Social Media Usage and Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria

Abstract:

The 21st century have seen the rise in the use of information and communication technology. This technology had overtime facilitated the growth of social media for ease of socializing and networking. Companies like Amazon, Alibaba among others leverage on e-commerce, integrating social media to provide product and services all over the world. In Nigeria, the likes of Jumia, Konga among others leverage on the social media space to market their product and services along with their website and mobile applications enabled by technology. With the huge number of people adopting the use of social media, it is critical to investigate how social media have impacted financial performance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. With the use of ANOVA, Chi-square, the study analyzes responses from 566 respondents based on cleaned data obtained from Research ICT Africa Survey (RIAS) survey data published in 2019. Theoretically, the study is anchored on the social network theory. Evidence suggested that social media have contributed immensely to the growth of SMEs in Nigeria, helped in customer engagement and retention and also facilitate advertisement of goods and services. Evidence also suggested a significant relationship between social media advertisement and financial performance among SMEs in Nigeria.