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1. Introduction
Internet technology and social media are known to have substantial impacts on the operations and success of businesses (Bennett, 2012). The major reason for this is that “online communication offers the prospect of replacing physical proximity with virtual interaction and even intimacy as evidenced by the popularity of websites such as Facebook and LinkedIn” (Barnes et al., 2012, p. 688). Social media refers to “content distributed through social interactions. These media utilize various firms that offer services or tools to help consumers and firms build connections” (Grewal and Levy, 2013, p. 82). Social media is an important tool for all businesses because it allows businesses to communicate with, listen to, and learn from their customers in a way they have never been able to do before (Grewal and Levy, 2013; Smith et al., 2011).
But these technologies are arguably more important for small businesses primarily because such businesses lack the traditional resources to market their products or services (Barnes et al., 2012; Levy and Powell, 2003). Web pages and social media sites provide them opportunities to overcome these limitations of time and financial resources, allowing them to reach out to customers cost effectively. Yet, a Wall Street Journal survey of over 800 small businesses found that most small businesses are still unsure how to use social media, which ones to use, or whether it was worth the time and effort (Maltby and Ovide, 2013). Moreover, research into the small business use of the internet, and specifically social media, is in an embryonic state (Brown et al., 2007; Jung et al., 2013).
This case research builds on these results and explores whether utilizing social media and web pages can benefit small businesses, and what barriers might be preventing the better use of these technologies. This research has two primary objectives:
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to investigate how and why small businesses utilize a website and social media for marketing their products or services; and
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to develop insight into the ways that small businesses can gain benefits from websites and social media.
In order to pursue these objectives, at the first stage of this research, about three hundred small businesses in a rural region in Maine were sent a web-based survey that examined small...