Social Media Marketing Strategies Used by Small Retail Businesses

Validity 
To establish validity in qualitative research, the study’s findings must be credible, 
confirmable, and transferable (Prion & Adamson, 2014). Achieving credibility, 
confirmability, dependability, and transferability establishes trustworthiness in qualitative 
research (Prion & Adamson, 2014). Credibility refers to a thorough investigation that 
garners high-quality data (Elo et al., 2014). Member checking is a technique used to 
establish confirmability and increases the quality of the results (Elo et al., 2014).
Transferability means other researchers can make overviews of a study’s findings (Elo et 
al., 2014). To ensure transferability, I followed an interview protocol, adhere to strict 
data collection and analysis techniques, and provide a thorough explanation of the 
findings from my study. 
Transferability occurred by detailing the processes to determine the results of my 
study. Data triangulation, peer examination, and replication add to the dependability of a 
study’s finding (Funder et al., 2013). Other factors that may enhance validity were the 
study’s structure, methodology, and sample size, which was important to determine the 
quality of validity in my qualitative case study (Palic, 2015). Robinson (2014) confirmed 
that sample size had an effect on establishing validity. It was not necessary for me to add 
more participants to reach data saturation, which occurred when the participants’ 
responses begin to repeat (Robinson, 2014). 
 

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Transition and Summary 
In Section 2, I described the confidentiality and protection of the participants’ 
identities and discussed the research question, method, and design that shaped and guided 
this study. The discussion of ethical research practices, data collection, organization, and 
analysis techniques helped me determine how small business retailers used SMM 
strategies to engage consumers. Section 2 concluded with techniques used to establish 
reliability and validity, which were important for the trustworthiness of the study.
Section 3 contains the presentation of findings, practical application, recommendations 
for action and future research, and my reflections on conducting this study. Section 3 
includes 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 actions of the research study. 

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Section 3: Application to Professional Practice and Implications for Change 
Introduction 
The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the SMM 
strategies small business retail leaders used to engage customers. The participants 
identified Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as their most preferred social media 
platforms. I conducted methodological triangulation by using data obtained from 
participant interviews and reviewing the participants’ SMM plans and company social 
media web pages. After reviewing the collected data, I identified three themes related to 
SMM strategies: (a) SMM strategies and social media platforms, (b) social media 
content, and (c) consumer engagement and retention. The DOI theory was the conceptual 
framework of this study aligned with the themes and findings from the previous 
literature.