An Empirical Investigation of Social Media as a Marketing Tool in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in India

Adequate marketing activities are the base of success of products, brands and companies. As the use of the Internet, the Web and social media grows, a major challenge for entrepreneurs and marketers is to determine how to make best use of what the technology offers. Social networking sites (SNSs) emerged as one of the most powerful media for advertising across the globe. Globally, companies are shifting a larger pie of their advertising budgets towards social networking site for better reach and interactive platform. In today's social media driven environment, large firms with established installed consumer base leverage through the low cost social media marketing models, having a significant impact on new customer acquisition and retention. However manysmall businesses alsomake use of its potential to enhance their business processes. Unfortunately small business enterprises do not enjoy attraction of installed consumer bases as enjoyed by large enterprises, as there is no strategies in place. This exploratory research investigates about the usage, benefits and challenges of adopting social media as a marketing tool in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)where the budget for marketing is low. Reflecting on this, the study develops an argument for strengthening of e-skills of entrepreneur/manager and improving the integrated social media marketing strategy for small businesses.