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Many SMEs use social media specifically to reach large target groups with a small budget.
Limited personnel resources and a high expenditure of time slow down regular use.
Social media is much more widespread in the B2C sector than in B2B.
The personal attitude of the management has a decisive influence on the use of social media.
Summary of this study
Despite the rapidly growing use of social media worldwide, previous studies show that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have a below-average use of social media.
The question of why and how SMEs engage with social media has rarely been investigated.
This qualitative study, based on theories of structuration and sensemaking, attempts to fill this gap by examining cognitive and collective aspects of social media use.
The study reveals differences in people's perceptions of technology and structural differences between companies that produce significant differences in social media usage behavior.
Findings from this study
The study shows that many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) use social media primarily because of its wide reach. They see it as a cost-efficient way to reach their target groups directly and effectively. At the same time, the amount of time required to plan, create and maintain content is a major hurdle - especially when personnel resources are scarce.
Another decisive factor is the target group: while social media is used much more frequently in the B2C sector (business-to-consumer), social media plays a much smaller role in the B2B context (business-to-business). In addition, the personal attitude of the management has a significant influence on whether and to what extent social media is used in the company.
Last but not least, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a rethink at some companies and noticeably increased openness towards digital forms of communication.