Social Media as a Public Relations Tool for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Abstract

Background: Social media has fundamentally transformed public relations by enabling organizations to establish direct, interactive, and continuous communication with stakeholders. Although social media has been widely adopted by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), empirical evidence regarding its effectiveness as a strategic public relations tool remains limited, particularly concerning its influence on stakeholder engagement, brand reputation, customer trust, and organizational performance. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the influence of social media utilization on public relations effectiveness by examining its relationships with stakeholder engagement, brand reputation, customer trust, and organizational performance among small and medium-sized enterprises. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among 412 owners and managers of SMEs operating in the manufacturing, retail, and service sectors. Data were collected using a validated structured questionnaire measuring social media utilization, stakeholder engagement, brand reputation, customer trust, and organizational performance. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability, while construct validity was assessed through confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modeling was performed to examine the hypothesized relationships among the study variables, and statistical significance was established at p < 0.05. Results: Social media utilization demonstrated significant positive effects on stakeholder engagement (β = 0.61, p < 0.001), brand reputation (β = 0.54, p < 0.001), customer trust (β = 0.47, p < 0.001), and organizational performance (β = 0.39, p < 0.001). Stakeholder engagement partially mediated the relationship between social media utilization and organizational performance. SMEs that consistently implemented structured content development and interactive communication strategies achieved significantly better public relations outcomes than enterprises with lower levels of social media engagement. Conclusion: Strategic social media utilization represents an effective public relations approach that strengthens stakeholder engagement, enhances organizational reputation, increases customer trust, and improves organizational performance. SMEs should adopt integrated social media communication strategies emphasizing consistent content development, stakeholder interaction, performance monitoring, and evidence-based decision-making to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.