Social media in small and medium enterprises

Abstract

While the adoption of various social media tools by businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is well documented, there is less research on best practices or strategies for the effective use of these tools. Another gap in research is the documentation of resources needed to manage various social media channels effectively. This paper addresses these gaps by: (a) synthesising literature on how SMEs are currently using social media tools; (b) developing a framework that predicts what tools should be used, based on business objectives; and (c) providing recommendations to SMEs regarding the required resources and metrics for measuring the success of social media channels. This work provides managers in SMEs with a simple and powerful framework to plan their social media strategy.