Qualitative Research Study: Small Business Perceptions of Social Media Marketing

Abstract

As social media becomes more and more prevalent today, adjusting marketing strategies to utilize social media platforms to reach a broader audience across the world has become one of the best ways to gain new business and maintain clientele, allowing businesses to be able to connect with people on a more personal level (Baluch, 2024). Knowing how social media influences message reception, what factors play into the perception of these messages, concerns about social media use, and how to improve social media communications will assist businesses in being more successful in their social media usage. This research study aims to understand the adults (ages 25 to 60) who are owners or employees of small businesses perceptions of social media marketing. The following research questions were designed to address the key aspects of this study: RQ1: How do people in small businesses perceive the influences of social media marketing? RQ2: What factors play into this perception of social media message reception? RQ3: What are social media marketing concerns for the people in small businesses, and how are these concerns relevant? RQ4: How will improving social media marketing assist in the success of small businesses? The findings of this research indicate that all but one of the participants believe there are positive and negative influences of social media marketing and positive and negative factors that play into their perception. There are valid concerns about social media marketing in small businesses, and they all had a sense of what the future improvements of social media marketing will be for small businesses and how it can create the business's success.

Introduction

Businesses can create profiles on the most popular social media platforms to reach a plethora of people while sharing information about their business, products, or services. On the other hand, it can be challenging to generate engaging content using links (Bejtic, 2023). Social media platforms can reach all generations, especially those entering into young adulthood with newfound financial independence. According to Bump (2021), all social media platforms allow sharing photos and videos, which can be used to promote business services and products. Bump (2021) also states that the upkeep of these platforms can be arduous because of the time needed for production and the costs of those productions. Creating content for multiple platforms takes time and may distract owners from managing an actual store or online business. Likewise, blog posts can be great for sharing thoughts and ideas but can be lengthy and time-consuming.

According to Smith (2022), 81% of buying decisions are due to friend's posts on social media, 71% of people say that social media referrals make them more likely to buy, and conversions can jump 133% when consumers see good reviews. When others see good things on social media about a business, they are more likely to buy the products or use the services advertised. Bad reviews on businesses, products, or services can have an adverse effect.

Businesses must monitor all online content and be responsive to consumer engagement with online content. One consumer comment can lead to misinformation about a business. Because of this challenge, some businesses refrain from engaging with consumers through social media and rely more on Google reviews (Aral, 2023). The public perception of what is said or supported on social media is constantly under scrutiny, and in the current "cancel culture," this may cause a significant loss to businesses. Andreou and Nicolaidou (2019) state that several factors, such as age, gender, experience, frequency of internet and social media use, and educational level, play into these perceptions of social media and content effectiveness.

Practical social media usage can boost a business by promoting products or services, while ineffective social media use can damage the reputation of a business (Peterson, 2023). Having a good understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of social media distribution and how these messages are received, how social media influences message reception, and the factors in how the messages are perceived can assist businesses in better social media content creation to generate new business while maintaining the business that they already have.

Statement of Purpose

            The purpose of this study will be to conduct in-depth interviews with people in small businesses to determine how a social media agency can meet their needs. By conducting in-depth interviews with individuals who are or were employed by small businesses, this study seeks to answer the following research questions:

• RQ1: How do people in small businesses perceive the influences of social media message reception?

• RQ2: What factors play into this perception of social media message reception?

• RQ3: What are social media marketing concerns for the people in small businesses, and how are these concerns relevant?

• RQ4: How will improving social media marketing assist in the success of small businesses?

Market Description

            The market for this study will be small business owners or workers in the Jonesboro and Paragould, Arkansas, area. This study will explore people who are or have been employed in small businesses and how they perceive social media marketing. This will provide insight into whether or not social media has positively or negatively impacted these businesses, as well as why some businesses still need to use social media to advertise. A 2019 Statista report shows that $39 billion in revenue was earned because of social media, and the Pew Research Center shows that approximately 70 percent of Americans have at least one social media profile (Smith, 2022). Social media marketing effectively reaches a target audience to increase revenue (Baluch, 2024).

The target audience of this study is adults who have perceptions of small businesses' use of (or lack thereof) social media marketing. As the population grows in this area of Arkansas, it brings the potential for more small businesses to fruition. According to a Statista report on small businesses in the United States (2023), there were approximately 32.62 million small businesses in the year 2020. McCarthy (2014) states that according to the National Small Business Association, at least half of small businesses in the United States use social media, while only 27 percent of small business owners stated that they do not use social media and the most preferred platforms of those that do utilize social media are LinkedIn and Facebook. This data suggests that social media marketing could be a promising avenue for your business's growth.

As social media marketing has grown over the last decade, there has been a consistent decline in traditional advertising. Until the year 2022, marketers are predicting that there will be increases in the use of more traditional media while businesses try to break through the digital clutter, capitalize on consumer's trust in traditional media, prepare for a decline of third-party cookies, tap into the growing medium of podcasting, exploit the digital lift of traditional media, fine-tune their brand and market fit, and revisit digital effectiveness (Moorman, et al., 2022). City-Data (n.d.) reports that Jonesboro, Arkansas has 13 AM radio stations, 15 FM radio stations, and six television broadcast stations that include KTEJ, K54ER, K46EM, KAIT, KVTJ, and K27FC, while Paragould, Arkansas has 13 AM radio stations, 14 FM radio stations, and six television broadcast stations that include K27FC, K46EM, KAIT, KTEJ, K54ER, AND KVTJ, and Brookland, Arkansas has the same amount of AM and FM radio stations as the city of Jonesboro, Arkansas and the same six television stations as Jonesboro and Paragould. According to Randall and Randall (2012), television advertising is economically feasible with local cable operators, radio advertisements are effective if you know the market segment of the station, the advantage of print ads is the permanence, while businesses with limited budgets can place ads in the newspapers, magazines are viewed by larger audiences since they are retained longer, billboards are effective for passersby, and direct mail can assist in targeting specific consumers. Rest assured, this research has taken into account all these factors to provide you with the most comprehensive insights.

The area's ever-growing population creates a lot more users of non-legacy media as well. Digital media is used more abundantly by marketers and small businesses throughout the area while trying to bring attention to themselves and observe their competitors. Business owners and marketers create content for multiple platforms to be viewed by a broader audience and use blog posts to share and obtain different thoughts and ideas about the business.

This study's geographic market considers the Jonesboro – Paragould, Arkansas area's small businesses, including Jonesboro, Brookland, and Paragould, Arkansas. The United States Census Bureau (n.d.) shows that the area's total population is approximately 114,423 people, with a mainly even amount of females and males. Brookland has a median resident age of 27.1 years, Jonesboro with a median age of 34.1 years, and Paragould with a median age of 36.4 years (City-Data, n.d.). City-Data (n.d.) reports that Jonesboro and Paragould are 94 percent urban and 6 percent rural, while Brookland is 86 percent urban and 14 percent rural.

As the population in the Jonesboro – Paragould, Arkansas area is ever-growing, Northeast Arkansas keeps expanding resources in these cities, which means more and more small businesses are showing up all over the area. According to City-Data (n.d.), since 2000, the Jonesboro population has grown 43.9 percent, the Paragould population has grown 37.1 percent, and the Brookland population has grown 228 percent. With this population growth comes the growth of more small businesses, including the growth of the competitor markets for these small businesses.

Methodology

            According to the United States Census Bureau (n.d.), as of 2022, the approximate combined population of the Jonesboro – Paragould area in Arkansas consists of 114,423 people, with Jonesboro's population being 46.4% male and 53.6% female, Paragould's population is 49.1% male and 50.9% female, and the small town of Brookland's (directly in between Jonesboro and Paragould) population is half male and half female. The United States Census Bureau (n.d.) also states that there were 1,763 employer firms in Jonesboro and 552 in Paragould. The data shows that these cities have grown over the years, and more small businesses are popping up with that growth. As a reminder to the reader, the focus of this study is an examination of adults' perceptions on the influences of social media message reception of small businesses, what factors come into play in these perceptions, what concerns there are for small businesses with social media marketing as well as the relevancy of those concerns, and how the improvement of social media marketing will assist in small business success.

Sample

            In-depth interviews will be conducted with individuals who have worked in or owned a small business in the Jonesboro – Paragould, Arkansas area. These participants, aged 25 to 60, are not just numbers in a statistic, but their unique experiences and insights are crucial to our research. They are acquainted with the researcher, fostering a sense of trust that encourages them to share the information needed for this study. Four participants, all residents of the Northeast Arkansas area, have owned or been employed by a small business in the Jonesboro – Paragould, Arkansas area. Their perceptions and attitudes on social media marketing and its effects on small businesses are invaluable to our study.

Interview Instrument

            The researcher will contact the participants to set up a face-to-face or Facetime meeting to conduct interviews. The interview process will involve a series of open-ended and follow-up questions designed to understand the participants' perceptions and attitudes toward social media marketing. The informed consent statement will be emailed to all participants so they can read it, and all participants will have to agree verbally to it before the interview is conducted. Responses will be recorded by a cell phone through audio only and then transcribed by the researcher into this study. The in-depth interview will consist of open-ended and follow-up questions to understand the responses better. Questions will be detailed in the Appendix on page 17 of this study.

The interviews, conducted through audio recordings on the researcher's cell phone, will be transcribed into this study. The researcher will also take occasional notes on paper to capture their general observations of the participants. Once the interviews are transcribed and the notes are entered into this study, all audio interviews will be completely wiped from the researcher's cell phone, and the notes will be destroyed and discarded. These measures are not just protocols, but a testament to our commitment to ensuring the complete anonymity of the participants in this study, maintaining the highest ethical standards.

The open-ended interview, demographic, and research questions that this study will address start on page 17 of this study.

Limitations

            The course's accelerated time frame presents a challenge in conducting this study as comprehensively as we would like. We acknowledge that due to the short time frame, interviews, data, and literature cannot be examined more thoroughly to provide a better understanding of the research. There is a limited amount of participation that can be done within the seven-week course, so the interviews will only consist of four participants. We understand that a bigger sample size would create more extensive data among a more diverse group, leading to better findings for this study. We want to ensure that you, as our audience, are aware of these limitations and understand their impact on the study's outcomes.

Findings

            The research shows that participants have mixed perceptions of social media marketing based on their personal experiences with being a part of a small business' social media marketing. However, the oldest participant seemed only to have negative things to say about social media marketing rather than the other participants in the study, who had both negative and positive things to say about social media marketing (this could be a generational difference due to the ages of the participants). There is a correlation between the participants' belief that social media marketing can be positive for small businesses and assist their success when used correctly. However, there are negative aspects to having a public profile, and those who do not use it correctly can ultimately lead to the failure of small businesses.

Sample

            Participants of this study were between the ages of 25 and 60 years old who have worked for or owned a small business in the Jonesboro – Paragould, Arkansas area; all participants were residents in the Northeast Arkansas area, if not a resident of the Jonesboro – Paragould, Arkansas area itself. Participant 1 is a 60-year-old white male with a high school diploma and owns several small businesses in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Participant 2 is a 45-year-old white female with a GED and a real estate license. However, real estate agents are under a broker; she is still self-employed and has a small business in the Northeast Arkansas area, including the Jonesboro – Paragould area. Participant 3 is a 30-year-old white male with a Bachelor's degree in marketing from Arkansas State University and owns a small business in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Participant 4 is a 25-year-old white female with a high school diploma who works full-time for a global company and part-time for a small business in Paragould, Arkansas.

RQ1: How do people in small businesses perceive the influences of social media message reception?

            The participants were asked five questions to evaluate their perceptions of the influences of social media reception. Overall, the answers to these questions can determine that these influences include the experiences of the participants, the amount of time they have been in small business, the audience they are targeting, the camaraderie of others using recommendations and word-of-mouth, their social media standing/ratings, the issues with the platforms used, viewing negative and positive social media marketing/advertisements, and the similarities and differences of the use of social media marketing between small business and large corporations. All participants except Participant 1 believed there are positive influences to social media message reception and negatives. Participant 1 focused on the negative aspects of social media message reception.

Participant 1 believes that the social media marketing influences of a small business are key in reaching the target audience to create a camaraderie by word-of-mouth for small businesses. Participant 2 believes that camaraderie by word-of-mouth speeds up the process of getting a small business noticed. Participant 3 believes that the influences of social media marketing can be the best route for small businesses that want to put less money into marketing and advertising. Participant 4 believes that social media marketing can get the word out quicker to a broader audience while helping people remember the details of a small business.

RQ2: What factors play into this perception of social media message reception?

            The participants were asked five questions to evaluate which factors play into their perceptions of social media message reception. Overall, the answers to these questions can determine that viewing negative and positive social media marketing, the amount of time that participants have used social media marketing for a small business, which social media platforms are used and the issues of these platforms, the camaraderie of others on social media with positive or negative attitudes towards the business, and whether they did their own social media marketing or assisted in the social media marketing of a small business were the factors that played into the perceptions of social media message receptions. Again, all participants except Participant 1 (who only focused on the negative aspects of social media message reception) seemed to have positive and negative factors that affected their perception of social media message reception.

Participant 1 does his own social media marketing for his businesses that he owns and has had a horrible experience with social media marketing that was talked about off of the record, so his pessimistic outlook on social media marketing was highly influenced by these factors as well as his age with being from a different generation than the other participants in the study. Participant 2 does her own social media marketing and has had positive and negative experiences. The factors that play into Participant 2's negative perceptions of social media marketing are jealousy of competitors and the perceptions of others. Her positive perceptions are from people being upbeat and themselves on social media. Participant 3 does his own social media marketing for a business he owns, and he also has a mix of negative and positive attitudes toward social media marketing. The negative attitude stems from people mixing their business and personal social media, while the positive attitude stems from putting out good video content and watching others' content. A small business employs Participant 4 and assists in some of the social media marketing for the business; she also has mixed attitudes, although they primarily have positive attitudes regarding social media marketing. Her negative attitude toward social media marketing is due to others' unclear language use, improper grammar and spelling, and unethical pettiness from others. Her more positive attitude toward social media marketing could be due to her being from a younger generation than the other participants, her beliefs that others appreciate social media marketing, and the ethics and morality of those who post honest reviews and comments.

RQ3: What are social media marketing concerns for the people in small businesses, and how are these concerns relevant?

The participants were asked five questions to evaluate their concerns about social media marketing in small businesses and how they are relevant. Overall, the answers to these questions can determine that issues on the platform, such as transparency of how some of the paid advertisements work or how long the platform takes to take down misinformation, negative social media comments, and how easily social media ratings/standings are affected by misinformation seemed to be the main concerns among all participants and the similarities to other small businesses made these concerns relevant.

Participant 1's social media marketing concerns for his small businesses are bad reviews and misinformation. Because of his negative experience, he believes bad reviews and misinformation can make or break a small business. Participant 2's concerns about social media marketing are from the platforms needing to be more transparent about who can see her posts so she can figure out her return on investment (ROI) to see if her social media marketing is working. Participant 3 believes that if people can lead different lives through social media, businesses can portray that they are better than they are because some businesses are churning out so much content that they neglect their shops. Participant 4 is concerned about the morally and ethically wrong comments formed by pettiness towards the owners or the people who work there instead of having a bad experience with the business, which can cause a bad reputation. All participants believe their concerns are relevant and that others within small businesses probably have these same concerns.

RQ4: How will the improvement of social media marketing assist in the success of small businesses?

               The participants were asked five questions to evaluate what they believed the improvements in social media marketing would be and how these improvements could assist in the success and failures of small businesses. Overall, all participants had a plan of processes on the issues of the platforms that could improve social media marketing. Participant 1 believes that the improvements will take many years to be implemented, if implemented at all. The other participants believe we will see these improvements in the next few years.

Participant 1 believes that controlling the reviews controls your likeability factor. Instead of just being able to rebuttal a bad review, there should be an efficient and effective process in place for small business owners to be able to take down these reviews that contain misinformation. He believes these improvements will never be implemented. Participant 2 believes that a list of people who view her posts will assist her in being able to figure up her ROI more accurately and that data will eventually become a new form of currency; she thinks that these improvements will happen quickly. Participant 3 is still determining improvements in social media marketing for small businesses but thinks it will be something more sustainable that has to do with AI and that these improvements will start within the next five years. Participant 4 thinks the new ad feature for small business pages already implemented on Facebook will be across all social media platforms with a better algorithm to reach a broader audience for those small businesses. AI will become more prominent in social media marketing within the next few years.

Communication Plan

This research study aims to understand the perceptions of people who own or work in small businesses of social media marketing with a market audience of people who own or are employed by small businesses in the Jonesboro – Paragould, Arkansas, area. In addition to understanding the people who work in or own small businesses ' perceptions of social media marketing, the study also aimed to understand the concerns of those in small businesses and how social media platforms can improve to lessen these concerns and make small businesses more successful. Based on the answers obtained from the four participants and the analysis conducted on the four research questions, the researcher can provide several improvement solutions to be implemented across social media platforms to lessen these concerns and assist in making small businesses more successful. The concerns are the cost of paid social media advertisements, the transparency of how some paid advertisements work, how long the platform takes to take down misinformation and negative social media comments, and how easily social media ratings/standings are affected by misinformation.

Option 1: Social media platforms provide a more detailed explanation of how their paid advertisement systems work.

It is dire that small business owners determine that they have a good ROI so they know that they are spending money to make money. According to a Statista (2023) report, eight out of 10 small businesses spend at least $1,000 on advertising in the United States. This can be done by social media platforms, which provide a detailed explanation of how their advertising systems work and a list of collected data from those who viewed the advertisement. Business owners will then be able to see whether or not they are reaching their target audience and how many consumers used their business or provided a recommendation due to the business using social media paid ads, which in return will assist the owners in determining if they have a good ROI.

The downside to this option is that the list of consumers provided by the social media platforms will consist of collected data regarding the consumer. This can lead to data privacy and security challenges, as small businesses must give out or sell the collected data to others with permission. In return, this can cause harassing phone calls and emails to consumers on the list. The accuracy of the data could also be an issue due to spam and fake accounts throughout social media platforms, generating more work for the small business owners who will have to go through and check the legitimacy of the profiles to calculate an accurate ROI.

Option 2: Lowering the cost of social media paid advertisement systems.

            Social media platforms could lower the costs of their paid advertisement systems or provide an affordable option for small businesses. This could open up a world of possibilities for small businesses, giving them more control over their marketing budget and potentially increasing their reach and visibility. By offering a variety of options, with one system tailored to large corporations and another to small businesses, social media platforms can level the playing field and empower small businesses to compete effectively.

This will create more work for the social media platforms and could not be worth it if they cannot receive enough revenue to cover the costs of providing such services. It can also cause negative conflicts and competition for small businesses fighting over social media ad space.

Option 3: Only allow approved comments.

            Negative comments and the misinformation provided by comments can be detrimental to a small business. Social media platforms should create an algorithm that targets certain negative words on a business page and sends them to the page's owner for approval before posting. Platforms could provide an option in the settings portion so that businesses can choose the words they want targeted for approval, or there could be an option to send all comments for approval before they are posted.

            This option has faults. Dishonest businesses that do not uphold moral and ethical standards will have an advantage over honest businesses that do, creating a more hostile environment between competitors. This can also create more work for small business owners who are already stretched thin and pressed for time.

Option 4: Only allow approved ratings.

              Negative ratings with misinformation can also be detrimental to a small business. Giving businesses control over their ratings can assist in weeding out misinformation. Social media platforms can do this by sending the ratings to small business owners for approval before making them public. If they would like to deny a rating, they should provide proper testimony and supporting evidence as to why it should be denied. A Statista (2019) report shows that 78 percent of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Some people in small businesses believe that by controlling their ratings, they control their likeability factor, making their business more successful.

The downside to this option is that it will create more work for the platforms and small business owners. This can create a volatile competition environment by providing an advantage for dishonest, unethical businesses over honest, ethical businesses.

Option 5: Research ratings to ensure there is not any misinformation presented.

            Social media platforms could start researching ratings below three stars, get with both parties'' regarding the ratings, look further into both parties' social media usage and previous reviews, and make sure there is proper reasoning and evidence supporting the claims. This could deter misinformation that could destroy a small business. As stated in the previous option, 78 percent of people trust these online reviews (Statista. 2019).

            However, this will create more work for the platforms and small businesses and attempt to make the platform a neutral third party to the disagreements of ratings between the consumer and the business. Although the platform itself could be neutral, the people assisting in these situations could be biased.

Option 6: Provide a quicker response when taking down reported reviews.

            According to NetReputation (2024), although the Google review takedown tool states that it takes 72 hours to evaluate reported reviews, the process can take weeks or months to get a final decision on the reported review. The longevity of this process could cause the demise of a small business. Platforms should start providing quicker responses to these reported reviews by either hiring more people or placing a shorter deadline for the people who evaluate the reviews. Suppose it takes longer due to the complexity of the report. In that case, the platform should reach out to the person who reported the review to let them know that the situation was more complex than anticipated and provide them with the date that they plan to complete the evaluation process.

            Again, this will create more work for the platform. The platform may not have the budget to hire more employees to handle the reported reviews, and giving shorter deadlines to the employees could cause them to be overworked. The sheer volume of businesses and reviews on Google could mean they are already buried in removal requests (NetReputation, 2024). Option 7: Send out questionnaires or surveys to small business owners and complainants to determine truthfulness.

            Platforms can create a questionnaire or survey that automatically gets sent to both the business owners and the complainant when a review comes in that is two stars or below. Each party can fill out the survey while an algorithm assesses the answers to determine the truthfulness. This will automatically eliminate any misinformation and fake reviews entered; if the algorithm is undetermined that it is any of these, it can send it to someone who works for the platform to review and decide. This could start deterring negative reviews towards small businesses and assist platforms in providing a quicker response to reported reviews.

            This will require more work from all parties, including the complainant, which could deter consumers from leaving reviews altogether. Someone will have to come up with a standard survey and algorithm to be used across all platforms, which could be proven difficult. Small business owners will have another task to add to their already busy schedules. There will also need to be a plan to maintain the complainant's anonymity so that there will not be any backlash or repercussions from the businesses that they complained about.

Recommendations

            Based on the options provided above, the researcher offers the following recommendations:

1.      Social media platforms provide a more detailed explanation of how their paid advertisement systems work.

According to a Statista (2023) report, eight out of 10 small businesses spend at least $1,000 on advertising in the United States. Small businesses must know they have a good ROI from the social media advertisement systems they pay for. A detailed explanation of how the systems work and a list of people the business is reaching on the platform will assist in a more accurate depiction of the ROI. The businesses can physically see if they are reaching their target audiences and make the changes needed to their marketing strategy if they are not. A Statista (2023) report states that in just five years between 2017 and 2022, online advertising revenue in the U.S. catapulted by more than 130 percent, which amounts to nearly 210 billion dollars. This trend will continue to rise, and social media platforms could gain a lot more small businesses utilizing their paid advertisement systems, increasing their revenue and the revenue of small businesses from the brand exposure they provide. This study shows that small businesses want to know that they will have a good and accurate ROI and that more transparency from the platforms could provide this and, in return, provide more businesses using their advertisement systems.

2.      Providing a quicker response in taking down reported reviews.

As this study shows, it is a long, grueling process for small businesses to take down negative reviews, and the longevity of this process can cause the expiration of a small business. NetReputation (2024) states that although the Google review takedown tool states that it takes 72 hours to evaluate reported reviews, the process can take weeks or months to get a final decision on the reported review. Quicker responses to reported reviews are crucial, especially when those reviews provide misinformation about a small business. Platforms need to provide quicker response times when handling these reviews by hiring more people to handle the reported reviews solely or giving their employees who are already in place shorter deadlines to handle reported reviews. If the reported review is too complex to handle promptly, make it a courtesy to make the business owner aware so they can start making necessary arrangements and public statements to save their reputation among their consumers. These reviews can negatively affect a small business's ratings and likeability factor because 78 percent of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (Statista, 2019).

3.      Only allowing approved comments.

Social media platforms need to provide a way to allow businesses to filter through their comments before they are posted for the whole world to see. By creating a better algorithm or adding an option in the settings portion of the platform that will send comments with certain negative words to the business owner for approval or giving them the option that all of the comments will have to be reviewed by them for approval will assist in stopping the spread of misinformation. Ceylan and Allen (2023) state that some scholars believe that people share falsehoods out of bias, while others place the blame on the failures of critical thinking or media literacy, but a new study shows that social media platforms constantly reinforce sharing, likes, and comments they have inadvertently encouraged users to spread misinformation by creating habitual users that are unconcerned about the content that they post. The misinformation that consumers comment on social media can be damaging to small businesses even if only posted for a second before deletion; considering that everything stays online once put on there and the way society is now, they can screenshot or screen share and keep reposting the damaging comment.

Implementation Plan

Based on the findings of this study and the existing literature mentioned, the researcher recommends future research on the following topics: how small businesses overcome misinformation, small businesses' perceptions of large corporations' use of social media marketing, and small businesses' perceptions of a large corporation as competition. All participants in this study were knowledgeable about the influences of social media marketing on small businesses and had valid concerns about how social media marketing could affect small businesses. Lastly, all participants in this study had experiences with a small business's social media marketing, which provided them with negative attitudes towards social media marketing, particularly due to issues such as privacy concerns, the potential for negative customer reviews, and the difficulty of managing online reputation.

            This research study, conducted by a seasoned researcher in the field of social media marketing, aims to provide several options and recommendations for small businesses concerned about social media marketing. The options provided in lessening these concerns are social media platforms providing a more detailed explanation of their paid advertising systems, lowering the costs of social media paid advertising systems, only allowing approved comments, only allowing approved ratings, social media platforms researching the ratings to ensure there is not any misinformation, social media platforms providing quicker responses in taking down reported reviews, and social media platforms sending out questionnaires or surveys to the small business owners and the complainant to determine truthfulness. Of those solutions, the researcher, drawing from extensive knowledge and experience, recommends that social media platforms provide a more detailed explanation of their paid advertising systems, that social media platforms provide a quicker response in taking down reported reviews, and that social media platforms only allow approved comments.

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Statista. (2023). Advertising in the United States – statistics & facts [report]. Retrieved April 25, 2024. https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.library.astate.edu/topics/979/advertising-in-the-us/#topicOverview 

Statista. (2019). Online reviews [report]. Retrieved April 25, 2024. https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.library.astate.edu/study/50566/online-reviews/ 

Statista. (2023). SME/SMB advertising and marketing in the U.S. – statistics & facts [report]. Retrieved April 25, 2024. https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.library.astate.edu/topics/4272/sme-marketing-in-the-us/#topicOverview 

US Census Bureau, & Small Business Administration. (August 17, 2023). Number of small businesses (employer and non-employer) in the United States from 1997 to 2020 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved April 24, 2024, from https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.library.astate.edu/statistics/257521/number-of-small-businesses-in-the-us/ 

Appendix

A.    Interview Instrument

Consent to Participate in Small Business Perceptions of Social Media Marketing

The following information is provided to inform you of the research project that will be conducted by Shawnda Peterson under the tutelage of Dr. Mary Pitt at Arkansas State University - Jonesboro.  You were selected to participate in this study because you have owned and/or worked at a small business in the Jonesboro – Paragould, Arkansas area. 

1.      Purpose of the study:  This study involves research.  The purpose of this research is to better understand how the perceptions and attitudes of social media marketing.  Your responses to interview questions are confidential and only available to the researcher and supervisor. 

2.      Confidentiality and limits to these assurances:No personally identifiable information will be collected, and the survey is taken anonymously through willing small business owners and/or workers in the Jonesboro – Paragould, Arkansas area.

3.      Procedures to be followed and approximate duration:  Participants in the research will participate in an in-depth interview that will focus on small business owners’ and/or workers’ perceptions of social media marketing.  This survey will last approximately an hour to two hours, and your responses will be combined with three other participants.

4.      Risks: This research involves no more than minimal risk.  The probability and magnitude of harm or discomfort anticipated in the research are not greater in and of themselves than those ordinarily encountered in daily life or during the performance of routine physical or psychological examinations or tests.

5.      Voluntary Consent: Your participation in this interview is completely voluntary, and you are free to stop participating and exit the interview at any time. Participants can refuse to answer individual questions throughout the interview. There is no penalty for refusal to participate.

6.      Contact information.  If you have any questions about this study, you can contact the person(s) below:

Shawnda Peterson

shawnda.carpente@smail.astate.edu

Dr. Mary Pitts

mpitts@astate.edu

870-972-3361

Research Questions

Demographic Questions

• What is your age?

• What is your gender identification?

• What is your educational background?

• What is your current employment status?

RQ1: How do people in small businesses perceive the influences of social media reception?

• Did you assist in any of the social media marketing for the business, and why or why not?

• What are your perceptions of small businesses using social media marketing?

• What do you think other’s perceptions are of social media marketing?

• What differences do you believe there are in social media marketing between small businesses and large corporations?

• How do you think these differences affect each business?

RQ2: What factors play into this perception of social media message reception?

• Do you have current or former employment/ownership of a small business, and how long?

• Which social media platforms do you currently use?

• How often do you come across social media marketing?

• What do you believe attracts negative message reception in social media?

• What do you believe attracts positive message reception in social media?

RQ3: What are the concerns of social media marketing for the people in small businesses, and how are these concerns relevant?

• What are your concerns about social media marketing?

• Do you believe that others have these concerns, and why?

• Do you believe these concerns are relevant, and why?

• How will these concerns affect a small business?

• What do you think will lessen these concerns?

RQ4: How will the improvement of social media marketing assist in the success of small businesses?

• What do you think the future improvements of social media marketing will be?

• How long do you think it will take to implement the future improvements?

• How could these improvements hurt or help a small business?

• How do you think social media marketing will assist in the success of a small business?

• How will social media marketing assist in the failure of small businesses?

B.     Interview Transcripts

Participant 1 is a 60-year-old white male who has a high school diploma with some college but did not receive a degree. He lives in Bono, Arkansas, and is self-employed. He owns a couple of small businesses in the Jonesboro—Paragould, Arkansas, area. The interview was conducted on Saturday, April 13, 2024, at 11 a.m. CST.

(General observation notes during the interview: Participant 1 was very relaxed and confident in his answers, often leaning back in his chair and speaking with a steady tone. However, he would occasionally stumble over his words, indicating a slight nervousness. There was much laughter during the interview, suggesting a comfortable and friendly atmosphere. The conversation got personal but still related to the question or subject being discussed. After the recording stopped, Participant 1 told a story about a failed business he had due to one bad review, but he did not want the story reiterated in this research.)

The participant stated that he had read over the consent statement the researcher had sent before the interview and had verbally agreed to participate before the interview started.

Researcher: What is your age?

Participant 1: I am 60.

Researcher: And your gender identification?

Participant 1: Oh, male.

Researcher: Educational background?

Participant 1: High school, believe it or not. A little bit of college, little bit of college.

Researcher: And current employment status?

Participant 1: Self-employed

Researcher: So, do you have current or former employment/ownership of a small business, and how long?

Participant 1: Yes, since 1980… No, I’m sorry, since 1994, so that would be 30 years.

Researcher: Which social media platforms do you use for those businesses?

Participant 1: Facebook, Instagram, uhh... those would probably be the two.

Researcher: How often do you come across social media marketing?

Participant 1: Usually about two times a month. Do you mean as far as advertising is concerned or… oh, I probably go up on a daily basis.

Researcher: What do you believe attracts negative message reception in social media with social media ads?

Participant 1: The main thing that I focus on is responding quickly because your client, no matter the business, ok? If you don’t have an answer for them right away, it’s a now society, I mean. If you’re not in tune with that, then you are just throwing it in the fan.

Researcher: So would you say that would attract the positive message receptions, too.

Participant 1: Yea… Just answering their questions.

Researcher: So you do all of your own social media marketing?

Participant 1: Yes, ma’am.

Researcher: And what are your perceptions of small businesses using social media marketing?

Participant 1: I think it’s key because if you don’t, you’re not… like you have to advertise and be on the platforms that your client base is on, where your age range is at. Being in the wedding business, most of your age range is between 21 and 30, and that is where they are all the time. When you pop up in front of them, you stand a real good chance. Use to be in the old days, well, I say old days, we used yellow pages, and now they are gone, so that is useless.

Researcher: I am old enough to remember the yellow pages.

Participant 1: Ok, I figured, but ya know… hey. Then, it wasn’t about whether you had an ad; it was about how big your ad was. Ya know, if you don’t pop up in the top three and, that still is true to course as far as Google or Facebook or anywhere like that. You have got to come up within the top three; if you are not up in the top three, you’re useless. Not useless, but you’re sure not going to get your fair shake.

Researcher: Well I know for me, if you are not on the first page of my Google search, I’m done.

Participant 1: Yes, you are only going to look at about three or four or five, depending on what you are looking for and that kind of thing, but if you don’t come up in the top four or five, you don’t have a chance.

Researcher: So, what do you believe other people’s perception are of social media marketing for small businesses?

Participant 1: I think they, especially Facebook because you get a lot of people like, “Hey, I’m looking for whatever the service” or looking for who can recommend and that’s where they go and that’s what they pay attention too.

Researcher: And what differences do you believe there are between small businesses and larger corporations?

Participant 1: What differences… Not a lot, really, because you can make yourself seem large on social media. You know what I’m saying? Like even if you’re a small operator, you can make yourself look like you have seven or, eight or, ten people working for you, and it’s not really necessarily be the case. We have gotten just as good a chance as the big corp people depending on the service and that kind of thing.

Researcher: I like that answer, that’s good.

Participant 1: Yes, I’ve done this a lot.

Researcher: What are your concerns for social media marketing?

Participant 1: Bad reviews. Does that make sense? Those are my concerns because you get a, you can get, I know from experience, you can get a bad reputation from one or two bad reviews.

Researcher: You mean like some misinformation from people?

Participant 1: Misinformation! Because that is the unfortunate side of networking or marketing now as to it wasn’t that way before and I’m talking about the change from yellow pages to, you know what I’m saying? I mean there wasn’t a social media platform going on at that time, but your main thing now is misinformation.

Researcher: There seems to be a lot of that online.

Participant 1: Yea.

Researcher: Do you believe that other businesses have these concerns and why?

Participant 1: Yes, they would. I would think they would have the same concerns.

Researcher: And how are these concerns relevant today?

Participant 1: Well they are going to be an ongoing thing as long as there is social media, which there will be of some sort, whether Facebook or otherwise. There is going to be that same concern regardless because if you have misinformation, a lot of people won’t give a business a chance if there’s poor reviews and that type of thing. You know, they only choose their business on how many stars on Google that you have, and it’s basically the same way on Facebook.

Researcher: And what improvements do you think could be made to lessen these concerns?

Participant 1: Being able to remove some of the poor… or have a little more freedom as far as the business owner is towards the review. Have that business owner be able to do a little more than just rebut like get it removed for different reasons with a little more flexibility, as far as the business owner is concerned.

Researcher:  Like the people that have never even used the business and just get on there and talk, like have those get taken down and make that process quicker?

Participant 1: Yes, make that process quicker and even have a process to do it because Google is hard as heck to get a review removed.

Researcher: Oh, wow. I didn’t know that.

Participant 1: Yes, ma’am. It is very hard, and it can affect you long-term.

Researcher: Yeah… I can imagine because I know me and the kids are always looking at reviews before we do anything.

Participant 1: Yea, because your daughter use to work at Taco Bell, I believe, if I’m not mistaken.

Researcher: McDonald’s now, but yes, she did work there too.

Participant 1: Yes, but she did work there. It’s the same difference, you are going to go see and read some of those reviews before you go to work for them or before you go buy food from them. And I’m just choosing this because I know it’s common. You’re going to go look at that and see if you want to go work for them or if you want to use their product.

Researcher: Yeah, I definitely do it in applying and interviewing. I’m like, I have to see everything that I can about this business.

Participant 1: Yes, especially if you don’t know them, lord yea.

Researcher: What do you think the improvements of social media marketing will be?

Participant 1: What will they be?

Researcher: Mhm

Participant 1: I doubt there is going to be a lot of improvements to be honest with you. Ummm… Should there be? Absolutely! But will there be? Probably not. Just being honest about it. There probably won’t be but should there be, yea, they should probably have a little more flexibility as far as the owner is concerned to be able to get a review taken down because of misinformation.

Researcher: So you don’t think it will ever happen?

Participant 1: I don’t truly think it will happen at the current stage.

Researcher: Yeah, because my next question is, how long do you think it will take to implement future improvements?

Participant 1: Years. Years.

Researcher: And how would the improvements of being able to take down these reviews help a small business?

Participant 1: Oh, that would be tremendous because you would be able to control a bit more. Control your star level or your likeability factor.

Researcher: And how do you think social media marketing will assist in the successfulness of a small business?

Participant 1: Ten-fold. In today’s market, if you are not on social media in some kind of way, it’s going to be real tough to do business.

Researcher: And how will it assist in the failures?

Participant 1: Poor reviews.

Researcher: Poor reviews with all of that misinformation out there.

Participant 1: Misinformation and not getting a fair shake. I’m going to speak of something ahead especially, since it’s synonymous. I can tell you from personal experience, that a piss poor review can get you pretty much blackballed.

Researcher: Really?

Participant 1: Yes, it’s really bad.

Researcher: Well, that’s the end of my questioning. Thanks for your participation.

Participant 2 is a 45 year old white female who has a GED and a real estate license. She resides in Brookland, Arkansas, and is self-employed in the Jonesboro – Paragould area of Arkansas. The interview was conducted on Sunday, April 14, 2024, at 10 a.m. CST.

(General observations during the interview: Participant 2 seemed comfortable with questioning. She would lose her train of thought a couple of times, but she was able to get back on track quickly. She named some businesses, people, and cities throughout her interview that could interrupt the anonymity of the research, so those names have been redacted from her responses.)

*Participant stated that she read over the consent statement the researcher had sent before the interview and verbally agreed to participate before the interview started.

*Researcher: So, what is your age?

Participant 2: Oh… what is my age… uhh… 45.

Researcher: And your gender identification?

Participant 2: Female

Researcher: Educational background?

Participant 2: Umm… GED and I went to Black River for my real estate.

Researcher: What is your current employment status?

Participant 2: Self-employed.

Researcher: So, do you have current or former employment or ownership of a small business, and how long?

Participant 2: Well, technically, in real estate, I work for myself. I just work under the umbrella of a broker. So I have been doing this, nine years.

Researcher: Which social media platforms do you currently use for your marketing?

Participant 2: All of them. LinkedIn, Facebook, I don’t use Twitter a lot and I know that is probably something that I need to get into more. I just don’t think that Twitter is for our area, as big as say Facebook and Instagram. I use Instagram, TikTok. I think our area is a little behind the times a little bit so Twitter for advertising isn’t, I don’t get as much return on investment.

Researcher: Yea, I don’t know anybody that even uses Twitter… so how often do you post social media marketing on those sites.

Participant 2: Well, I have a system that actually feeds it when I put something in. It feeds out to everything, so it’s daily, but it’s Facebook, Instagram… Let me see what social media sites. [Checks phone] And I do use Snapchat, no… I don’t use Snapchat… LinkedIn, TikTok, I even use Pinterest for home, home ideas, you know, things like that. Anytime I have a flyer to advertise, I pin it to Jonesboro, Arkansas, you know so if anyone were to look for that. But mainly it’s Instagram, Facebook, but I do use Pinterest, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

Researcher: And how often do you come across other people’s social media ads?

Participant 2: Umm… Not as much as I use to because I don’t have a lot of other realtors on my. I do have the ones that I trust on there, but there are so many other realtors that we have done things honestly, and they don’t understand it. Like when we started using the MAD Report, you know, the virtual walk-through or whatever, people have tried to get us in trouble for that because it showed the layout of the home.

Researcher: Well, can’t you just get the blueprints of that, and it show the layout too?

Participant 2: Well, it would show like this is a kid’s room, and this is where it’s at. People would try to say that people could break in and know exactly where to go. They just didn’t like it because it was new. Then, whenever we started virtually staging, we got turned in for that because it didn’t depict what the house actually looked like when they got there, so we had to go back and fight them and say that there’s no difference of me taking pictures of when they lived there versus then they moved out in the meantime and you go to see it and it’s vacated. We aren’t changing any structure or anything like that.

Researcher: So, what do you believe attracts negative message reception in social media marketing?

Participant 2: I think there is just certain people that are always going to have something bad to say like that. A lot of it’s jealousy between other realtors, but I don’t have a lot of negativity. I guess for me, there was a home that I listed in [redacted city], and it had a church on it, and it was a mobile home. It was in [redacted city] forever and a mile away, and I boosted the post, trying to get attention to it and get people to click on the link so that I could get their information and it being so far out while having a little makeshift church on it, they said that it looks like a cult center, you know. I actually had the property owners reach out to their attorney, who happened to our attorney at the time and was trying to get me in trouble for what was in the comments.

Researcher: Just from the misinformation that other people put out there?

Participant 2: They were making fun of it, yeah. They thought it hurt it, but I still sold it. They tried to make it like it was mean. I guess that is the one thing that I do if there’s a lot of negativity; even bad attention is good attention when it comes to marketing to me. Like I do take it down just out of their feelings because it was an older woman that was already completely embarrassed that she had to sell the home, and she owned it, her and her ex-husband, well, her husband that had passed away, had owned it, forever. She got married after because she was lonely and put his name on everything, so when they got divorced, he got half of everything.

Researcher: Oh no!

Participant 2: So she was already upset, so I didn’t want that to hurt her. Does that answer your question?

Researcher: Yes, what do you believe attracts positive message reception in your social media marketing?

Participant 2: I don’t think it’s just one thing; it’s the pattern. Like if you, let’s say power of positivity. If you are consistently putting out positive things, positive upbeat energy, then that’s what attracts. You can’t just put one post saying that you are having a great day. It’s got to be who you are.

Researcher: So, you do all of your own social media marketing?

Participant 2: Yea

Researcher: So, what are your perceptions of small businesses using social media marketing?

Participant 2: I would hate to be a small business and not have this. I can’t imagine what it was like 30 years ago, starting a business. I think it just speeds up the process; it gets your name out there faster, it gets people’s eyes on you and not just you but word of mouth. If you have a good experience with somebody, it’s like, “Oh my god. Joe just came and built a fence in record time, and it’s great.” You know, the referrals, it just kind of speeds up the process.

Researcher: Right, referrals, reviews, word of mouth…

Participant 2: Yes, it speeds up the process.

Researcher: Recommendations, as well because Facebook has the new recommendation thing where you can put “Who do you recommend for this…” I think I have tagged you in a few of those.

Participant 2: I don’t do a lot of paid advertisements. Maybe on an open house, but just to get my name out there, I don’t have to because word of mouth for me works.

Researcher: What do you think other people’s perceptions are of social media marketing in small businesses?

Participant 2: It depends. I think people are getting tired of seeing nothing but ads. So, they are going in and unfollowing; that’s why I don’t. I want to be present, but not in your face because I know I get tired of seeing the same ole, same ole, and I will go in and honestly like start to report. Like, if I see your ad every other post, I’m going to unfollow it, I’m going to unclick it.

Researcher: Also, nowadays if you just talk around a smart device and then it’s like all of those ads just keep on and keep on. You can’t even say anything or have a conversation around a smart device without it popping up every other thing.

Participant 2: Right!

Researcher: What differences do you believe there are in social media marketing between small businesses and large corporations?

Participant 2: A further reach because like Dunkin Donuts, you’re going to have them across the United States, but [business name redacted] call [name redacted] in Jonesboro, Arkansas. I’m going to limit to the area that I know and am comfortable with. For me, I don’t know all of Arkansas, I only know NEA so really that’s the only difference is how big or small you want to advertise to.

Researcher: What are your concerns about social media marketing?

Participant 2: My concern about it is like if I went in and boosted a post, because I have thought about this, it’s very hard to see your true reach. Like if you spend this much money, then this many people are going to see it. Are they? You know what I mean. I question that because I don’t ever see my stuff come across, and if I’m boosting it and I don’t see my ads come across my own page, and maybe it’s just a lack of understanding of how it works, but [redacted name] can boost something on Google back when he was doing it and I would get screenshots from other people like “Hey, I see [redacted name]!” because his ad would come up on Google whenever but on Facebook, is it really?

Researcher: Now that you say that, though, like, I don’t think I ever see any of the boosts come across when I’m just scrolling on Facebook.

Participant 2: Yes, and it shows that it was saw by this many people but where? Was it really?

Researcher: Do you believe that other people have the same concerns?

Participant 2: I would think so unless they are naïve and like “I did it and everybody is seeing it!” Like, no, my brain works a little different than that.

Researcher: So, how do you think these concerns could really affect the business?

Participant 2: Whether I’m a smaller scale agent that’s just getting started or even a bigger company, if I’m boosting it and it’s not being seen then I can be spending a lot of money for nothing. That’s my big thing because I’m like why am I spending this money if I don’t know that the return on my investment is good.

Researcher: What do you think will lessen these concerns? Like what could be done to eliminate or lessen the concerns?

Participant 2: Honestly, a list like here’s the people who saw it. If there was just some kind of proof of who saw it other than a generic women from 12 to… not 12, they can’t get on Facebook yet. Like women from 18 to 35 saw it, you know, in this area.

Researcher: Oh, like, give you a breakdown of the audience that viewed it.

Participant 2: Right.

Researcher: So, what do you think the future improvements of social media marketing will be?

Participant 2: I don’t know if we will get to that point, to where… because, like, you already have to have your number, you got to get your email address to sign up and do this or that. I mean, you can hide it, but there’s programs that I have had before, and people didn’t like it. Like if I boosted a house that I had for sale or an open house on, and the whole point is to go in, and they clicked, either it automatically put their information from Facebook like their email address, names, things like that, or they had to physically put it in there. When they have to physically put it in there nine times out of ten, they wouldn’t. I would still get the questions and the comments or the questions on it because they weren’t going to click on that; it’s clickbait; they know and don’t want you calling them fifty million times a day and trying to get them to buy and sell or whatever so I quit doing that because it was giving me negative attention and people didn’t want to mess with me because they were annoyed.

Researcher: How long do you think it will take to implement the future improvements?

Participant 2: I think pretty quick because, especially like with TikTok, if they take it down and ban it.

Researcher: Oh yeah, they are supposed to be taking that down.

Participant 2: Mhm, so, and Facebook already has the reels, kind of like the TikTok cousin. They’re going to just continuously get to that point, so I would say within the next seven years, it will be to where I can put something on Facebook and be able to get everything without having to boost an ad or whatever the business is, is going to go to that.

Researcher: How do you think these improvements could really hurt a small business, though?

Participant 2: Like if the information was used wrong.

Researcher: Like a data collection to send to other businesses?

Participant 2: If we start selling their information. I can see a lot of new businesses coming up and selling information.

Researcher: They do that already.

Participant 2: But here locally, because you already got all of these videographers, these advertising people, like, “I can get you more reach and this, this, and this.” Data is going to be our currency.

Researcher: So, how do you think social media marketing assists in the successfulness of a small business?

Participant 2: A further reach.

Researcher: Just a further reach?

Participant 2: And the consistency. I can tell in my business like, even if it’s organically me just posting stuff. I post me. I post real. People feel like they already know me because of the craziness that is me. So they feel like they know me, so I get people that I couldn’t pick out of a line up in person, especially with all of the filters, and they are like, “Hey, my friend is selling a house!” They just already feel that connection, and people want to do business with people that they know, especially in small towns, and I tell people that all the time. People want to do business with people that they know and trust, so you have to become that person that they know and trust.

Researcher: So, do you think that will assist in the failure of a small business if they don’t have that?

Participant 2: Yeah, because everything is networking now. Everything is about who do you know. You can go on Facebook, like, “Hey, I need a fence done. Recommendations.” Like, if you aren’t out there, you just can’t go to a club on the weekend or go out for drinks and meet people, you meet people on social media, so you have to put yourself out there.

Researcher: Right, like nobody comes and knocks on a door anymore. It’s all done on the phone and stuff to just say hey, I’m here, and same with social media. Is there anything else you think in social media marketing that would lead to the failure of a business?

Participant 2: I don’t think it’s necessarily the programs; it’s the people behind them because if I went on social media and I put out negative or misinformation or stuff like that, I could post it more than I can the good stuff but you’re going to get different… uhh… what was I trying to say… read that again…

Researcher: How will social media marketing assist in failures in the business?

Participant 2: Because just like the good stuff, if you put the good out there, it’s everybody seeing it but that goes the same way. How many times have people had followers that are in the, you know, whatever and everybody loves them, and they mess up and say the one thing that they didn’t think about, but then all of a sudden someone took it wrong and shared it?

Researcher: Didn’t like Godsey’s Grill do that here while back?

Participant 2: Over an autism child.

Researcher: Yeah, yeah, and now I haven’t seen Godsey’s grill. I don’t know.

Participant 2: It’s Yes Dog.

Researcher: Oh, it’s Yes Dog now?

Participant 2: Yes, it’s Godsey’s backwards. They just rebranded and renamed and had to go and change. [Name redacted] did that. You know how we close the schools down over every little thing now, but back in the day, lord, we walked to school in the snow, it didn’t matter. Well, he made a comment about we are weakening this next generation by, you know, blah, blah, blah. And these teachers ate his ass.

Researcher: Really?

Participant 2: Yes. Something about the safety of our children, and these backroads, and we live in Arkansas and just duh, duh, duh, duh, duh. The buses can’t run.

Researcher: Oh, I didn’t know that happened to [Name redacted].

Participant 2: Yeah, that was [Name redacted], and that’s not what he meant.

Researcher: Right and I get what he was saying though because we walked to school no matter what and we only had three days off for Thanksgiving and not a whole week. There was sometimes we didn’t get spring break because we had so many snow days. Now they still get all of those breaks and all of their snow days and still get out in May and that’s not how it used to be.

Participant 2: No, we were going later in May, so I think it can also hurt just as much as it can help.

Researcher: Yeah, just saying the wrong thing will set people off.

Participant 2: Right, because it’s like that old saying, you can say one good thing, and only a handful of people will think it’s great, but people are going to spread that bad thing a lot faster than they would that good thing.

Researcher: Well, that is all I have, so thank you for your participation.

Participant 3 is a 30 year old white male with a bachelor’s in marketing from Arkansas State University and a high school diploma. He resides and is self-employed in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The interview was conducted on April 17, 2024, at 2 p.m. CST.

(General observations during the interview: Participant 3's behavior was notable. Initially, he displayed signs of nervousness, audibly knocking on the table while speaking. As the interview progressed, he appeared fatigued, frequently rubbing his eyes and face. To protect the anonymity of those involved in his company, certain names were redacted.)

The participant stated that he had read over the consent statement the researcher had sent before the interview and had verbally agreed to participate before the interview started.

Researcher: What’s your age?

Participant 3: I’m 30.

Researcher: Wow, you’re younger than me.

Participant 3: Old.

Researcher: I’m 33. All right, what is your gender identification?

Participant 3: Male.

Researcher: And your educational background?

Participant 3: Uhh… I have a bachelor’s degree in marketing, and I graduated from Valley View.

Researcher: What’s your current employment status?

Participant 3: Self-employed and somewhat thriving.

Researcher: So, you have current or former employment and/or ownership of a small business, and how long?

Participant 3: Five years, and a couple weeks.

Researcher: So, what social media platforms do you currently use for your business?

Participant 3: We use Instagram, Facebook… I use like a Wix to have like a small blog just for, like, uhh… SEO stuff, and then I have a Pinterest, and we do TikTok.

Researcher: So, how often do you post social media marketing for your business?

Participant 3: Usually every other day for something that is, like, specific and sometimes just stuff to be pretty like every day.

Researcher: And how often do you come across other social media marketing?

Participant 3: All the time. My business page, I make a point of like, well, my personal page, I don’t follow any florists, really, and then my business page, I follow like similar florists or other florists so that I can get away from it if I want to.

Researcher: Right, like don’t mix work and personal. What do you believe attracts negative message reception in social media marketing?

Participant 3: People using like, a lot of times I notice that small businesses and stuff use it like an extension of their personal social media, so they post about personal stuff or using like posting on their own page and share their own thing, and I don’t like the crossing of it. The only time we get personal is if we put our faces on it, like, meet this employee or, like, some people like the facial stuff, but we never like, “Hey, our local church is doing this.” We never, like, mix our personal things with it. It’s strictly just marketing and business for us.

Researcher: So why do you think that would attract negative…

Participant 3: I guess depending on what it is, like an example would be like there was another shop in an area that I followed and like they, the business partners got in an argument and they started posting like or would post like or tie in their Instagram and stuff and just share memes on their business page, and it just seemed very unprofessional.

Researcher: Right, like it gets unprofessional at some point.

Participant 3: It messed up the grid, with the look of it. It didn’t look as good, but yeah it almost looks like your grandma is posting, you know, kind of thing. I don’t like post really long things because nobody’s going to read that. I will post two to three sentences, maybe; usually, it’s just one sentence or just emojis, like; if it’s just some flowers, I will put a sparkle and a flower emoji. It’s because people are visual.

Researcher: Well like you said though two or three sentences is sometimes pushing it because people don’t want to read all that.

Participant 3: Yea

Researcher: What do you believe attracts the positive message receptions?

Participant 3: For us, it’s like pretty things or like different things. Umm… or anything that has someone’s face in it or like us talking like videos and engagement stuff. People like that, like during Christmas, we did for our TikTok we did like Christmas tips and stuff, and like every Christmas tip, we got between 100,000 to 1,000,000 views on stuff, and like our normal stuff gets like 3,000. You know, our Christmas stuff, people were looking for that so it’s like in the moment stuff is what people are looking for works.

Researcher: Well, it’s also like they get to know you a little bit more personally on that level. People like to deal with people that they know a little more personally.

Participant 3: Yeah, so we try to put that out there, but it’s hard to do that. Like there is a florist in Memphis, and his name is John Mark; look him up if your research is on social media and the uses of stuff like that. He has to have someone following him around 24/7. He posts three to four videos a day of him making bows and stuff. He just has backlogs of stuff. His engagement is just through the roof because he is just like, “Hey, y’all!” and everyone just connects to it. But yeah videos and stuff of course, in the past, since COVID and stuff just [motions upwards with hands] for everything.

Researcher: So, you do all of your social media marketing for your business?

Participant 3: I make, photograph, other than like using photographs from weddings, then yea like pretty much everything. Unless it’s like super graphic design, my cousin does our graphic design, like our logo that we change seasonally, he does all of that for us.

Researcher: What are your perceptions of small businesses using social media marketing?

Participant 3: I think it’s probably the best route; I’ve never been one; it can be controversial because some people do like to dump a bunch of money into it. I’ve never spent money on Facebook or Instagram for promotions or anything just because I feel like that is not geared toward small business really it’s geared toward bigger businesses that have a lot of money because, like what good is it going to do if, I spend a thousand dollars a month and it like makes my range really big, but like what if someone in St. Louis sees it, then it’s not really useful to them so like I think it’s good to find your local target. It’s not all about followers and stuff. It’s like reaching who you need to reach kind of thing for small businesses anyway, or if you do shipping and stuff like boutiques, they can reach however far, but like us where it’s just regional delivery, then it’s not beneficial to get out of your scope.

Researcher: Well, you can’t ship much of this stuff without it ruining before it gets there.

Participant 3: Yeah, I know!

Researcher: What do you think other people’s perceptions are of social media marketing?

Participant 3: I think a lot of people don’t realize they are being marketed towards like outside like if we are posting stuff it’s like, “Oh, it’s just pretty flowers.” but in the back of their head they think about it. Everything is marketing, but unless it’s like, “Come buy this.”, then they don’t see it as marketing. They just see it as a pretty picture of flowers, you know, but then when they are looking for flowers, they will go back and be like, “Oh, that’s a pretty feed!” They won’t even have to read what we said, so they probably think of it as everyday kind of stuff, but they don’t realize that it’s targeting them.

Researcher: Yeah, it’s like subconsciously.

Participant 3: Yes, it’s subconscious, and in the background, you’re just there.

Researcher: Now that I think about it, I used y’all last week and I’m always at one of these restaurants near here so I have just seen you all of the time in passing.

Participant 3: Yes, it’s just there and we are in a very high traffic area so for us that works too.

Researcher: What differences do you believe there are in social media marketing between a small business and large corporation?

Participant 3: Large corporation is most likely trying to like, sell to the masses or like a larger demographic like nationwide or internationally. Whereas, if you’re doing it right, you’re trying to reach your demographic within your surface area. You’re not trying to like, unless it’s just videos and stuff like that, which can be universal. It’s not like I’m going to be like, “Fayetteville High School, come get your prom corsages here.” You know, it’s not going to help. It’s kind of knowing your target, I guess, for us. Whereas a big company is also knowing your target, but it’s vast, like you’re throwing a net. Whereas ours has to be like a rod-and-reel kind of situation.

Researcher: And how do you think these differences affect each business?

Participant 3: Probably for like a bigger business, it’s a lot of like… passive income… I guess because it’s just like going through and people clicking through and ordering stuff. I feel like for a lot of local businesses, it’s noticed more in the orders and stuff like this came from this or you know, it’s like more personal especially for us because everything is personal and going to someone usually, so for us, it’s different because if they click through then they are calling and talking directly to us. Whereas I feel like a bigger business don’t want you to call or anything. They just want you to click, order, and do it. Whereas, a local business is a bit more personal. Where you are reaching out is a bit more personal than a big company would try… I guess that’s the difference.

Researcher: I can see that. So, what are your concerns of social media marketing?

Participant 3: My personal concerns is that I’m not very good at videos, and there are some people that’s their like thing, and it’s not mine, so getting left behind in that, but just like, I don’t know, but it’s like people can lead different lives on social media. Businesses can do the same thing, portray all this like, in our industry, everything is very pretty and stuff. There’s another floral shop where [redacted name]’s sister lives in another part of the state, and we use different shops there just to see what is sent to us for $100, or whatever, every time she sends for her birthday so we kind of see what they send, and there’s one shop that is very like gardening and natural, and we ordered it, and it was nothing like that so they project different things and you kind of have to be true to it so that can be a problem too especially in social media, where everything is hyped up, and you get there, and you’re just like, “Oh.” [look of disappointment]. You know.

Researcher: Yeah, I know this wedding DJ and I was talking to him and he was like, “I can be however big I want on social media.”

Participant 3: Yeah, it doesn’t really do much. It doesn’t do good; you can only do so much. It’s like us, we can only have so much business that we can do before we are like, well, we have reached our threshold. Same like with him, as a DJ, he can only be at one place in one night. It’s like you can only do so much.

Researcher: So, do you believe others have these same concerns and why?

Participant 3: Probably, I noticed it a lot with like female geared things like boutiques and stuff. They are always like just churning stuff out, it’s like content, content, content and I think probably you go to them and get to their store and it’s like “Oh, this isn’t anything like it is.” Then they are worried about their image and you get there and the store isn’t upheld.

Researcher: Sometimes that gets annoying, too with content constantly in your face.

Participant 3: Oh yeah, there’s like different things and it’s always there like I hate text message marketing. I hate that because I’m always like “UGH”, but I never act on it, but I’m sure there are people if it’s something you’re into. I will easily sub out of it.

Researcher: Right, I just get the discount from it and sub out and just do it again when I need to order something.

Participant 3: Yea, like [company name redacted] texts me like all the time. Me and [name redacted] are like there’s our besties.

Researcher: And why do you think these concerns are relevant?

Participant 3: Probably because I mean it does affect your business because if you’re putting so much towards it that it is hurting the rest of your business like the actual business of it unless you are doing TikTok shop or Instagram shop and stuff, it’s not making you money, most likely, so if you’re putting all your efforts into that and not the other part then it’s not really… How much is it really doing if it’s not returning anything? Because I think, it’s like with personal accounts, people put so much into it, and then they don’t focus on anything else, and it’s like I just got dressed up and took a picture, and now I’m going to go sleep. You have got to act on it. I guess follow-through, and it’s just one aspect of it, so you have to have a package deal, you can’t just like, solely thrive on that.

Researcher: Right and it seems like they are putting in the money to this stuff and they are not getting any ROI.

Participant 3: I’ve talked to different people that put so much in, like florist groups, and it will be like, how much are you guys paying your people or whatever. People are paying $500 to $1,000 a month like small shops, and it’s just like I will go and look at their page, and it’s just like, all generic like, we worked for a shopping center, my business partner and his family, they just sold that shopping center, but they owned it and they were creating a page for it and they hired a local firm to do it and the stuff that they would do was like run of the mill. It wasn’t anything special, so if I’m going to pay someone, then I want it to be something different, like a five-minute Canva thing of something, you know. I think those people were paying all of that money to these firms, and sometimes the firms are like, you’re just doing an intro level so everyone gets the same treatment. It’s not really special; it’s not like different, so everything looks the same. Unless you’re paying them thousands of dollars then, they are probably not going to put that much time into it. Which rightfully so, but just tell people up front that they need to spend this much to make it worth their while. It’s like Facebook or Instagram being like here’s a $10 credit for your promotions, well it’s like what’s $20? If I put $20, that’s not going to attract anybody at least just tell me if I need to spend $400, but they don’t do it.

Researcher: So, do you think these concerns will be the cause of failures in small businesses?

Participant 3: Probably, probably has been. People throw so much weight into like, social media and stuff like that. You know, I’ve seen businesses, local businesses, or small businesses that will have 20, 30, 40 thousand followers, and like not, they aren’t around anymore because that doesn’t mean anything. I think it probably could be if that’s what they are focused on.

Researcher: What steps do we take to lessen those concerns so people can be more successful?

Participant 3: That would be psychological for people. People just not caring about that, so… cause, like if someone, one of our customers, is like, I need a shop in Georgia, and we look it up and check their Instagram first, it’s like most likely the person that is more trendy and have an updated Instagram so we check it and see, but like I catch myself like, “OOOHH, they only got 2,000 followers, so how good are they?” You know, so I think everyone falls into that trap, and it’s just a societal thing probably before anything or some mass learning, and it would be hard.

Researcher: Which I remember a time before all of this stuff, you know, and it used to not be that way, but now it’s like so engrained in us.

Participant 3: Yeah, it’s hard, yeah. It’s just a way; I think it’s probably more problematic if you don’t have it. Like if you look up somebody and they don’t have a Facebook or Instagram… [scared face]

Researcher: Yeah, and that’s something else, like people hiring do that like you can’t. It’s like a catch-22 because you could post the wrong thing, or you cannot be on there and…

Participant 3:  Yes, it’s like the same messages, like why don’t they have social media versus a problematic social media, and it’s viewed the same. I know my cousin was rushing at Fayetteville for a fraternity, and he didn’t do any social media. He was not a normal teenager, and he didn’t get in anything because nobody knew anything about him. They couldn’t find anything. He was not from that area, so he didn’t know anybody, so like they would be like, who’s this? I don’t know, let’s look him up, and then they couldn’t find him, and they are like, what? If you don’t have social media, you don’t exist really with our generation, and that’s like what we work towards here. Our demographic is like younger to middle-aged demographic. Whereas some of the shops that are here and have been here a long time are definitely middle aged to older generation kind of people, so like we know we are slowly growing, but like at least our clientele is not declining so.

Researcher: So, what do you think the future improvements of social media marketing will be?

Participant 3: Probably a lot of things with AI. I use a lot of Chat GPT and stuff like that to write posts just because… unless your business is just really broad, it’s hard to think of things to like descriptions of things and stuff so that it doesn’t sound redundant cause all of ours is flowers and gifts so it’s like how do you make it sound different? So I will write what I think, and the Chat GPT that I use will like, learn as I use it, and so it knows how I like to put things, and so it will write our descriptions and make it sound a little different than me being like this gift basket is perfect and that’s how I feel like I start every gift basket description on our website and so it changes. So I think probably AI with Chat GPT and stuff like that as it advances and more people use it in like day to day.

Researcher: So, you are getting some different posts instead of the same thing constantly.

Participant 3: Yes, instead of the same thing. I think you will see different things, and I think we will see something different with, like, I don’t know what it will be, but something different will pop up other than influencers like TikTok and Instagram and stuff. I think something will be different with that, like, that doesn’t seem sustainable paying these people a bunch of money to do things, and post about it when it’s not even something that they really like. So that’s not sustainable, so I think something else will come up different and I don’t know what it will be, but something different marketing wise will be of that.

Researcher: How long do you think it will take for these future improvements to be implemented with AI and the influencers?

Participant 3: I think we will probably see a big difference in like, five years, and it will be unrecognizable in probably ten years for, like what we do and how we do things. Just because everything advances so quickly, and everybody gets bored of stuff. I think that’s another downside of the influencer people. It’s like, oh cool, now these people are famous, and I’m done with them, so we need new little people, you know.

Researcher: Not only that, they keep threatening to take down TikTok, so they will eventually do that, right?

Participant 3: Yeah, so something will happen and another one will have to like pop up, you know. We had Vine then that was gone, then TikTok so something else will pop up.

Researcher: Well, now they have Facebook reels.

Participant 3: Yeah, Facebook reels and then Instagram reels. Everybody has videos now. I don’t… it’s hard to think about, but I don’t know what would align or be created for that or along with that because video seems like the most advanced we have right now, like stuff, like since it doesn’t exist, I don’t know. There will be something probably different that will happen. That’s beyond me, but I will have to figure it out.

Researcher: So, how do you think these improvements could hurt and help small businesses?

Participant 3: Probably just the complexity of it and cost, initial cost like when AI and stuff was first coming around. Now it’s like Chat GPT, that everybody can use and like find a resource, depending on how good you want it and stuff, but before it had to be like either paying for a service or have a membership or else Chat GPT if you were using the free one it would be like too many people are on here, you can’t use it right now so I think the initial one, whatever is next comes, cost will be a big thing for a small business as it is everything. We just don’t have the buying power of stuff.

Researcher: But you think it will eventually help businesses be successful?

Participant 3: Yup, basically like everything. Like electric cars used to be expensive, and now they are achievable for people who make a living wage. You can go out and buy a new car or an electric car for the same price because everything, I feel like, starts at $30,000 now. You can either get an electric or that. It’s not like a luxury thing now.

Researcher: So, does social media marketing in general, how will it assist in successfulness of small businesses?

Participant 3: I think just people using it in general, just keeping it out there… Say it again, I’m sorry what did you say?

Researcher: Social media marketing, how will it assist in the successfulness of small businesses?

Participant 3: I think if they use it as a tool, it will… and use it correctly, like not overusing it, not using it as your personal thing, just using it as a marketing tool, it will help you. If you are using it other than that, it probably will become more divisive or not as useful. People will be like they are posting about their fight with so and so on there, too, so if you are using it as a marketing tool, I think it will help you advance. If you’re not using it as your sole like…

Researcher: Which will make it assist in the failure.

Participant 3: Yeah, it’s a tricky thing. You can spend a lot of money on social media. I don’t spend hardly any, and I think that’s the key. I think people just think that they dump money into it.

Researcher: And they will just become successful?

Participant 3: Yeah, so I think if you use it as a tool along with everything else, it will help you succeed, but if you use it not enough or too much, it can be detrimental.

Researcher: We are going back to mixing personal and professional.

Participant 3: Yeah, that can be a detriment of it, or like you know, people do like content; like you said, you get bombarded with certain companies like constantly just posting stuff.

Researcher: I will unfollow so quick.

Participant 3: Oh yeah, so you know, I think with those people that we are obviously not their target market because they are like a very in-your-face company, and I’m not, but some people would be like, oh, what’s that, but I think you will have to see what works with your business. If you are like, what is that part of the TikTok I was on… the Chinese glycerin place. It was some Chinese glycerin place that was told that they need to use marketing, and they started popping up on TikTok, but like, why does a glycerin plant need to use TikTok in marketing, you know, but it worked. Everybody was talking about it, but the people talking about it wasn’t buying their product.

Researcher: They were just talking about them being different.

Participant 3: Yeah, everyone was talking about why is this company using this, so it’s like if you’re selling like Big River Steel, other than hiring, you’re not going to be like, come buy our steel. Like you’re using contracts, and it’s a bigger deal. You’re not going to use your social media to get people to come buy your steel. You’re going to use it for HR and promotional things.

Researcher: There’s like, a whole bidding thing for contractors like that, too.

Participant 3: Whereas, us it’s like our social media is used to sale. Some are just used for information so I think you got to find what lane you’re in. If you learn what people are looking for that can be to your benefit.

Researcher: Well, that’s all I have. Thank you so much for participating.

Participant 4, a 25-year-old white female, holds a high school diploma and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree through online courses. She resides in Paragould, Arkansas and is employed full-time for a global business, while also dedicating her time to a part-time role in a local business. The interview took place on April 21, 2024 at 3 p.m. CST.  

(Participant 4's demeanor during the interview was notable. Initially, she appeared nervous and spoke softly. However, as the interview progressed, particularly during the final questions, she noticeably grew more confident and relaxed. This transition in her behavior, from initial nervousness to later confidence, could be an indicator of her increasing comfort and engagement with the interview process. She maintained focus on the topic and was careful not to disclose any personally identifying information.)

The participant stated that he had read over the consent statement the researcher had sent before the interview and had verbally agreed to participate before the interview started.

Researcher: Ok, what is your age?

Participant 4: 25.

Researcher: Gender identification?

Participant 4: Female.

Researcher: Educational background?

Participant 4: High school graduate, currently in college.

Researcher: Current employment status?

Participant 4: Employed, full-time.

Researcher: Do you have current or former employment or ownership of a small business and how long?

Participant 4: Yes, two and a half years.

Researcher: Which social media platforms did they use?

Participant 4: Facebook

Researcher: How often do you come across social media marketing?

Participant 4: Daily

Researcher: Daily, and where do you come across that stuff at?

Participant 4: Like in general for myself or for the business?

Researcher: Both

Participant 4: Facebook, TikTok…

Researcher: And the business just strictly uses Facebook?

Participant 4: Yes.

Researcher: So, what do you believe attracts a negative message reception in social media marketing?

Participant 4: Unclear language use, like not being good with spelling or grammar.

Researcher: And what do you believe attracts a more positive message reception of social media marketing?

Participant 4: Frequent posting, correct grammar, enthusiasm.

Researcher: Ok, did you assist in any of the social media marketing for the business?

Participant 4: Yes.

Researcher: How?

Participant 4: I helped type the posts advertising the events taking place or making flyers.

Researcher: So, what were your perceptions of a small business using social media marketing?

Participant 4: It helped get the word out faster than what you could do in person, like if we were telling someone in person at a previous event of the next event; I mean, they are most likely not going to remember the date or time that it would take place but with social media, it was easier to get the word out to multiple people at the same time.

Researcher: What do you think other people’s perception are of social media marketing?

Participant 4: I think it’s appreciated. I mean to be able to go online to see what you want to know. Ask questions whenever you can, during business hours, obviously. Being able to have it at your fingertips to find information. I think it is easily accessible.

Researcher: So, do you believe that’s how other people saw your business’s social media marketing?

Participant 4: Yes, yes.

Researcher: Okay, and what differences do you think there are between social media marketing in a small business and a large corporation?

Participant 4: I think with a large corporation that they have more ads and they tend to try to make more money off of their social media marketing versus a small owned business is more about being informative.

Researcher: So basically, they just got more money to work with?

Participant 4: Yes.

Researcher: A lot more money to work with.

Participant 4: Yes.

Researcher: And how do you think those affect each of the businesses?

Participant 4: I think small businesses are just more appreciated due to the fact that it is a family-owned thing. It’s not a corporation that already has millions and millions and thousands and thousands of dollars. Um… A small business isn’t out to just get money from you. They are there to make you happy, make the experience better for you rather than just for money.

Researcher: And a lot of them support the communities that they are in, too.

Participant: Yes, they also turn around and support other small businesses that do the same for them.

Researcher: Okay, so what are your concerns of social media marketing?

Participant 4: Umm… the fact that pretty much anybody can get on our Facebook page and comment whatever they feel like or leave a bad review simply because there was a small altercation or because our business is open to the public every weekend, so there are altercations that take place sometimes and some of those things go to social media which in turn gives our business a bad name. Um… this doesn’t happen all the time, but it does happen, and then it gets screenshotted or, you know, talked about because it is on a public social media page, and it kind of is concerning for the reputation of the business. For other people to just freely be able to say whatever they want to say.

Researcher: So, do you think other businesses have these concerns, too?

Participant 4: I would think so, yes.

Researcher: And so is that why you think they would be relevant… towards everybody?

Participant 4: Elaborate?

Researcher: Like you said like the bad reviews and stuff like so everybody would have these concerns therefore it would make it relevant right?

Participant 4: Yes, I think so. I think everybody has concerns about people commenting bad things on their page, business or not; I mean, having a public platform is basically an invitation for people to troll and be negative if they feel like it. So, I think it is relevant for all businesses that have public platforms.

Researcher: And what do you think could be done to lessen these concerns?

Participant 4: I think filtering comments could work. Filtering certain words and such. You can’t really stop people’s opinions, but you can stop them from commenting certain things on posts. Not really reviews because you want to have your reviews open to everybody so you can a good sense about how people feel about your business but as far as the comments and posts on your page you can filter things like that.

Researcher: Well, I actually discussed with somebody else and they said those reviews, there needs to be a better process in place for those as well because the reviews can make or break you.

Participant 4: It really can; when you go and look at your rating out of five stars, one review can take you down, you know, a whole point if it’s, you know. So, I mean it’s hard to be able to do that, but I wasn’t actually sure even if you could. Can you filter a review, you know what I mean?

Researcher: Yeah, I don’t think you can. That’s what he was saying, and it’s a very difficult process because you have to contact Google or Facebook.

Participant 4: I don’t think you can. It makes it hard because that is also kind of an ethical thing like do you want to… because it kind of seems shady when certain companies turn off their reviews or something like that or delete the review simply because if you genuinely did have a bad experience, your review deserves to be there but if you are posting out of pettiness or you’re just being rude to the business owner, there’s no sense in that but if you genuinely had a bad experience, I believe a review deserves to be there.

Researcher: I think that was his experience, was just people and pettiness, and he said it was like pulling teeth almost to get it taken off there.

Participant 4: I think a lot of businesses suffer from that with people just being petty especially small businesses in small towns. Just everybody knows everybody and if one person doesn’t like the owner or an employee, they can easily go on social media and say something bad about them just because they want to.

Researcher: Right. So, what do you think the future improvements of social media marketing will be?

Participant 4: I know on Facebook, they have started to introduce to smaller pages, the ad feature, where you can put ads on there and the company pays for it like you don’t get the money from the ads, but you pay for you to have a bigger broadcast, basically. Your business gets put on different people’s pages that typically it wouldn’t, and I think they should add more of that into social media platforms for businesses, and I think they will. I think that, honestly the, social media makes a lot of money off of it and, so adding more features to that, and maybe being able to pick where you want your posts to be seen at, who you want to see it, like the algorithm. Like, make a better algorithm for small business pages to be put out there.

Researcher: Right, so how long do you think it will take to implement these improvements?

Participant 4: I think technology has been quickly upgraded throughout the years. I mean, I’m 25, and I went from flip phone to an iPhone within two years, you know, so I mean, I don’t think it will take but a few years to make those implications to social media.

Researcher: It would be kind of cool to be able to pick your audience, like I need people in this age range or this demographic or this socioeconomic status.

Participant 4: Yes, that is what I was talking about with the algorithm like you need to put my posts on these people with this certain algorithm on their page but also with the AI technology that’s definitely moving forward, every day, gaining so much more usage. I think it won’t take any time for them to do any upgrades to social media due to AI because AI is literally watching everything that you are doing on social media.

Researcher: So, how do you think these improvements could really help small businesses?

Participant 4: I think it will… it’s hard when you work at a small business, you really count on your followers on your Facebook page or some people do TikTok or Instagram. Us, solely, we do Facebook and with those upgrades, you could gain more followers which gains more views, more shares, which in turn will cause more business.

Researcher: How do you think it would hurt a business?

Participant 4: More people to troll the Facebook page to be rude, be negative. A personal experience: a guy who never came to our business before had come to it last weekend, and there was an incident that was greatly impacting, and while we have no legal liability to it, he went on social media about it, and caused a very big uproar on social media about what happened even though it had already been taken care of, so with more people to be able to see the page and interact with the page comes more people to see those negative reviews and negative experiences, even if they only happen every once in a while. They still happen and people take those into consideration.

Researcher: So, you think that would assist in the failure of a small business?

Participant 4: Yes, with a small business, especially with one like ours, that has been around since the 1960s. I mean, it’s been around a really long time. It’s been supported by the same people, the same families, through generations of those same families having new people come in can be hard because there’s been so many people that already know the rules and how it has worked for the past few decades and so having more people there could cause maybe more drama but with the new generation, I think it will also get the new generation into an old thing that people typically do. Obviously, we race, not a lot of people are into street racing anymore. It’s popular on TV but when it’s in your hometown. I didn’t even know about it until I was welcomed into this family. I didn’t even know that the track even existed.

Researcher: See, I use to go out there when I was little and watch them race.

Participant 4: I never even knew about it. I never even knew about it until I was in my 20’s so I mean with Facebook and you know social media, learning about new things can be fun for everybody but you know with new generations and new people, it can be hard to leave out the negative part.

Researcher: Right, you have to be careful with cancel culture too now.

Participant 4: Exactly. Yeah, because it’s huge. You do one thing bad, and you’re everywhere.

Researcher: So, what do you think will help with the successfulness?

Participant 4: Well, bringing new people in like we talked about would definitely help with the money. It takes money to make money especially in a business like ours, we have to do all the upkeep and upgrades, everything else, to the systems for the spectators to the racers, we have to do all of that so having more people come in means more income which would definitely put forth the foundation for bigger success.

Researcher: Well that is all that I have, so thanks for participating.