The impact of social media advertising on the growth of tech SMEs in Malta

Abstract

During the past few years, Social Media have become an essential part of individuals’ life including businesses and industries all over the world. Due to its constant development and evolution, Social Media have revolutionized how large corporates in different industries especially the Tech Industry, to advertise their products and services. This made many Tech companies, particularly, Tech small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to start using Social Media to benefit from its advertising tools and have the opportunity to reach their targeted audience globally. The main aim of this research is to develop an idea and gain a better understanding of the impact of Social Media advertising on Tech SMEs in Malta as well as finding whether this impact is positive or negative. Another aim of this research is to find which is the most widely and effective Social Media platform implemented and exploited by Tech SMEs. The research also aims to understand whether Social Media is an important contributing factor to increase online presence and awareness amongst Tech SMEs. A qualitative approach was adopted to collect primary data. Eight Tech SMEs established in Malta, who currently utilize Social Media were interviewed. The data collected through In-depth interviews were then analysed and discussed further to gain insights about the topic under study. The findings of the research state that the impact of Social Media on Tech SMEs was mostly positive. Other findings indicate that Tech SMEs use Social Media mainly for brand awareness, recruitment, advertising, communication and information dissemination. The research reveals that the most used and most effective Social Media platform by Tech SMEs is Facebook. To conclude, this research proves that Social Media plays a major role in Tech SMEs in Malta.