Social media channel as a strategic advertising tool for small and medium enterprise (SME's) sustainability: Evidence from a developing nation

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of using social media channel as an advertising tool for Small and medium enterprise (SMEs) sustainability, particularly, in a developing country. SMEs are seen as a major contributing factor for business development, employment creation, production of goods and services, and internal income generation in the globe among others. The advent of smartphones and other digital devices has further enabled an increased adoption of this new paradigm. Nonetheless, few attempts have been made by researchers concerning the effectiveness of the adoption of social media as an advertising tool for the sustainability of SMEs in Ghana. Hence, the researchers relied on a qualitative approach basically, an interview method to achieve the objective of the study. This is because the researchers wanted first-hand information from owners/managers of selected known SME's in the regional capital of Ghana. The interview approach was therefore conducted through a questionnaire form. Per the results derived, it can be concluded that social media would serve as a strategic advertising tool for small and medium enterprises. Again, it was emerged that the existence of social media has therefore answered numerous challenges faced by today's SMEs in the area of advertisements. The theoretical benefit of this study will contribute to the body of knowledge on SMEs, by extending the frontiers of using social media as an advertising tool by SMEs in Ghana. Practically, this research will enable industry players to make sound policies and strategies that could attract both experienced and new business on the need to incorporate social media channel for SME's growth and development.Tomas Bata University in Zlin [IGA/FaME/2019/002, IGA/FaME/2019/008