A Framework for Social Media Marketing Evaluation in SMEs: A Mixed-methods Approach

• Published in: New marketing research journal 2023-02, Vol.12 (4), p.1-28
• Main Authors: Mona Jami pour, Seyed Mohammadbagher Jafari, Fateme Javidi
• Format: Article
• Language: per
• Subjects: balanced scorecard; performance evaluation; small and medium enterprises smes; social media marketing
• ISSN: 2228-7744
• DOI: 10.22108/nmrj.2022.133641.2698

Despite the importance of social media marketing in many organizations, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), scattered and limited studies have been done to evaluate its performance. Therefore, the present study attempts to develop a comprehensive framework for evaluating the performance of social media marketing in SMEs using the well-known management of the balanced scorecard (BSC). This study is an applied-development study in terms of purpose and mixed-methods in terms of data collection. In order to achieve the research goal, in the first step, the qualitative method via interviewing with experts as well as a comprehensive literature review was applied and the indicators of the proposed framework were extracted. In the second step, a questionnaire was developed for the validation and weighting of dimensions and indicators. Besides, an evaluation of academic experts, experienced marketing managers in the field of social media marketing, and senior managers of small and medium enterprises was done. The findings of the study showed that the financial dimension with a weight of 0.257 was the first priority. The customer dimension with a weight of 0.255 was the second priority. The learning and growth dimension with a weight of 0.250 was the third priority, and then the internal business processes dimension with a weight of 0.236 was the last priority. The developed framework can be used as a tool to measure the strengths and weaknesses of social media marketing performance projects in organizations, especially SMEs.   Introduction With the expansion of cyberspace and the emergence of social media, the use of media space has been recognized as a common experience for corporate communication with customers and the exchange of information. In the past decade, social media has had tremendous success. Nowadays, implementing some form of online marketing through social media is very important for all businesses. Despite the importance of social media marketing in many organizations, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), scattered and limited studies have been done to evaluate its performance. Therefore, the present study attempts to develop a comprehensive framework for evaluating the performance of social media marketing in SMEs using the well-known management of the balanced scorecard (BSC).   Methodology This research has been conducted using a mixed-methods approach in three phases as below: In the first phase, a comprehensive literature