Social Media Marketing and SMEs:Is it a Winning Combination in Singapore? An Analysis

Increasing technological innovation and shrinking borders have resulted in stringent competition and have forced companies into seeking new ways for developing a competitive advantage. Since its introduction in 1989, the internet has taken over the globe as a storm. As of April 2018, the active internet user base has increased to 4087 million while active social media users have touched 3297 million users (Statista, 2018). Gone are the days when marketing was a one-way communication feeding method feeding customers with selective information (Ahmed, 2015). Internet and social media have now become an avenue for companies to target wider consumer base, interact with them and plan their marketing mix accordingly. With increasing penetration of internet across the globe, companies have started investing in digital marketing space to communicate with customers and enhance brand visibility. While internet penetration and social media usage have been on a high, the use of social media platforms as a marketing tool is still at a nascent stage. While companies have been exploring the benefits of social media; developing social media marketing strategies, having access to right talent, understanding digital consumer space, lack of clarity on evaluating ROI on social media and limited marketing budgets have been some of the major roadblocks that SMEs tend to face. The objective of the study is to explore if and how SMEs can win over the internet, the benefits of social media marketing and the challenges they face in implementing a well-defined social media marketing strategy. Considering high digital penetration and being a country with one of the highest active user bases, the Authors have zeroed in on Singapore as a target market to evaluate the objectives of the study.