IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ENHANCING COMMUNICATION AND PERFORMANCE
ABSTRACT
In the most recent time, the popularity of social media has grown tremendously in the last decade and is projected to grow even more in the coming years. Underpinned by marketing equity and Chaffey’s theories, the current study aimed at adducing empirical evidence on the relationship and association between Social Media as a marketing approach and organizational performance in the context of Small and Medium Enterprises in Lagos State.
The target population of this study would be all the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Lagos State enlisted by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Authority (MSEA). The study used a descriptive survey design and sampled 255 respondents out of which 204 successfully complete and returned the questionnaires. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 23, using both descriptive and regression analyses… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
The acceptance, usage, and popularity of social media have grown tremendously in the last few decades in well-developed countries and developed nations in the world. This is projected to grow even more in the coming years (Ashley & Tuten, 2015). Businesses appear to be in a rush to use these internet applications as a marketing platform for their products and services, with the main aim of acquiring new customers and retaining existing ones, and to eventually increase sales and maximize profits. Against the backdrop of stiff competition in the market, the majority of SMEs have opted to use digital marketing as a marketing strategy to ensure they achieve their marketing and sales objectives (Castronovo & Huang, 2012).
Online marketing has, hence, proven to be cost-effective and the returns seem to be sustainable since the target market is readily accessible thus information and ideas are easily relayed on the different social media platforms where the whole engagement and interaction are based. According to Chaffey (2016), Social Media as a strategy has key concepts that are meant to build and maintain an interested online community of engaged followers and supporters.
If effectively implemented, this strategy will enhance product awareness and encourage the market to identity, purchase, consume, and repurchase the product being marketed online thus cultivating brand loyalty. Others such as Heinze (2016) and Hobson (2017) determined that with the technological advancement and popularity of online platforms that people use as an avenue to engage and relay information to the general public, people have captured the opportunity to use their mobile devices to share information online, making Social Media such a powerful tool… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Research Problem
Due to the emergence of social media as a powerful networking tool, replacing a significant part of direct contact and other traditional forms of interaction, business enterprises have jumped into the gravy train hoping to significantly cut down on the costs of sales and marketing.
In spite of this, there is not yet concrete evidence that performance improvements among such enterprises can be accurately attributable to the adoption of Social Media, rather than other confounding factors such as legal reforms, among others. SMEs are increasingly embracing Social Media with a view to enhancing organizational performance (Olonde, 2017).
This is especially because compared to their larger corporate counterparts; they are less resource-endowed and ought to be more innovative in their operations, including marketing… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ENHANCING COMMUNICATION AND PERFORMANCE
Research Objective
The study aimed at conducting analytical research and establishing the evident effects on communication and business performance by the direct influence of Social Media on organization performance for a targeted sample study of Small and Medium Enterprises in Lagos State… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Significance of the Study
Academia in the field of marketing management, strategy, and organizational development would use the results from the current study to further their research interests. The postulations of the various theories underpinning the current study would find further empirical foundation in light of the linkages between TQM Social Media and organizational performance. This would spur further studies in other contexts, public, private, manufacturing, and service… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
The underpinned and narrated discussions based on this section of the project paper entail a review of the literature on social media marketing and organizational performance. It comprises both theoretical as well as empirical literature review on the key study variables. The literature is both theoretical and empirical. The theoretical literature includes a review of the agency and stakeholder theories.
Each of the theories has been reviewed based on its general postulations, specific predictions on the linkages between the two study variables, and limitations. The empirical literature has been reviewed linkages between the study variables, namely: social media marketing and organizational performance. The empirical literature review has considered each study, its focus, findings, and limitations.
Theoretical Foundation
The marketing equities theory and Chaffey’s theory each have predictions on the association and relationship between social media marketing and organizational performance. Founded by Kim and Kom (2012) the former predicts that social media marketing activities affect the business performance and therefore have a positive and evident effect on the performance of a business… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
- Marketing Equities Theory
Originated by Kim and Kom (2012) marketing equities theory postulates that social media marketing activities have proved to have a positive evident effect on the performance of an organization. The originators of the theory initially focused on the marketing activities used by luxury fashion brands to promote their products.
They included entertainment in the particular sector of the industry, customer interaction based on the goals of the business, trendiness, customization of the products and services offered to the targeted audience for consumption, recommendation, and word of mouth. Their impact on firm performance was analyzed in terms of brand equity, customer equity, purchase intention, value equity, and equity linkages.
Finally, Kim and Kom (2012) concluded that this model provides a solid view of the workings of social media marketing. The five marketing techniques are at the pillars of the strategy… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
- Empirical Literature Review
Based on the main and core objective of the research, in this particular region, a few studies have been conducted and submitted for examination. Most of them have focused on the use of social media in other fields, but few have looked at it as a marketing tool. Flanigan and Obermier (2016) conducted a study on the use of Social Media in the Industrial Distribution Business-to-Business Market Sector in the United States of America.
The study was however based in a more developed economy context and focused on large corporations. Srinivasan, Bajaj, and Bhanot (2016) considered the effect of social media strategies utilized by SMEs on client acquisition and retention. The study found that social media participation strong influence on brand trust and confidence; clients have a reason to find credibility in the products, which thus, affects customer acquisition and retention.
It was likewise found that there is a positive conflation between revenue and social media visibility; and that web-based social networking promoting techniques affect customer acquisition and retention and to increment in a piece of the overall industry. The study, however, focused on client retention which is not a measure of growth but of stability. It was also conducted in a foreign country context… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
The discussions in this chapter are a presentation on the proposed research methodology proposed to be used for the current study in order to achieve the research objectives.
Research Design
An exploratory study is one that aims at finding out what is happening in a given environmental setting with regard to the phenomenon under study through asking questions; a descriptive study refers to portraying an accurate profile of a phenomenon, persons, situations so as to bring out more information; whereas an explanatory study is one that aims at establishing the association between study variables (Yin, 2013)… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Population of the Study
The population is a collection of elements, objects, or individuals forming the central focus of a study. The individuals or objects must be having similar observable characteristics (Cooper et al., 2011). The desired target population of this current study would be all the SMEs in Lagos State enlisted by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Authority (MSEA)… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Data Analysis
Data analyses comprised numeric measures and were done using descriptive statistics. It helped to display the data distribution, including measures of central tendency and dispersion. Multiple regression models were used to measure the association between the variables as stated in the objective of the study. This was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. The study analytical model was finally guided by the regression model below:
Y = ɑ+ β1×1+β2×2+ β3×3+μi
Where,
Y= Composite score of Organizational Performance
X1= Composite score of Identity
X2= Composite score of Communication
X3= Composite score of Sharing
β = Beta coefficient of the variables
i = the measure of the change in Y associated with a change in X
μί –refers to the expected error that is assumed to be associated with the variables
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RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Introduction
This section entails data analysis, the results, presentation, and discussion. Data analysis involves demographic analysis, descriptive, and regression analyses. The discussion of findings relates to the theoretical and prior empirical comparison with the findings of the current study.
Response Rate
200 respondents were targeted by the study, from whom 160(80%) successfully returned the questionnaires. Mugenda et al. (1999) suggest that a response rate of 70 percent and above is excellent. Based on the assertion, the response rate was considered to be excellent. Table 4.1: Response Rate
| Questionnaire Distributed | Frequency | Percentage |
| Filled and Returned Copies | 204 | 80 |
| Unreturned Copies | 51 | 20 |
| Total | 255 | 100.0 |
Source: Research Findings
Demographic Information
The respondents were asked to indicate the following demographic data: level of education; the period of time for which they had undertaken the business; whether or not they were using social media for marketing; the specific type of social media platform that they were using; how regularly they used social media for marketing; and the particular Social Media strategy that they were using.
- Level of Education
The respondents gave information about their level of education as shown in Figure 4.1 below.
The Percentage of Respondents
Figure 4.1 Respondents’ Level of Education
From Figure 4.1 above, 9% of the respondents had reached Certificate level, 31% had a Diploma, 48% had Bachelors, 11% had Mastered, and 1% had Ph.D. qualifications. From the foregoing statistics, the majority of the respondents had B.Sc, followed by Diploma qualifications… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
- Age of the Business
The respondents gave information about the age of their businesses as shown in Figure 4.2 below.
The Percentage of respondents
Figure 4.2 Age of the Business
From Figure 4.2 above, 5% of the businesses were less than one year old, 11% were 1 to 3 years old, 45% were 4 to 6 years old, 26% were 7-9 years old, while 13% were above 9 years old. From the stated information, the majority of the businesses were 4 to 6 years old, followed by 7 to 9 years. The least number had existed for less than 1 year… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction
This section of the project paper entails a summary of the study findings, the conclusion, and recommendations of the study. Summary of the findings is a synopsis of the study results, while the conclusion is based on the study interpretations. Recommendations are all based and supported on the policy, practice, and academic implications of the study.
Conclusion
The study has determined that Social Media is common among SMEs in Lagos State as shown by the descriptive statistics. The study has also established that Social Media has a significant influence on the performance of SMEs in Lagos State… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Recommendations
The study recommends that the academics in the field of marketing management, strategy, and organizational development should consider using the empirical evidence adduced to further research. Theorists should also consider the study results to find a further empirical foundation on the linkages between Social Media and performance. By so doing, further studies in other contexts, public, private, manufacturing, and service will germinate… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
REFERENCES
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