Content is King: How SMEs Create Content for Social Media Marketing Under Limited Resources

Abstract

Despite the growing literature dealing with social media marketing (SMM) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), one area that has not been fully explored is the creation of the content itself. SMEs typically do not have the same resources available that larger companies possess. Therefore, they have to find alternative ways to compensate for this weakness. This study analyzes SMEs’ SMM content creation, specifically on Facebook. By first scanning existing literature for essential factors for content creation, a theoretical foundation for the empirical part is presented. A qualitative approach was applied through the use of semi-structured interviews with eight SMEs. The findings suggest that it is difficult for most SMEs to efficiently use available resources, but also that minimal resources are required to create engaging content. Moreover, SMEs are typically aware of the majority of elements that influence content creation, at least to a certain extent, and that they should have established processes and routines to overcome the burden of limited resources. The study concludes with directions for future research and practical recommendations.

The impact of social media marketing for Indonesian SMEs sustainability: Lesson from Covid-19 pandemic

“…PEU can be realized when SMEs believe that the involvement of a quality management system will help them promote achievement (Davis, 1989;Davis et al, 1989). Furthermore, when SMEs look at the benefit of using Social Media Marketing (SMM) to lead to better productivity, there is no doubt that they will adopt this method in their business (Kraus, Gast, Schleich, Jones, Ritter et al, 2019). Previous studies by Chatterjee and Kumar Kar (2020); Qalati et al (2021) found that utilizing SMM will promote the SMEs' performance.…”

Strategic orientations and digital marketing tactics in cross-border e-commerce: Comparing developed and emerging markets

“…Surprisingly, 30% of the e-retailers in our sample do not conduct any digital marketing tactics in foreign markets. For small e-retailers, it would be worthwhile to invest in skills and technical knowledge in using digital marketing tactics effectively (Lam and Harker, 2015; Taiminen and Karjaluoto, 2015), which will help establish processes and routines that can support the burden of limited resources (Kraus et al, 2019). When digital marketing tactics are used, it is important for small e-retailers to employ a combination of multiple digital marketing tactics in foreign markets.…”

“…Thus far, research and knowledge on small e-retailer strategies and the use of digital marketing tactics in foreign markets have tended to be based on insights from larger e-retailers (Colton et al, 2010). However, it is recognised that approaches to marketing for small firms differ from those of their larger counterparts (Bocconcelli et al, 2018; Jones and Rowley, 2011; Kraus et al, 2019). Small firms usually have fewer resources available for the execution of digital marketing tactics (Eggers et al, 2017; Mazzarol, 2015; Taiminen and Karjaluoto, 2015).…”

Propuestas para unas estrategias de marketing en redes sociales, más eficientes. El análisis de las cuentas corporativas universitarias

“…La revisión de la literatura sobre la cuestión del uso de redes sociales en el ámbito de las estrategias de marketing, tanto en la empresa como en la universidad, deja un sin fin de referencias. En lo que atañe al uso de redes sociales en el contexto empresarial, los autores destacan los trabajos de: Alonso (2015), Matosas López (2018), Mukherjee y Banerjee (2019), Kraus et al (2019), o Giakoumaki y Krepapa (2019).…”

“…Los autores demuestran que la publicidad en esta red puede generar en la audiencia una actitud positiva hacia la marca, aumentando además la intención de compra de los productos o servicios de la compañía. Kraus et al (2019), por su parte, examinan, a través de entrevistas personales, los protocolos de creación de contenido seguidos por una muestra de PYMES (pequeñas y medianas empresas) en sus páginas de empresa en Facebook. Los autores concluyen que, a pesar de la limitación de recursos (tanto humanos como económicos), estas empresas son conscientes de los aspectos a considerar en la gestión de sus estrategias de marketing en este medio.…”