Social Media Marketing Strategies Used by Small Retail Businesses

Transition 
In Section 1, I discussed the business problem guiding this study, the purpose 
statement, the central research question, and various research methods and designs that 
will shape my research. The discussion continued with assumptions, limitations, and a 
brief overview of the significance of the study pertaining to SMM strategies of small 
business retailers in the southwest region of the United States. Lastly, I concluded with 
an extensive literature review of existing studies and articles related to the SMM 
strategies of small businesses. Section 2 continued with the discussion of research design 
and included participant selection, ethical research, data collection, and data analysis.
Section 3 included an explanation of the data collection process, the findings of my 
research, application to professional practice, the implications for social change, and 
recommendations for further research. 

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Section 2: The Project 
Section 2 is a detailed plan to explore the SMM strategies used by small business 
retailers to engage customers. The steps detailed in this section will help readers 
understand how I conducted my research. I explained the role of the researcher, 
discussed the participants, and justified my research method and design. This section 
includes an explanation of the data collection instrument and method, the population for 
the study, and the sampling technique I used to choose my participants. Lastly, I 
conducted data analysis and established reliability and validity, while ensuring my 
research is ethical.
Purpose Statement 
The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the SMM 
strategies that small business retailers used to engage customers. The target population 
included five small business retailers in SATX, with successful SMM experience and 
strategies. The results of this doctoral study may give small business retailers insights as 
to how they might use social media to engage customers effectively and could contribute 
to social change by increasing the success rate of existing and future small retail firms.
Successful small businesses might employ more people, who in turn, could financially 
stimulate the local economy. The money generated by small businesses might increase 
taxation to help fund social services.