers are deemed to be more persuasive while making purchases (Lina et al., 2022). Accordingly, for marketers, Generation Z presents a significant opportunity (Djafarova and Foots, 2022). As a result, the current study was conducted to better understand the influence of the TikTok platform on Generation Z customers' decisions to choose and pay for fitness centers in Jordan.

Fitness centers and Generation Z
Currently, the fitness industry is a rapidly growing business worldwide (Wang and Chiu, 2022). Fitness centers provide a variety of services for their customers, such as class exercises, weight training, cardio areas, and stretching areas (Wang and Chiu, 2022). Thus, fitness centers are deemed to be a service-intensive business (Freitas and Lacerda, 2019). Hence, based on marketing science, the fitness industry needs to be dealt with as a provider of services. Besides, scholars argued that Generation Z massively visits and uses the services of fitness centers more than other groups (Ong et al., 2021). Moreover, globally, it is evident that the fitness industry contributes to achieving revenues of approximately US$81 billion (Olya et al., 2020). Therefore, this industry has been deemed an opportunity for investment and satisfying customer satisfaction. Correspondingly, the current study was undertaken.

TikTok and purchase behavior
Empirically, much work has been carried out to examine the influence of social media platforms on customers' choices of different forms of products and services (Adam and Ali, 2022). Particularly in terms of TikTok, several studies have been carried out to better understand the influence of TikTok on customers' purchase behavior. For instance, a recent study conducted by Xiao et al. (2023) examined the factors that affect customers' engagement behavior with products through short video advertising. They reported that four essential features of short videos impacted the customers' engagement behavior toward products. These factors are performance expectancy, entertainment, tie strength, and sales approach. Also, a study by Barta et al. (2023) investigated how influencers' characteristics such as originality, quality, quantity, and humor affect customers' (followers') hedonic experiences and how these affect their intention to buy products. The results revealed that TikTokers' characteristics positively affect customers' (followers') willingness to follow and engage in social media.
A study by Darmatama and Erdiansyah (2022) that examined the influence of advertising in Tiktok social media on customers' decisions to buy beauty products in Indonesia They found that advertising on TikTok influenced customers' decisions to purchase beauty products. Another study by Fortuna (2022) conducted a study to better understand the impact of TikTok social media marketing on customers' buying behavior. According to the findings, TikTok's ability as a social media marketing tool against purchasing decisions was 73,3%. Hence, TikTok is considered an effective way to enhance customers' buying decisions for various products in Indonesia.
A study conducted in the Philippines by Gesmundo et al. (2022) confirmed that TikTok positively influenced customers' brand awareness, which led to increased brand purchases. Also, they suggested that TikTok can be employed as a marketing tool to encourage customers to purchase various brands. On the other hand, Martini et al. (2022) carried out a study to understand the potential influence of TikTok as a promotional tool on customers' buying decisions. They discovered that more information published on TikTok social media increased the likelihood of purchasing decisions; however, they discovered that TikTok is necessary as a social media platform to influence purchasing decisions for products. Another study by Ngo et al. (2022) undertook a quantitative study to investigate the impact of advertising through the TikTok platform on Generation Z's buying intention in Vietnam.
Their study confirmed that factors such as information, entertainment, trust, and social interaction positively impacted Generation Z's online buying intention using the TikTok application. Besides, Darmatama and Erdiansyah (2021) undertook a study to examine the effect of advertising on Tiktok social media and the image of beauty products on customers' purchasing decisions. The findings demonstrated that social media advertising on TikTok and the perception of beauty products collectively had a considerable impact on customer purchasing decisions. Moreover, Changan et al. (2021) concluded that perceived media richness is the most influential factor for Thai customers while shopping online through the TikTok platform.
In the same way, Cantawee et al. (2021) carried out a study in the Chonburi province of Thailand. They focused on how the influencers may affect customers' purchase intentions through VDO advertising on TikTok social media. Their study's findings showed that when consumers engaged with or participated in the advertising content offered in the TikTok online social media, macro influencers, specifically the VDO advertising, which had a large number of followers, had the most impact on customers' purchase intentions. Another qualitative study has been done by Pieter et al. (2021) to explore the effectiveness of TikTok as a tool for the promotion of different forms of products in Indonesia. They revealed that TikTok was deemed an effective method to promote various products such as skincare, food, and electronic products. Thus, TikTok is highly recommended as a social media platform to be used in such products.
According to Rimadias et al. (2021), customers' engagement with products is highly involved in TikTok's dimensions, namely, interaction, electronic word of mouth, and entertainment. They highlighted the importance of the interaction between customers on TikTok on their purchases of products. In addition, they stated that the entertainment factor is crucial to increasing the purchase intention of customers through the TikTok application. As they indicated, TikTok is widely used in Indonesia, and people adopt such platforms for shopping purposes. Changan et al. (2021), on the other hand, identified the key factors influencing customers' purchasing intentions via the TikTok platform. In short, the literature demonstrated that TikTok is considered a powerful source of information by many customers worldwide, which leads to enhanced customers' purchasing decisions over time.

Dimensions of TikTok social media and the hypotheses
Marketing literature reported that social media marketing consists of several components such as entertainment, trendiness, interaction, customization, and electronic word of mouth (EWOM) (Rimadias et al. 2021). Consequently, the existing study utilized this model. Based on the model of social media marketing, the following factors were adopted, and more details are demonstrated below:

Entertainment
TikTok is deemed an entertaining application (Erizal, 2021). Further, because TikTok is a source of entertainment for most users, it enables customers to obtain information about different items while watching videos through such applications (Pieter et al., 2021). In addition, if youths can have entertainment and recreation time by using Tik Tok, they will be more willing to utilize Tik Tok and follow Tik Tokers to obtain the latest news on offerings, which contributes to increasing the possibility of buying products or services via such applications (Meng & Leung, 2021). Entertainment can be defined as the ability to advertise to fulfill the viewer's desire for entertainment, emotional release, and aesthetic pleasure (Rimadias et al., 2021). Scholars argue that TikTok is more entertaining than other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter; however, TikTokers can present their products and services to young customers engagingly and entertainingly (Barta et al., 2023). Moreover, it is noticeable that the entertainment advantage of TikTok can be employed as a method for marketing purposes to promote products (Gesmundo et al., 2022;Ngo et al., 2022). This can be done by creating more entertaining online advertising via TikTok, which in return would influence customers' purchase behavior (Ngo et al., 2022). With regards to generation Z and TikTok, Sharabati et al. (2022) stated that generation Z (teens and students) look at TikTok predominantly as a source of pastime. Besides, prior studies revealed that entertainment can be employed as a source of motivation for certain behaviors by many individuals (Sharabati et al., 2022). Thus, purchasing is one of the human behaviors (Kotler et al., 2016). Correspondingly, entertainment can be utilized through the TikTok platform as a motive to influence young people's attitudes and their purchase behavior of various products (Sharabati et al., 2022). As a result, in this study, entertainment was employed as one of the independent variables, and the first hypothesis was postulated as follows: H1: Entertainment in TikTok has a significant positive influence on customers' choice of fitness centers.

Trendiness
The term "trendiness" refers to how a social media platform provides the latest news and information on several products or services (Rimadias et al., 2021). Customers may be motivated to seek out trending information about various brands on social media platforms, which will inspire them to keep up with brand development by learning about and seeking out relevant trends (Rimadias et al., 2021). Further, trendy information can assist customers in attracting attention, evoking positive customer feelings, and driving loyalty intentions toward products or services (Liu et al., 2021). Besides, the trendiness factor is affected by the age and generation of customers; however, the literature showed that young customers will be more into trends and will also be affected by trends and new fashion as well (Sharabati et al., 2022). Therefore, the following hypothesis is developed: H2: Trendiness in TikTok has a significant positive influence on customers' choice of fitness centers.

Interaction
Social media is one of the media that enables individuals to interact with each other easily and efficiently (Erizal, 2021). This interaction facilitates the purchase intentions of customers toward different brands through social media (Changhan et al., 2021;Pieter et al., 2021). Interaction is defined as the opportunity that is provided by social media platforms that enable people to exchange and get information in both directions (Rimadias et al., 2021). On the other hand, Ngo et al. (2021) defined social interaction as the level of contact between TikTokers with various kinds of advertisements. Specifically, social interaction helps to strengthen the TikTok app, which leads to an increase in the number of users worldwide (Gesmundo et al., 2022). In terms of Generation Z, studies have shown that social interactions with videos on the TikTok platform increase the purchase intent of Generation Z customers (Ngo et al., 2022). Therefore, due to the importance of interaction on TikTok, the author of this study posited the following hypothesis: H3: Interaction in TikTok has a significant positive influence on customers' choice of fitness centers.

Customization
Customization is a messaging and marketing service that is used to make customers feel satisfied by making the products or services customizable and easy to get information about, thereby creating value for customers (Cheung et al., 2020). Customization is identified as one of the social media activities (Putri et al., 2022). In this context, customization plays a vital role in customer brand choice (Althuwaini, 2022). Further, according to Zhu and Chen (2015), in social media, customization has two levels, namely, posts and messages tailored for a specific individual or small group of individuals, as well as messages that are directed at everybody who is interested. In this study, customization was adopted as an independent variable for one of the social media activities. Therefore, the following hypothesis was designed: H4: Customization in TikTok has a significant positive influence on customers' choice of fitness centers.

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM)
Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) refers to verbal exchanges between actual or potential customers and others about products and services; those others include friends, family members, and marketers, and the communication between the mentioned parties could be positive or negative (Napawut et al., 2022). Scholars have argued that there is a strong association between Ewom and the purchase behavior of customers (Miremadi et al., 2021). In this regard, literature indicates that positive eWOM might come from the users of TikTok who already have bought and utilized the brands before and who give advice or recommendations to others to buy and use them (Rimadias et al., 2021). Accordingly, in the current study, the author provides the fifth hypothesis, which was formulated as follows: H5: Electronic word of mouth in TikTok has a significant positive influence on customers' choice of fitness centers.

Customers' choice
In the present study, customers' choice is treated as a dependent variable because it is representative of the purchase decision of products or services. The product that the study focuses on is fitness centers. As mentioned previously, fitness centers provide various services to the visitors, such as class exercises, weight training, a cardio area, and a stretching area (Wang and Chiu, 2022). Based on the above-mentioned hypothesis, the model of this study is shown in the following figure: Figure 1 demonstrates the model of the study, which includes the main independent variables and the dependent ones. The model was adopted from prior studies.

Research design
This study was conducted using a quantitative approach. Data were collected using an online survey (questionnaire). Items for the measurement of the variables were selected from previous studies, and a five-point Likert scale was adopted to measure the selected items, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Items of the constructs, namely entertainment (3 items) and interaction (4 items), were adopted from the study of Cheung et al. (2020). Trendiness (3 items) and customization (3 items) were measured based on . Items related to electronic word-of-mouth (WOM) were measured by three items based on Napawut et al. (2022). The dependent variable, which is brand choice, was measured using four items adopted from the study of Fernandes and Moreira (2019). In this regard, Appendix (B) shows the measurement items. Further, the questionnaire contains questions related to respondents' demographic characteristics, such as gender, age, family income, and education. In addition, the author asked some questions about the usage behavior of TikTok from the sample's perspective. Moreover, data were collected between October 10 and November 12, 2022. Appendix (A) presents the questionnaire used in the study.

Population and sample
As discussed in the introduction, generation Z is the generation born between 1995 and 2010 (Reinikainen et al., 2020). However, the current study's population consists of TikTok users who use the TikTok application. To select the right sample, the author targeted four governmental universities located in the south of Jordan, namely, Mutah University, Al-Hussain Bin Tala University, Tafila Technical University, and Jordan University (Aqaba branch). The author selected undergraduate students from different faculties. This group's age range is 18 to 22 years old; thus, this sample meets the Generation Z criteria. Because the sample of the study is the users of the TikTok application, the sampling technique combines a convenience sampling method with a non-probability sampling method. Based on this method, the author asked the targeted respondents if they use the TikTok platform or not; if the answer was yes, then the author gives the survey to the respondents using different forms of contact, such as WhatsApp, Messenger, or any form that is preferred by the sample.
In relation to the sample size, scholars argue that the sample size should be determined based on the number of variables used in the study (Kline, 2015). He indicated that the authors may use 20 respondents for each variable used in the model of the study. On the other hand, others reported that using between 5 and 10 respondents for each item would be adequate for quantitative research (Hair et al., 2010). Accordingly, the existing study utilized a 300-person sample size, which is in line with the recommended number for the sample size.

Data analysis
The data were analyzed mainly using SPSS version 25 to perform the following tests: • For frequency and percentages for presenting the demographic profile of the sample (see Table 1), • Skewness and kurtosis are used to ensure data normality (Kim, 2013; see Table 2). • Cronbach's alpha for checking the reliability and internal consistency of the data (Hair et al., 2010) (see Table 3). • Average Variance Extracted (AVE) to ensure convergent validity (Hair et al., 2010) (see Table 3).
• Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the causal relationships between the study's variables (Kokubun, 2022). Please see Table 4. Table 1 shows the demographic data of the respondents. As presented in the following table, three hundred (300) respondents completed an online survey (questionnaire). The results revealed that most respondents were male (57%), and 43% were female. More than half of the sample (67%) was aged between 18 and 41 years old, and only 33% of the respondents were aged between 42 and 58 or older. The vast majority (93%) of the respondents earned a monthly income between 200 JD and 800 JD, whereas only seven percent (7%) earned a monthly income of more than 800 JD. Moreover, the majority of the respondents were postgraduate, undergraduate, or diploma-educated (84%), with only 16 percent having completed secondary education or less.

Empirical results
The aforementioned statistical approaches were carried out using SPSS software, as described in the methodology section. To check that the data are normally distributed, Table 2 shows the results of both the skewness and kurtosis techniques. According to Kim (2013), the acceptable value of skewness should be 2 or lower and the value of kurtosis should be 7 or lower. Based on the results mentioned in Table 2, all values of skewness and kurtosis are in line with the recommended level. To check the reliability of the data, Cronbach's alpha was done. Table 3 demonstrates the value of this test. Statisticians consider Cronbach's alpha of.6 or higher to be acceptable (Hair et al., 2010). Table 3 lists the value of this test. The values of Cronbach's alpha (α) for the variables ranged between 0.682 and 0.924, which means that all the variables are statistically reliable. Moreover, to ensure the convergent validity of the data, average variance extraction (AVE) was undertaken (Hair et al., 2010) (see Table 3), and the value of this test should be 0.50 or greater. To perform the AVE, the following formula was utilized: (1) In addition, Microsoft Excel software was used to compute the AVE. As shown in Table 3, the value of AVE is acceptable for all variables employed in the model of the study. In order to examine the stated hypotheses and understand the causal effect of independent and dependent variables, a multiple regression analysis was performed using SPSS version 25. The results are presented in Table 5 below: The first hypothesis examines the influence of the entertainment construct on the brand loyalty of grocery products. As presented in Table 5, The outcomes shown in the above table revealed that the Entertainment construct significantly influenced consumers' brand loyalty toward grocery items (the p-value was significant at <0.001 level ***). In addition, the path coefficient (β) was 0.118 with a critical ratio (t-value) of 6.548. So, an increase in one unit of the entertainment construct would lead to an increase in brand loyalty of 0.118. Hence, this hypothesis was accepted.
The second hypothesis was used to examine the influence of the interaction construct on the brand loyalty of grocery products. As presented in Table 5, The results presented in the above table reported that the interaction construct significantly influenced consumers' brand loyalty toward the grocery items (the p-value was significant at <0.001 level ***). Furthermore, the path coefficient was.289, and the critical ratio (t-value) was 7.632. As a result, an increase in one unit of the interaction construct would result in a 0.289 percent increase in brand loyalty. Thus, this hypothesis was accepted.
To examine the influence of the trendiness construct on the brand loyalty of grocery products, a third hypothesis was formulated. As shown in Table 5, the results confirmed that the trendiness construct did not have a significant influence on the consumers' brand loyalty. As illustrated, the p value was not significant. The value was 0.157, which was greater than the significance levels at ***p<0.001; **p <0.01; or *p <0.05. Thus, this hypothesis was rejected.
With regards to the fourth hypothesis, it was destined to understand the influence of the customization construct on the brand loyalty of grocery items. It was confirmed that customization significantly influenced consumers' brand loyalty toward the grocery items in Jordan. As presented in Table 5, (p value was significant at <0.001 level (***). The critical ratio (t-value) was 4.728, and the path coefficient was.218. As a result, an increase in one unit of the customization construct would result in a 218 percent increase in brand loyalty. Thus, this hypothesis was accepted. The final hypothesis was suggested to show the influence of the electronic word-of-mouth (E-WOM) construct on the brand loyalty of the grocery items. The results of multiple regression illustrated that this construct significantly influenced the brand loyalty of the grocery items. The p value was found to be significant at the 0.001 level. The path coefficient was.044, and the critical ratio (t-value) was 5.145. As a result, an increase in one unit of the customization construct would result in a.044 increase in brand loyalty. Thus, this hypothesis was accepted.

Discussion
The principal objective of the existing study is to examine the influence of TikTok as a social media platform on the customers' choice of fitness centers in Jordan. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on social media marketing in the following ways: First, to the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first study that examines the influence of TikTok specifically on the customers' decisions. Second, the author argues that few studies have been conducted in the area of customers' behavior in fitness centers in Jordan; thus, this study was carried out to understand customers' behavior in the context of fitness centers. Accordingly, this study was undertaken. The results of this study confirmed that entertainment construct has a positive and significant influence on the Jordanians' choice of fitness centers. This finding is in line with the study by Xiao et al. (2023), who examined the effect of TikTon on the individuals' purchasing behavior. They discovered that entertainment was one of the most influential factors in TikTok purchase behavior. Similarly, Ngo et al. (2022) argued that entertainment on the TikTok platform was one of the main motives that affected Gen Z's purchase intention.
The findings of this paper also asserted that the interaction construct positively influenced customers' choices of fitness centers in the Jordanian context. This result is consistent with the study of Rimadias et al. (2021), who reported that interaction via TikTok has a positive and significant influence on customers' product engagement. In the same way, Ngo et al. (2022) highlighted the importance and the influential power of social interaction on Gen Z purchase behavior through the TikTok platform. Thus, the findings of this study are in line with the prior studies. In relation to trendiness, despite the importance of trendiness and its influence on customers' purchases through social media in general and TikTok in particular, surprisingly, in this study, trendiness was found to have no influence on the customers' choice of fitness center through the TikTok platform. However, this result is in line with past studies. For example, Rimadias et al. (2021) discovered that trendiness in TikTok has no effect on customers' brand engagement in the context of Indonesia's tourism sector. The current study also discovered that customization was one of the predictors of Generation Z's preference for fitness centers. This result is consistent with many studies. For example, Kumaradevan (2022) noticed that customization was determined to be an important factor affecting Sri Lankans' purchase intentions. Similarly, in their study, Gupta and Syed (2022) discovered the influence of the activities of social media marketing on the customers' intention to buy green products. They confirmed that customization is one of the motives that drive customers to buy green products through social media. Hence, this result is consistent with the previous research.
In this study, electronic word of mouth (eWOM) was identified as an influential determinant of the customers' choice of fitness centers in Jordan. In this context, literature has reported that eWOM significantly influences the purchase behavior of customers for different products and services. In a study conducted by Rimadias et al. (2021), it was stated that "eWOM" positively influences customers' engagement with tourist places in Indonesia. In addition, in Egypt, El-Baz et al. (2022) investigated the influence of eWOM on the Egyptian customers' purchase intentions and demonstrated that eWOM is one of the crucial antecedents that affect customers' decisions to buy products. Thus, the findings of the present study are consistent with previous work in the area of social media marketing.

Conclusion
This study has been undertaken to better understand the potential influence of TikTok social media marketing (entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization, and electronic word-of-mouth, or e-WOM) on customers' choice of fitness centers in Jordan. This study employed a quantitative research approach to accomplish the objective of the study and answer the study question. The author investigated Generation Z as a study sample. Thus, undergraduate students were selected from the public universities working in the south of Jordan. The study's findings revealed that entertainment, interaction, customization, and electronic wordof-mouth influenced customers' choices of fitness centers, whereas trendiness had no significant influence. Moreover, the current stay provided several contributions as well as limitations and directions for future research.

Contribution of the study
This study has provided a number of contributions to the body of knowledge as well as to practice. First, due to the lack of studies conducted in Jordan to examine the influence of TikTok as one of the social media marketing platforms on customers' choices of fitness centers, the current study was conducted and has addressed the gaps identified in the literature by stating the potential influence of several factors, namely, entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization, and electronic word-of-mouth (E-WOM) on customers' choices of fitness centers in the Jordanian context. Second, the results of the existing study may be useful for future studies. Third, the results of the current study could help practitioners in the fitness industry, such as sport marketers, fitness center owners, and others, by identifying the influence of key factors related to TikTok social media marketing that motivate Jordanians to choose such services. They may use the results of this study in the formulation of marketing policies and the development of social media marketing strategies to attract more consumers to fitness centers in Jordan.

Limitations and future research direction
The existing study has several limitations. First, the studies collected data from the respondents living in the south of Jordan and used a sample size of 300 respondents. Hence, studies with larger sample sizes are required to gain a better understanding of the influence of TikTok social media marketing in Jordan. Second, this study investigated the influence of the TikTok platform on the choice of fitness centers; future studies might be conducted to examine other forms of social media, such as Instagram. Third, the current study employed a quantitative research approach for data gathering and analysis; as a result, future researchers may carry out qualitative research to gain more insights into how TikTok would influence the customers' choice of fitness centers. Fourth, the present study focused on the fitness industry in particular; hence, future work would be suggested to better understand the customer's purchase behavior towards other services such as health care. Finally, this study examined the buying behavior of Generation Z; thus, future research is recommended to investigate the buying behavior of other kinds of generations.

Biographical notes
Mohammad Almrafee holds a Ph.D. in marketing from Southern Queensland University. He is currently an assistant professor at Mutah University, Karak, Jordan. In addition, he is currently working as a head of marketing department. Since 2014, he has teaching experience in the areas of marketing management, communication skills, consumer behavior, social media marketing, social marketing, and sports marketing.