Social media in small business operations

Abstract

This paper examines the usage of social media in the context of small business operations. Although small businesses are flexible in their operation, they are constrained by their lack of resources and human capital. Their flexibility may lead to the exploration of social media tools to enhance customer acquisition, but at the same time, the lack of resources may limit the application of such tools. As is well documented, although organic social media may be free, there are direct and indirect costs associated with managing social media channels such that they require investment from the organisation. This paper provides guidelines for small businesses to manage their social media channels. It examines the use of social media in small business operations by means of a framework of social media tool use. It reports on data collected from 100 small businesses and provides guidelines for the adoption of social media.