INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN PROMOTING SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES IN CALABAR MUNICIPALITY L.G.A OF CROSS RIVER STATE

Abstract

This study examined the influence of Social Media in promoting SMEs in Calabar Municipality Local Government Area of Cross River State. Two specific purposes and two research questions guided the study. Two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 Alpha level of significance. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was 2,302 operators/managers of SMEs in Calabar Municipality Local Government Area of Cross River State. A sample size of 230 respondents were selected using simple random sampling technique. The research instrument was a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher. The instrument was validated by three experts, two from Business Education Department and one from Science Education Department, all from University of Calabar. Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient was used to trial test the instrument which yielded the overall reliability coefficient of 0.89; this showed that the instrument was reliable for the study. Two hundred and thirty copies of the instrument were distributed to the respondents by the researcher assistants. The research assistants were briefed by the researcher on the modalities of the instrument administration. Data collected with respect to the research questions were analyzed with mean and standard deviation while t-test statistic was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 Alpha level of significance. The findings revealed that SMEs are very high influenced by the use of Facebook in promoting online business and enhancing business performance in Calabar Municipality Local Government Area of Cross River State. The findings also revealed that SMEs are very highly influenced by the use of Whatsapp in promoting business to establish network, promoting business connections among marketers and encouraging online business identity in Calabar Municipality Local Government Area of Cross River State. The study recommended among others that the operators of SMEs should fully integrate and increase the use of Facebook in promoting their businesses online and enhance business performance in Calabar Municipality Local Government Area of Cross River State