IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM) e-ISSN:2278-487X, p-ISSN: 2319-7668. Volume 25, Issue 9. Ser. 3 (September. 2023), PP 20-27 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/487X-2509032027 www.iosrjournals.org 20 | Page Effect Of Social Media Usage On The Growth Of Small And Medium Enterprises In South East Nigeria Wabara, S.T; Udu, G.O.C; Nwekpa, K.C; Arisi-Nwugbala, E.A; Ezeanokwasa, F. N; Mamah, A.I.K; And Chijindu, S.J. Abstract Social media has positively impacted the growth of small and medium enterprises across the world. Owners of small businesses are utilizing social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram for the operation and growth of their businesses. It is against this premise that this study investigated the effect of social media usage on the growth of small and medium enterprises in South East Nigeria. The study employed cross- sectional survey. Population of two hundred and twenty small and medium enterprises operating within South- Eastern part of Nigeria were surveyed. Sample size of one hundred and forty (140) was determined using Krejcie & Morgan formulae (1970). One hundred and forty (140) questionnaire was administered to owners of small and medium enterprises and one hundred and thirty two (132) copies were retrieved and found useful for analysis. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the hypotheses. The study found that social media usage has significant positive effect on the growth of small and medium enterprises in South East Nigeria. The study concludes that social media usage measured by Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp applications promote the growth of small and medium enterprises in Nigeria. One of the implications of this study is that managers of small and medium enterprises should deploy more resources to social media platforms so as to boost their customer base, increase their profitability as well as revenue base. Keywords: Small and Medium Enterprises, Growth, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, applications. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 06-09-2023 Date of Acceptance: 16-09-2023 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction Small and medium enterprises are the lubricants for economic growth and development. It is based on this premise that Adegboyega, Godwin & Clement (2020) opined that without small businesses other sectors of the economy would not thrive successfully. Small and medium enterprises account for 90% of businesses as well as 50% of employment generation globally (World Bank Group, 2021). It was also established that small and medium enterprises contribute about 40% of GDP in developing countries like Nigeria (World Bank Group, 2021). Small businesses contribute 50% to Nigeria’s GDP (Saanyol, 2021; Acho & Abula, 2018). Small and medium enterprises has reduced high rate of unemployment through the creation of jobs for people that are willing and ready to work (World Bank Group, 2021). Saanyol (2021) added that small and medium enterprises are the engine of Nigeria’s economic growth through the exportation of finished goods. In the Sub -Saharan Africa for instance, small businesses account for 60% of disposable income in the hands of the citizenry (Otugo, Edoko & Ezeanolue, 2018; Gbam,2017).The springing up of small and medium enterprises by entrepreneurs has enhanced development in the rural communities (Bello, Jibir & Ahmed, 2018; Opafunso & Adepoju, 2014). Nigeria is a fast growing economy where small and medium enterprises metamorphosis into multinational organisations (Eno-Abasi, Adeyemi & Ese, 2020). Most countries that are manifesting transformational digital evolution and revolution have realized the relevance of small businesses. It is based on these benefits that countries such as Nigeria established Small and Medium Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to promote and develop small and medium enterprises in the country. However, studies has shown that the growth and development of small and medium enterprises are fueled by the use of social media networks (Ladokun, 2019; Solo-Anaeto, Ojunta & Lakanu, 2017) in some societies. Thus, social media is one of the instruments that small and medium enterprises deploy to create the awareness of their services via Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram to mention but a few. Social media has impacted positively to the growth of small and medium enterprises in Nigeria and that is why Adegboyega, Godwin & Clement (2020) asserted that small and medium enterprises relies so much on social media for promotion and advertisement. Social media is a strong instrument through which small businesses navigate their ways to the top as a result of their presence in the social space. It has been shown that ever since the emergence of social media usage by small and medium enterprises, product sales and services has increased geometrically (Shaw, 2018). Nory, Richard & Ebru (2015) added that social media have built customer confidence in terms of product trust