Usage and Effectiveness of Social Media Marketing in Egypt: An Organization Perspective

Social media is changing the way information is communicated to and from people around the world. The rapid use of social media is changing the way firms respond to consumer’s needs and wants and increasing the opportunities for firms to market their products and services in a personalized way. However, there is still limited research to answer some of the key issues concerning the extent to which social media tools is being utilized in firms and their effectiveness in marketing from a business perspective. The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of social media marketing in manufacturing and service firms in Egypt and the perceived effects of these marketing practices on brand awareness, sales performance, and brand loyalty. Data was collected by e-mail questionnaire with professionals of social media in firms in Egypt who use social media in their businesses and at least have a brand on social media platforms. The empirical results of structure equation model identified different ways of engaging social media as marketing tools specifically, in marketing communication, promotion, discounts, market research, and sales. Additionally, the results showed that social media marketing help the firms to create and enhance brand awareness and in turn this leads to increasing sales performance of firms. Additionally, the study found that social media usage has a positive relationship with firms’ sales, market shares, high-profit margin products’ sales and sales of new products However, the results revealed the weak and insignificant relationship between social media marketing usage and brand loyalty.