The use of social media applications on business performance in the covid 19 era: A Study of selected MSMES in Nairobi central business district

Abstract

The use of social media applications in business and marketing is not new, yet it has not been fully embraced by most organizations. The reason is that it is still misunderstood and taken as a campaign tool for publicity rather than marketing for purposes of business growth. However, society has no choice especially in the wake or pandemics such as the Covid 19; where traditional methods of business are no longer popular due to disease outbreak. As such, organizations that have embraced social media marketing are making profits. The general purpose of this study was to investigate the use of Social media applications on business performance among Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nairobi Central Business District (CBD). With the increasing level of entrepreneurial activities in the country, the pandemic issue and client knowledge base, the work of training and improving business networking cannot be left only to academic staff or trainers, but to the whole society. The study sought to address the following objectives: To determine the use of social media applications for marketing among MSMEs and to investigate the effects of Social media applications on business performance among MSMEs in Nairobi CBD. The study was conducted in Nairobi CBD and made use of a descriptive research design approach. The study population was business owners/entrepreneurs in Nairobi CBD and a sample size of 270 was used for the study. The data was collected by use of semi-structured online questionnaires and analyzed by use of descriptive statistic s and presented in the form of tables. Findings indicated the following: That there was a statistically significant influence between social media use and business performance represented by a p-value of 0.001. Those who used social media to conduct business during the Covid era between March and July 2020 reported improvements.