| The utilization of social media by consumers has exponentially increased since its inception, and the use of it as a marketing device by businesses has exploded in the recent years. The higher level of efficiency of social media compared to other traditional marketing devices has prompted medium to large businesses to participate in social media in order to succeed and remain competitive; however small businesses are lacking behind and slow to embrace this new marketing technology. Using owners in of small businesses, a group that is known as the cornerstone of the U.S. economy, this exploratory qualitative study identified the decision making factors and cognitive strategies of small business owners that have adopted and seen success from social media marketing. Current perceptions of small businesses regarding social media marketing suggest that this advertising device is simply something extra that they can participate in, however eight themes emerged from interviewing small business owners when asked about their priority balancing when deciding to utilize this marketing; which proved this perception as what it is, an opinion. The value that this marketing tool presents is unfortunately overlooked by many due to the fear of not knowing and this study's results provide information to alleviate that concern. The implications of this study to the fields of management, marketing, and technology in both business and educational sectors alike were numerous. |
