TNFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE ON BUSINESS PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE MARKETERS IN BATTICALOA

Abstract

In the most recent time, popularity of social media has grown tremendously in the last decade and is projected to grow even more in the coming years. Underpinned by marketing equity and Chaffey's theories, the current study aimed at adducing empirical evidence on the relationship and association between social media usage and organizational performance in the context of Small and Medium Enterprises in Batticaloa district. The target population of this study would be all the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Batticaloa district. The study used descriptive survey design, and sampled 250 respondents successfully complete and returned the questionnaires. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 22,using both descriptive and regression analyses. The study determined that social media usage is common among the SMEs in Batticaloa district as shown by the descriptive statistics. The purpose of this research is to explore the impact of social media and to analyze to what extent social media have impact on business performance. The study has also established that social media usage has significant influence on Business performance of the SMEs in Batticaloa District. The findings of this study, agree with a few studies, and disagrees others. The study findings also have adduced evidence in support of both marketing equity, and Chaffey's theories. The study recommends an in-depth study should be done on challenges facing the adoption of social media marketing in other contexts including the government.