The effectiveness of marketing communication through social media by small to medium size enterprises in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The Saudi economy dependence on oil production renders it particularly vulnerable to changes in the global oil market. Thus, the Kingdom’s recently announced Vision 2030 represents a bid to encourage and facilitate the creation of alterative business structures to boost the economy and reduce its dependency on oil. Saudi economic developments are linked to social change. In the current era of rapid technological growth, Saudi society has seen an escalating interest in social media which has all but displaced traditional media. The rise of such new communication platforms carries a range of societal and economic implications. Saudi Arabia has recently attempted to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on oil exports (Saudi Vision 2030, 2016a, p. 1). In accordance with Saudi Arabia’s long-term development strategy, a special role in this reform is given to SMEs (Saudi Vision 2030, 2016b, p. 1). However, this role cannot be properly performed without the use of advanced marketing tools and techniques. Social media have been widely recognised as an important marketing communications channel which enables the establishment of effective two-way communication between the seller and the customer (Dahnil et al. 2014). The aim of this doctoral study was to investigate the effectiveness of marketing communication through social media on small to medium size enterprises in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, the thesis examined the extent to which marketing managers use social media platforms (SMs) to market products and interact with customers, and to determine whether these platforms contribute to the development of SME marketing. An ethnographic research approach was therefore used to examine social media marketing communication by beauty centres as examples of small and medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Arabia. Using the data collection methods of interviews and observations, the findings demonstrate that marketing through social media has a positive and effective impact on small and medium size enterprises in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the results indicate the prevailing dominance of digital marketing and corresponding decline in traditional marketing tools.