The Use of Social Media as a Marketing Tool by Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Zambia: A Case Study of Selected Businesses in Munali Constituency, Lusaka

Abstract

The world today is an era full of various technologies such as the internet and social media channels that are widely used to connect people all over the world. Its due to this fact that Many enterprises have taken advantage of social media as a marketing tool to gain competitive advantage over others and Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as well have not been left out on the opportunity to use social media as a marketing tool. This study was carried out to assess the use of social media as a marketing tool by small and medium sized enterprises in the city of Lusaka of the country Zambia. A sample of 12 SMEs from Munali constituency was picked by the use of convenience sampling in order to include only those SMEs that use social media as a marketing tool. The research methodology employed in this study in order to achieve the objects was qualitative (descriptive) in nature. This study used interview guides as the data collection tools. To analyze the data this data used thematic analysis. The study revealed that the most used social media tools for marketing are Facebook and Instagram and that the factors that lead to the SMEs to use these platforms for advertising is that most people are on these platforms and that the platforms are easy to use. The main challenge faced by SMEs is the competition as a result of competitors, and this results reduction in sells, market share and profits.