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allows small business retailers to reach audiences outside of the retailer’s immediate
location (Sajid, 2016). Consumers controlled if and how they engaged with
businesses
(Tiago & Verrissimo, 2014). Retailers were able to quickly get information to consumers
by using various social media platforms (Nobre & Silva, 2014). One marketing strategy
was to leverage digital technology to facilitate online reviews and inform customers of a
product or service (Keng, Tran, Liao, Yao, & Hsu, 2014) with the intent to influence
consumer-buying behavior. Retailers posted product or service descriptions, customer
experience reviews, coupons, deals, and sales on social media websites
to increase web
traffic and influence consumer-buying behavior (Nobre & Silva, 2014). To optimize the
quality of customers’ shopping experiences, one of the key factors is to increase
consumers’ product knowledge level (Keng et al., 2014). SMM is not a new concept;
however, the adoption of this technology has been slow (Boling et al., 2014). Business
leaders might consider using SMM strategies to improve customer relations, increase
sales, and improve their reputation (Schaupp & Belanger, 2014). The functionality and
versatility of social media was an important reason why businesses must consider
creating SMM strategies (Tiago & Verrissimo, 2014).
SMM strategies can have a
positive effect on revenues and profits (Kumar et al., 2016). Managers should understand
online consumer behavior (Schivinski & Dabrowski, 2016) to leverage those interests and
to create marketing strategies that will increase the survivability of the business.
Successful SMM strategies include wider viewership and brand exposure (Yadav &
Tripathi, 2016).
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Social media were a low-cost, high-efficient alternative to traditional marketing,
which might allow business leaders to concentrate funds on other activities used to
engage consumers and increase profits (Hassan et al., 2015; Karadag, 2015). Social
media were easy to use; nondiscriminatory; inclusive of all people
regardless of age,
income, language, and location; directly responsible for the significant growth in
communication and collaborations among people and businesses; and connect like-
minded people with similar interests (Georgescu & Popescul, 2015). In Parveen, Jaarfar,
& Ainin’s (2015) study of Malaysian social media managers,
business leaders reported
their organizations were more competitive after implementing SMM strategies to attract
new consumers, promote goods and services, build relationships with online
communities, and to conduct market research to determine the customers’ wants and
needs. Social media were often less expensive marketing platforms than print and
television marketing and had the potential to reach wider audiences (Boling et al., 2014;
Hassan et al., 2015). Broekemier, Chau, and Seshadri (2015) reported that companies
spent less than $10,000
annually on SMM, which is important to entrepreneurs who may
not have the budget for traditional marketing methods to remain competitive (Toombs &
Harlow, 2014). However, Chatzithomas, Boutsouki, Leonidas, and Zotos (2014) posited
that consumers preferred SMM to traditional means and suggested that businesses
consider using a mix of traditional and SMM to engage customers, vendors, and
suppliers.
Business leaders used social media in a variety of ways (Taneja & Toombs,
2014). Zuniga, Copeland, and Bimber (2014) discovered that social media usage
23
enhances
political consumerism, which is a form of boycotting goods or services offered
by brands who consumers think have unsatisfactory business practices. Wazed and Ng
(2015) discovered that employment recruiters used social media to engage college
students globally through Facebook, increase employer brand awareness, and reduced
overall recruiting costs. Patil and Puri (2015) found that 87.5% of Indian
companies used
social media as the primary marketing platform.
Herman (2015) found that SMM was effective for reaching global audiences for a
fraction of the cost of traditional marketing tools. Business leaders could use SMM
strategies rather than printed media or television ads, to engage consumers and increase
their chances of survival. Exposure to SMM influences consumer purchase decisions
(Xie & Lee, 2015). A void exists in the literature regarding how some small business
leaders might incorporate the latest communications technologies into their business
strategies to engage consumers and other stakeholders.
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