Social Media Marketing and Business Performance of MSMEs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aims to examine the role of social media marketing on the performance of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research method uses a quantitative approach and the analytical tool used is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) based on Partial Least Square. The sampling technique used purposive sampling and the sample in this study was MSMEs who use social media for marketing. The social media used are Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp. The number of samples in this study was 254 MSMEs. Data collection used online questionnaires. The research findings show that the use of social media marketing is influenced by compatibility, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease-of-use. The results of this study indicate that the use of social media for marketing has a positive effect on the performance of MSMEs, especially in increasing sales, customer relationships, productivity, and creativity. This means that the better the management of social media for marketing, the better the performance of MSMEs will be. The theoretical contribution to this research is built on the TAM and UTAUT theories and their impact on social media marketing on MSMEs in developing countries that are living through the COVID-19 pandemic.